Installation Service For Pastor Terry Bolds
Installation Service For Pastor Terry Bolds
At Rising Star Baptism Church
We are here to officially install Pastor Terry Bolds as Pastor of this church. It’s my honor and pleasure to preside over this installation, because of my relationship with the past pastor, Pastor Frost, and with Pastor Bolds. We have maintained contact and friendship over the years. So, I have come to install my friend and co-laborer in the Gospel ministry as pastor of this church.
While there is no specific biblical reference illustrating the installation of a pastor in a church, the tradition is not without biblical support. To see this support, we must start with the rite of ordination.
Paul wrote to Titus and told him to appoint elders in every city. This is a descriptive word for “pastor.” There are numerous words for pastor, which desribe the various functions, i.e. shepherd, overseer, elder, etc.
The word “appoint” is
kathistemi, kath-is’-tay-mee, 2525; appoint, be, conduct, make, ordain, set.
In Christian churches, this verse¾and others like it¾have been related to the tradition of ordination, which is closely related to an usually precedes installation. The scarcity of references makes it impossible to establish a full-orbed procedure practiced in the early church. However, there is evidence of a solemn rite marking the setting apart of individuals to specific church functions. In Acts 6:6 seven men were chosen by the church, set before the apostles, and prayed over with the laying on of hands. In addition, Paul and Barnabus were sent forth as missionaries by the church at Antioch with fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands. And furthermore, hands were laid on Pastor Timothy by the elders and the apostle Paul. From these references we can see that individuals were solemnly ordained or set apart to specific ministry and leadership positions.
We can also see that ordination is the recognition by the church of those whom God has called and equipped for a regular ordered ministry in the church. The rite of ordination does not confer authority or spiritual gifts, because these are solemnly given by God. Rather the fundamental meaning of ordination is identification and representation. The laying on of hands by the church leaders is an act by which the whole church identifies itself in solidarity with those who are ordained as one with them in their ministry. And the one being ordained acknowledges his responsibility to properly represent that particular local church.”[1]
So, I see the ceremony of installing a pastor as an extension of the ordination process. The complete process is the calling of God, the licensing by the church, the ordination to specific church ministry, and the installation of the pastor into his own pastorate.
(As we come to this sacred and esteemed occasion, let us turn to the Word of God for appropriate words of focus and encouragement. I believe that the Lord has laid upon my heart to talk about being commissioned to preach. Please notice with me Romans 10:14-15. Here we see:)
I. The Commissioning Of The Preacher (vv. 14-15).
(Paul, who was inspired to write concerning God’s plan of salvation, began to illuminate this commissioning by asking some very important questions. Let’s look at these potent questions.)
1. “How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?”
Answer: “They cannot! It is impossible!”
To call upon Jesus Christ would mean to worship Jesus as the Messiah, who is One with God and Very God of Very God. But how can people worship Jesus as the Messiah, if they have never believed in Jesus Christ? To worship Jesus Christ people must have a conviction of the Gospel.
The Greek word for “believe” means a strong belief or a conviction. Belief in Jesus Christ is not an “easy believism,” but strong conviction the Jesus is the Messiah, plus trust in Him to save us from our sins!
(Question number two:)
2. “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?”
Answer: “They cannot! It is impossible!”
The Greek word “heard” means to perceive one’s voice or to understand. It is impossible to have a conviction of the Gospel without comprehending the Gospel. There can be no acknowledgment of the truth of the Gospel without some level of comprehension. Once again, this belies the easy believism of our day.
(Let’s move on to the next question, which reveals:)
3. “How will they hear without a preacher?”
Answer: “They cannot! It is impossible!”
No one can call on Jesus, until they have believed on Him.
And no one can believe on Him, when they haven’t heard about Him.
And no one can hear about Him without a preacher. The conviction and comprehension of the Gospel are based upon the preachers of the Gospel.
The word ‘preacher’ is kerussontos and comes from
2784 kerusso “to be a herald; to officiate as herald; to proclaim after the manner of a herald; always with a suggestion of formality, gravity, and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed; b. spec. used of the public proclamation of the gospel and matters pertaining to it, made by John the Baptist, by Jesus, by apostles and other Christian teachers.”
Preachers, of the time of Jesus, were actually town criers. They would actually stand in a public place, such as a street corner, and cry out the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. And God has not changed this method. God still speaks through preachers! This is God’s method for providing His vehicle of our destiny and His sovereignty, namely: the Gospel. And I am contending for the revival and preservation of passionate Preaching, i.e. a sermon that is solidly based upon the Word of God and ends in appropriate celebration! Henry Mitchell wrote, “The cardinal sin of the Black pulpit is probably that of irrelevant celebration—gravy that does not match the meat, so to speak. Good gravy is always made of the essence of the meat to be served, and the same is true of the good Gospel feast. (In other words, “Good meat makes its own gravy!) When the celebration is about something else, the real message is lost, while the celebration, if it has any substance at all, is recalled. It is vitally important that all preachers conclude by lifting up the main concerns of the sermon in genuine, joyful celebration.”[2]
God’s plan for the salvation of His people is inextricably bound up with the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, i.e. that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, the Author of eternal salvation.
You may read the Bible; you may study on your own; and both of these are important, but nothing can take the place of the public proclamation of the Gospel by God’s preacher.
God spoke in times past in many different ways. He spoke through His presence
· Upon Mt. Sinai,
· In the Tabernacle,
· In the Temple,
· Through the sacrificial system,
· Through the High Priest,
· Through the holy days and feast days,
· Etc.
But when the fullness of time came, God Himself came down and spoke to us in the body and being of His Son. When God wanted to save men, He sent His Son, in human form, to proclaim and demonstrate the message of the kingdom of God. He sent The Logos, the living word, speech, wisdom, and reason of God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Logos became flesh!
And God is not through with His revelation of the Word made flesh. God still sends His Word in flesh today, but He does it through His preacher. In 2 Timothy 4:2, we find this phrase,
“Preach the Word” = keruxon ton logon.
“Through preaching the logos or Word of God is manifested, which brings to humanity the eternal life that was promised. God could have made His Word known to humanity in other ways, but we could not have borne this. (Had God manifest Himself to us directly, we would have been killed. He told Moses, “No man can look upon my face and live.”) Hence God would not have been the Savior who gives life; His declaration would have spelled death. (We see this in the case of Moses. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai from the presence of God, the glow on his face frightened the people. They surely could not have borne the presence of God.)
Thus, God chose men to be His preachers. By them His Word becomes flesh just as the Son came to sinners in human form” (TDNT).
So, God’s plan entails the preaching of the Word of God, through His servant, under the power of the Holy Spirit. The preacher is in a sense the ‘Logos’ made flesh. The Living Word of God wraps Himself in the flesh of His preacher and speaks to us. Divine intervention takes place through the proclamation. Kittle's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says that in preaching, the Logos, Jesus Christ, does what He did in the incarnation. He wraps Himself in human flesh, the flesh of the Spirit-filled preacher, and literally comes to earth to visit His people. God is here right now! Somebody praise Him!
Enjoying The Sermon
An article by an unknown author says, “At least one time in every sermon God breaks through the words of the preacher and speaks directly to the people. It may be in a single sentence or in just one phrase. We can well afford to listen to the entire discourse with care, lest we miss that one illuminated and searching sentence in which God speaks to us--a sentence that brings conviction, penitence, hope, strength, or renewed faith! So many of us miss that one special word from God because we are comparing the preacher’s manner with that of some other preacher we have heard recently. From now on, just listen intently for that one portion God intends to be applied specifically to your heart!”
(Let’s move on to the next question, which reveals:)
4. “How will they preach unless they are sent?”
Answer: “They cannot! It is impossible!”
The word sent is
sent 649 apostello “prop. To send off, send away: 1. To order (one) to go to a place appointed; a. either persons sent with commissions, or things intended for someone. Messengers are sent.”
From this word we get the word “apostle.” You must be called and commissioned by God to publicly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, under the power of the Holy Spirit.
· It does not come by studying alone.
· It does not come by listening and copying.
· It does not come by educational degrees.
· It does not come by the will of Man.
The message of God comes by the calling and commissioning of God. An apostle, according to Unger, is “one sent with a special message or commission.” Preachers are commissioned to preach, to herald, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. “Without commissioning and sending there are no preachers, and without preachers there is no proclamation” (TDNT).
How can someone preach an efficacious Gospel message, under the power of the Holy Spirit, unless he has been sent or commissioned? He cannot! That leads us to this conclusion: God’s plan of salvation, which is wrapped up in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the vehicle of our destiny and God’s sovereignty, begins, in this context, with the commissioning of His servant to preach the Gospel.
Therefore the Apostle Paul says in
1 Corinthians 9:16, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”
Therefore,
· I’ve got to preach: because I have a stewardship assigned to my hand.
· I’ve got to preach: because I have been commissioned by heaven.
· I’ve got to preach: because I have been given a message from heaven.
· I’ve got to preach: because God’s sovereignty is released in preaching.
· I’ve got to preach: because our destiny is wrapped up in preaching.
· I’ve got to preach: because people are in darkness and Jesus is the Light of the world.
· I’ve got to preach: because people are hungry and Jesus is the Bread of Life.
· I’ve got to preach: because people are thirsty and Jesus is a well of water springing up to everlasting life.
· I’ve got to preach: because people are sick and Jesus is the Great Physician.
· I’ve got to preach: because people are dead and Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
· I’ve got to preach: because people are sad, but Jesus is the joy of my salvation.
· I’ve got to preach: because people are bound in the slave market of sin, but Jesus is our Redeemer. He has redeemed us in the slave market of sin. He has redeemed us and removed us from the slave market of sin. He has redeemed us in the slave market of sin, removed us from the slave market of sin, and permanently set us free to never return to the slave market of sin.
· I’ve got to preach: because the world is lost and Jesus is the Savior.
· I’ve got to preach: because somebody is confused and Jesus is the Wonderful-Counselor.
· I’ve got to preach: because you’re troubled and Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
· I’ve got to preach: because somebody’s been orphaned, but He is the everlasting Father.
· I’ve got to preach: because somebody has lost their way and is traveling this road of life all alone, but we know the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, The Chief Shepherd. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!
· I’ve got to preach: because somebody is on sinking sand, but Christ is the solid rock of Salvation.
· I’ve got to preach: because somebody is being attacked and mistreated, but Jesus is the Rock of Ages, the strong tower, the high tower, the fortress, the city of refuge.
· I’ve got to preach: because you’re tired and Jesus said, “Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give rest.”
· I’ve got to preach: because you’re trapped and Jesus is the Way.
· I’ve got to preach: because you’re being lied to and Jesus is Truth.
· I’ve got to preach: because somebody is lonely, but He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.
· I’ve got to preach: because we have been weighed in the balances and found wanting, but Jesus is the Advocate or Lawyer with the Father.
I will admit that there are many so-called preachers and so called messages that are not worth listening to, because they have not been commissioned and they are not preaching The Message. Too many preacher have been commissioned by their mothers or wives and are not preaching the gospel. Vance Havner said, “Make Jesus Christ your theme! I have seen preachers espouse causes and champion movements, and when the cause died and the movement collapsed, the preacher vanished too. But the man who glories in Christ never grows stale.”
(God’s plan of salvation begins with the commissioning of His servant to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ. This is God's plan and it is beautiful or comely. “This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our sight.” Let’s consider:)
II. The Comeliness Of The Preacher (v. 15).
Paul quotes from Isaiah 52:7 and applies it to the messengers of the Gospel. The feet indicate the eager and swift spreading of the Gospel. How beautiful are those who spread the Gospel!
There is a comeliness or beauty of the feet of those who spread the gospel. They are beautiful to:
1. The mature believer.
In the eyes of sinners and the carnal, God’s plan is foolish and preachers are fools. In the eyes of the mature Christians we are beautiful. As we consider that we would not be saved without the servant of God, who was commissioned by God to bring to us the preaching of the goodnews, we will find that servant and his ministry beautiful.
As we mature and consider the magnificence of the plan of God, we will consider the eagerness, timeliness, and swiftness of the servants which spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ as beautiful.
(But the feet of those who run eagerly and swiftly to spread the Gospel are also beautiful to:)
2. God.
The service-worship of the NT. priest is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When God views one eagerly doing what He has been commissioned to do, certainly this is beautiful in His sight.
We come today to celebrate and install the man that God has commissioned to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this place.
INSTALLATION SERVICE
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Pastor Joey: Throughout history, God has called workers to carry out His will.
· Righteous Noah was chosen to survive the flood and save his family through building the ark.
· Abraham, the man of faith, was selected to be the forerunner of God’s holy nation, Israel.
· Moses, the man of God, was called to deliver his people from bondage.
· Jesus chose the twelve to be His apostles.
· The early church set apart those called to special work through prayer and the laying on of hands.
We come today to formally install Pastor Terry Bolds in the work to which God has called him. We seek to honor only Christ, and Pastor Bolds is being set apart for that purpose. Let us invoke God’s blessing upon this occasion.
PRAYER
EXAMINATION OF THE CANDIDATE (Responsive Reading) (Candidate and his wife will come forward and stand before the congregation.)
Pastor Joey: Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.
Congregation: Already he who reaps is receiving wages, and is gathering fruit for life eternal, that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
Pastor Joey: The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Congregation: Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest, to send out workers into His harvest.
Pastor Joey: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
Pastor Lee: I have heard the call of Christ, and in the words of Isaiah, I respond, “Here am I. Send me.”
Pastor Joey: Have you, Terry Bolds, prayerfully considered the responsibility of pastoring a church, and have you weighed the work involved and the sacrifices you may be called upon to make?
Terry Bolds: I have.
Pastor Joey: Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that the holy Scriptures are the Word of God to make you wise unto the honored privilege of pastoring God’s people?
Terry Bolds: I do with all my heart.
Pastor Joey: Are you motivated, not out of a desire for position or earthly gain, but by the love of God and of your fellow men, and the wish to glorify Him and save them?
Terry Bolds: I am!
Pastor Joey: Will you strive to build up the church, the body of Christ, to prepare God’s people for works of service, to labor for the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God?
Terry Bolds: I will as God gives me strength.
Pastor Joey: Will you endeavor to live a life of love within your family and in the community, and so draw others to Christ through your example as well as by your word?
Terry Bolds: I will make it the purpose of my life to live for Jesus Christ, and I ask your prayers, and the prayers of this church, to help me in this endeavor.
Pastor Joey (To the congregation): I have thoroughly examined the qualifications of Pastor Terry Bolds for the work of pastoring, as a servant of Jesus Christ. Are you willing to accept my recommendation of him for official installation as pastor of this local church.
Congregation: We are.
THE LAYING ON OF HANDS (Designated leaders from the church should participate):
Pastor Joey (to candidate): You have declared your purpose to give your life in the service of Jesus Christ, in pastoring this church, and have received the approval and acceptance of this church. In order that you may be formally set apart for this holy calling, will you now kneel and receive the laying on of hands as we ask the blessing of God upon your pastorate.
(The candidate and his wife will kneel at the altar.)
THE ORDINATION PRAYER
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to save all mankind, we come today with praise on our lips and a petition in our hearts. How thankful we are for Christ, who, when lifted up, calls us to His holy service, we praise You, O God, that Jesus died for us and that we may bring our lives to Him in return.
We are thankful for this, your servant, who offers himself to the service of pastoral ministry.
Father, grant him the Spirit of wisdom that he may know how to stand before your people. May his heart be enlightened through the knowledge of Your Word. May his feet be swift with the gospel of peace, his hands outstretched toward those in need, his tongue a ready instrument for the message of Christ. May his message always be true to Your holy Word, consistent with your compassionate spirit, and in keeping with your holiness and integrity.
When discouragement comes, uphold him. In his success, shield him from pride. Let him fear You, rather than men. Give him the boldness to make difficult choices, administrate with divine organization, and give an answer to those who ask for explanation.
May Your Spirit work through him to do Your will: to bring men to Christ, to build up the church, to extend the kingdom of righteousness and truth.
Be his constant companion, Father, and may he be yours, that his life will cause many to find salvation.
Through Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.
HYMN
(Participating leaders may return to their seats. The candidate and his wife will sit on the front seat.)
Where He leads Me I will Follow.
CHARGE TO THE NEWLY INSTALLED MINISTER: (Dr. Bruce Smith)
The Christian ministry is both a great joy and a solemn responsibility. May your first priority be to follow Christ. Jesus called the twelve to be with Him, first of all, even before ending them out to preach and to serve.
Find time each day to renew your relationship with your Lord. Nothing is more tragic than the man who attempts to tell others about Christ, but who does not have Christ in his own heart.
I charge you to know the truth. As Paul instructed Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”
One of your problems will be to give yourself as needed, yet at the same time to keep from becoming spiritually and physically exhausted. Nourish your own soul upon the Word of God; then you will find resources to share with those seeking your help.
I further charge you to preach the truth. Though the message of the cross is “foolishness” to those who are perishing, yet “God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”
In this day, when truth is made to look like error and when error is widely proclaimed and accepted, preach the truth of God as it is in Christ. Your only right to stand in the pulpit is to answer the heart-cry of those assembled: Do you have a message from the Lord? Do you have a message today from the Word of God?
Preach clearly so that people can understand; preach in love that they will follow.
Finally, I charge you to live the truth. Keep your personal character blameless. Lay the law of kindness upon your heart and tongue. Be a servant, not a master. Persuasion is more effective than force. Lead by example.
Rejoice with your colleagues in their successes; keep yourself from ministerial jealousy. Refuse to measure your effectiveness through numbers alone.
Make time for your wife and children. They need you and you need them.
There are times when the most sacred work you can do is rest.
See God’s larger service as well as that in your own field. Find a way to work with other Christians, and to extend the kingdom elsewhere.
In the words of the apostle Paul, “Preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
My brother, may your life’s work honor Jesus Christ, so that at the end you may hear Him say, “Well done!”
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT: (Pastor Julius Davis)
PRESENTATION OF THE PULPIT
Minister: Pastor Bolds, I now put into your safe keeping this pulpit and this church.
Pastor Terry Bolds: Short words of acceptance and purpose.
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[1] Robert L. Saucy, The Church In God’s Program, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1972, pp. 161-165.
[2] Henry H. Mitchell, Black Preaching, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1990, p. 121.