Caring for the Church
John 10:26-28; Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:17
In our preaching series on “cherishing the church,” we’re learning how to better understand the church so we can better respond to the church as followers of Christ. Paul tells us that Christ himself “nourishes and cherishes” the church.
To nourish means to bring up, feed, raise, and care for – to promote the health and strength of something.
To cherish means to think, feel, and act towards something or someone as though it or they are very important and special to you. Paul uses this word to describe how a nursing mother cherishes her infant child. He also uses this word to describe how a married man is supposed to care for and love his wife in a thoughtful, tender way.
This is how Christ feels about and cares for the church. One special way that Scripture describes him doing this is by saying he cares for the church as a shepherd cares for his sheep. And he does this by providing men who can do this in a personal way on his behalf within the church.
What’s wrong with this picture? [Show a picture of a sheep standing alone in a pasture.]
In our preaching series on “cherishing the church,” we’re learning how to better understand the church so we can better respond to the church as followers of Christ. Paul tells us that Christ himself “nourishes and cherishes” the church.
To nourish means to bring up, feed, raise, and care for – to promote the health and strength of something.
To cherish means to think, feel, and act towards something or someone as though it or they are very important and special to you. Paul uses this word to describe how a nursing mother cherishes her infant child. He also uses this word to describe how a married man is supposed to care for and love his wife in a thoughtful, tender way.
This is how Christ feels about and cares for the church. One special way that Scripture describes him doing this is by saying he cares for the church as a shepherd cares for his sheep. And he does this by providing men who can do this in a personal way on his behalf within the church.
What’s wrong with this picture? [Show a picture of a sheep standing alone in a pasture.]
The problem is that the sheep in the photo is alone. It is alone in two ways: it doesn’t have a flock of other sheep surrounding it and it doesn’t have a shepherd caring for it.
Sheep rely completely on a shepherd for their survival. They depend on the shepherd to provide all their needs, such as care and safety. Without supervision, they face significant risks that could threaten their lives.
Pastors care for the church on Christ’s behalf.
Throughout Scripture, God describes people as sheep and himself as a shepherd. This demonstrates that we, like sheep, are completely helpless and need God’s care completely. And nothing grieves God like seeing people living outside of his care.
When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Mt 9:36)
Today, we know that God cares for the church as his flock of sheep, and we know that Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of the church. The apostle Peter calls the church “the flock of God” (1 Pt 5:2) and says Christ himself is its Chief (head, lead) Shepherd (1 Pt 5:4).
Are you one of God’s sheep? God’s sheep are those who have believed on Jesus Christ as God and Savior.
You do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (Jn 10:26-28)
How does Christ care for his flock – the church – like a shepherd today? While he does this directly in a spiritual sense – through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and his divine control of circumstances – he does this in a real, personal sense through men called pastors.
At the end of John’s Gospel, we read how Jesus told Peter to “feed his lambs” and “care for his sheep” (Jn 21:15-16). Years later, when Peter wrote a letter to Christians in various churches, he told the church leaders to “shepherd the flock of God” (1 Pt 5:2).
The word pastor means “shepherd.” This is God’s favorite term for describing the men he assigns to care for and lead the church. So, wherever you read the word “pastor” in the NT, you could replace it with “shepherd” to understand what it means.
The Bible also uses two other terms to describe this role as well, elder and overseer. While some churches assign these terms to different roles in the church, it seems clear that Scripture uses these terms to describe the same person or people in the church.
The term elder describes mature, respected men whom other people in the church recognize as spiritual caretakers, guardians, and guides. This term tends to emphasize how a pastor must be an exemplary Christian in his behavior, so it emphasizes a certain kind of character and integrity.
The term overseer describes the function and responsibilities of a pastor, so it emphasizes a leadership role that gives administrative and spiritual oversight to a church.
We know that these terms all refer to men who are pastors because the NT uses these terms interchangeably when speaking about and to pastors. Paul uses all three terms when talking to the elders in the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17, 28). He also calls elders overseers in his letter to Titus (Tit 1:5-7). Then Peter tells church elders to shepherd (pastor) the flock of God and to exercise oversight of the church (1 Pt 5:1-2).
So, pastors are elders, elders are overseers, and overseers and elders are pastors. All three terms refer to the same man or men in the church who fill these roles.
Multiple pastors are the norm for church care.
The NT consistently refers to multiple pastors as a regular pattern for church leadership. The following churches had multiple pastors: Jerusalem (Acts 11:30; 15:2, 4; 21:18; Jam 5:14), Syrian Antioch (Acts 13:1), Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch (Acts 14:23), Ephesus (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim 5:17), Philippi (Phil 1:2), Thessalonica (1 Ths 5:12), multiple churches on the island of Crete (Tit 1:5), and various other churches (1 Pt 5:1; Heb 13:17). All these references mention elders in a plural form.
This appears to be a regular pattern at the most, or the wisest arrangement at the very least. The NT provides no explicit examples of any church guided by a single pastor, though it does not explicitly forbid such an arrangement.
Though the pastors (elders, overseers) of a church should ideally be more than one, they are not all the men of the church. Scripture say pastors are to be men with certain qualifications (1 Tim 3:1-7; Tit 1:5-9).
Within a team of pastors (elders), men will vary in abilities, background, maturity, and other qualities and skills (Acts 13:1). This is one of the advantages of a pastoral team. Such diversity provides a church with collective accountability, wisdom, perspective, and capabilities in a way that relying on the leadership of a single man cannot provide.
Within a team of pastors (elders), men will also vary in degree, kind, and scope of service (1 Tim 5:17):
Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
As Paul describes it, for instance, some will be more active in tasks which involve administration and care, while others will be more active in studying, teaching, counseling, and preaching the Word. It is also possible that some pastors on a team will be more active “full time” while others will be more part time, with the former requiring more financial support and the other less so. In this way, it is possible and often necessary for a pastoral team to consist of both paid, full-time pastors and unpaid, part-time pastors.
From a “big picture” perspective, a team of multiple pastors reminds us that the only single shepherd who is completely capable and perfectly able to care for the church by himself is Jesus Christ. But he has chosen to provide this care through teams of men whom he provides to churches to care for and lead them on his behalf.
Now, seeing that pastors care for the church on Christ’s behalf and that multiple pastors are the norm for church care, we will make two practical observations showing how we should respond to what Scripture says about pastors in the church today. If we are going to cherish the church (to feel and respond to the church) as Christ desires for us to do …
Pastors must provide Christlike care and guidance.
Pastors in the church must not view their role and responsibilities as a manufacturing or technical job. They must take to heart their call to love and care for God’s people just as Psalm 23 says that God himself cares for his people. They must lovingly and faithfully help God’s people to “lie down in green pastures” and be refreshed “by still waters.” He must “restore their souls” through spiritual guidance and “lead them in the paths of righteousness” on God’s behalf.
He must do this through regular involvement and interaction with their lives, something we pastors call “pastoral presence” or “the ministry of presence.” He must also do this through the faithful ministry of God’s Word. Since sheep follow their shepherd by “listening to his voice” (Jn 10:16), pastors must faithfully read, remind, teach, preach, and explain God’s Word to God’s people (2 Tim 3:16-17; 4:2).
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2 Tim 4:2)
This is not because God’s people cannot study, read, and explain God’s Word for themselves, but because they need men who are especially devoted to this task to do this for them – too – to ensure that they are receiving proper spiritual care from God. As Paul told Timothy, without the faithful ministry of pastors preaching and teaching God’s Word, people will naturally follow their own desires instead and will seek out teachers who tell them things they want to hear instead from people who are not faithful pastors in the church (2 Tim 4:1-4). Elsewhere, Christ calls these teachers “strangers,” “thieves,” “bad shepherds,” and “wolves” (Jn 10:1-13).
Here is a more specific, comprehensive explanation of what faithful pastors must do.
To be a pastor is like being a farmer or a general practitioner physician – there’s a lot to do. But all of this must be done with the courage and faithfulness of Christ motivated by love for God’s people.
The church should allow its pastors to lead them.
Remember that photo of that one sheep standing alone in the pasture? That photo portrays the mindset and lifestyle of may people today, including followers of Christ. They feel as though they need very little pastoral care and attention and rely far more, if anything outside themselves, on various assorted best-seller books, YouTube influencer channels, popular podcasts, secularly certified psychologists and psychiatrists, celebrity pastors and speakers, and so on. This is what the NT says would happen – as people follow their “itching hears” to curate for themselves a group of teachers that simply affirm their existing desires and ideas and tell them what they want to hear (2 Tim 4:3-4).
The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
As followers of Christ and members of the church (or future members of the church), we must invite, value, and welcome the spiritual care and guidance that pastors provide. This is one reason why it is important to be the member of a church so that you will have pastors who are devoted to your spiritual care. The writer of Hebrews gives church members two important ways to respond to the pastoral care that your church provides.
For many today, receiving pastoral care is a difficult concept to accept because they have been mistreated by church leaders before. Some, for instance, have been physically abused by church leaders, while others have been bullied by pastors in other ways, neglected by pastors, used by pastors, or misled, misinformed, and taught by pastors who either ignored or mishandled the Bible.
As a result, such people often turn away from Christ entirely, or they withdraw themselves from church commitments and involvement. Some (perhaps the majority) take a less dramatic approach and simply participate in church at a minimal level – they don’t become a member and only attend or participate on the outer, observer level, having little to no direct, personal interaction and involvement from pastors, receiving or seeking out no pastoral care beyond an occasional Sunday sermon from within the crowd.
To those who have experienced these problems, let me say two things. First, realize that Christ himself called out – in the strongest possible terms – religious leaders who hurt and victimized his people, who led and treated God’s people in ways that were contrary to God’s nature and God’s Word.
Second, as hard as it may be to accept and embrace this for you (which is very understandable), the best thing you can do is not to withdraw from pastoral care and church involvement but to properly identify through Scripture (not merely your emotional feelings, personal desires, and sense of reaction) what is a faithful, biblical church which provides genuine, Christlike care.
To be sure, no church or pastor is perfect, and not all imperfections qualify as abuse or malpractice, but you can tell when pastors are seeking to provide genuine Christlike care and when they are not. According to 2 Tim 2:24-25, good pastoral care is gentle, teaches God’s Word clearly and helpfully, is patient, and is humble. That is the kind of pastoral care you need.
My own father experienced some very wrong pastoral care when I was a young child, and he spent an entire year away from church as a result. But I’m thankful that he received gentle, patient care from a faithful pastor who was able to nurture him back to spiritual health, so much so that my father became a faithful pastor and foreign missionary.
I myself, in my early years of adulthood – along with my wife – experienced some hurtful pastoral care. But I’m thankful that God’s Word was able to help us process that experience so that we were able to identify what was wrong and move forward in a healthier, more biblical, Christlike way. Such experiences, though difficult, have not pushed us away from the church but rather motivated within us an even deeper desire to provide good, Christlike pastoral care to others and to better understand other people who have had difficult church experiences of their own. For this I am thankful.
So, with that important perspective in mind, here is how the Bible tells us to respond to good pastoral care in the church (Heb 13:17-18):
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.
First, “obey those who rule over you” (Heb 13:17). This doesn’t mean to blindly obey as a young child obeys their parents. This is actually a different word for obedience which means to “allow yourself to be led, persuaded, cared for,” etc. So, there should be a mature, deliberate, willing attitude to let your pastors lead you and provide your spiritual care. Why? Because God has made them responsible for your spiritual care. They literally “watch over your souls” and are “accountable to God.” Here Scripture even indicates that if a person or church responds poorly to faithful pastoral care and makes it persistently difficult for pastors to lead them, then there will be undesirable outcomes for them when they stand before God someday.
Second, “pray for them” (Heb 13:18). Pray they will serve with a clear conscience before God and carry out their duties in an honorable way. As a pastor, I cannot encourage you to do this enough. To be a pastor is a special but sobering task and it makes all the difference to know that the people I care for on God’s behalf are praying for me.
In all of this, a church should identify and appoint good, biblical pastors whom it can trust and follow. Then it should support and get behind the decisions, leadership, and guidance that its pastors provide. At the same time, they should always keep God’s Word clearly in view to ensure that the pastors of the church are not leading or teaching the church in any unbiblical way. When a pastor (or pastors) are being unbiblical in their care, leadership, lifestyle, and decisions, then it is the church’s responsibility to provide feedback, correction, and accountability for them in a Christlike, godly way. And if this feedback, correction, and accountability is not received well, it is the church’s responsibility to remove such a pastor (or pastors) from their leadership role.
Sheep rely completely on a shepherd for their survival. They depend on the shepherd to provide all their needs, such as care and safety. Without supervision, they face significant risks that could threaten their lives.
Pastors care for the church on Christ’s behalf.
Throughout Scripture, God describes people as sheep and himself as a shepherd. This demonstrates that we, like sheep, are completely helpless and need God’s care completely. And nothing grieves God like seeing people living outside of his care.
When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Mt 9:36)
Today, we know that God cares for the church as his flock of sheep, and we know that Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of the church. The apostle Peter calls the church “the flock of God” (1 Pt 5:2) and says Christ himself is its Chief (head, lead) Shepherd (1 Pt 5:4).
Are you one of God’s sheep? God’s sheep are those who have believed on Jesus Christ as God and Savior.
You do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (Jn 10:26-28)
How does Christ care for his flock – the church – like a shepherd today? While he does this directly in a spiritual sense – through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and his divine control of circumstances – he does this in a real, personal sense through men called pastors.
At the end of John’s Gospel, we read how Jesus told Peter to “feed his lambs” and “care for his sheep” (Jn 21:15-16). Years later, when Peter wrote a letter to Christians in various churches, he told the church leaders to “shepherd the flock of God” (1 Pt 5:2).
The word pastor means “shepherd.” This is God’s favorite term for describing the men he assigns to care for and lead the church. So, wherever you read the word “pastor” in the NT, you could replace it with “shepherd” to understand what it means.
The Bible also uses two other terms to describe this role as well, elder and overseer. While some churches assign these terms to different roles in the church, it seems clear that Scripture uses these terms to describe the same person or people in the church.
The term elder describes mature, respected men whom other people in the church recognize as spiritual caretakers, guardians, and guides. This term tends to emphasize how a pastor must be an exemplary Christian in his behavior, so it emphasizes a certain kind of character and integrity.
The term overseer describes the function and responsibilities of a pastor, so it emphasizes a leadership role that gives administrative and spiritual oversight to a church.
We know that these terms all refer to men who are pastors because the NT uses these terms interchangeably when speaking about and to pastors. Paul uses all three terms when talking to the elders in the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17, 28). He also calls elders overseers in his letter to Titus (Tit 1:5-7). Then Peter tells church elders to shepherd (pastor) the flock of God and to exercise oversight of the church (1 Pt 5:1-2).
So, pastors are elders, elders are overseers, and overseers and elders are pastors. All three terms refer to the same man or men in the church who fill these roles.
Multiple pastors are the norm for church care.
The NT consistently refers to multiple pastors as a regular pattern for church leadership. The following churches had multiple pastors: Jerusalem (Acts 11:30; 15:2, 4; 21:18; Jam 5:14), Syrian Antioch (Acts 13:1), Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch (Acts 14:23), Ephesus (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim 5:17), Philippi (Phil 1:2), Thessalonica (1 Ths 5:12), multiple churches on the island of Crete (Tit 1:5), and various other churches (1 Pt 5:1; Heb 13:17). All these references mention elders in a plural form.
This appears to be a regular pattern at the most, or the wisest arrangement at the very least. The NT provides no explicit examples of any church guided by a single pastor, though it does not explicitly forbid such an arrangement.
Though the pastors (elders, overseers) of a church should ideally be more than one, they are not all the men of the church. Scripture say pastors are to be men with certain qualifications (1 Tim 3:1-7; Tit 1:5-9).
- First, pastors must be men, for only men can be faithful husbands (a requirement) and the head of their homes (also a requirement). Besides this, though, the qualifications for a pastor seem to be the normal expectations for any Christian man. But a closer look reveals something more.
- Second, pastors must have a strong desire to be a pastor (1 Tim 3:1). The word desire means “lust” and is a negative term in every other instance in Scripture, portraying an intense, strong desire for something that is not good. But here it portrays an intense, strong desire for something that is good – being a pastor. If a man does not have this desire, he should not be a pastor.
- Third, pastors must be “able to teach” (1 Tim 3:2). This means that he should be able to study, understand, explain, and apply the Bible in an accurate, responsible way that people are able to understand and be impacted by. This does not mean every pastor must have a seminary degree (though some def. should, esp. any who will be the primary teaching or preaching pastor).
Within a team of pastors (elders), men will vary in abilities, background, maturity, and other qualities and skills (Acts 13:1). This is one of the advantages of a pastoral team. Such diversity provides a church with collective accountability, wisdom, perspective, and capabilities in a way that relying on the leadership of a single man cannot provide.
Within a team of pastors (elders), men will also vary in degree, kind, and scope of service (1 Tim 5:17):
Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
As Paul describes it, for instance, some will be more active in tasks which involve administration and care, while others will be more active in studying, teaching, counseling, and preaching the Word. It is also possible that some pastors on a team will be more active “full time” while others will be more part time, with the former requiring more financial support and the other less so. In this way, it is possible and often necessary for a pastoral team to consist of both paid, full-time pastors and unpaid, part-time pastors.
From a “big picture” perspective, a team of multiple pastors reminds us that the only single shepherd who is completely capable and perfectly able to care for the church by himself is Jesus Christ. But he has chosen to provide this care through teams of men whom he provides to churches to care for and lead them on his behalf.
Now, seeing that pastors care for the church on Christ’s behalf and that multiple pastors are the norm for church care, we will make two practical observations showing how we should respond to what Scripture says about pastors in the church today. If we are going to cherish the church (to feel and respond to the church) as Christ desires for us to do …
Pastors must provide Christlike care and guidance.
Pastors in the church must not view their role and responsibilities as a manufacturing or technical job. They must take to heart their call to love and care for God’s people just as Psalm 23 says that God himself cares for his people. They must lovingly and faithfully help God’s people to “lie down in green pastures” and be refreshed “by still waters.” He must “restore their souls” through spiritual guidance and “lead them in the paths of righteousness” on God’s behalf.
He must do this through regular involvement and interaction with their lives, something we pastors call “pastoral presence” or “the ministry of presence.” He must also do this through the faithful ministry of God’s Word. Since sheep follow their shepherd by “listening to his voice” (Jn 10:16), pastors must faithfully read, remind, teach, preach, and explain God’s Word to God’s people (2 Tim 3:16-17; 4:2).
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2 Tim 4:2)
This is not because God’s people cannot study, read, and explain God’s Word for themselves, but because they need men who are especially devoted to this task to do this for them – too – to ensure that they are receiving proper spiritual care from God. As Paul told Timothy, without the faithful ministry of pastors preaching and teaching God’s Word, people will naturally follow their own desires instead and will seek out teachers who tell them things they want to hear instead from people who are not faithful pastors in the church (2 Tim 4:1-4). Elsewhere, Christ calls these teachers “strangers,” “thieves,” “bad shepherds,” and “wolves” (Jn 10:1-13).
Here is a more specific, comprehensive explanation of what faithful pastors must do.
- They govern, supervise, and oversee all church functions. This does not require them to be present or involved in every activity and event; but they should ensure that necessary and appropriate functions occur in an orderly, God-honoring way (Acts 20:28; 1 Ths 5:12; 1 Tim 3:4-5; 5:17; Heb 13:17; 1 Pt 5:2).
- They are to study, teach, and preach biblical truth in an accurate and transforming manner (Eph 4:11; 1 Tim 3:2; 4:13; 5:17; 2 Tim 2:15; 4:1-2; Tit 1:9). This should be done for the entire congregation as a public gathering (Acts 2:46; 19:8-9; 20:20), especially on the Lord’s Day (Acts 20:6; 1 Cor 16:1-2; Rev 1:10). It should also occur in smaller gatherings and with individuals throughout the week, whether in homes or elsewhere (Acts 2:46; 5:42; 20:20; Rom 16:2; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Philem 2).
- They should pray, both for and with the church (Acts 6:4; Jam 5:14), and should equip the congregation to pray effectively (1 Cor 11:2-16; 1 Tim 2:1-3, 8-11).
- They must guard the church from doctrinal error, distracting causes, unbiblical behavior (2 Ths 3:10-12), and divisive people (Acts 20:28; Rom 16:17; 2 Tim 2:16-18).
- They should provide a living, visible example of biblical Christianity, providing a pattern for church members to follow and an example to the observing world (1 Tim 4:12).
- They should evangelize nonbelievers, whether witnessing to individuals or leading in gospel outreach initiatives such as community evangelism and church planting (Mt 28:18-19; Acts 13:1-5; 2 Tim 4:5).
- They should equip church members to do the work of the ministry for themselves, helping them understand their spiritual gifting, make disciples, and obey all Christ commanded them (Matt 28:20; Eph 4:12-16). This includes mentoring new church leaders (2 Tim 2:2).
To be a pastor is like being a farmer or a general practitioner physician – there’s a lot to do. But all of this must be done with the courage and faithfulness of Christ motivated by love for God’s people.
The church should allow its pastors to lead them.
Remember that photo of that one sheep standing alone in the pasture? That photo portrays the mindset and lifestyle of may people today, including followers of Christ. They feel as though they need very little pastoral care and attention and rely far more, if anything outside themselves, on various assorted best-seller books, YouTube influencer channels, popular podcasts, secularly certified psychologists and psychiatrists, celebrity pastors and speakers, and so on. This is what the NT says would happen – as people follow their “itching hears” to curate for themselves a group of teachers that simply affirm their existing desires and ideas and tell them what they want to hear (2 Tim 4:3-4).
The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
As followers of Christ and members of the church (or future members of the church), we must invite, value, and welcome the spiritual care and guidance that pastors provide. This is one reason why it is important to be the member of a church so that you will have pastors who are devoted to your spiritual care. The writer of Hebrews gives church members two important ways to respond to the pastoral care that your church provides.
For many today, receiving pastoral care is a difficult concept to accept because they have been mistreated by church leaders before. Some, for instance, have been physically abused by church leaders, while others have been bullied by pastors in other ways, neglected by pastors, used by pastors, or misled, misinformed, and taught by pastors who either ignored or mishandled the Bible.
As a result, such people often turn away from Christ entirely, or they withdraw themselves from church commitments and involvement. Some (perhaps the majority) take a less dramatic approach and simply participate in church at a minimal level – they don’t become a member and only attend or participate on the outer, observer level, having little to no direct, personal interaction and involvement from pastors, receiving or seeking out no pastoral care beyond an occasional Sunday sermon from within the crowd.
To those who have experienced these problems, let me say two things. First, realize that Christ himself called out – in the strongest possible terms – religious leaders who hurt and victimized his people, who led and treated God’s people in ways that were contrary to God’s nature and God’s Word.
Second, as hard as it may be to accept and embrace this for you (which is very understandable), the best thing you can do is not to withdraw from pastoral care and church involvement but to properly identify through Scripture (not merely your emotional feelings, personal desires, and sense of reaction) what is a faithful, biblical church which provides genuine, Christlike care.
To be sure, no church or pastor is perfect, and not all imperfections qualify as abuse or malpractice, but you can tell when pastors are seeking to provide genuine Christlike care and when they are not. According to 2 Tim 2:24-25, good pastoral care is gentle, teaches God’s Word clearly and helpfully, is patient, and is humble. That is the kind of pastoral care you need.
My own father experienced some very wrong pastoral care when I was a young child, and he spent an entire year away from church as a result. But I’m thankful that he received gentle, patient care from a faithful pastor who was able to nurture him back to spiritual health, so much so that my father became a faithful pastor and foreign missionary.
I myself, in my early years of adulthood – along with my wife – experienced some hurtful pastoral care. But I’m thankful that God’s Word was able to help us process that experience so that we were able to identify what was wrong and move forward in a healthier, more biblical, Christlike way. Such experiences, though difficult, have not pushed us away from the church but rather motivated within us an even deeper desire to provide good, Christlike pastoral care to others and to better understand other people who have had difficult church experiences of their own. For this I am thankful.
So, with that important perspective in mind, here is how the Bible tells us to respond to good pastoral care in the church (Heb 13:17-18):
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.
First, “obey those who rule over you” (Heb 13:17). This doesn’t mean to blindly obey as a young child obeys their parents. This is actually a different word for obedience which means to “allow yourself to be led, persuaded, cared for,” etc. So, there should be a mature, deliberate, willing attitude to let your pastors lead you and provide your spiritual care. Why? Because God has made them responsible for your spiritual care. They literally “watch over your souls” and are “accountable to God.” Here Scripture even indicates that if a person or church responds poorly to faithful pastoral care and makes it persistently difficult for pastors to lead them, then there will be undesirable outcomes for them when they stand before God someday.
Second, “pray for them” (Heb 13:18). Pray they will serve with a clear conscience before God and carry out their duties in an honorable way. As a pastor, I cannot encourage you to do this enough. To be a pastor is a special but sobering task and it makes all the difference to know that the people I care for on God’s behalf are praying for me.
In all of this, a church should identify and appoint good, biblical pastors whom it can trust and follow. Then it should support and get behind the decisions, leadership, and guidance that its pastors provide. At the same time, they should always keep God’s Word clearly in view to ensure that the pastors of the church are not leading or teaching the church in any unbiblical way. When a pastor (or pastors) are being unbiblical in their care, leadership, lifestyle, and decisions, then it is the church’s responsibility to provide feedback, correction, and accountability for them in a Christlike, godly way. And if this feedback, correction, and accountability is not received well, it is the church’s responsibility to remove such a pastor (or pastors) from their leadership role.
In conclusion today, I would like to read an excerpt from the poem written by Oliver Goldsmith, and English poet from the 1700s. This poem was called The Deserted Village. It described how a lovely, quaint village in the English countryside became deserted. This had happened, in fact, to many such vibrant villages in English at that time due to the Industrial Revolution. And one of the casualties of the Industrial Revolution (when jobs all moved to the cities and society became urbanized, mechanized, etc.) was a diminished appreciation of the church and pastoral care. The same problem has occurred today with the technological and psychological revolution. As a result of all of our modernization, we have lost our appreciation for the value and need for personal, spiritual pastoral care and simple, regular church involvement.
Near yonder copse, where once the garden smiled,
And still where many a garden-flower grows wild;
There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose,
The village preacher's modest mansion rose.
A man he was, to all the country dear,
And passing rich with forty pounds a year;
Remote from towns he ran his godly race,
Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change his place;
Unpractised he to fawn, or seek for power,
By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour;
Far other aims his heart had learned to prize,
More skilled to raise the wretched than to rise.
His house was known to all the vagrant train,
He chid their wanderings but relieved their pain;
The long-remembered beggar was his guest,
Whose beard descending swept his aged breast;
The ruined spendthrift, now no longer proud,
Claim'd kindred there, and had his claims allowed;
The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay,
Sate by his fire, and talked the night away;
Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done,
Shouldered his crutch, and shewed how fields were won.
Pleased with his guests, the good man learned to glow,
And quite forgot their vices in their woe;
Careless their merits, or their faults to scan,
His pity gave ere charity began.
Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride,
And even his failings leaned to Virtue's side;
But in his duty prompt at every call,
He watched and wept, he prayed and felt, for all.
And, as a bird each fond endearment tries,
To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies;
He tried each art, reproved each dull delay,
Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way.
Beside the bed where parting life was layed,
And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns, dismayed
The reverend champion stood. At his control
Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul;
Comfort came down the trembling wretch to raise,
And his last faltering accents whispered praise.
At church, with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adorned the venerable place;
Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway,
And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.
The service past, around the pious man,
With steady zeal, each honest rustic ran;
Even children followed, with endearing wile,
And plucked his gown, to share the good man's smile.
His ready smile a parent's warmth exprest,
Their welfare pleased him, and their cares distrest:
To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given,
But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven.
As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm,
Tho' round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head.
For us to cherish the church as Christ himself loves and cares for it, may we appreciate, seek after, and support through prayer and whatever other means possible, good, Christlike pastoral care, even when our private, human nature desires otherwise. And may we pray for and welcome additional, future pastors into our pastoral team as God allows. Finally, may we become a church that knows how to provide excellent, understanding, and compassionate care to people who have experienced unbiblical pastoral care in other churches. May we be a church that provides the kind of pastoral care that increasingly and faithfully reflects wonderful care that Christ himself provides.
Near yonder copse, where once the garden smiled,
And still where many a garden-flower grows wild;
There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose,
The village preacher's modest mansion rose.
A man he was, to all the country dear,
And passing rich with forty pounds a year;
Remote from towns he ran his godly race,
Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change his place;
Unpractised he to fawn, or seek for power,
By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour;
Far other aims his heart had learned to prize,
More skilled to raise the wretched than to rise.
His house was known to all the vagrant train,
He chid their wanderings but relieved their pain;
The long-remembered beggar was his guest,
Whose beard descending swept his aged breast;
The ruined spendthrift, now no longer proud,
Claim'd kindred there, and had his claims allowed;
The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay,
Sate by his fire, and talked the night away;
Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done,
Shouldered his crutch, and shewed how fields were won.
Pleased with his guests, the good man learned to glow,
And quite forgot their vices in their woe;
Careless their merits, or their faults to scan,
His pity gave ere charity began.
Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride,
And even his failings leaned to Virtue's side;
But in his duty prompt at every call,
He watched and wept, he prayed and felt, for all.
And, as a bird each fond endearment tries,
To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies;
He tried each art, reproved each dull delay,
Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way.
Beside the bed where parting life was layed,
And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns, dismayed
The reverend champion stood. At his control
Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul;
Comfort came down the trembling wretch to raise,
And his last faltering accents whispered praise.
At church, with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adorned the venerable place;
Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway,
And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.
The service past, around the pious man,
With steady zeal, each honest rustic ran;
Even children followed, with endearing wile,
And plucked his gown, to share the good man's smile.
His ready smile a parent's warmth exprest,
Their welfare pleased him, and their cares distrest:
To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given,
But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven.
As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm,
Tho' round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head.
For us to cherish the church as Christ himself loves and cares for it, may we appreciate, seek after, and support through prayer and whatever other means possible, good, Christlike pastoral care, even when our private, human nature desires otherwise. And may we pray for and welcome additional, future pastors into our pastoral team as God allows. Finally, may we become a church that knows how to provide excellent, understanding, and compassionate care to people who have experienced unbiblical pastoral care in other churches. May we be a church that provides the kind of pastoral care that increasingly and faithfully reflects wonderful care that Christ himself provides.
Posted in Sermon Manuscript
Posted in Cherishing the Church, Pastoral Care, Pastors, Church, Ecclesiology, Prayer
Posted in Cherishing the Church, Pastoral Care, Pastors, Church, Ecclesiology, Prayer
Recent
Archive
2025
January
February
March
2024
January
February
March
April
May
June
The Four GospelsThe Blessing of WorkThe First Two Woes of RevelationThe Blessing of MarriageAnother Dramatic IntermissionThe Book of ActsThe Making of a Godly Man, Family, Church & CommunityThe Tragic Entrance of SinPaul's Letters & TravelsThe Two WitnessesThe Sad Effects of SinThe Jerusalem Council and The Epistle of GalatiansAnnouncing the Seventh Trumpet
No Comments