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The Good Pastor: Providing Care & Correction For God’s Sheep

The Good Pastor: Providing Care & Correction For God’s Sheep

Last updated on: August 4, 2026 at 10:14 am by Pastor Kelly M. Williams

The Good Pastor: Providing Care & Correction For God’s Sheep 2026-08-04T10:14:02-06:00 Pastor Kelly M. Williams

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The Word of God expects pastors to be good pastors like the Good Shepherd.

I have spent almost thirty years of my life pastoring the same church in Colorado Springs, Vanguard Church, who for now is still a part of the Southern Baptist Convention.

God said to Israel in the book of Ezekiel,

And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 34:31)

Jesus then comes along in the Gospel of John and takes this imagery and says, “I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

God expects His human shepherds to sacrifice their lives like Jesus did for His sheep.

This is the high calling of a Good Pastor, a Good Shepherd.

The Psalmist said the Lord was His Shepherd and he shall not want. He said the rod and staff of the Good Shepherd comfort him. Every Good Pastor is responsible to their congregation to provide a “rod” and a “staff.”

The Shepherd’s staff represents guidance, care, comfort, direction, purpose, fellowship, and the list of good adjectives go on and on. However, the Shepherd’s rod represents correction, rebuke, redirection, and yes, discipline, if needed. I understand the staff imagery and its comfort, but rod imagery is harder to understand and accept, yet God calls Good Pastors to do both.

Within a congregation a senior pastor must provide comfort and correction. If they are not, then they are not a Good Pastor. If they are not, then they are not reflecting the Good Shepherd’s wishes for the calling He has placed on their lives. God says if you are not following His example then you are just a “hired hand.” God is not looking for “hired hands.” He is looking for Good Shepherds. Good Pastors lay down their life for God’s sheep at their own expense. Sometimes pastors have to say what they don’t want to say to God’s sheep so the sheep can be guided, corrected, and eventually comforted by the words of the Lord.

During the Apostle Paul’s day he told the young pastor, Timothy, these words:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

I heard a pastor say recently, “I never thought it would be in my generation we would see the fulfillment of Christians falling away from the church in such mass numbers.”

Many Christians are losing their faith in Jesus and chasing after the teachings that satisfy their itching ears. If your pastor doesn’t ever say anything you don’t want to hear, then they are probably not teaching the full counsel of Jesus.

We as pastors must say things we don’t want to say to the congregation, not for our sake, but for the sake of God’s sheep. If you go to a church that only makes you feel what you want to feel, I hate to tell you this, but that’s not God’s church. It’s your church, but it’s not a church led by a Good Pastor. The truth of the Bible will offend all of us from time to time.

Now, pastors should not try to be offensive. It is also our job to comfort. We don’t just beat people with the rod of God; we also comfort them with the staff of the Good Shepherd.

Pastors have a responsibility to balance these two. Peter told the shepherds of his day,

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,[a] not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;[b]not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:2-5)

Pastoring doesn’t give you a license to be arrogant and mistreat God’s Sheep with harsh words. We speak truth in love. You know its love because it cost you something to say it.

God wants his Good Pastors to speak good words, true words in love.

The writer of Ecclesiastes said,

The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. (Ecclesiastes 12:10)

The words we speak as pastors need to be delightful and true at the same time.

A few years ago, I published a book with Leadership Books called THE GOOD PASTOR. It has helped me and other pastors as well to stay grounded in the calling that God has placed on our lives. Whether you read it or another book, Pastor, don’t give up, don’t give out, keep showing up! Your faithfulness to the flock, matters!

I have talked to a lot of pastors in the last five years since Covid who have been deeply wounded by their congregations and elder boards. Forgive them and return to being faithful to serve them.

Let me remind you of what the writer of Ecclesiastes said,

Whatever your hand finds to do, DO IT with your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

This is the last verse my mom underlined in her Bible before she was killed by a drunk driver in March of 1992. This verse has become the clarion call of my life for thirty-four years now and remains so.

Pastor, whatever you are facing today, it’s okay, be faithful!

Pastor today with the might God has given you.

You don’t have to be liked by everybody to be loved by God.

And you don’t have to be liked by everybody to be a Good Pastor.

Shepherd the flock entrusted to you by God.

Speak truth in love, God’s sheep are depending on you for it.

Stay faithful Good Pastor!

Blessings,
Pastor Kelly

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