David C. Deuel
The title “pastor” suggests two functions of church leaders so designated: nurturing and guidance. The nurturing aspect includes the general Christian responsibility of showing compassion for others, but this responsibility is accentuated because a pastor must set the example for others. A consideration of relevant Scriptures shows that he must at the same time delegate acts of compassion to other leaders who are motivated by his compassionate example. Then the pastor can concentrate on what is his main function of guidance through teaching the Word to his people and guarding them from error. He must balance exemplary compassion with his teaching ministry.
It is by no means easy for a young man to become a shepherd, and he ought not to be discouraged if he cannot become one in a day, or a year. An orator he can be without difficulty. A reformer he can become at once. In criticism of politics and society he can do a flourishing business the first Sunday. But a shepherd he can become only slowly, and by patiently traveling the way of the cross.1
Upon leaving seminary, many a young man discovers that his love for the Chief Shepherd does not extend to a love for God’s sheep. Without dispute, difficulties in dealing with people is the number one cause for ministry dropouts (85 percent according to one denomination).
For the undershepherd who by God’s grace weathers the personal storms, predator attacks, and sundry challenges against the sheepfold, bitterness often prevails over the joy with which he began his pastorate. Such finds himself saying with others, “The ministry would be great if you didn’t have to work with people.” Words like these reflect a very disheartening but all too common perspective on pastoral ministry.
Not surprisingly, some pastors react by selecting and focusing on an aspect of ministry responsibilities that does not bring them into contact with people too often. Others champion a philosophy of ministry that bolsters their aversion for people. In fact, some argue that a pastor’s only two responsibilities are to preach the Word and to offer intercessory prayer on behalf of God’s people. Biblical guidance and little personal contact, they say, is what their people need, nothing more. They never had a heart for people, or else they lost it along the way.
On the other side are those who insist that the pastor meet every kind of need for every person and become a servant of servants, a consummate deacon. Their focus is almost exclusively on the nurture aspect of shepherding that seeks to meet human needs in a broad way. In this case, compassion lacks biblical control and, left unbridled, may overlook serious spiritual needs.
How does the Bible profile the pastor’s heart for people? Or, put slightly differently: how is Jesus’ proxy and exemplar to love His people best? How much scriptural guidance and how much personal nurture are most beneficial? An elaboration on the title “shepherd” may help supply the answer.
THE SHEPHERD’S TITLE AND ROLE
A major part of the issue of nurture versus guidance arises from the ambiguity of the term shepherd or pastor. Various biblical pictures describe aspects of the believer’s relationship to God. Master-servant highlights the believer’s submission to and ownership by God; father-son looks at the tender but sometimes disciplinary parental role; potter-clay depicts the creative shaping of form and character; husband-wife denotes the companionship and intimacy; perfect shepherd-sheep speaks of God’s guidance and nurturing of His sheeplike follower. Herein lies the issue: what transfer or contact point of this last metaphor relates to the pastor and his people?2 The manner in which people use the term shepherd indicates two possible understandings of the pastor’s function. They focus primarily either on the nurturing aspect or on the guidance aspect, either on the tenderness of a pastor toward those whom God has entrusted to him or on his specific guidance of them through the proclamation of God’s Word and exemplary implementation of the Word in his life (see ch. 16 of this book).
Several hundred years ago this double role found expression in the title pastor, another word for shepherd. The similar spellings of pastor and pasture, the place of a shepherd’s activity, illustrates the connection between the two words. The Hebrew terms for shepherd and pasture also convey this relationship. Yet, much like other pictorial terms employed to depict the believer’s relationship to God, this term does not include all that God’s servant is and should do. Other terminology such as bishop (episkopos) and elder (presbyteros) enlarge the job description by conveying other primary aspects of his task, much like shepherd, bishop, and elder do not convey the respective roles of a church leader as well as they once did when first translated into English.3 What is more, other comparisons, many of them secondary, describe the church leader and his function in other ways, according to the objective of the biblical writer.4 The down side of relying on the meaning of a single word is that one tends to inject the term with all kinds of meanings that may not have been the intention of the biblical writer.5 It is necessary to limit these titles within the broad scope of their many meanings, according to individual contexts.6 In addition, aspects of the shepherd’s office not indicated in the titles shepherd, bishop, and overseer appear elsewhere in Scripture.7
If the titles assigned to the pastor tell anything certain, it is that the pastor’s role is diverse in nature. To deal with the topic of this chapter, it is better to sidestep the title and ask, “What do specific passages of Scripture reveal clearly with respect to the pastor’s heart for people as expressed in his biblically defined functions?”
THE SHEPHERD’S HEART FOR HIS PEOPLE
A fundamental misunderstanding of the pastor’s role arises from the function the Bible assigns to all Christians.8 Scripture admonishes every believer to show compassion toward others. The “one another” passages demonstrate some of the ways they are to do this. Confusion arises, however, when comparing pastoral responsibilities to those of all Christians. When it comes to his responsibilities, is a pastor 100 percent Christian and 100 percent pastor? A closer look at each side of his responsibilities should help resolve this issue, although the lines are unclear and the functions overlap considerably. Added to this is the pastor’s responsibility to be an example to the flock (1 Pet. 5:3) in the area of compassion.
The General Responsibility of Compassion
The biblical expectation is that all Christians will love. Paul devoted an entire chapter to the love responsibility in 1 Corinthians 13. Elsewhere he expressed his statement of purpose in teaching: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5).
The same apostle who listed the qualifications for overseers and elders in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9 presented the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23 as a challenge for every Spirit-led Christian. In short, an assumption of the Timothy and Titus passages is that the fruit of the Spirit that requires interaction with people will characterize the shepherd. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control” (Gal. 5:22–23).
One would be hard-pressed to bear any part of this fruit (or to resist their counterparts in the deeds of the flesh, vv. 19–21) in isolation from people. By nature they require involvement with others. Christianity has a relationship-oriented theology and ethic. In his basic character as a Christian, the pastor cannot avoid involvement with people.
The Leadership Responsibility of Compassion
Five categories summarize his special responsibility in the area of developing compassion.
1. Leading by example. It is easy to confuse the pastor’s general responsibility of showing compassion with his leadership responsibility of providing an example of compassion for his flock to follow. First Peter 5:3 stresses the importance of leading by example rather than by “lording it over” the sheep. First Timothy 4:12 lists love as a specific virtue to be modeled by the pastor. Scripture teaches that a pastor must be compassionate and that he must model compassion.
Being compassionate precedes the modeling aspect both in time and in importance. In the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus noted that the Samaritan “felt compassion” first, then he “took care” of the wounded traveler (see Luke 10:30–37). Like the Lord Jesus, the shepherd must be a man with deep compassion for those in need. Only then can he set the right example.
The Old Testament is full of passages that make compassion a prominent (and communicable) attribute of God. Outstanding among these is the Lord’s own statement in Exodus 34:6: “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness and truth.” Jonah quoted this passage in objecting to God’s compassionate demonstration of forgiveness toward Nineveh (Jon. 4:2). The Servant, Messiah, in Isaiah had similar character: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish” (Is. 42:3). In fact, throughout the Old Testament God revealed His deep concern for the downtrodden, particularly the widow, the orphan, and the poor. Society denied full privileges to these, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation of all sorts. God’s legislative provisions woven into the fabric of Old Testament social prescriptions demonstrated His compassion for them. The New Testament assigned the church the same responsibility toward the downtrodden. The obligation stands side by side with that of personal purity: “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27).
Long before government and secular public agencies assumed responsibility for hospitals, orphanages, facilities for the poor, and other such social services, the church and its pastors blazed a trail of compassion. In both America and England, the earliest Sunday schools focused upon educating children, particularly in reading. They wanted to provide instruction to poor working children on their only free day of the week. Naturally, teachers used the Bible as their textbook, because evangelism and indoctrination were in many instances the primary objectives.9
A pastor with a heart for people will show special compassion for the lost. The Bible teaches two eternal destinies. Failure to have compassion for the unregenerate is either to disbelieve the eternal existence of a person or to be uncaring. Over a century ago Murray referred to “the missionary problem,” by which he referred to a lack of compassion for those without Christ.10 In the mind of Christ was a clear picture of what the world is and needs, so He felt compassion for the lost and gave His life a ransom for many. A congregation cannot respond adequately to the Great Commission if its pastor is cold or indifferent toward the needs of a lost world.
A reawakening of one expression of compassion has come only recently. That is interest in meeting the needs of the disabled. The renewal of this avenue of concern has come with the trend to provide services at home or through outpatient services to this group of the population. Before this, many who had more serious physical and developmental disabilities remained in institutions away from the public eye. Their current visibility has aroused the church’s interest in serving this deserving segment of society. This is good, for churches of all places should provide services to people who for one reason or another have handicaps. (Pastor, build that ramp!) John MacArthur, a pastor much concerned for this group, stressed the shepherd’s exemplary role in ministering to this largely ignored group: “If a pastor is not completely committed, and if he isn’t modeling his concern, it is going to be very difficult to get the people to minister to this population. . . . The pastor has to care about special populations because it is right to care.”11
In his exposé of modern faith healers, Mayhue reminded the pastor that compassion is a quality originating in the heart of God: “Compassion cannot remain optional for Christians if we are to be like God. Someone once defined compassion as ‘your pain in my heart, which moves me to deeds of comfort and mercy on your behalf.’ That’s healing ministry at the core—when we serve the suffering with God’s compassion.”12
Being an example of compassion is not optional for the undershepherd. He must care for the lambs entrusted to him and watch them grow, especially the weaker ones. Simply being an example just for the sake of being an example is not enough. Jefferson underscored the importance of the pastor following another example whose motivation was true, heartfelt compassion:
Would you know, then, the work of a shepherd? Look at Jesus of Nazareth, that great Shepherd of the sheep, who stands before us forever the perfect pattern of shepherdhood, the flawless example for all who are entrusted with the care of souls. “I am the Good Pastor”, he says, “I watch, I guard, I guide, I heal, I rescue, I feed. I love from the beginning, and I love to the end. Follow me!”13
2. Leading by administration. In many respects, the office of deacon originated to meet certain human needs. The frequent question is, “What portion of a pastor’s time should he devote to meeting physical needs?” The question Scripture addresses throughout is, “What kinds of needs is a pastor to address?” That depends. The person Paul had in mind in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9 models a sort of care based on example and instruction, particularly the latter. Titus 1:9 gives the most qualified character trait: “Holding fast the faithful word . . . that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”
The books of 1 and 2 Timothy focus on this instructive aspect of the pastor’s role. This focus does not absolve the pastor from caring for people’s physical needs. It merely prioritizes his focus. It also speaks clearly to the mentality that argues that the pastor is primarily a caretaker of people’s physical needs. Mind you, he is not above this, but his time and energy will limit what he can do in light of his primary focus, as illustrated in Acts 6:1–7.14 In this passage, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, were put in charge of the task of compassionate care. The contemporary church, much like the early church, has erroneously taken the responsibility of nurturing care for the people of God from under the leadership of deacons and has reassigned it to the pastor.15 Historically, people have professionalized the expression of the Christian love commanded of all Christians by expecting the pastor do it all. In turn, they have delegated the pastor’s primary role of teaching and administering the Word to others. Pastors must be caring people, but all the saints should do the work of the ministry. This is the lesson of Acts 6 for today’s church.
Pastors who prefer to spend time caring for people’s physical needs may be depriving the deacons of assuming their God-given function. If they feel led to focus on such needs instead of teaching the Word, perhaps they unapologetically should step out of their role as pastors-teachers and live out their goals as helpers, people of deep compassion for physical needs. This would open up pastoral slots for others to preach and teach the Word. Christians need the teaching of God’s Word at all costs. This must not be neglected.
Churches who prefer having a pastor spend most of his time doing visitation and counseling should consider finding a person specifically for these tasks. Churches with greater needs in such areas cannot afford to neglect the needs, but neither churches nor pastors should tolerate a situation where the pastor selected to minister the Word of God exchanges his functions with the deacons or the church membership. By biblical definition, the pastor-teacher is not a deacon; he should not neglect the Word of God and prayer in order to serve tables (see Acts 6:2, 4). He can through proper administration see that his deacons serve the tables, however.
Pastors and churches who subscribe to the biblical pattern can expect the same outcome as that of the Acts experience: “And the Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly” (v. 7).
3. Leading by nurture of the flock. The passages that list the qualifications of an elder also focus upon the interactive and relational character of his role in the church. In the 1 Timothy 3:1–7 passage, “gentle” and “uncontentious” (v. 3) are two such qualities, but the rhetorical question, “How will he take care of the church of God?” points to the most specific quality. The words “take care of” (v. 5) have strong pastoral and nurturing overtones, and the larger analogy to the care of his own family is an even more revealing characteristic (vv. 4–5).
These qualities point to an obvious trait of pastoral ministry: without implying that the pastor must be what is popularly termed “a people person,” they do suggest that a pastor must have “a heart for people,” properly defined.
A shepherd’s heart for people is not always clearly visible, particularly if identified and measured by standards other than those of Scripture. Those who watch a pastor who has difficulty interacting with people might conclude that he is not a people person or does not have a heart for people. From this they may extrapolate that this individual is not called to the gospel ministry. Hasty generalizations of this sort are unfortunate. Some pastors naturally have gregarious and likeable personalities. Others have come from very communicative families where they learned the skill of interacting with people early on. However, some need time to develop in this area, and still others will always express their affection for their sheep in a reserved manner. These communicative skills must not be the criteria for measuring a pastor’s heart for people.
When attempting to measure the heart of a pastor, one should guard against quick judgments based on only superficial evidence. Many a pastor with a deep heart may not do well at demonstrating his compassion, but within him is a full commitment to give his life for the sheep. On the other side, many who make great displays in words lack the heartfelt realities of compassion. Talk is cheap. One cannot always judge a book by its cover. What is inside is what counts.
What about the shepherd’s heart for those outside God’s church? Paul prioritized, first to the household of God, then to unbelievers around him who do not know Christ: “Let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10). When asked by a lawyer, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29), Jesus answered the lawyer’s real question, “Whom should I love enough to show compassion and care for?” He told the story of the good Samaritan. Jesus’ story indicted the religious leaders (priests and Levites, the pastors of the day), those who should have been exemplary shepherds (recall Zechariah). Even a Samaritan would take care of a beaten and robbed man! When Jesus inquired of the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor?” the lawyer correctly (perhaps reluctantly) responded, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Jesus then pressed beyond the issue and responded, “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:36–37). To deny compassion to a needy neighbor is to contradict the very significance of the term. Then again, to redefine the gospel in the face of overwhelming social need is to distort and diminish man’s greatest need.
4. Leading by cultivating maturity. Paul and his fellow missionaries had a heart for people, yet their priority was the people’s need for the ministry of the Word. Put slightly differently, they practiced love for their people best by giving them what they needed most, biblical teaching. It does not mean that they did no deaconly work. It does mean that the deaconly needs did not override the primary need. One of the passages that best captures the essence of a shepherd’s nurture for his flock is 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12. After a prolonged discussion of the motives with which Paul did not come to the Thessalonian church, the beloved apostle selected more intimate terms characterized by parental metaphors: “But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children” (v. 7). And again after several more expressions of their pastoral interest: “Just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children” (v. 11, emphasis added).16
Paul reminded the believers that he could have approached them with grand displays of his apostolic authority, but this would not have befitted the love that he had for them. Individual attention as well as gentle coaxing and nurturing are evident in this passage. To be sure, this posture varied, but who can dispute the fact that this is the ideal. The ideal for what? Paul laid bare his intent in verse 12: “So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
He followed with his ultimate goal, which was to give direction to a worthy walk through “the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (v. 13). The pastor’s instrument of nurture is God’s Word reinforced by personal example. This and this alone is adequate food for the sheep’s growth. Paul was consistent on this point.
Once again, this does not mean that the pastor can be insensitive to physical needs. In fact, the pastor should model a concern (albeit spiritually prioritized) for the needy (such as, people with disabilities, both physical and mental). In so doing, he will be following the example of his Creator as well as explicit biblical commands. Yet even here he must see their spiritual needs as the end of his endeavors. These are everyone’s greatest needs.
5. Leading by guarding from harm. In Acts 20, a context that builds on the shepherd image, the apostle Paul added another dimension to the shepherding task. Not only does a loving, caring pastor feed Christ’s sheep the Word of God, he also guards them (but himself first!) against spiritual predators. These will enter both from outside the fold and, sadly, from within. These wolves will consume the flock rather than feed them. The analogy is telling. The shepherd does not nurture the flock for what he can get from them in the same way that wolves do. This is the essence of the true shepherd’s heart. Paul’s reasoning resulted in a challenge: The Ephesian elders were to be watchful shepherds, because Paul did not sleep on his shepherd’s watch for three solid years. He demonstrated that his ministry was sincere by the tears he shed for them. Paul then gave back his post to God, the Chief Shepherd, who would complete the shepherding. Paul knew where his responsibility began and ended. He could shepherd compassionately, but he could let go when it was time to.
NURTURE AND GUIDANCE
Returning to the original question: does the shepherd’s role focus on the nurture or on the guidance? One sees that the answer is certainly both. The shepherd who does not slight His teaching of the Word of God “in order to serve tables” can expect the same outcome as from the Acts strategy. “And the Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly” (Acts 6:7). If the shepherd does not give up on people but expresses his compassion in nurturing them through exhortation, encouragement, and appeals that they respond to the Word of God, he will have the joy of seeing his sheep “walk in a manner worthy of God” (1 Thess. 2:12). But his heart for people must be big enough to nurture (noutheteō) with tears (Acts 20:31).
He must also be prepared to face a challenging reality for all sheep including himself: People are looking for someone (like a pastor?) to meet their needs as they define and prioritize them. A response to the consumer-driven philosophy of church growth and mission comes from Time magazine in an article titled “The Church Search.” The author pictured baby boomers as a segment of church goers who once dropped out of the church. They have returned and are now shopping for a church that will meet their needs, but needs as they define and prioritize them. The author said, “Many of those who have rediscovered churchgoing may ultimately be shortchanged, however, if the focus of their faith seems subtly to shift from the glorification of God to the gratification of man.”17
A pastor must prepare to redirect the interests of his flock beyond the green pastures and still waters of their own personal gratification to the glorification of Christ and the seeking first of His kingdom. Heaven comes later. In short, sheep need to be nurtured, but good shepherds understand that spiritual guidance and protection are the essence of nurture.
What about the pastor who has lost his own spiritual passion? In the routine of ministry, it is far too easy to get so concerned about the spiritual growth of others that the shepherd neglects his own or his own family’s. In an attempt to lean on his own resources or on a steady diet of self-help publications, he allows the people portion of his role to become overwhelmingly difficult. It will, at times, be difficult regardless, but in reality, his fatigue has far more to do with spiritual than physical exhaustion. The apostle Paul wrote to a spiritually haggard Timothy who had lapsed into such a weakened state. His advice? You have all the power resources you need; be strengthened (2 Tim. 2:1). Paul did not need to mention who actually does the strengthening. Timothy knew, but like the rest of us he needed a brief reminder.
A fifth-century letter from one pastor to his “challenged” pastor friend who was considering leaving the ministry is as encouraging as it is timeless.
But I am surprised, beloved, that you are so disturbed by opposition in consequence of offenses, from whatever cause arising, as to say you would rather be relieved of the labors of your bishopric, and live in quietness and ease than continue in the office committed to you. But since the Lord says, “Blessed is he who shall persevere unto the end,” whence shall come this blessed perseverance, except from the strength of patience? For as the Apostle proclaims, “All who would live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution.” And it is not only to be reckoned persecution, when sword or fire or other active means are used against the Christian religion, for the direct persecution is often inflicted by nonconformity of practice and persistent disobedience and the barbs of ill-natured tongues, and since all the members of the church are always liable to these attacks, and no portion of the faithful are free from temptation, so that a life neither of ease nor of labor is devoid of danger, who shall guide the ship amidst the waves of the sea if the helmsman quit his post? Who shall guard the sheep from the treachery of wolves if the shepherd be not on the watch? Who, lastly, shall resist the thieves and robbers if love of quietude draw away the guard that’s set to keep the outlook from the strictness of the watch? One must abide, therefore, in the office committed to him and in the task undertaken. Justice must be steadfastly upheld and mercy lovingly extended. Not individuals, but their sins must be hated. The proud must be rebuked, the weak must be borne with; and those sins which require severer chastisement must be dealt with in the spirit not of vindictiveness but of desire to heal. And if a fiercer storm of tribulation fall upon us, let us not be terror stricken as if we had to overcome the disaster in our own strength, since both our counsel and our strength is Christ, and through him we can do all things, without him nothing, who, to confirm the preachers of the gospel and the ministers of the mysteries, says, “Lo, I am with you all the days even to the consummation of the age.” And again he says, “These things I have spoken unto you that in me you may have peace. In this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.” The promises, which are as plain as they can be, we ought not to let any causes of offense to weaken, lest we should seem ungrateful to God for making us his chosen vessels, since God’s assistance is powerful as his promises are true.18
Because every pastor (and pastor’s wife!) faces interpersonal challenges in God’s work, his heart must be energized from without. God gives us a means in our relationship with Him. When shepherds’ hearts would melt like wax within them, God supplies the strength to endure, and His Spirit to comfort. To echo Leo’s word’s, “Both our counsel and our strength is Christ, and through him we can do all things.”
The pastor running on his own resources soon will be tempted to leave the ministry. But the pastor who maintains his relationship with the Chief Shepherd will have resources to love God’s people sacrificially because “God’s assistance is powerful as His promises are true.”19