The Pastor

By Dr. Brian J. Bailey

One of the best-loved titles of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd – the One who loves, cares, and protects His sheep. In this heartwarming book, Dr. Bailey draws from the Scriptures, and many years of pastoral experience, bringing out many precious truths, anecdotes, and practical tips to pastors and leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zion Christian Publishers
• Release date: Aug 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781596656758

Book preview

God.

INTRODUCTION

The role of a pastor is one of the key ministries of the Church. The profession that is the nearest in secular life to a pastor is that of a shepherd. So close are these two that in some languages, the words are synonymous for them both. Every born-again believer should be under the care of one of God’s faithful shepherds.

The believer is likened unto a sheep, as King David states in Psalm 95:7: For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand… Isaiah declares that we are all like sheep that have gone astray (Isa. 53:6). Therefore, as a shepherd cares for, guides, and feeds the sheep, so too is the God-appointed pastor to care for, guide, and feed the people of God.

In fact, the greatest of all Israel’s kings, King David, started life as a shepherd boy. We see this from the following psalm: He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands (Ps. 78:70-72).

King David was a shepherd not only in his lifetime, but he will also be a shepherd of God’s people during the Millennial reign of Christ, as we read in Ezekiel 34:23-24, And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

Moreover, the greatest of all leaders, Moses, spent some 40 years as a shepherd in the backside of the desert. This was prior to becoming God’s shepherd, leading and caring for Israel through their wilderness journey. That Moses was indeed God’s shepherd is seen from the following scripture: Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? (Isa. 63:11).

The qualities of a shepherd will indeed help us to understand the qualities that are needed for those who are called to be God’s pastors. It is to those who care for the sheep out in the lonely pastures that we will first turn to in order to appreciate the difficulties that a pastor will face when watching over the flock of God. With this in mind, we are going to take many of our teachings and illustrations on a pastor from that of the lowly shepherd.

CHAPTER ONE

The Pastor Is a Shepherd

The character traits that are so necessary to become a good shepherd are perhaps best understood by examining carefully those for whom he must care – the sheep. They are helpless, defenceless, and have a strong propensity to go astray. They are totally dependent upon their shepherd for every aspect of their needs.

Therefore, three predominate virtues are essential for one called to be a shepherd – patience, tender loving care, and watchful vigilance. Patience can be defined as endurance in the sense that the shepherd must never give up on a sheep, however cantankerous it appears to be. Tender loving care is essential since sheep have a very sensitive nature and are easily offended. A watchful vigilance is crucial to guard against predators that can plunder the flock. Also, the shepherd must be very courageous, such courage being birthed out of a love for the sheep, for he must physically defend them from the lions and the bears, as did King David (1 Sam. 17:34-35).

Perhaps a scripture that can help us in understanding the responsibilities of a shepherd is Psalm 23. Written by King David (who was a shepherd when he was a boy and a young man), this psalm gives much insight into the needs of sheep, and, therefore, the character of one who is called to care for them.

It is important to remember that this psalm was written to a simple nomadic people who earned their livelihood from the ground. Such was the case for countless generations before them, going back to the first man, Adam, who was called to till the ground in the Garden of Eden. Though lacking the knowledge of our generation, they possessed that which was of greater importance – divine wisdom in their approach to life. Being a simple rustic did not mean that they lacked understanding of God’s ways. In fact being close to nature may have, in a certain sense, equipped them to better understand and acquire knowledge of God than we experience in our days.

Today, we are essentially an urban society for which many divine truths recorded in the Bible, linked and illustrated by agriculture, have little or no meaning. I have often been astounded by knowing so called highly educated people who have made the most catastrophic judgments in their personal lives that any child would have known were wrong. These people had acquired knowledge of the skills that were necessary for their work, but they had not received or sought wisdom, which is the ability to lead a successful life. Therefore they had the tendency to make serious errors of judgment that proved to be very costly to them.

The shepherd, however, whilst not necessarily highly educated, had to develop wisdom (the art of making right choices) in order to fulfil his calling of caring for the sheep. We will now seek to expound this psalm line by line to obtain the very essence of the truths that are so richly hidden within.

The Lord is My Shepherd (Ps. 23:1a): This refers of course to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself who said that He is the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11). This thought of being a good shepherd has perhaps a double connotation. It means a good man who also has the ability to be a good shepherd. Therefore, a pastor must absolutely be one who exudes the goodness of the Lord and who has the ability – learnt from close association with the Good Shepherd of our souls – to know how to care for the sheep.

The pastor’s concern must be for the well being of the sheep, for which the Lord has made him a shepherd. We must never forget that we are, at best, under-shepherds, since the sheep are not ours, but His. We are like Rachel, who looked after her father’s sheep. We are to look after our Heavenly Father’s sheep, even as the Lord Jesus said, …Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none (Jn. 18:9).

It is important for a pastor to understand that each sheep is different. We see this principle in the world of fishing. Not all fish are the same. Some swim very close to the surface and they need a certain bait or manner of catching them. We can liken these fish to the good people in society that enjoy a certain amount of light. Then there are other fish that never see the light. We can liken them to alcoholics, drug addicts, and others in the kingdom of darkness. These fish are caught in an entirely different way from those that are on the surface. You have to know the specific type of fish you want to catch and the bait that will attract them. The evangelist is out to fish for men, but the pastor is out to preserve and keep alive those who have been caught. As a pastor, one must know how to minister to each person, realizing that one rule does not apply to everyone.

In order to be a pastor, you have to have a role model. This is very important, for in every aspect of life, you learn much from a role model. I had to do a little selling during one of my training periods for the USA chamber of commerce. It was very interesting. We were told how to walk, what to wear, how to carry our portfolio, how to knock, how to speak to the secretary so that we could get in. I was walking across the street one day and someone identified me as being from the USA chamber of commerce because of the way I walked. What we learnt was very important because we were their representatives. The point is that in every trade, there are distinguishing traits for which one needs a role model.

In like manner, a pastor needs the role model of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to have a relationship with the Lord as the Good Shepherd to know how to look after His sheep. In other words, we need to ask the Lord, "Lord how would you handle this sheep? I do not seem to be