The Sheep Are More Dear Than Your Own Life

Again, we are dedicating this time to think of pastoral ministry as shepherding ministry. The New Testament portrays pastors knowing their people well, and not just speaking to crowds of unknown people. The command to watch over their souls, knowing God will hold us accountable for this (Heb 13:17), requires this as does a ministry in which we “warn everyone” and “teach everyone” with an aim to “present everyone mature in Christ” (Col 1:28). The assumption is that we know whom we are caring for. It will be difficult  to watch over souls of people whose names, and families, and lives you don’t know. We cannot only choose certain ministries, pastors must involve themselves in preaching, teaching, evangelizing, discipling, and shepherding.

Theodore Beza served under the leadership of John Calvin in Geneva and was Calvin’s successor. Beza exemplifies this understanding of pastoral ministry in his sermon on John 21:15, where Jesus charged Peter, “Feed my sheep.” May we as pastors aspire to this kind of ministry and see our people grow into maturity, into the head who is Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).

It is not only necessary that [a pastor] have general knowledge of his flock, but he must also know and call each of his sheep by name, both in public and in their homes, both night and day. Pastors must run after lost sheep, bandaging up the one with a broken leg, strengthening the one that is sick …. In sum, the pastor must consider his sheep more dear to him than his own life, following the example of the Good Shepherd.

Jeremy Kimble (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Cedarville University. He is an editor for Credo Magazine as well as the author of That His Spirit May Be Saved: Church Discipline as a Means to Repentance and Perseverance and numerous book reviews. He is married to Rachel and has two children, Hannah and Jonathan.