As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Read the series.
I’m going to structure this series around several passages that tell churches how they ought to treat their pastors. I’d like to start with a passage at the end of Hebrews:
Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith (Heb 13.7).
We’re told to “remember” our pastor.
“Ron Wickard humbly pastored the same church out on the remote South Dakota prairie for 42 years, providing one beautiful model of what it means to ‘dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness’ (Psalm 37:3).” - Desiring God
Most Christians have been members of (or at least attended) a church long enough to go through a pastoral transition or to witness an ordination service. When they do, they’ll often hear a sermon on the pastor’s responsibility to the church. It might include a look at the qualifications for pastor as listed in 1Timothy 3 or Titus 1, and perhaps also a charge from 2Timothy 4.1-2:
“Citing data collected for their Resilient Pastor research from 2015 to 2022… showed pastors suffered significant declines in all areas of well-being when asked to rank how they felt as excellent, good, average, below average, poor or don’t know.” - CPost
“1. There is a power and control issue behind the dismissal. Typically, the pastor has not bowed to the demands and preferences of a power group in the church…. 2. Reasons for the firing are often not given to the congregation.” - Church Answers
“ministry leaders are not mental health professionals… typically unsure of how to help people—including ourselves—through dark seasons. Here are four lessons I learned through my experience.” - Lifeway
“ ‘Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.’… Yet here, in 1 Timothy 3:7, as the culminating qualification for the church’s lead office, we hear that pastor-elders must be well thought of by outsiders.” - Desiring God
“When asked what they liked about being a pastor, respondents overwhelmingly highlight preaching and teaching…in a distant second place is discipling believers, with 8 percent.” - Barna
Discussion