CIRCULAR PASTORAL LETTER
CHURCH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE WORLD THE TOCOISTS Remembered on July 25, 1949, By His Holiness Prophet Simão Gonçalves Toco SPIRITUAL LEADER TO THE CHURCH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE WORLD, THE TOCOISTAS. SUBJECT: CIRCULAR PASTORAL LETTER No. 002/LE/0025. Greetings in the name of the One who anointed, consecrated, and sent me for His mission in search of the lost sheep, because of the fresh grass and the enjoyment of this world. Matthew 15:24. Most Reverend Auxiliary Bishops; Honorable members of the body of the twenty-four Elders; Esteemed members of the Episcopate; Distinguished leaders of the Central Coordination of Men’s Ministry; Beloved Mothers of Women’s Ministry; Valiant youth of the Pastoral Youth Ministry; Esteemed representatives of our Church in the Tocoista universe and all pastoral Directorates! I come through this, to share with the Church and all the faithful, within the framework of the celebrations of the 51st Anniversary of the Pastor’s Day, some situations that have afflicted and still afflict the Pastoral ministry, and at the same time, take the opportunity to pass on teaching and clarification to everyone about the importance of the Pastor’s Day and the figure of the Pastor in the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the World, “The TOCOISTAS.” The Divine Mandate of the Pastor The existence of pastors for the care of the sheep was a determination of our Creator Himself, being Himself the PASTOR par excellence. We hear the Psalmist say: “The LORD is my shepherd: I shall not want.” Psalms 23:1. It is He who promised to send pastors according to His own heart, to feed His sheep with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15. The Bible is clear: the Pastor is not a human intuition, nor an earthly initiative, but rather an office, a work ordained by God. Let us quickly understand the context of Jeremiah’s prophecy. As we know, the chosen people faced several hardships during the reign of many kings of Israel. Idolatry, the decline of spirituality, the increase in injustice, and unprecedented immorality were the dominant picture when Jeremiah was called. Jeremiah was called by God to call the chosen people to repentance, to see if they could escape His wrath. He acted in the 7th century B.C., during the reign of the last kings of Judah. It was a tumultuous time in the history of Israel, marked by apostasy, idolatry, and moral and spiritual corruption among the chosen people. In this chapter, Jeremiah presents a promise from God to raise spiritual leaders who would care for His people according to His heart. These Pastors, according to God’s announcement through Jeremiah, would be different from the corrupt and selfish leaders who had failed to lead God’s people with integrity and fidelity. God promised pastors who would feed His people with spiritual knowledge, guiding them on the path of truth and righteousness. Dearest ones! The Pastor received the mission to care for and protect the flock from false teachings, from attacks against the established and approved doctrine, and to feed them, according to God’s purpose, leading them to pure and refreshing waters, and moreover, to defend them against the beasts of the field. This is the reason why the Psalmist brings the rod and the staff in Psalm 23:4. Let’s continue, beloved! The Role of the Pastor The figure of the Pastor must command respect, who transmits peace and security to the sheep, one who is concerned with the spiritual health of his sheep, but who is also concerned with the social life of his flock. As we celebrate another Pastors’ Day, it is important to talk a little about this figure called the Pastor, to better understand, even briefly, what this function or position represents. In our Church, we have the habit of the pastor feeling carnal and the vate (prophet/seer) as the only spiritual entity that commands and directs the Pastor! This form of guidance is wrong, failed, and outside of God’s guidance, which chose Pastors for His flock. The Pastor is a spiritual Guide, someone equipped with spiritual discernment, which is why he was chosen and anointed with the eye and with the laying on of the hands of the Presbyters. 1 Timothy 4:14. The Pastor must be adept at reading, at studying the word of God, at praying, at interceding, at giving thanks, at teaching, at defending the doctrine and the music of the Church. The Pastor must have a minimum knowledge of how to manage people, manage assets, and manage and multiply the Church’s finances. We heard the context in which the prophet Jeremiah acted, and what the reason was, and who had commissioned him! Handing over the Church to multiple agents to impose an order that can only come from the Pastor is to kill the Church of Christ and manifest the carnality on the part of those who were called to the Pastoral position. No organization should move forward under the command of several people or directorates. The Command of the Church is one and unique, inseparable, and unshared. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4-5. Here, the problem also lies in the choice the church makes for those who will tomorrow begin to exercise this pastoral office. Not understanding the term: Pastor according to God’s heart has caused tragedy to the church in this journey. The term found in Jeremiah 3:15 implies that the person has divinely ordained and directed leadership from God. These people called pastors are those who possess a heart aligned with love, compassion, and integrity. I spoke a lot about the Pastor in this pastoral letter because there is a great lack of understanding about the position of “Pastor.” Our Church suffers greatly from this lack of knowledge; where there is a Pastor, there cannot exist another