Effective pastors are not people pleasers.

Shepherding a flock, a congregation, is a tough assignment.

The sheep often get restless and sometimes well downright defiant.

Successful pastors stick to their biblical calling and resist the temptation to become popular.

Today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindall speaks to the students at Dallas Theological Seminary,

where he prepared for a lifetime of ministry more than 60 years ago.

This is message number two in a practical six-part series called The Pros and Cons of Ministry.

Chuck titled his message, Bores in God's Vineyard.

Let's look together at a somewhat obscure section in Paul's letter to the Romans.

It's toward the end of that letter, as he zeroes in, on some of the difficult people in the church at Rome.

Romans 16, 17 to 20, reveals that there were those to begin with who were causing dissensions.

Cynthia and I often refer to people like this as those who stir the pot.

There are those who take delight by spreading false information,

and often it will be about you, the leader.

Paul takes off the gloves as he identifies the reason.

He shoots straight in verse 18.

Such people are not serving Christ our Lord, he states,

they are serving their own personal interests.

Now, if you're like most reluctant shepherds, you will put up with it too long.

I did that for the first number of years in ministry.

In fact, I didn't even want to think it was going on,

which makes me appreciate the very first word that Paul uses when he deals with how it's handled is watch out.

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