The Pastor's Anointing

About this course

The pastor is a gift to the Body of Christ, a member of the government of God in the Kingdom of God. Yet as Apostle Mary Banks observes at the opening of this study, in many cases pastors have become brutish and have not sought the Lord concerning His people, and the flocks have been scattered. The Lord's answer is His own promise: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15).

This course opens the scriptures on the pastor's anointing, what the gift is, where it sits in apostolic order, what it is given to accomplish, and how it must be operated. It is a demanding study, because it holds the pastorate to the script rather than to tradition. Apostle Banks distinguishes real ministry from what has merely been defined as ministry, names the administrative busyness that feels like working for God as pseudo-ministry, and calls pastors back to the pattern of the apostles in Acts 6, prayer and the ministry of the word.

What you will study

• Lesson 1, The Pastor's Anointing: the scriptural basis of the pastoral gift, apostolic order, the purpose of perfecting the saints, the shepherd's heart, and the pastor's anointing as the field in which the sheep feed.
• Lesson 2, Pseudo-Ministry: the counterfeit pastorate, the crossroad between pastor and administrator, and the five disciplines of the calling, prayer, study, preaching and teaching, visitation, and interaction.
• Lesson 3, Contend for the Faith: Paul's charge to the elders in Acts 20, grievous wolves, men arising from among themselves, jump-off points in a leader's walk, the danger of lowering the standard, and commending the congregation to the Word of His grace.
• Lesson 4, The Reformation Has Begun: what it means to feed the flock, the churches of the script under apostolic oversight, the warning of Diotrephes, and the difference between lords and leaders.

Who this course is for

This course is for pastors, bishops, under-shepherds, auxiliary leaders and all who serve in the five-fold ministry, as well as for believers who want to understand the gift God has set over them and the standard to which He holds it.

How you are assessed

Each lesson ends with a chapter quiz, and the course closes with a final exam drawing on all four lessons. Chapter quizzes count for 60% of your grade and the final exam for 40%. A passing grade is 70% or higher.