A Sobering Reality For Pastors

We had Chip Ingram speak at our church today, and as usual, he delivered a great message. Chip was the pastor at CBC years ago, so it was good to see many friends come back and re-connect with Chip and his family. I’ll post the sermon on our podcast tomorrow.

At one point Chip asked how he could pray for me as pastor. And then it hit me: Chip and I will stand together before the Lord one day and give an account of how we each shepherded this congregation {2nd Corinthians 1:14; Philippians 2:16; 1st Thessalonians 2:19-20}. A very sobering truth. So, I asked Chip to pray that I would shepherd His people well.

If you’re a pastor, one day you will give an account before the Lord for your pastoral duties:

Do you pray earnestly for your flock? {Philippians 1:9-11}
Do you labor intensely for their spiritual growth? {Colossians 1:28-29}
Do care for the congregation that God has given you spiritual oversight of? {Ezekiel 34}
Do you equip others to serve in ministry? {Ephesians 4:11-13}
Do you stand before your family and protect them? {1st Timothy 3:4-5}
Do you care for the lost, seek the young, heal the injured, and feed the healthy? {Zechariah 11:15-17}
Do you watch your life and doctrine closely so that you will save others? {1st Timothy 4:16}
Do you protect your flock from savage wolves who distort the truth? {Acts 20:28-31}
Do you refresh the hearts of the saints? {Philemon 7, 20}
Do you love your congregation enough to teach them about the Trinity, Hell, the Old Testament, the New Heavens and New Earth, systematic theology, church history, the Minor Prophets, Leviticus, 3 John, etc? {Acts 20:27}

Pray for your pastors, for there awaits them a stricter judgment! {James 3:1}