Pastoring to hell

Meditating on Matt. 23:15, Glen Scrivener comes to some sobering conclusions on pastoral ministry:

Here’s my contention: Pastoral care is not good in and of itself. If you ‘help’ someone according to your own Pharasaical gospel, you will do nothing more than spread demonic influence. In fact you will make the pastored person twice the son of hell that you are.

It seems to me, therefore, the question is not whether we do evangelism so much as which evangel we preach.

And similarly, the big issue is not so much getting your church to be pastorally minded. The real issue is making sure they know the gospel. ‘Pastoring’ that is not a thoroughly gospel pastoring will do incredible harm.

Yes, indeed.