Pastor as the shepherd. Do pastors sometimes lose focus?

Pastor as the shepherd.  Do Pastors sometimes lose focus?

"Preaching is fundamentally a part of the care of souls, and the care of souls involves a thorough understanding of the congregation." - Haddon Robinson, Biblical Preaching
So preaching is not just delivering a motivational or entertaining speech, teaching a book, or administration of a church. It is the responsibility of the pastor to shepherd the flock. It is to intercede in the care for the people as ambassadors of God. Programs, church operations, etc should not be produced for the primary purpose of creating event attendance, entertainment, and tithe. This type of ministry would encourage narcissistic self-indulgence, spiritual complacency, and institutional dependence. Instead, pastors should design meaningful ministry that nurses the wounded, heals the sick, strengthen the believer, builds the body, and reaches out with a message of hope through equipped disciples in Jesus Christ. In doing so, we must keep in mind that our congregation has unique needs and comes at it from a unique perspective. We need to meet the people with the Word delivered in a way that speaks best to their "own street of cultural understanding." People are God's priority and our mission is to honor God in how we treat each one. Our walk and talk reflects God's light in a small way to help others know, understand, and apply the Word, so that they may have their own relationship with Christ, grow in faith, obedience, and the love of God, that they may mature into disciple-makers.
- Steve Hunter

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