Protecting Your Pastor

“As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” (1 Samuel 14:45)
With these words God’s people declared their intention to protect the Lord’s Servant. The people considered the Man of God to be worthy of their loyalty and care.
My years of ministry have provided ample opportunities for me to experience both ends of the spectrum of Pastoral Care. I have known the joy, affirmation, and encouragement that came from being protected and provided by those to whom I have ministered. However, I have also known times when I felt abandoned, neglected, and disrespected.
Pastoral care is the term usually associated with the personal care Pastors provide for their congregations. Sadly, these providers of pastoral care are sometimes the ones who may need it the most.
The Lord’s Servants are, in fact, worthy and deserving of careful attention. The men and women who are called by God to a life of ministry, who give themselves to prepare and then go at God’s command, who faithfully study, teach, pray, and lead, should also be beneficiaries of pastoral care!
Those who “have worked with God” are the prime targets of Satan who knows that if the Shepherd is distracted, disabled, or destroyed, then the sheep will scatter. True spiritual leaders need to be surrounded by those who discern and defeat every attack of the Enemy. The Lord’s Servant must be protected from the destructive influence of people with lying tongues, divisive agendas, idle gossip, chronic complaints, argumentative mind-sets, and manipulative or controlling influence. Such people should not have ready access to the Servant of the Lord.
A Pastor (Teacher, Evangelist, Prophet, or Apostle) will minister much more effectively when he/she is free from the distractions of things like unavailable personal assistance, insufficient financial resources, and unreasonable physical demands.