Shepherding God's Flock: A Handbook on Pastoral Ministry, Counseling, and Leadership by Jay E. Adams

Author:Jay E. Adams [Adams, Jay E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2016-10-10T22:00:00+00:00

The church cannot survive another generation of weak, fearful, compromising ministers who will continue to foster the weaknesses that could end in her retrogression into another period comparable to the dark ages. She needs men who not only will preach the truth of the Scriptures and all of the doctrines contained in them (thankfully, there seems to be a resurgence of concern for this), but men who (as fearlessly as they preach) also will apply that truth in the hard concrete situations of life to which it is directed. It is one thing to win the Lord’s battles verbally from the pulpit; it is another to win them experientially in the everyday affairs of pastoral work. Sadly, there are all too few who exhibit the courage to exercise church discipline, to say “no” in practical matters of judgment and to evangelize in counseling when they know (all too well) that this is exactly what is needed by the persons to whom they speak. Instead, there are all too many who rationalize, and in the name of love, sympathy, compassion, etc., compromise God’s truth in actual practice. There is too much of the fear of men. The Church needs men who fear God more and, therefore, fear men less. Only such pastors can remain faithful to Him and effectively minister the Word in love both to saved and unsaved sinners.

Counseling that courageously comes to grips with the problems of individuals, and that dares to stand firmly on God’s truth in dealing with them must increase, or the claims that are made in the pulpit will fall on deaf ears. Preaching always must be backed up by loving, fearless application to become effective. It is precisely at such points as in qualifying persons for marriage that the difference between true and false Christianity is seen. It is here that others recognize that Christianity is not mere words, but that it makes a difference in life. Care must be exercised neither to refuse what God permits nor to permit what God refuses. The decision is not always easy, but that is why God has called pastors to be leaders of His flock in helping the sheep to walk in the right pathways as they are described in His Word.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.