Pastoral ministry is, in many minds, synonymous with pulpit ministry. Yet pastors, as their name suggests, are not only preachers but shepherds. They are “those who will have to give an account” (Heb. 13:17), working as under-shepherds to the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:2, 4), the one to whom the sheep belong. They have been charged with caring for the flock.
Far from the old saw about working for an hour on a Sunday morning, the pastor’s duty, as the Westminster Directory for Public Worship says so well, is
not only to teach the people committed to his charge in public, but privately; and particularly to admonish, exhort, reprove, and comfort them, upon all seasonable occasions, so far as his time, strength, and personal safety will permit.
In other words, it is a task that pushes men to the limits of their time, energy, and attention. And it is a task that no man will justly feel he is accomplishing to its fullest extent. Pastors will always find room for improvement in their care of souls.
Understanding that, it is good for pastors to consider the ways that they can grow in shepherding ministry. In doing so, it will be beneficial to consider their goals, their tasks, and some practicalities that are involved.
The Shepherd’s Goals
The flock belongs to the Lord Jesus. The Chief Shepherd does not give a pastor a flock for the pastor’s benefit or livelihood. Rather, He gives the flock an under-shepherd for their spiritual good. Pastors are servants of the flock for the sake of Christ. Thus, the goal of pastoral care is to take the things of God and to bring them to bear upon people in such a way that they advance in the faith. The primary goal is not to be well respected, to build an ever-growing congregation, or to win anyone’s loyalty. Those are goals of ownership. The pastor’s goals are goals of stewardship.
The pastor is, first of all, charged with the responsibility to feed the sheep (John 21:15–17). He is to lead them into the green pastures of the Word and the Spirit. A pastor should routinely ask of his work, “Will this visit nourish their souls? Will my expression of care cause them to feed upon Christ?” How a pastor goes about his shepherding ministry should enable him to answer yes to these questions.
The Chief Shepherd does not give a pastor a flock for the pastor’s benefit or livelihood. Rather, He gives the flock an under-shepherd for their spiritual good.
Secondly, the pastor is to proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26–27). He is not to shrink from the difficult and disfavored words of Scripture. Even the pastor who is bold to do this in the pulpit may find it a challenge when addressing his sheep in an intimate setting—but it is necessary to help people to wrestle with those kinds of things.
Thirdly, the pastor aims to present everyone mature in the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 1:28–29). Pastors seek the unreserved obedience to Christ of every believer. They want to see Christ formed in the flock, so that every potentially casual conversation is actually an opportunity for great progress. And they want this, moreover, for everyone: men and women, young and old, the likable and the unlikable.
Fourthly, the pastor is to prepare God’s people for works of service (Eph. 4:11–12). The flock needs to know they have a part to play, and they need to be presented with the opportunity to play it. Expository preachers will find plenty of opportunities to preach about service. It takes a shepherd to help the sheep discern what gifts they’ve been given and where those gifts are needed.
The Shepherd’s Tasks
Understanding what his goals are, a pastor then needs a grasp of the exercises of care that will help him achieve those goals. In these activities, pastors take as their model the Chief Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in His arms and gently leads the sheep along (Isa. 40:11). They take God’s Word as their crook, and they look to God’s Spirit as their guide.
Pastors are, first of all, to exercise encouragement. The truth is that often in our pastoral care, we’re simply nudging people further along, encouraging them to persevere in godliness, in evangelism, or some other activity. Shepherds will often find their sheep disheartened and discouraged—and the medicine is to offer “the encouragement of the Scriptures” (Rom. 15:4).
Pastors are, secondly, to exercise exhortation. Exhortation and encouragement go hand in hand. Paul can say, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” because he also knows and proclaims that “the Lord is at hand” (Phil. 4:4–5). In other words, he doesn’t say simply, “Chin up. Give yourself a shake.” Instead, he exhorts his flock to action—to look to Jesus as their present companion.
Pastors are, thirdly, to exercise admonition, warning the flock about the dangers of sin. It’s not easy to admonish people, nor is it easy for anyone to receive it. It is necessary, because sin is deceitful—yet admonition ought never to come without a word of encouragement and exhortation.
Fourthly, pastors are to exercise counsel. The Holy Spirit counsels most effectively through the Word. Proclaiming the whole counsel of God, whether in the pulpit or in the privacy of a sitting room, empowers believers with godly wisdom —often a wisdom that the pastor in and of himself cannot convey. In counsel, the pastor’s confidence must be in the Scriptures as he brings them to bear on his people’s lives.
The Practicalities of Shepherding
If pastors are to shepherd well, they need to be not only acquainted with their goals and their tasks but also prepared for the practicalities. One could fill many books with the sorts of things a pastor learns over the years—and many people have! But two points are especially important to know from the beginning, and the principles they teach can apply to many other parts of pastoral ministry.
Proclaiming the whole counsel of God, whether in the pulpit or in the privacy of a sitting room, empowers believers with godly wisdom.
First, pastors should shepherd the men in their congregation in intimate settings but should entrust the intimate care of the women in their congregation to faithful women. When the limitations of a ministry context make this practice impractical or impossible, a pastor needs to take precautions to ensure that his ministry is above reproach, avoiding even the appearance of evil. Too many men have violated their trust and shipwrecked their ministries by failing to keep this rule.
The reason for such a practice is twofold. First, and most obviously, pastors need to be cognizant of their own propensity to evil. “Sin is crouching at the door,” and it has a way of catching men unawares. On the other hand, pastors need to be careful to protect themselves, because they don’t know what sin or slander might be leveled against them unexpectedly by malicious actors. A pastor should do nothing to fuel such a fire.
Secondly, it is essential for a pastor to make an effort to actually know people—to know their struggles, their needs, their gifts, their names. The flock needs to know that the pastor is actually interested in them—that he loves them. The pastor needs, moreover, to be able to pray specifically and intelligently for the flock, not just in generalities. Prayer, after all, is one of the most effective means of pastoral care.
The flock needs to know that the pastor is actually interested in them—that he loves them.
Pastoral love is to be a fatherly kind of love—the sort of love that John the apostle expresses throughout his first letter, caring for the flock as a father cares for his children. The practical evidence of that love will be seen not merely in the kindness of a pastor’s words but also in the generosity of his time.
Conclusion
In all of this, the pastor is doing the work of the Gospel. Whether in the pulpit, in a living room, or by a hospital bed, the task of shepherding is to help those under his care to understand their own condition, God’s purposes in it, and then what their response should be. This calls for humility: “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16). Yet even as pastors recognize their own limitations, they can set their confidence in the Scriptures as the Spirit works in them.
This article was adapted from the sermon “Keeping Watch” by Alistair Begg.
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