“Your Souls, More Precious Than Thousands of Worlds”

As stated previously, this area of posting will be committed to the shepherding ministry of the church, especially in light of a text such as Hebrews 13:17. How should a pastor think of the members of the church he serves? Too often today church members are thought of as customers or potential workers for the various ministries transpiring in the church. This is not the Scriptural pattern; nor is it the typical practice of those who have gone before us. Historically there seems to have been a greater commitment to the shepherding ministry in the church (see this work, for example).

Elias Keach wrote a book called “The Glory and Ornament of a True Gospel-Constituted Church. The work has historical significance for various reasons, but his opening words to his church reveal the heart of a pastor and the awareness of one who knows he is a steward who will one day have to give an account. May the souls of our people under our charge be precious to us, and may we count them as hope, joy, and crown of boasting (1 Thess. 2:19).

Dearly Beloved,
Your Souls, more precious than thousands of Worlds, being committed to my Care, as an Overseer under the great Shepherd of the Sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom ere long I must be accountable, and I could do no less in order to the full discharge of my Duty, than let you know your Places, Order and Work in that Church of which you are members, it being part (and that not the least part) of the Counsel of God, which I am in Duty bound to make known unto you according to my Ability.

Jeremy Kimble (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Cedarville University. He is an editor for Credo Magazine as well as the author of That His Spirit May Be Saved: Church Discipline as a Means to Repentance and Perseverance and numerous book reviews. He is married to Rachel and has two children, Hannah and Jonathan.