The Reformed Pastor
The Reformed Pastor 6: Humiliation (1)
As he moves toward the application of his book, Baxter spends a great deal of his time in a large chapter on the subject of ‘humiliation’, or what we would call ‘humility’ in the modern day language. His great fear for himself and for all in pastoral ministry is that we become proud and arrogant as we seek to minister to the soul’s of our…
The Reformed Pastor (5)
The last time we looked at the manner in which a man must shepherd his flock. This time we look at some of the motivations which drive us to shepherd our local congregations. 1. ‘To be a bishop or a pastor is not to be set up as an idol for the people to bow to, or as idle “slow bellies,” to love to our fleshly delight and ease; but it is to be the guide…
The Reformed Pastor (4)
Here is the fourth installment of my updating of this immensely challenging book. My comments are in bold. Having explained the nature of what it means to be an overseer of the flock, he now moves on to talk about the manner in which a man must shepherd his sheep. He has 15 points: 1. ‘The ministerial work must be carried out purely for God and the salvation of…
The Reformed Pastor (3)
The Nature Of This Oversight Having encouraged us to take ourselves in hand before we are better able to minister to others, Baxter now goes on to explain what it means to ‘take heed to all the flock.’ Let’s remind ourselves of Acts 20:28 again. I will highlight the part related to today’s study. ‘Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock…
The Reformed Pastor (2)
The Motives To This Oversight Having shown us in the first part that we need to ‘take heed of ourselves‘, Baxter moves on in chapter 2 to discuss the motives behind this ‘duty’. 1. ‘Take heed of yourselves, for you have a heaven to win or lose…O what sadder case can there be in the world, than for a man, who made it his very trade and…
The Reformed Pastor (1)
I am rereading this old Christian classic and I have to say it is immensely challenging and extremely applicable for and any all serious minded followers of Jesus Christ. You may wonder why a book of this title has anything to do with church planting in an inner city housing scheme but I can assure you that it is a treasure trove for those ‘who have ears to hear and…