Answers to Pastors' FAQs by Wiersbe Warren W. & Sugden Howard F

Author:Wiersbe, Warren W. & Sugden, Howard F. [Wiersbe, Warren W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781434705228
Publisher: David C. Cook
Published: 2012-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

NOTES

REFLECTIONS

ACTION POINTS

Chapter NINE

Visitation

Is pastoral visitation really that important?

If our preaching is to touch and change the lives of our people, we must, like Ezekiel, “sit where they sit” and learn what their real needs are. Hirelings keep their distance and run from problems, but true shepherds follow the example of the Chief Shepherd who always had time for individuals and never kept anybody on hold. Jesus visited homes and shared meals with people and made each visit an opportunity for spiritual ministry. He shared the joys of a village wedding (John 2) and the sorrows of a village funeral (John 11). As busy as he was, Jesus had time to hold the babies (Matt. 19:13–14) and to watch the children at play (Luke 7:31–32).

A high-profile minister once said, “If I walked into a hospital room, I wouldn’t know what to say.” How tragic to call yourself a pastor and yet not have a shepherd’s heart! If you’re a younger pastor, you’ll discover one day that people will forget your masterful sermons but remember your pastoral kindnesses. Phillips Brooks said that a minister must be a preacher to have authority and a pastor to have sympathy, and he was right—and both are important. No matter what some of the high-profile preachers may do, learn the importance of pastoral care and determine by God’s grace to love your people. We can’t win souls or shepherd the flock simply by sitting behind a desk or standing behind a pulpit. Read James 1:27 if you have any doubts as to the value of personal visits, and then read Matthew 25:34–46 to be reminded that when you visit Christ’s people in their needs, you are really visiting Jesus.

Let’s start with pastoral visitation among your own people. Set aside definite times during the week when you will visit the hospitals. Of course, the amount of time needed depends on the size of your community and the number of hospitals involved. Unless patients are very ill, it isn’t necessary to visit them daily, and if you have staff assistants or elders with sympathetic hearts, you can share the hospital calling with them. Keep a list of hospital patients in the church office with the necessary information. After each visit, the pastor or elder can add whatever facts he thinks are necessary to help the next visitor. Be sure to mark when the patient has gone home. File the hospital calling sheets for future reference.

New legislation is making it difficult for us to learn when people enter the hospital. Unless the patient gives the hospital permission to release information, the hospital can’t contact the church or even give information over the phone. (This may not be true in smaller communities and hospitals.) Therefore, we must teach our people to keep the church informed if they expect to be ministered to and prayed for, especially when there are emergencies.

In smaller churches, the pastor can call in every home in a month or two and then start over again, but

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