“The greatest need of my people is my own holiness.” Robert Murray M’Cheyne
A pastor who continually seeks after Christ and grows in holiness pursues the most important thing for his own soul and also for those under his care. They need a pastor who loves and is growing in the Lord to lead them to love and grow. We cannot lead where we have not tread. We cannot give what we do not have. We cannot teach what we do not know. We cannot set an example when we are not passionately seeking the Lord ourselves. Where our affections have grown cold, the church will suffer. When our confidence in the Lord is low, the church will feel the effect. The church requires, by God’s design, pastors who are holiness-seeking, faith-building, gospel-preaching, love-motivated, grace-imbibed, affection-stirred leaders of God’s people.
Our calling is a holy calling. If holiness does not mark us, then we should not be surprised when it does not mark our churches. There are few things more important in the life of the church than the holiness of its pastors.
Jason Helopoulos in The New Pastor’s Handbook: Help and Encouragement for the First Years of Ministry
Certainly a challenging standard to live up to, but a good reminder nonetheless.
Fashionable Librarian
January 26, 2016 at 9:07 pm
“A pastor who continually seeks after Christ and grows in holiness pursues the most important thing for his own soul and also for those under his care”
That’s it right there. If we have pastors who do that then that is half the battle