We must consciously cultivate the company and support of colleagues in office. We dare never venture out alone in pastoral work. Pastors are agents of the Lord Jesus, stewards working with him to administer God’s gifts. A minister acts on behalf of another in a proxy capacity, bringing gifts that are not his own. All that was planned by the Father before the world began was accomplished in time by his only Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and continues to be delivered day by day by the Holy Spirit who works through the preached word and sacraments administered in his name. It is rather a ministry that finds its source and goal in the eternal mission of the holy Trinity. We are not solo entrepreneurs in this business, and it’s not a business. That is why Jesus sent his disciples out two by two, and that’s why all the mission imperatives in the New Testament are in the plural.

It’s both foolhardy and dangerous to embark on pastoral work all by yourself.

That’s the first thing you should know about this book: I don’t pretend to have all the answers. Frankly, if you run into someone who claims to be an expert at ministry, you should run the other way. I’ve done the best I can with what I’ve been given-and my goal is to pass along to you some of the wisdom and insight I’ve received from others. But here’s the deal: I hope you’ll find something useful within the pages of this book no matter who you are. You could be a man or a woman clergy or lay. You could be a pastor, a student, or someone simply interested in how God forms shepherds of souls. And now that you’ve opened the cover, you can be sure I wrote it just for you.

The Care of Souls by Harold L. Senkbeil