There is nothing I pray for more than the dispensation of pastors. What I mean by a pastor is a person who can bear the whole sorrow, care, misery and sin of another on his own soul, go to God about it, and bring from God what will meet it before he goes to the other.
I believe a pastor is a rare gift. The work of the evangelist is simpler. He stands in the face of the world for Christ. A pastor must be like a doctor; he must know the right food, the right medicine, the right diagnosis, all the pharmacopoeia, and how to apply it too. In one sense, it is a rare gift and very precious.
Pastor and teacher are distinct things. The pastor does not merely give food as the teacher; the pastor shepherds the sheep, leads them here and there, and takes care of them. I think it is a thing greatly wanted, but I believe it is a rare gift and always was. Pastors must have a heart for the sheep. There are degrees of completeness in it, but that is what the pastor has to do. The evangelist carries the gospel to the poor sinner, whereas the pastor has saints on his heart and cares for them.
J. N. Darby, excerpts
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