8) Confront Sin (Matt. 18:15-17)
Pastors need to confront sin and lead the church in the exercise of discipline in the hope of repentance and restoration.
9) Encourage the Weaker Sheep (1 Thess. 5:14)
Though it can be tempting to dismiss people who are slow to change, God calls pastors to model patience and persevering hope by working with those who are difficult, despairing and challenging.
10) Identify and Train Leaders (2 Tim. 2:2)
It is the primary responsibility of pastors to identify, raise up, train and affirm leaders in the church. Every pastor should have a plan for how to do this in his local church and should be actively seeking out the next generation of leaders.
Each of the priorities listed above are grounded in God’s Word and then should be practically fleshed out in the context of life and ministry. We need to be biblically grounded in these pastoral imperatives before we can develop the practical tools to engage in these tasks.
Conclusion:
Ultimately, my desire is that every pastor who feels the burdens and pressures of ministry and who deals with the impossible expectations of shepherding people will be freed from the bondage of meeting every need, giving away time that is not available, trying to be at two places at once, and maintaining countless unappreciated head-spinning tasks. My hope is that the power of God’s Word will invigorate every pastor to see what God desires for his life and ministry and to better discern what he can do that will please the Chief Shepherd.
[1][1] The NT uses the terms pastor, elder, bishop and overseer interchangeably to refer to this one office of the pastor/shepherd.
