Piper on Overseeing Souls

Justin Taylor today posted on John Piper moving to the pastorate 30 years ago. In that post he cited an excerpt which John piper’s dad sent to him advising him on the realities of the pastorate. There is much wisdom here and it affirms the argument often made here of the importance of involvement n the lives of your people. The full excerpt cited by Justin is well worth reading, but here is an excerpt of the excerpt.

"Now I want you to remember a few things about the pastorate. Being a pastor today involves more than merely teaching and preaching. You’ll be the comforter of the fatherless and the widow. You’ll counsel constantly with those whose homes and hearts are broken. You’ll have to handle divorce problems and a thousand marital situations. You’ll have to exhort and advise young people involved in sordid and illicit sex, with drugs and violence. You’ll have to visit the hospitals, the shut-ins, the elderly. A mountain of problems will be laid on your shoulders and at your doorstep."

"Just ask yourself, son, if you are prepared not only to preach and teach, but also to weep over men’s souls, to care for the sick and dying, and to bear the burdens carried today by the saints of God."

HT: Chad Davis

P.S. Justin's photo of Piper 30 years ago is well worht seeing. :)