I read this article yesterday from Pastor Tim Bayly and it was convicting. The thing that sticks out to me is the burden of leadership that falls on pastors. We can't escape leading; the problem is how we lead and the direction in which we lead. I'm either leading my congregation to flowery beds of ease a.k.a. destruction or I'm leading them to take up the cross and follow Christ on the narrow way.
Earlier in the day I'd read Isaiah 58:1, "Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins." Pastors must not hold back in their preaching. This doesn't mean they should preach uncontrolled but they can't worry about repercussions or blow-back from calling out the sins of the people. God began His word to Isaiah in this chapter by warning him to cry aloud, to not withhold his voice, even though the things God would say through his prophet would be hard to hear. Pastors today must do that same.
We live in sinful times (nothing is new under the sun). If I fail to boldly proclaim the whole counsel of God, I fail as God's minister. I must not shirk back from applying the word to the people of God, especially when it's uncomfortable.
Scripture says if a man fails to provide for his children, his fundamental duty as head of the household, he's worse than an infidel. If a pastor fails to provide for and lead his flock, he's not much better.
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