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HOUSTON—Ben Mandrell, president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, challenged ministry leaders to remember the importance of caring about people during his keynote address at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Equip Conference held Saturday, Aug. 5, at Sagemont Church.
“Ministry is nothing short of showing people a visible picture of who God is,” Mandrell said.
Exegetical preaching is only half the job of a pastor, he added. Relationships with those to whom one ministers is equally important. Those called to ministry must love the sheep.
“If you are called to ministry, you’ve got to love shepherding,” Mandrell said. “And to shepherd means you’ve got to smell like sheep, which means you’ve got to be close to them all the time, not locked away in some room developing homiletical schemes. You’ve got to love people.”
Mandrell admitted the message he delivered at Equip was not the one he had originally prepared. Instead, he said he awakened that morning with another text “burning in his chest”—Romans 1. He called on ministry leaders and teachers to show human beings “what God looks like in a relationship.”
Seeing, strengthening, and celebrating
Mandrell focused on Romans 1:10-12, where the apostle Paul expresses an urgent desire to “see” the Roman Christians: to be physically among them, to know them, and to be known by them.
“If you’re going to go the distance in ministry, number one, you have to love seeing people. … Your eyes have to light up when people come into the room,” he said. “If you don’t love being with people, you shouldn’t be in people work.”
Pastors and teachers must not only see, but strengthen, people, Mandrell said, referencing biblical principles in a secular book, Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s The Power of Moments, to encourage a ministry of presence.
Ministry leaders must “show up and celebrate the highs” in the lives of those they shepherd. They must also “mourn with those who mourn” and be there for what Mandrell called the “grind,” encouraging the flock during trying life circumstances.
“Pastoring is not something that you do. Pastoring is something that you are,” he said.
A true shepherd not only sees and strengthens people, but also “selfishly longs for that moment when [people] get a spiritual win,” like a coach who is more excited about the game-winning touchdown than the quarterback who threw it.
Noting his own shortcomings when he had been called to change pastoral roles or initiated the exits of others, Mandrell stressed the importance of “leaving well,” challenging listeners to encourage—or “pour courage” into—other people, investing in their spiritual well-being and success.
Noting the examples of Jesus and Paul, who taught that true humility involves considering others greater than oneself, Mandrell said, “When you pour your life into other people, you’ll always be filled.”
