Every pastor has his share of difficulties in the ministry and it is sometimes awfully easy to wish that God had called us to some other kind of work. The constant nit picking, the job insecurity, the need to please ALL of the people with widely differing expectations, not to mention the incessant politicking in even the best churches, can wear even the best of men down after a while.

Now I am not special pleading here for pastors. There are great rewards in being one of God’s shepherds. There is something simply wonderful about being paid to study the word of God, teach it to others and counsel them how to make it work in their lives. And though I may be giving too much away here, for a poor boy from a working class background, it is pure joy to work at a job that doesn’t involve picks, shovels or moving large heavy objects around by hand. I still can’t believe that people actually PAY me for doing something I love so much.

But as noted above, being a pastor also has its downsides. Every single person in a church has a certain picture of what they want their pastor to be, and it can be maddening to try to live up to all those expectations (and devastating to your career when you can’t). Granted, Christians rightly expect their pastor to be consistent with what he teaches, but often they also import a whole other series of expectations that no one man can ever fulfill. That’s why they call the time when a pastor first comes to a church the “honeymoon” period because people still have idealistic expectations of their new pastor and he hasn’t had a chance yet to disappoint them (which he invariably will). At the beginning of a new work, the pastor is everyone’s darling. But normally, within 18 months, the “honeymoon” is usually over and unless the pastor is able to handle the situation wisely, things can soon start going wrong for him and the church. People will begin see that he is NOT perfect, he makes mistakes, gaffs and sometimes-even sins (even if it is just by not always doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way). If the church has not been taught good conflict and confrontation skills, problems will go unresolved, resulting in some people becoming disappointed, angry, embittered and frustrated.

Often, within another year or so, there is resistance from various “power” people within the church who once were avid supporters, but now seem dedicated to making his life and ministry difficult. The pastor then finds that he is frustrated as well, some people don’t like him anymore, they talk about him behind his back, and sometimes they will even attempt to throw him out or split the church. Around the three-year mark, too often, many pastors have had enough and will start to surreptitiously place their resumes out at other available ministries. When he finally gets a call somewhere else, everyone breathes a sigh of relief, the church calls a new pastor, and the same dynamic begins all over again.

Part of the problem is a basic failure on the part of both the pastor and the congregation to understand their duties and responsibilities under God to each other. Sadly, most of us have formed our concept of a pastor, not from the Word, but from our own experience. As a consequence, we do not know understand a pastor’s role and have unrealistic and unbiblical expectations of what he can and should be doing. Even worse, many pastors, whom one might rightly expect to know better, do not have a clue to what God really requires of them. If however, we educate our people AND OURSELVES as to God’s requirements, it just might be that we can forestall the frustration, animosity and failed expectations that are so common.

Ezekiel 34: The Duties of A Godly Pastor

During a recent day of prayer and fasting, I came across Ezekiel 34 that seems to directly address the duties of a pastor and why they so often fail. Now Ezekiel was given a direct prophecy about God’s judgment on the failure of Israel’s shepherds. But if they were judged for what they did NOT do, then perhaps we can learn what TO do so save ourselves, and our congregations from unnecessary grief (Hebs 13:17).

God begins in verse 2 by saying “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, Woe shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?’” God condemns the shepherds of Israel for feeding themselves, rather than feeding the flock. In other words, they forgot that their basic function was to care for the flock and instead used them for selfish reasons. Sadly, this is not uncommon today. Too often, some pastors see their congregations as sources of income, power, position, etc. In effect (if not by intent) the congregation is sometimes regarded as a means of feeding the pastor’s ego and sense of self-importance. There are some pastors who enter the ministry because they LOVE to study the Scriptures and great theologians. But the danger here is that the ministry can become a source of self-improvement and enrichment for the pastor, but has little to do with meeting the actual needs of the flock.

Then there are those pastors who rule with an iron hand because they want the benefits, the respect, of being a pastor, but are not really concerned about doing the work of a pastor. God says in verse four “but with force and with severity you have dominated them.” Such men may be able orators, but essentially their “ministry” is more about being in charge, about being “top dog” or the “big fish” rather than serving their people. Such pastors cannot handle disagreements, differences of opinion or anything that might threaten their power or position. They have to be right, at all times, in every little thing. And the flock better get in line or else!

I know personally of a number of churches with pastors insisting literally on a double-honor salary. Granted, many, many pastors are underpaid, but there are also wolves out there who ravage the flock with totally unreasonable demands. The deacons repair their houses, cut their grass, wash their cars, and are told they ought to be thankful for the opportunity of serving the “great” man. There are Reformed churches where widows and orphans are neglected so that the pastor can make twice the going salary of the average person in the church. There are men so “important” that the church MUST pay for first-class air-tickets and 4-Star hotel accommodations when they travel. There are Reformed churches where there is inadequate funding for dominion work, for missionaries, for church planting, for Christian schools, for charitable ministries, etc., because all the money is tied up in the pastor’s compensation package.

Granted, in American today, there are probably ten churches that UNDERPAY their pastors for every one that is being abused. But the principle remains whether financial, emotional or psychological; too many pastors fleece the flock rather than feed the flock. To a certain extent, these abuses are not unexpected. It takes a certain kind of man with a certain kind of confidence to stand in front of a congregation week after week, teaching, exhorting, admonishing, and leading the flock. Many churches rightly respect and look up to their pastor. It is a simple process then for this confident individual to slide into arrogance without even knowing it. (That’s why a good pastor MUST have good elders to keep his sense of proportion). And in this sinful world, there are always going to be men who are drawn to the ministry because they crave the power that being a pastor gives them.

Therefore, we must fight against this temptation. Certainly not all, but a great deal of the frustration that so many pastors have with their churches may well be caused by an inflated view of their own importance. They become disillusioned, disheartened, and despondent because they want to be the center of attention, the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral. The world must revolve around them and their desires. And when reality forces itself into their awareness, they too often get fed up, pack up and leave.

But God is clear here that the shepherds work for Him! Their job is to care for HIS sheep. Ephesians 4:11ff is clear that the main work of the pastor is to equip the REST of the saints for THEIR work of service. The pastor is not and never was supposed to be the center of the church. Therefore his preaching, teaching, counseling and discipling ministries are supposed to be OTHER oriented.

Sadly, many pastors feed the sheep on spiritual junk food and so starve the flock. Their preaching and teaching has at its basic orientation making people “happy” or “feel good about themselves” rather than challenging them to become what God wants them to be. Hence, rather than the flock growing in grace, wisdom and holiness, they become weak and sick because they are deprived of the spiritual food they need.

Think about this, I would suggest that one of the most basic failings of good Reformed preaching today is the lack of practical application. We Reformed types are often brilliant at theoretical considerations; oh we can be cerebral with the best of them. But how often have you come away from an intellectually stimulating sermon and then wondered, “but how does this apply to my life?” Sadly, a great many Christians have been starved for so long, they don’t even notice the hunger pangs any more. They don’t even realize that they are spiritually emaciated. Like those poor children in Africa suffering from severe malnutrition, edema swells their bellies, giving the appearance of a full stomach, when in reality they are starving to death.

A godly shepherd will understand that true greatness comes from SERVING the people of God, not by being served by them (cf. Mark 10:45). He serves them by teaching them the truth, regardless sometimes of whether they want to hear it! He then teaches them how to apply that truth so that their personal lives, their families, their work, their relationships, their ministries can all be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. A godly pastor serves his flock by striving to facilitate holiness and godliness in their lives. One might say that the acid test of a shepherd’s ministry is NOT how big is his congregation, or how fancy the building, (and certainly not the size of his compensation package). Instead, it is whether the people of God are growing in righteousness, holiness, grace and peace.

Which brings us to the next aspect of the shepherd’s failure that God rebukes in Ezekiel 34. God says, “Those who are sickly, you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sight for the lost, but with force and severity you have dominated them.”

The shepherd does more than just feed the sheep, his is also supposed to care for them. Accidents happen. Sometimes sheep go where they are not supposed to go. They eat things they should not eat. They fall off ledges, they break legs, or they get infected wounds. Sometimes they wander away and get lost. The shepherd is supposed to be concerned about binding those wounds, healing their diseases and restoring the lost to the flock. As important as the pastor’s preaching and teaching ministry is, it is not the ONLY thing he is called to do. A godly shepherd must be concerned with what we call today “pastoral care.” He must know his sheep as individuals, and minister to them as individuals. He must be willing to get involved with the “nitty-gritty” details of their lives and help them through difficult times.

Yes, that means the traditional hospital visit when a member of the congregation is sick. But this is not just an empty formality, but rather a duty and a privilege to give them comfort and encouragement. Yes it means visiting people in their homes, but not just as a pastoral ritual, but as a means of getting to know them so he can share in their lives and minister to their needs. This kind of ministry means knowing your people, laughing with them, crying with them, counseling them through difficult times, rebuking them when necessary, holding them accountable for their sins. In other words, CARING for them and their needs.

Obviously, in a church with more than just a few families, no pastor can possibly minister to every single member of the flock. His time, energies and abilities are limited. But that is why God gives us a plurality of elders. ALL the elders, yes especially the ruling ones, share in this pastoral concern. A wise and godly shepherd will make it a top priority to find, recruit and train a multitude of other shepherds to assist him in this task. For EVERY sheep is precious to God and EVERY sheep needs care, counsel and concern. But a pastor more interested in his career than his calling will invariably allow wounds to fester or the sick to go untreated. After all, he’s an important man and treating the spiritually sick is messy business. How much easier to think great thoughts in the security of his office and then pontificate on Sunday morning then actually getting involved with the day to day needs of the flock? Sometimes, the best of us, who do share a genuine concern for the people of God are not wise, and are overcome by the sheer amount of work to be done. In this case, we are in danger of either working ourselves into a nervous breakdown (yes, I know, psycho-babble, but an apt description) or can become callused to the cries of the sheep.

One of the crucial aspects God mentions here is bringing back the lost sheep. Jesus even spoke a specific word about the importance of seeking lost sheep. Today, too many of us are just glad that the troublesome ones wander off and become somebody else’s problem! One probably has to be a pastor one’s self to appreciate this; but the average pastor gets an incredible amount of grief from some people. They criticize, complain, find fault, and subject the pastor to the most excruciating scrutiny of the minutest details of his ministry and personal life. And pastors, are people. Nobody likes other people constantly “at” them. When such sheep eventually become so dissatisfied they leave the flock, it is quite understandable for a pastor to say, “good riddance.”

But if they ARE a member of your flock, then you have a covenant obligation to them. They are YOUR responsibility, no matter how much trouble they are. You have got to LOVE them MORE than your own comfort or convenience. And that means you must go looking for them. You must try to find them and restore them. You have got to try and bring them back, even if you know that they are likely only to wander off again.

Granted, some sheep are really goats in disguise and no matter what you do you lose them. But remember that section in the 23rd Psalm that says “Thy rod and they staff, they comfort me…” What was David talking about there? The staff is easy, it was a device for guiding sheep. The long staff (sometimes with a crook in the end) was used to gently nudge sheep in one direction, while also yanking them back from dangerous situations. But the rod is a little different. It seems that a rod was used to break the legs of certain sheep that had a habit of wandering away from the flock. A sheep without a shepherd is simply a meal on four legs. By breaking the legs of a recalcitrant sheep, the shepherd was basically keeping it from getting lost, injured or devoured. The shepherd would them bind up the broken leg and carry the sheep around his neck until the leg was healed.

As a result, the sheep came to associate the smell of the shepherd with his care and concern. Sheep whose legs have been broken deliberately, become the most loyal of animals, never wanting to leave the shepherd’s side. In the church, the rod we use is church discipline. By bringing discipline against a recalcitrant member, we are in effect “breaking” his rebellion (cf. 1 Tim 1:20, 1 Cor 11:32, etc.). But sadly, church discipline is very seldom applied today, and even when done, is usually the result of frustration and anger on the part of the elders, rather than as a tool to bring someone to genuine repentance. As a result, when someone IS disciplined, it is usually the last act before we lose him for good. The elders are not saddened, simply fed up.

The reason is often that we have not LOVED the recalcitrant sheep enough in the first place. We did not spend the time to get involved in his life, become familiar enough with his problems, concerned enough about his soul to actually provide what he needed. So when he does something stupid and sinful, discipline is used as a way of getting rid of the troublesome person, rather than restoring him to the flock.

But if we are to escape God’s condemnation of ungodly shepherds, then we must do things differently. We must be involved in our flock’s lives. We must know their trials and turmoil. We must be able to correct, rebuke and reprove with a gentle spirit (2 Tim 2:24-26). We have got to create an atmosphere where human pride does not get in the way of having our character’s transformed (1 Ptr 5:5-6). This is one of the real dangers of upper-middle class, well educated, Presbyterian churches especially. We usually do wonderfully on the doctrinal (with certain, sad, but notable exceptions). But we do not do so well on the relational. Far too many Reformed churches are filled with people with knowledge, but lack intimacy, vulnerability and compassion. We are often proud, do not like to admit to mistakes or confess our sins to one another. Sadly, we often do not really even trust each other enough to be vulnerable with each other (and even worse, we fear that if we ARE vulnerable, people will use it against us!).

And as a consequence, we settle for a shallow, superficial Christian fellowship where we cannot really share our hearts, burdens, trials and temptations. It then becomes so easy for certain people to drift in and drift out again, never having their real needs addressed. Yes, we gave them good, sound doctrine. Yes, we had some amusing times together, but we did not really help to change that person into the image of Christ (Rms 8:29).

Sadly, in too many Reformed churches, we dare not let our barriers down. We are well educated, successful in our calling, articulate in our doctrine, but our pride keeps us from allowing people inside lest they discover that we are not perfect. And as a result, wounds often go untended, our lives are not really changed and our sanctification never really developed.

One major challenge for Reformed Christians is to learn how to say, “I was wrong, please forgive me.” It is amazing to me that in my circle of Reformed pastors, teachers and leaders, how very seldom I have ever heard my brothers admit to being wrong. Those simple words are so difficult because we have encouraged our people to take pride in their doctrinal accuracy, but neglected to teach them how to love each other in spirit and truth (cf. 1 Cor 8:1ff). There is a reason why Calvinists are so well known as the “Frozen Chosen.” We have often preferred academics and intellect over love when we should have had both. And the shepherds themselves are primarily responsible because that is what WE taught our people and modeled before them as the “normal” Christian life.

We Presbyterians in particular want our pastors to be rigorously trained in the original languages and theology. We want them to be articulate and well reasoned in their preaching. But so often, we have not required them to know how to love or how to show compassion, mercy and kindness. We have not encouraged them to share their hearts with their people for we fear and distrust overt displays of emotion.

Think with me, when was the last time you, or your pastor wept as the glories of our majestic God, the wonders of His gracious salvation, the marvels of His plan for us were preached to His people? Does the very thought make you feel uncomfortable? I once watched a candidate coming under care of Presbytery suffer the most incredible scrutiny simply because he expressed a fervent desire to preach the gospel. It was not his call or his qualifications that were in question, simply that he shared his passion for preaching (and this after two other candidates admitted they wanted to go to seminary simply because they didn’t know what else to do!). For you see, we Presbyterians are not allowed to feel; somehow it is beneath us.

Granted, emotional excess is no virtue; and emotional fervor without truth is simply empty sentimentality. But surely, a pastor ought to LOVE his flock and feel something for them? Surely he ought to take delight in their progress even as he is wounded by their transgressions?

Maybe I am just a hopeless sentimentalist, but there is something special that happens inside me when I serve my people communion. As I walk down the center aisle, a touch here, a smile there, a hand reaching out to mine as I pass the communion plate and my eyes fill with tears at the thought of these precious people giving ME the honor of serving them. I have held grown men in my arms who sobbed uncontrollably as God convicted them and worked in their lives. I have laughed uproariously as we shared our victories together. I have silently sat holding a widow’s hand as she said her last good-byes to a faithful husband of fifty years. And I did not lose my dignity, nor abandon my orthodoxy but instead have experienced the love of God’s Holy Spirit working in me, and through me and to me.

Conclusions

There is of course more to be said, (and later on in this same passage has some really hard things to say about the “fat” sheep) but consider what these three simple verses have to teach us about how to be the kind of shepherd God demands.

First, we are there to serve God by serving His people. The flock of God is not given into our care to build our egos, line our pockets or advance our careers. Perhaps so many pastors get into so many problems with so many churches simply because they want to be served rather than to serve?

Secondly, our calling is more than just giving intellectually satisfying and doctrinally correct exegesis of the text. We are called to bind the wounded, heal the diseased and recover the scattered. This means knowing the flock, caring for the flock and serving the flock. Therefore we have to know the sheep, and be known by them.

Finally, without excuse, this also means loving the people of God. He has entrusted them into our care. They are not a trial to be endured, but a people to be loved. We ought not fear becoming involved in their lives, but welcome this wondrous privilege that God has granted us.

If pastors want to thrive and prosper in their calling, to count their labor as a joy and not a trial, to achieve success in their ministries, then let them learn how to SERVE the people of God.