CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACKET - Ryan Fields

Heb. 10:19-25) and “scattered” (Rom. 12:1-2, 1 Cor. 10:31, Rev. 1:6). In corporate worship settings we must not equate singing with worship; every activity of the worship service should be done as an act of worship unto God, including corporate singing (Col. 3:12-17, Eph. 5:15- 20, James 5:13-16). In this sense the entire church service is an act of worship, and the pastor plays a vitally important role in planning and overseeing this service for the glory of God, the building up of the body, and the furthering of the church's mission. What are your spiritual gifts? I believe that I am particularly gifted in areas pertinent to pastoral ministry, especially preaching/teaching (2 Tim. 4:2, Rom. 12:7), leadership (Rom. 12:8), administration (1 Cor. 12:28), encouragement (Rom 12:7) and hospitality (1 Peter 4:9). For me, all of these come under the larger banner of a shepherding gift, and indeed I believe that the Spirit has given these gifts to me primarily for the purpose of serving as a pastor-teacher (Eph. 4:11). What role do contemporary theological and ethical issues play in your ministry? Effective pastoral ministry doesn't just need to engage in biblical hermeneutics (proper interpretation of the Bible); it also has to engage in cultural hermeneutics (proper interpretation of our own cultural moment). God's people do not live in a vacuum; they live in a particular time and place and cultural context that is facing particularly pressing issues which the church is called to engage and speak biblical truth into. In this sense contemporary theological and ethical issues play an important role in my ministry. Theological issues are important because the church is called to articulate what doctrine is in keeping with the gospel (and what is not); ethical issues are important because the church is called to demonstrate what practices are in keeping with the gospel (and which are not). The pastor is someone the church rightly looks to for guidance on both of these fronts. The church would not be faithful to the particular cultural moment in which the Lord sovereignly placed it if it ignored these pressing social and ethical issues. Therefore, it is vitally important that the pastor teach God's people a biblical worldview that helps them understand and respond to these complex issues from a biblical vantage point and preach the Word of God in such a way that shows God's people how the Bible really does speak to these things. In my mind this is best done by having these issues "in mind" in preparing sermons on particular biblical texts rather than preaching topical sermons that take on one issue at a time. I believe that such topical emphasis is better done in a Sunday school context where there can be more nuance and dialogue than a sermon allows. I also hold that it is very important that preaching never becomes beholden to the particular cultural issues of the day; we will always be confronted with various ethical and social issues, but the best way to prepare the church to engage them well is to see that the church is growing into the full maturity of Christ, able to respond to any issue in a way that is faithful, wise, and winsome. To what extent would these ethical and social issues occupy your preaching and teaching?

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