“Take heed to yourselves, lest you be void of that saving grace of God which you offer to others, and be strangers to the effectual working of that gospel which you preach; and lest, while you proclaim to the world the necessity of a Savior, your own hearts should neglect him, and you should miss of an interest in him and his saving benefits.”
-Richard Baxter, who ministered in Kidderminster, England, from 1647 to 1661.
Powerful words from a dead man. How many of us pastors neglect our own soul because we are “called” to preach? How many of us pastors neglect our spiritual care because our church holds a “paycheck” over our heads? The list can and does go on. How many of us are complacent in the mundane of life because we are downtrodden or overwhelmed by the very Gospel message we are proclaiming? How many of us miss Jesus because we are overwhelmed by the necessity to preach Jesus? The burden is heavy and few understand or the cocky dismiss.
There is a reason Paul told Timothy: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:16) We are to keep a close watch over ourselves, we were never called to forsake ourselves or our families. Sadly this happens because we serve churches that do not understand Scripture or do not want to understand Scripture. Tradition plays a huge role in the job description of a pastor. If you are reading this and you are not a pastor then take some time and Google “Pastor Job Descriptions”. (If you really care about your pastor) Read them over and then read your Bibles about what pastors are called to do by God.
It is okay to say “No’. You will actually see how much someone cares about you in your “no”. They will either respect your “no” or disrespect your “no”. People in the church who abuse their pastors usually disrespect the word “no” because they cannot stand being told “no”. It is “Thy will be done” not “Christ’s will be done”.
Neglect of our own souls happens naturally as we are saddled with everything to do in the church. I don’t care how spiritual or strong you are, you will break in time. This is not intended to be a rant or a gripe against the church, this is just the truth.
Your spiritual care is very important because if you are not spiritually healthy then in time your congregation will suffer. You will get to the point of exhaustion and burnout. You will just stop caring. I’ve been there, I am currently renting an apartment there right now that I frequent from time to time. Again, not a gripe, it’s just the truth. Southern Baptists have a sordid history of chewing up and spitting out pastors. The wounded pastor gets a headshot to finish him off and then it is time to form a new pastoral search committee to find the new victim. We have a “consumer” mentality, do we even care anymore? I have personally witnessed this truth play out in real time. I’ve been shot at myself. I have three books in my office dedicated to this wickedness.
Pastor, if your church does not care about your spiritual health then they more than likely do not care about their own. Read that again. One time I had a man tell me (In the church that I serve now) years ago “I don’t care what you preach on Sundays. You just need to get out there and pound on doors to fill this place up.” Read that again and then a third time. This man did not care about his own spiritual health; his idea of “church” was that it just needed to be full.
You have to be intentional about your spiritual care, you have to be intentional about your families as well. Because it is doubtful anyone else will.