Shepherding by Faith

Peter Leithart offers a much needed note to pastors:

Pastors must carry out their vocations in faith. Shepherding in faith means recognizing that Jesus is the Good Shepherd of His church; shepherding in faith means trusting that Jesus will care for His sheep and lambs; shepherding in faith means trusting that Jesus will make up for the shortcomings and failures of the pastor, that He will fill the gaps and do His work. A pastor who acts in faith can leave many things undone because He knows there is another Shepherd who covers him. A pastor who acts in faith knows that he’s not the savior of the church. Jesus is.

All that means that a pastor actually has infinite resources to meet the infinite needs of his congregation. Those resources are not the resources of his skill, training, or diligence, not matter how skillful, well-trained, or diligent he is. The available resources are the infinite resources of the Shepherd who leads His sheep by the Spirit.

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