The Reformed Pastor

Baxter's greatest success in his quest to bring unity among Christians found powerful expression at Kidderminster and among the pastors who made up the Worcestershire Association.

True and lasting reformation in the Church of England must begin in the hearts of the pastors, asserted Baxter. The Worcestershire Association officially began on December 4, 1655, when the pastors in the county met "to join in humiliation and in earnest prayer to God." They asked the Lord's forgiveness for their negligence in caring for His people and they sought His blessing upon the difficult work of reformation they were about to undertake.

Baxter prepared a sermon for the occasion, but acute pain and illness kept him from attending. His fellow ministers urged him to publish the sermon, which grew into a sizable book titled Gildas Silvianus: the Reformed Pastor.

The title set the tone of the book, a strong reprimand to indolent pastors and an urgent appeal to earnestly shepherd God's flock. Gildas and Silvianus were two early Christian writers who, like Baxter, were known for their "plain dealing" with sinners. When Baxter speaks of being a reformed pastor, he means one renewed in his zeal for the work of shepherding God's people. J.I Packer succinctly expresses Baxter's central theme:

The Reformed Pastor is the supreme transcript of Baxter's heart as a Puritan evangelist, and it is dynamite. Evangelism as an expression of Christian love through ministerial labour is what it is about, and its spiritual honesty, integrity, energy, and straightforwardness are almost unnerving.

It was obvious to Baxter; before any man embarks upon the work of leading others to Christ, he must first be a partaker himself, of God's mercy and grace:

See that the work of saving grace be thoroughly wrought in your own souls. Take heed to yourselves, lest you be void of that saving grace of God which you offer to others, and be strangers to the effectual working of that gospel which you preach; and lest, while you proclaim to the world the necessity of a Saviour, your own hearts should neglect him, and you should miss of an interest in him and his saving benefits.

Next, Baxter turns his attention to the endless assault of temptation in a pastor's life. Because leaders are in the forefront of the struggle, they make inviting targets. Satan "hath long tried that way...of smiting the shepherds, that he may scatter the flock: and so great hath been his success this way, that he will continue to follow it as far as he is able." Only a man who is sober and alert can hope to avoid falling into scandalous sin, spreading doubt and confusion among the young and tender members of the flock:

You shall see neither hook nor line, much less the subtle angler himself, while he is offering you his bait. And his bait shall be so fitted to your temper and disposition, that he will be sure to find advantages within you, and make your own principles and inclinations betray you; and whenever he ruineth you, he will make you the instruments of ruin to others.

Christian leadership certainly invites many temptations, but high visibility is also one of God's gracious means of purifying men for service. Baxter reminds his readers to bless the Lord for this added protection:

you should thankfully consider how great a mercy this is, that you have so many eyes to watch over you, and so many ready to tell you of your faults; and this greater helps than others, at least for restraining you from sin. Though they may do it with a malicious mind, yet you have the advantage of it.

If Satan's outward enticements fail to compromise the man of God, the sin of pride lies dormant, quickened by the slightest inducement. When it is awakened, it creeps into every area of a man's life and taints everything he touches:

Oh what a constant companion, what a tyrannical commander, what a sly and subtle insinuating enemy, is this sin of pride! It goes with men to the draper, to the mercer, the tailor; it chooseth them their cloth, their trimming, and their fashion.

Baxter saw such haughtiness and the lack of humility in ministers as a formidable impediment to growth and peace within the Body of Christ in his day. The seduction of acclaim and power was just as strong then as now, driving popular ministers to seek larger and larger congregations.

Finally, Baxter censured those leaders who no longer followed the admonition of Peter, shepherding God's flock "voluntarily," out of "eagerness." Serving their brothers and sisters had become merely an obligation or, in some cases, an easy way of making a living.

The ministerial work must be carried on purely for God and the salvation of souls...They who engage in this as a common work, to make a trade of it for their worldly livelihood, will find that they have chosen a bad trade, though a good employment. Self-denial is of absolute necessity in every Christian, but it is doubly necessary in a minister, as without it he cannot do God an hour's faithful service.

The Reformed Pastor is truly dynamite and considered essential reading by no less than John Wesley (b. 1703-d. 1791), the founder of Methodism. Philip Doddridge (b. 1702-d. 1751), the devout pastor, author, and hymnist thought the book "should be read by every young minister, before he takes a people under his stated care; and, I think, the practical part of it reviewed every three or four years..."

Charles Spurgeon records one Sunday evening when, disappointed by his own lack of fervor, he entreated his wife, "My dear, I fear I have not been as faithful in my preaching today as I should have been. I have not been as much in earnest after poor souls as God would have me be! Go to the study and fetch down Baxter's Reformed Pastor, and read some of it to me. Perhaps that will quicken my sluggish heart."