“Take Heed to the Flock”: Baxter and the Necessity of Pastoral Care

Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was one of the most influential pastors in church history. For nearly two decades, he labored as a Noncomformist pastor in the small town of Kidderminster. His gospel ministry there not only transformed the town, but changed the entire landscape of pastoral ministry in England as well. Known for his evangelistic zeal and pastoral heart, Baxter’s example and writings continue to inspire ministry leaders to faithfully “care for the church of God” (Acts 20:28).

What was the key to Baxter’s ministry? Among other things, Baxter realized the importance of personal pastoral care in the lives of God’s people.

More than Preachers

In John 10:14, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” Following in the footsteps of the Chief Shepherd, Richard Baxter sought to personally know, and shepherd, each member of his congregation. Baxter believed that the relationship between the church and its pastor(s) should be characterized by mutual knowledge, love, and respect. He stated, “Every flock should have its own pastor, and every pastor his own flock. As every troop or company in a regiment of soldiers must have its own captain and other officers, and every soldier knows his own commander and colours; so it is the will of God, that every church should have its own pastor, and that all Christ’s disciples ‘should know their teachers that are over them in the Lord.’”¹

Shepherding Bonds

Baxter’s commitment to cultivate an affectionate bond with each individual member of his congregation stood in stark contrast to the aloofness and formality that characterized pastoral ministry during his time. One might argue that the key to Baxter’s success as a minister was his genuine care and love for his people. Baxter “laid down his life for the sheep” in countless ways, caring for both young and old in a manner that powerfully modeled Christ’s love for the church. One author states, “[Baxter] interested himself in the affairs of his parishioners, he loved their children, he gave any money he could spare to the poor, he cared for the infirmed, and he distributed many useful books… The key to his [pastoral] method was personal care of individuals, based upon intimate knowledge of their daily lives, prompted and sustained by an unaffected and impartial love for all.”²

Pay Careful Attention to the Flock

In his final charge to the Ephesian elders, Paul exhorted the pastors to “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Baxter certainly took this apostolic charge seriously as he labored to fulfill his pastoral responsibilities. Baxter’s shepherding ministry was motivated by a deep sense of accountability before God to care for each person entrusted to his charge. Commenting on Acts 20:28, Baxter stated,

“Take heed to all the flock. It is, you see, all the flock, or every individual member of our charge. To this end it is necessary, that we should know every person that belongeth to our charge; for how can we take heed to them, if we do not know them? We must labour to be acquainted, not only with the persons, but with the state of all our people, with their inclinations and conversations; what are the sins of which they are most in danger, and what duties they are most apt to neglect, and what temptations they are most liable to; for if we know not their temperament or disease, we are not likely to prove successful physicians.”³

Not a CEO

Sadly, in many churches today, pastors function more as CEOs of the organization than shepherds of the flock. Many are content simply preaching exegetically faithful sermons. They would much rather preach than get their hands dirty in the lives of people. Few seem to labor with Baxter’s sense of accountability to care for each person within their charge. Baxter reminds us, however, that a true minister “is not to be merely [viewed as] a public preacher, but to be known as a counsellor for their souls.”⁴ If pastors are to follow in the footsteps of the Savior, they must recover Baxter’s vision and commitment for loving, personalized, shepherding ministry.

Micah Colbert is the discipleship and outreach pastor at Community of Grace Church in Buffalo, NY. You can find his booklet, Good News for All Nations, designed for evangelism in ESL encounters, here. He blogs at Rooted Thinking, where this article first appeared.

1. Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, 88. [↩]
2. Beougher, Richard Baxter and Conversion, 24, 26. [↩]
3. Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, 90. [↩]
4. Baxter, 96. [↩]