As someone who was a pastor for twelve years, before becoming a professor for six, and now deeply grateful to be doing both, I think I can speak with a measure of knowledge and experience.

On one level, I can understand the desire. Pastoral ministry is not the most glamorous of tasks, whereas, being a seminary professor, especially in America, carries a degree of respect. It’s also very satisfying to have the enormous privilege of training future pastors and missionaries.

But a lot of young men imagine that professorial life is a breeze: time to read lots of books, long vacations, people seeking your counsel, publishing books, speaking at conferences, etc. What’s not to like?

Gulag or Ivory Towers
Well, there may be some professor somewhere with that job description, but it’s not mine and it’s not that of all the other seminary professors I’ve spoken to. You have to fight to get time to read (I read more books I wanted to read when I was a pastor), you spend oodles of hours doing tedious administration, marking hundreds of papers makes it easy to believe in purgatory, reading academic books and journals smokes your brain, and email brings a daily deluge of questions from people all over the world who think you’re just waiting to do their research for them! Okay, it’s not exactly a Gulag, but believe me, the curse on work did not bypass the ivory towers.

Like everything else, you need a divine calling to do it, persevere in it, and get joy in it. But you don’t see a lot of immediate fruit in lecturing. You do it in faith, believing that some years down the line a student will remember and use what you taught them and use it for someone’s spiritual good. But you rarely hear about it.

21 Losses
Yes, there are deeply satisfying days; when the lectures go well, you’re in the zone with your writing, the email server goes down, and you get 10 minutes to read a book of your own choosing. But if you’re one of those guys who want to be a seminary professor without, or with little, pastoral ministry experience, let me level with you and tell you what you will miss out on. Admittedly some of these losses can be mitigated to some extent by continuing to preach here and there, but the mitigation is minimal and the losses are still massive.

1. You will lose the joy of seeing souls saved through your preaching.
2. You will lose the joy of helping people in the toughest life situations.
3. You will lose the joy of feeding and edifying God’s people.
4. You will lose the joy of shepherding children through teenage years and into adulthood.
5. You will lose the joy of preaching evangelistic sermons.
6. You will lose the joy of building long-term spiritual relationships.
7. You will lose the joy of taking responsibility for your own flock.
8. You will lose the joy of developing and working with a team of leaders.
9. You will lose the joy of helping people make massive life decisions.
10. You will lose the joy of seeking a fresh word from the Lord for His people.
11. You will lose the joy of preaching to a people you know intimately.
12. You will lose the joy of seeing long-term spiritual maturity.
13. You will lose the joy of seeking and recovering lost sheep.
14. You will lose the joy of seeing God miraculously provide for the church’s financial needs.
15. You will lose the joy of being loved by young, middle-aged, and old Christians.
16. You will lose the joy of learning from the least educated and gifted of saints.
17. You will lose the joy of identifying and growing people’s gifts.
18. You will lose the joy and privilege of bearing the scars of pastoral ministry.
19. You will lose the joy of winning over enemies in your congregation.
20. You will lose the joy of helping Christians die.
21. You will lose the blessing of God – if you are pursuing a calling God did not give you. Don’t waste your life!

Still want the job?

Hold on, does that mean he went into the ministry aged 50?

Yes, at age 47, after 24 years in dental practice, he answered God’s call to the ministry, plowed through three years of Seminary, and was ordained when he was about 50-years-old.

I’m pretty sure my Dad would kill me (metaphorically…probably…hopefully) if he knew that I was writing this, but the chances are that he will never read it.

Dad with my son and his grandson, Scot (May 2013)

Kill?
Why would he “kill” me? Well, my Dad was brought up in a place and at a time when you didn’t give or expect any tributes for anything. In the poverty-stricken Scottish Highlands of the 1940’s and 1950’s, you did your work quietly, and without fanfare, and looked to God alone for approval. You didn’t praise yourself, you didn’t puff up your own family, and your didn’t let others do it either. I know that seems utterly alien in our self-promoting, image-conscious, social media age – and it definitely went too far at times – but there are many modern egos that would greatly benefit from some good old-fashioned Scottish deflation.

Read?
Why will my Dad never read this? Because he never got into blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I don’t know if he’s even aware that I write a blog! It’s not that he’s technophobic – he was actually quite innovative in his use of technology in dentistry. However, in the ministry, he was so focused on the flock God had given him, that everything else was a distraction, a point I’ll come back to.

So why am I writing this if he wouldn’t like it and won’t read it? I do it partly as a praise to God, as an opportunity for me to remember with worshipful thanksgiving a loving father, a godly man, and a faithful pastor.

But I could do that without publishing it. So why publish it?

I pressed publish because I believe his life and ministry have a few vital lessons that we can learn from. This isn’t a full-blown tribute about my Dad’s whole life – that would take way too long, and he’d definitely murder me for that. I just want to highlight three key points with a special emphasis on the last.

Industry
My Dad was an incredibly hard worker both in dentistry and in the ministry. He gave himself wholeheartedly to God in both callings, and very much saw the former as a preparation for the latter. He devoted disciplined hours to reading, studying Greek and Hebrew, sermon preparation, pastoral visitation, and evangelistic outreach in the community.

Sometimes people would say to him, “Oh, you went into the ministry very late! He would reply, “I often think I went in too early!” meaning, that even with all the experience he gained in running a dental practice, managing staff, dealing with anxious patients, and serving in the local church, he still felt his inadequacy for the great task of pastoral ministry!

Partly because he went into the ministry at an older age than most, he worked doubly hard to make the most of the precious years he did have in the Lord’s service.

My Dad’s two congregations in Brora (A) and Scourie (B).

Until his mini-stroke a few years ago, my Dad pastored two congregations in the Scottish Highlands. They were 70 miles apart, one on the west coast and one on the east coast, and most of the road was single track. And I mean single track! Wide enough for only one car at a time, regular small passing places were required to let one car pass one another.  And yet in all weathers my Dad drove along (and off a few times!) that treacherous road at least once every week, preaching on Sundays, and leading the midweek prayer meetings, often with just handfuls of people gathered in the fellowship.

Integrity
Most of you don’t know my Dad. He never did anything to draw attention to himself or his ministry. He’s neither famous nor infamous.

But everyone who knows him, know that he’s a man of total integrity. Converted to Christ in his early twenties, he has walked an unblemished path of Christian faithfulness for more than 50 years.

In an age when so many Christians and pastors are falling into terrible temptation and doctrinal error, bringing awful reproach upon the cause of Christ, his consistent and irreproachable moral and theological integrity is a beautiful testimony that brings great glory to God.

Friendships were important to him, but when the time came that stands had to be taken for justice and righteousness, the friendship of God mattered far more to him than any other relationship.

I’m so thankful for an unknown but godly Dad. Although his life and work have past unseen and unnoticed by most, God has seen, God has been pleased, and one day God will display the beauty of his faithfulness in obscurity before the whole world. Others have had their reward.

Intensity

Single track road with passing place in Sutherlandshire

My Dad was called to pastor in Sutherlandshire and spent his whole ministry there. It’s the most remote area of Scotland, with mainly farmers and crofters scattered throughout a barren yet beautiful landscape. Lots of pastors might have viewed it as just a starting spot, a stepping stone to better things. Not my Dad. Although he had calls to serve elsewhere, for him his beloved Sutherlandshire was the be-all and end-all. It was the center of the universe and there was nothing he would not do for his dear flock.

It certainly wasn’t big numbers that kept him there or kept him motivated. His two congregations probably averaged 20-25 people most of the time, maybe sometimes reaching 40. But I have never seen a man with such intense laser-like focus and love for a people in my whole life. You’d think he was pastoring one of the biggest, richest, most powerful churches in the world. Far from thinking it beneath him, he would regularly say, “It’s such a privilege.”

Whenever you spoke to him, the people of Sutherland were on his heart and on his lips. I doubt few people in the world have ever been so prayed for. He preached so passionately for their conversion and spiritual growth, often weeping as he called sinners to Christ and pled for their souls. He loved them and they loved him. Yet, he would often say, “I need them far more than they need me.”

Behind every godly man…
Well, this post is already way too long; and it could go on for many more pages. But let me finish with my Mum (Scottish for “Mom”), because I know that my Dad would not have accomplished any of this without her. She’s been a model wife, mother, and pastor’s wife. Industry, integrity, intensity, and many other wonderful words have characterized her whole life of sacrificial and loving service.

I’m so, so thankful that God has brought them to this time of retirement and pray that He will give them many days of well-earned rest and quiet, to enjoy one another, and to prepare for the great eternity when I believe they will both hear, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”

And if you do ever read this Dad and Mum, I love you, I miss you, and please forgive me this blog!

Dad and Mum in Isle of Wight, England, the same vacation spot they’ve been going to for 37 years.

You Lift Me Up by Al Martin

The Pastor’s Justification by Jared Wilson
Jared has not been a pastor for quite as long as Pastor Martin – who has? – but has also written a book that will encourage many beat-up pastors. It’s less immediately practical than Al Martin’s book, but Jared’s aim is the long-term application of Gospel truths to the minister’s life and work. It continues in the rich vein of many Gospel-centered books that have come out over recent years, with this one being specifically focused on applying the Gospel to pastors. I especially enjoyed the biographical examples that helped demonstrate how Jared has practiced what he’s preaching in this book. If I was a discouraged and struggling pastor, I’d buy both of these books, Martin’s and Wilson’s, and read them together for a holistic approach to pastoral challenges. In fact, better still, buy them before you hit the wall.

A Labor of Love by Stephen Yuile
The puritan minister, George Swinnock, penned sixteen wishes, sixteen heartfelt desires for his own pastoral ministry. Stephen Yuile extracts the essence of these, sums them up in chapter headings such as “A Royal Ambassador,” “A Skilled Physician,” A Diligent Student,” etc., and expounds them over a few pages for a modern audience. He also includes a beautiful sermon by Swinnock on Acts 20, “The Pastor’s Farewell,” preached upon his departure from his own congregation. This is a more devotional book than the previous two, and would work well as part of a pastor’s daily devotional reading with each of the 16 chapters in part one being only a few pages in length.

Haters Gonna Hate: How To Deal With Three Kinds Of Hate Mail

Young Pastor, Obscurity Is Your Friend

The Reading Habits Of Today’s Pastors

Pastors and social media (1): Be Positive

Pastors and social media (2): Be Intentional

Pastors and Social media (3): Be Sociable

I’d Rather Be A Godly Administrator Than An Ungodly Minister

Education And The Digital Revolution

Church Power Games

Don’t Sandwich Negative Feedback

Why Do Rookie Pastors Get Fired?

The Most Essential Life Skill: Teachability

Relax! You’ll Be More Productive

10 Ways To Give Constructive Criticism

Administrator Appreciation Day

17 Tips For Better Church Meetings

Church Size: Is 150 The “Magic” Number?

Ministry Miseries Or Pastoral Pleasures

Developing Pastoral Antennae

Reformed Theology And Ragged Schools

Disarming Your Hearers

Work Less To Do More

What Would I Do If I Was Falsely Accused Of Sexual Immorality?

Words Of Comfort For Bereaved Parents

Cheerful leadership

Climbing Leadership

Confident Leadership

Clear Leadership

Communicative Leadership

Courageous And Compassionate

Service Bay 1: Routine

Service Bay 2: Relaxation

Service Bay 3: Recreation

Service Bay 4: Rest

Service Bay 5: Re-thinking

Service Bay 6: Reprioritize

Service Bay 7: Return

10 Types Of Christian Leadership

Paper v Pixels

A Swear Word For Creative Types

Making Ideas Happen: 99% Perspiration

Leading And Reading

Christian Hiring And Firing

For president, I want the guy who’s failed

The mailbox mystery

Is it time to visit the soul care garage?

The secret of corporate integrity

Violent and Original Work

Don’t live for a legacy

A massage or a message?

Pastoral supermodels

Learning from the wrecker’s yard

Six simple ways to avoid burnout

Compassion fatigue

The truth dresses down

My hate-love relationship with seminary

Let the dummies give the answer

I met a “celebrity” pastor yesterday

Do I have a parrot on my shoulder?

Are you like Apple or Google?

The dirty little secret of overnight success

Lessons from Thomas Verelli’s supreme court choke

The secret to grace under pressure

Can you enjoy ministry too much?

6 time management tips from entrepreneurs

5 types of work that will fill your day

The softer side of leadership

7 strategies to stop procrastinating

Learning to be a power listener

A desk that could save your life!

A divine invitation to pastoral rest

A digital dictionary for leaders

10 digital commandments

Why appreciation matters so much

A son’s moving tribute to his pastor father

Pastoral ministry course

Amiable leadership

Three types of bosses that should be fired

Is perfectionism always bad for you?

Chris Larson leadership lectures

Diligence + time = excellence

Four destructive myths most pastors still live by

What’s the best way to study? Top ten tips

Al Mohler on Mark Driscoll

Location, location, location

Prepare for church discipline

Practice church discipline

Want to learn faster? Try the ibrain

Womb seminary

The role of nursing mothers in training pastors

The fatherly mother (or motherly father?)

Wanted: men of exceptional character

Two cautions for Christian leaders

Stars, sloths, sinners, saints, and stalwarts

Don’t spiritualize your management problems: fix them!

Your own personalized Google

Meeting matters

A body-language gallery

Pastoral theology resources

How to lose friends and not influence anyone

Why I left my congregation

96 minutes of daily interruptions

The Talk-O-meter

Top 20 most influential books in my life

What does it take to come up with a really good idea?

7 essential mental activities

The bull-loving matador

In the pastoral bullring

4 ways to benefit from criticism

20 ways to beat “meeting-phobia”

Top ten meeting personalities

My “I’m-never-going-to-get-to-it” list

Chris Larson lecturing on leadership at PRTS

Michael Hyatt’s parting message

Fighting time poverty

The Devil on time management: Squander, stretch, squeeze

10 P’s of time management

Does your desk glorify God?

Leading by listening

Trash it!

Lord, teach me how to teach

Leadership lecture: The honest steward

Gold-plated investment opportunity

Ministers and money

Money matters

Time to declare email bankruptcy?

Leadership lecture: The courageous captain

A call to courage for fellow-cowards

Focus on connection not perfection

Breaking news: Students multi-task during lectures!

The good news about stress

Leadership lecture: The patient shepherd

Leadership lecture: The humble servant

The pastor and the media: Ten tips

3 reasons not to delegate

Are you a pusher or a puller?

Sheep: “This time it’s personal”

The shepherd leader

Servant leadership

My life’s work

Staying on the leadership tightrope

Leadership lessons from president Obama?

I want to be a leader in the church

850 definitions of leadership

Focus intensely and renew regularly

Motives for ministry?

1-step-plan to superproductivity

Clutches in the churches

Facebook and the call to ministry

Achieve your goals (by not telling everyone)

7 tips for church meetings

Learning leadership from ants

How to be a speed reader

Zuckerberg’s favorite word: Um

The biggest mistake a leader can make

Three tips for training our children to lead

Six ways to supercharge your productivity

Why Tony Blair’s leadership journey failed

When to visit

The greatest servant

Two ways to live (and pastor)

Avoid decisions, avoid life

Evangelism and the risk of failure

Congregations gone wild

Pastors, please take a break

Leadership tips from Tony Hayward (not)

I hate the telephone

Focus short and long

Turn the ministry you have into the ministry you want

The men who stare at screens

Would John the Baptist have read the HBR

12 Things we’d tell our bosses if we could

Essential tools in the pastor’s toolbox

Ten laws of productivity

Am I called to the ministry?

Weak strength and strong weaknesses

A “normal” pastoral visit

The pastor as “feeler in chief”

Leading by silence

Leaders who last

Sympathy or empathy?

Who should we hire? Ask the receptionist

Reality check for would-be pastors

A leader’s mic is always on

Top ten motivation boosters and procrastination killers

Be more decisive…wash your hands

Boring grace

7 ways to deal with “haters”

“To do” or tomorrow

A “normal” week of pastoral ministry

Successful ministry or happy marriage

Preach or pastor

The pastor’s worst enemy

Pastoral ministry like having a baby

How to stop people idolizing you

True leadership: Opposing our friends

Leadership crisis

Victory through rest and recreation

The ministry is God’s sandbox

Good recoveries from bad communications

Pastoring clever people (or herding cats)

Investing in your mentor

God’s top 100 pastors

Wise leaders don’t know too much

How to say “No”

Squandering our most important resource

Mirror leadership

Work less to do more

The power of moral clarity

Improving pastoral productivity

For overworking pastors (and students)

Introverts in the church

How to boost your memory. Sleep!

Why do pastors suffer?

Novel advice for writers

How to keep track of what you’ve learnt

The 40-30-30 rule: Why risk is worth it

What does your desk say about you?

How to turn ministry into idolatry

Glorifying God and email

What not to say to some one who just lost their job

Should I tell the pastor?

The invisible gorilla

Confident but not sure

How the mighty fall

Naming names

How to take smart reading notes

Deference and deviance

When pastor’s kids go bad

The sinkhole syndrome

Help for hurting churches in dealing with apostasy

The two essential traits of great leaders

Failure: The last taboo?

80 ways to redeem time

The pastor’s worst day

Water for baptisms

Coping with “church surprises”

Poor excuses for sinful silence

Splits and sorrys

What do people really think of me?

In the hot seat

Blessed defeat

The risk of catastrophic victory

Learning on the tightrope

Why you should fire yourself

Three ways to keep your ego in check

From good to great

Scottish worthies

Wisdom from the world’s richest man?

Top 200 Leadership Resources

Top 300 Online Counseling Resources

Top 60 Online Resources For Battling Porn

1. The preacher is a sinful man
Six times in chapter 33, God called Ezekiel “son of man,” and many other times throughout the book. Though called to a prominent position, he was a “son of man” and therefore a sinful man. A preacher is not an angel, nor a perfect specimen of humanity, but a flawed human being liable to errors and mistakes from time to time. The best of men are still men at their best.

2. The preacher is a called man
The preacher is not only called by other men and women (Ezekiel 33:2), but also by God (v. 7). Preachers must not be self-made and self-sent but God-made and God-sent.

For the preacher, that means that he doesn’t give up at the first sign of difficulty. If God has called, he must run with His message.

For the hearers, it means that the way we listen and respond to the preacher’s message is an extremely solemn matter. Jesus identifies himself so much with His sent messengers that He says, if you receive them, you receive me and my Father (Matt. 10:40).

3. The preacher is a laboring man
“Therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth” (v. 7). The preacher doesn’t just preach his own ideas or open the Bible, flick through the pages, and hope that a verse “pops out.” He labors in word and doctrine (1 Tim. 5:17). He seriously and earnestly prays to God for his text, theme, points, explanations, illustrations, applications, and quotations. He does this at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the process.

This study is usually a long and often laborious process. Sometimes making bricks looks more attractive. This is why Paul says to Timothy: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth:” (2 Timothy 2:15).

4. The preacher is a watchman
“I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel” (v. 7). A watchman is someone who is looking out for danger. He has his eyes and ears open. What’s he looking out for? He’s scanning for physical, spiritual, emotional, moral, relationship, cultural, and ecclesiastical threats. He is in a Defcon 1 state of high-alert.

5. The preacher is a trumpet man
He sees the sword and blows the trumpet so that people escape with their lives (v, 2, 3, 8). While in Ezekiel’s day there was a literal sword and trumpet, the New Testament identifies the Word of God as the preacher’s trumpet (1 Cor. 14:8, 9). That trumpet has two notes, one warning of death (v. 8), the other promising life (v. 12). The preacher must blow both notes publicly, clearly, loudly, constantly, and compassionately. 

6. The preacher is an accountable man
If preachers fail to warn, sinners will die of false confidence. If preachers fail to give hope, sinners die of despair (v. 10). The result is the same, sinners perish in their sins, but God requires their blood at the preacher’s hand (v. 6). If God does not call the preacher to account in his conscience while he lives, He will call him to account in the divine court when he dies.

 7. The preacher is a limited man
The preacher is accountable for blowing the trumpet but not the results (vv. 3-4). The preacher is limited, he cannot secure the safety of one single sinner. All he can do is blow as faithfully as he can. If people do not heed, he must not feel guilty. He has done all he could, he has delivered his soul (v. 9). If I was responsible for the results, I’d go insane with the responsibility and the burden.

8. The preacher is a happy man
Joy of all joys, there are times when the trumpet is sounded, when sinners hear, when sinners believe, when sinners take the necessary actions, when they repent and believe the Gospel, by the grace of God, and they seek and find salvation in Christ (v. 5). There is no greater pleasure, no greater happiness on earth. No wonder John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.”

• An entertainer: someone who is there to make me feel happy.
• A curator: someone who is there to manage the museum and make sure nothing ever changes.
• A lecturer: someone who is there to teach, to transmit religious facts and information, but not to change my life.
• A pundit: someone who offers Christian commentary on important current events.
• A socializer: someone who is friendly and socially skillful, who won’t embarrass us at weddings and funerals.
• A social worker: someone who fixes all my family problems.
• A ritualist: someone who we use for baptisms, communions, etc., and as long as he gets the form and routine right at these events we’ll tolerate him in between times.
• A manager: a sort of ecclesiastical CEO who is adept at managing people and paper.
• An angel: someone who gets everything right, who never makes a mistake, who prays and preaches perfectly on every occasion without ever offending us.
• A psychologist: a cheap therapist to help with my emotions.

Of course, there are elements of truth in some of these ideas. The preacher must teach, he must at times offer spiritual commentary on our culture, he must get involved in people’s problems, etc. But these are not the primary functions and these are not the categories and terms the Bible uses to describe a preacher. We’ll look at some of these biblical terms in the next few days.

Although having the care of souls again is a heavy burden, it’s also a blessed burden, a sanctifying burden, a humbling burden, and a happy burden. I feel so privileged to be asked to shepherd precious souls again, especially in this church that I’ve come to love over the years. The godly, faithful and loving elders and deacons remind me so much of the office-bearers I was privileged to serve with in Stornoway. 

Free Reformed Church Elders and Deacons

My friend and colleague, Dr Jerry Bilkes, preached a wonderful installation sermon on James 5:19-20.

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

His theme was “The Shepherd of Souls” and his main points were:

1. The Target: Erring and wandering souls
2. The Manner: Truth, Love, Humility
3. The Reward: Converted souls, Souls saved from death, and Covering of a multitude of sins.

At the end he dwelt on the easily over-looked phrase “Let him know,” and powerfully applied it to the congregation, encouraging them to let the pastor know when the Word has been blessed to them.

Dr Joel Beeke delivered stirring and encouraging words to me and the congregation. Elder Pete Vankempen welcomed me on behalf of the congregation and also read greetings from absent friends, including Maurice Roberts, William Macleod, and my parents, which was a bit of a tear-jerker. But perhaps the most special experience of the day was Pastor Al Martin’s charge to me, an outline of which is below.

This was especially touching and memorable for me because of the huge influence that Pastor Martin has played in my own spiritual growth and pastoral training. Just after I was converted, in my early twenties, a friend started pumping Al Martin tapes into me. These tapes were my spiritual milk (and meat!) and had a profound impact on me in these early and hyper-teachable days.

Then, 18 years ago, on the first day in my first congregation (Lochcarron, Ross-shire), the first thing I did in my study was start listening to Pastor Martin’s series of lectures on pastoral ministry. I listened to these twenty or so lectures many times and I still have highlighted index cards full of notes which I still consult. These Bible-rich lectures really set the tone and character of my ministry and the plentiful common-sense practical advice saved me from so many mistakes.

Never did I think that I’d get to know Pastor Martin, and certainly would never have imagined that he would be giving a charge to me at an installation service in a congregation that we are both now a part of! God truly is full of amazing, beautiful, and humbling surprises.

PASTOR AL MARTIN’S CHARGE TO THE PASTOR

1. Thanks to the consistory for the invitation to bring a brief word on this very wonderful occasion of the installation of Dr. David Murray as one of your pastors.

2.  Since we are told in Ephesians 4:11 that it is our risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ who himself gives  pastors and teachers to his church, we are privileged in this gathering today to witness the hand of Christ stretched out to us presenting such a gift to this congregation.

3. Much that I would like to say on this blessed occasion must be passed by so that I may say the things I believe I ought to say within the constraints of the time allotted to me.

4. In the next few minutes, I invite you to consider with me two things – first of all, we shall consider “A Special text For the Shepherd, and secondly, “A Special text For the Sheep.”

I. A SPECIAL TEXT FOR THE SHEPHERD—Acts 20:28  

A. The SETTING  is clear–Paul’s leaving and leadership passing to the elders

B.  The SUBSTANCE is concise–

1. As Paul brings his own ministry to a conclusion, he now lays upon these elders the task that will be the theirs, namely, to take heed to themselves and to all the flock of God that is among them.

2. The word rendered “take heed” means to pay close, careful, and constant attention to something. The two things to which such attention is to be given are identified as “yourselves” and “to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.”

3. The use of this verb in the imperative form and the order of those things to which these elders are to give this close, careful, and constant attention are THEMSELVES first of all, and then to all the flock. One man of God stated the truth this way “he who is to take heed of others must first take heed of himself. Be clean your self before you try to cleanse others. Be taught your self before you try to teach others. Be light your self before you try to give light to others. Being nearer to God your self before you attempt to bring others near. So Paul did, so he bade these elders do, and that pertains to you.” (Lenski on Acts, p.846)

4. This same man of God, commented on the fact that these elders are not only to pay close attention to themselves, but constant, close, and careful attention to ALL the flock.  He wrote “Paul binds every sheep upon the hearts of these elders. “All”  not merely the pastor’s friends, a faction he has allowed to form that clings to him, the well-to-do, neglecting the poor and the unassuming. The true Shepherd knows no dividing line, no factions, loves every sheep, especially the week and the needy. The lambs as well as the sheep-how often these are neglected! If your heart is not big enough to embrace “all the flock,” it is not big enough to shepherd any of the flock. (Lenski on Acts page 847)

5.  In a very special way, the shepherd is to take heed to the flock with the view to performing the manifold tasks which a shepherd fulfills in relationship to his flock. The verb rendered “feed” is a weak translation. The verb chosen by the Holy Spirit means nothing less than fulfilling all of the tasks of a shepherd toward his sheep. By allowing the Scriptures to interpret this analogy, we come to the conclusion that the tasks of a shepherd are comprised of knowing the sheep, feeding the sheep, guiding the sheep, and guarding the sheep.

C. The SUPPLY of grace is adequate.

1. As this same apostle who lays this responsibility upon these elders contemplated the work of the ministry he issued an agonizing cry in the words “who is sufficient for these things?”

2. Well, he answers that question in the very setting of this passage, in verse 32

II.  A SPECIAL TEXT FOR THE SHEEP –READ 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

God has not only clearly revealed to Shepherd’s their task, but he has also revealed to the sheep under their care their responsibilities with respect to how they relate to their shepherds. In this particular text, there are three distinct things which God requires of the sheep who have the privilege of being led by good, godly, and competent shepherds. They are:

A. The sheep must understand and embrace the nature of the God assigned tasks of their shepherds

In this passage, a threefold task of the shepherds is highlighted

1. They LABOR diligently for your spiritual well-being

2.  They wisely and graciously seek to GOVERN and guide you

3.  They faithfully and fearlessly ADMONISH you.— Another servant of God described admonition this way: “admonish quite literally means “to put in mind” and usually carries an implication of blame attached, calling attention to faults or defects. It is the activity of reminding someone of what he has forgotten or is in danger of forgetting. It may involve a rebuke for wrongdoing as well as a warning to be on guard against wrongdoing. It directs an appeal to the conscience and  in order to stir someone to watchfulness or obedience. Another remarked, “while it’s tone is brotherly, it is big brotherly.”

B. The sheep must understand and discharge their responsibilities to their shepherds

1. They MUST KNOW AND APPRECIATE THEM them

2.  They MUST ESTEEM THEM HIGHLY IN LOVE for the sake of the work done for them

3.  They MUST DO ALL WITHIN THEIR POWER TO MAINTAIN A CLIMATE OF PEACE in which the shepherds can carry on their manifold tasks.

In 6 Tips for the Social Media Loudmouth, Christian social media expert, Nathan Bingham, says:

Remember, social media—by definition—is intended to be social. Social media is in many respects akin to an online dinner party or market square of ideas and dialogue. So whether you’re an organisation, business, church, ministry, or an individual, if you want to use social media well you’re going to have to be social, present, listening.

If social media is sociable, that means:

1. Make it two-way
Don’t be just a broadcaster. Follow others, comment on others, interact with others, reply to others, encourage others. Erik Qualman said: “You will attract more followers digitally in two days than you will in two months if you show interest in them versus trying to get them interested in you.”

2. Reveal
One area that requires a bit of trial and error is how much to reveal about your own personal life or church life. Some let it all hang out, while others prefer to be a “Reformed Robot,” a stoical humanoid like Dr. Spock. This is something I’ve found very hard to get right, and I’ve probably tended to err on the privacy side of things.

In face-to-face conversation, we don’t just talk theology. Rather, we usually reveal a bit about ourselves and expect others to do the same. Transparency and honesty builds relationship and trust. Ed Stetzer testifies that “on countless occasions, young pastors have thanked me for blogging and tweeting about my family and how I prioritize them. Many listen more readily to me because they feel they know me already.”

However, also consider the impact on your family. Not just baby scans, but pregnancy tests, nappy and potty pictures are now routinely shared online. In Parents, do you think before you post? Jen Wilkins suggests “imagining a 13-year-old version of them reading over your shoulder.” “Ask yourself,” she says, “Does it provide short-term gratification for you or honor long-term relationship with them?” Tell your story without compromising theirs. Same goes for your congregational details. Not everything is for everyone.

3. Add value.
As in all social situations, ask, “What can I add to people’s lives?” rather than just adding to the hub-bub and noise. Some easy options for pastors to get started in blogging are sermon summaries, sermon snippets, or sermon discussions. Or you could try a reading plan where you work through a book in an online community. You could write historical or theological articles, or you could make it more practical, evangelistic, or topical.

Even when you do find your niche, it’s a good idea to break the mold from time to time. Just as you do in ordinary conversation, mix it up by varying frequency, length, and subjects of posts, Tweets, and updates. Experiment to see what works and what doesn’t.

4. Learn from experts.
Again, as in ordinary social life, we learn from people we admire. In The Digital Leader, Erik Qualman wrote:

Determine a digital leader you admire. Spend at least 20 minutes a day watching his or her activity. Pay attention to: Who is he conversing with? What topics does she post and in what tone? Why does he post? When does she post? Where does he post and what tools or sites does he use? The best digital mentor is generally someone that is in your industry or shares similar interests—someone that you find intriguing. Learn from these mentors and practice what they are doing.

The three men I’ve learned the most from, and continue to do so, are Tim Challies, Justin Taylor, and Nathan Bingham.

5. Be accountable
We’ve all driven home from social occasions with a silent wife (or husband). “Okay,” you eventually ask, “What did I do/say wrong this time?” Similarly we need loving accountability in our social media use. In A Social Media Heart Check Tim Challies explains how you can access all your Facebook activity at a glance – what you’ve seen, people you’ve searched for, comments left, things “liked,” etc. He suggests sitting down with your wife and reviewing this regularly. And with all your social media he proposes the following questions:

• Ask for input from family, friends, elders. What impression am I creating. Is it real, helpful?
• Am I “present” when I am present?
• Am I stoking controversy or making peace?
• Am I using this as a diversion to avoid real problems, real people, real world?
• Am I modeling and mentoring by my social media presence and practice?
• Am I taking a regular digital Sabbath, a weekly time of unplugging, and maybe even a digital fast for longer periods to allow spiritual growth?

Conclusion
Be positive, be intentional, and be sociable. And you’ll be a blessing to many.

Ligonier’s social media guru, Nathan Bingham, says that the most important question we must ask ourselves with social media is “Why?” (see The Best Social Media Tip I can Give You)

Why do I want to do social media? What’s my motive and aim? Is it for myself? is it for the church? Is it for unbelievers? Is it to evangelize unbelievers? Is it to disciple my flock? Is it to draw attention to resources? Is it to serve the wider Christian community?

Once you answer the “Why?” question it becomes a lot easier to answer other questions like:

• How? What practical steps do we take to accomplish this?
• Who? Will this be done by the pastor, a volunteer, or paid staff? Will we need to train someone?
• Where? What platform will we use – Twitter? Facebook, Blogs? etc. Which medium is best for edification of the church? For reaching unbelievers? For gathering and promoting Christian resources? etc.
• When? How much time should be spent on this?

Nathan illustrates the connection between “Why?” and these other questions by describing three churches that answered the why question differently and hence approached the how and who questions differently. What follows is a summary, but you can read more detail at his own post.

Church One – Information
Their goal for social media is “to target existing members of their church and supplement, if not replace, the bulk of their weekly bulletin.”

If that’s they “why” the “how” is quite easy. The pastor or a volunteer spends an hour or more a week scheduling this information and encouraging the congregation to check in.

Church Two – Edification
Their goal is “to target the wider body of Christ as well as existing members of their church. They want to build up and encourage Christians in the digital realm—sharing edifying sermons, challenging quotes, and links to resources that are helpful to the wider body.”

The “how” needs more thought and time to gather the content, to post it, to respond to interaction, etc.

Church Three – Connection
Their goal is “to reach out to those who live locally and are not a part of the body of Christ. In addition to providing a gospel saturated response to today’s issues and asking the difficult questions when appropriate, they’ll be introducing themselves to a community who may not of otherwise known of their existence.”

This is the most demanding choice in terms of time and thought. You need to be listening, following local trends, etc., and clear guidelines given to staff/volunteers as to what and how to engage with the public on behalf of the church.

Prioritizing
As you’ll never be able to do all kinds of social media well (blogging, Google +, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.), you will need to choose which one to focus on – again determined by the answer to “Why?” As my main aims when I started using social media was to practice writing and communication for the education and edification of my students, 90% of my social media time has been spent on blogging – reading blogs and writing posts. Twitter gets about 9% of my social media time as it’s a good place for gathering links to good resources, and the other 1% is not much more than posting links to my blog articles on Facebook and Google+. Facebook has some good links to good resources, but I don’t usually have the time to wade through the daily trivia to get to the gold. I can do that more efficiently on Twitter.

How much time?
And that raises the “When?” question. How much time should we spend on social media each day? You should pray about this, discuss it with your wife, and, if you are a pastor, probably consult your elders too. Explain your motives and aims and ask for guidance. I probably spend an average of 90 minutes each day on social media, and most of that is in my downtime in the evening. About half of that time is spent reading others’ blogs and Tweets and the other half is spent on writing blogs and linking to good articles. Although I call this my “hobby” and I do it in “downtime” there is of course much personal edification, education, and training going on also as I’m exposed to multiple thinkers and doers in Christian ministry.

As I used to spend at least an hour every evening reading the daily newspaper, usually The Times, I view this as a much better use of time for myself and for the Kingdom.

What time of the Day?
A second “When” question is “When in the day will you do this?” The three biggest mistakes you can make are:

• To do this first thing in the morning. This diverts your attention and runs down your brain fuel before your main ministry work.
• To do it during what should be family time. If you’re doing social media when you should be with your wife and family, you’ve prioritized the wrong community.
• To do it non-stop throughout the day. Students, and ministers too, are discovering that non-stop social media habits make deep and long study increasingly difficult as the multi-tasking brain keeps demanding the short-term buzz of adrenaline that’s squirted into the body with every “Like,” “Retweet,” and “Comment.”

In The Digital Leader, Erik Qualman, says “multitasking is junk food for the brain” and explains the self-harm that results:

A study at The British Institute of Psychiatry showed that checking your email while performing another creative task decreases your IQ in the moment by 10 points. This decrease is the equivalent of the effects from not sleeping for 36 hours—and exhibits more than twice the impact of smoking marijuana.

And if you are posting non-stop Instagrams of your latest exotic coffee, don’t be surprised if hard-working people in your congregation begin to resent this and think that this is all you are doing!

Be Intentional
Unless you are intentional, social media can devour your days and ultimately your ministry. Keep asking yourself “Why?” and so much else will fall into the right place and proportion.

That said, there are seasons when pastors receive more hate mail than normal, and now is probably one of them, when churches and pastors are taking courageous yet unpopular stands on numerous moral issues. So what should we do when the haters start hating?

Let’s first recognize the difference between hate mail and appropriate criticism. Hate mail is motivated by hate, a desire to harm and hurt. It is usually insensitive in tone and content, and intends to discourage, damage, dishearten, and demoralize.Appropriate criticism is motivated by love, by a desire to help and grow a person. It is expressed with kindness, wisdom, and balance. Unless we have a particularly thin skin, or have developed a martyr complex, it’s usually quite easy to distinguish hate mail from constructive criticism.

Anonymous Hate Mail

Second, let’s distinguish anonymous from signed hate mail. My practice used to be that if there was no identifying name on the envelope or letter, that I would trash it once I had read enough to recognize it as hate mail (usually the first couple of sentences was enough to identify the characteristic abusive and threatening language).

I still recommend reading no further than necessary to discern the hostile nature of the communication; there’s no point in letting the author achieve his or her aim of upsetting or frightening you at no cost to themselves. However, instead of trashing them, I now suggest giving any such letters to an experienced Christian in your congregation, probably to an elder, and ask him to read them and keep them secure.

The advantage of this approach is that someone who is not the target of the hate can read the letters more objectively to see if there is any personal safety issue involved, and also to find out if one person is doing this repeatedly. If there are threats to personal safety, or if the letters are repeatedly coming from the same unidentified author, it may eventually be necessary to put them in the hands of the police.

Signed Hate Mail

But let’s leave anonymous communications and look now at how to deal with hate mail where the authors identify themselves but you do not know them personally. If you can find out a bit more about them, that should help you decide if it’s worth replying in a constructive way. Sometimes I have attempted to start a constructive dialogue—usually without success.

Most of the time, I decide that I just have too much important work to do than to give any time to modern-day Sanballats (Neh. 6:3). Usually I follow Hezekiah’s model of prayerfully placing the letter or e-mail before the Lord and ask for guidance as to whether or how to reply (2 Kings 19:14-16). I also ask the Lord to help me not to be intimidated or distracted and that the language and threats would not linger with me to disturb my peace.

‘Friendly Fire’

The most difficult of all is signed hate mail from someone you know in your congregation. That’s not something you can ignore or dismiss. You will probably want to ask an elder or trusted Christian friend to read the letter with you in a more dispassionate and objective way and to give counsel about how to reply in a way that will maximize the hope of peacemaking.

Unless the letters are coming regularly from one source, I’m not for reporting them to the church leadership, as people can often fire off a letter in a bad temper and come to regret it later. There’s no point in damaging a person’s reputation or relationships with everyone else due to one foolish mistake.

When deciding how to respond, ask the following questions:

• Is it true? Is it even slightly true? Try to find a grain of truth in it if you can and acknowledge that in any reply.
• Is it proportionate? Is the writer blowing a small matter into a huge issue? Is this making a mountain out of a molehill?
• Is it specific? Is it addressing one issue or is it shooting buckshot at everything?
• Is it a godly Christian? If it is a mature and faithful Christian, then you will pay much more attention to it than to someone who is not a Christian, or who is an immature or unstable Christian.
• Is there something else behind the criticism? Could there be stress or trouble at home or at work that’s making someone lash out?

There’s often debate over the next step—how to communicate your response. Should you write a letter, e-mail, phone, or visit the person? I usually write briefly back noting receipt of the letter, and expressing a desire to meet soon to discuss its contents. I then let that sit for a couple of days before making contact by phone to arrange a meeting. I don’t recommend turning up on the person’s doorstep unannounced, nor do I recommend a phone call or e-mail as a first response. If the person’s emotions are still on the boil, then beware the potential for catastrophic confrontation. A letter, ideally handwritten, communicates that you are taking the criticism seriously but also allows feelings time to moderate.

Love Your Enemies

Pray for your haters, ask God to help you love them, and take every opportunity to do them good. Don’t avoid them and don’t take sneaky swipes at them from the pulpit. One of the wonders of the gospel is that God can make the worst of enemies the best of friends. View this as a massive opportunity to display the power of the gospel.

And even if the person remains hostile, we still have opportunity to enter into the sufferings of Christ (John 15:18-25) and to demonstrate the love of Christ (1 Peter 2:20-23). Let your haters drive you to the Lover.

This article first appeared at The Gospel Coalition.