Shepherds, Not Prize Fighters
- Brent Madaris
- Mar 2
- 5 min read
A Letter to a Young Pulpit on Boldness, Rebuke, and the Spirit of Ministry
Young brother,
If God has called you to preach, you will one day feel two powerful temptations pulling at your spirit.
One will urge you to soften your voice — to avoid offense, to smooth hard edges, to trade clarity for approval.
The other will tempt you to harden your posture — to measure faithfulness by resistance, to wear opposition as proof of courage, and to adopt the stance of a fighter more than that of a shepherd.
Both are dangerous.
Scripture commands you plainly: “Preach the word… reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”¹ You are not permitted to compromise. You are not called to silence. The faith once delivered unto the saints must be contended for.²
But the same Bible that commands you to fight also defines how you fight. And if you are not careful, you may begin to resemble a prizefighter defending a title rather than a shepherd tending sheep.
You are not called to win rounds.
You are called to feed a flock.
The Biblical Mandate for Rebuke — and Its Boundaries
You are commanded to reprove and rebuke.¹ You must hold fast the faithful word and exhort and convince the gainsayers.³ Silence in the face of error is not humility; it is neglect.
But Scripture never divorces authority from gentleness.
“The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.”⁴
That command is addressed to faithful ministers — not compromisers.
The apostle who charged Timothy to rebuke also forbade him from striving.¹ ⁴ Paul warned “night and day with tears.”⁵ He restored the disciplined brother with tenderness.⁶ He commanded spiritual men to restore the fallen “in the spirit of meekness.”⁷
Biblical rebuke aims at restoration, not domination.⁶ It seeks repentance, not applause.⁸
It remains accountable to Scripture, not insulated by personality.⁹
If your preaching grows sharper while your spirit grows harsher, you are drifting from the Shepherd whose name you bear.
When Ministry Becomes a Ring Instead of a Pasture
The language of fighting is biblical.¹⁰ But you must ask: what was Paul fighting?
He fought false doctrine.³
He fought his own flesh.¹¹
He fought discouragement and suffering.¹²
He fought to finish his course faithfully.¹³
He did not fight to preserve an image.
He did not boast of being immune to correction.
He did not equate disagreement with persecution.
In fact, he submitted his preaching to examination.⁹ He reasoned from the Scriptures.¹⁴ He persuaded men.¹⁵
Young brother, if criticism automatically hardens you — if every objection confirms your hero narrative — you are no longer standing guard over doctrine; you are defending ego.
“He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”¹⁶
No pastor is exempt from that warning.
The pulpit is not a boxing ring. The church is not an audience waiting to see who wins the exchange. The flock is not the opponent.
The Category Error That Crushes Consciences
Guard your distinctions carefully.
Never collapse these into one:
Clear biblical commands
Your pastoral applications
Your personal convictions
When those become indistinguishable, disagreement with your judgment becomes rebellion against God.
Scripture allows for conscience and growth: “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.”¹⁷
Not every question is compromise.
Not every hesitation is hatred of holiness.
Not every critique is carnality.
When a preacher treats all resistance as worldliness, he may silence voices — but he will also suffocate maturity.
The goal of preaching is not compliance by intimidation. It is transformation by truth.
A shepherd trains consciences. A prizefighter demands loyalty.
Choose carefully which one you will become.
The Shepherd, Not the Owner
You are charged to “feed the flock of God.”¹⁸ You are explicitly warned not to act “as being lords over God’s heritage.”¹⁸
The church belongs to Christ.¹⁹
You are a steward.²⁰
A steward answers.
There may be seasons when truth costs you dearly. The prophets stood alone.²¹ The apostles refused unlawful commands.²² But Scripture never glorifies isolation for its own sake, nor does it present the loss of the sheep as proof of courage.
“A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench.”²³
If your ministry regularly leaves bruised reeds broken and smoking flax extinguished, do not excuse it as boldness. Examine whether you have mistaken intensity for integrity.
Christ was fearless — and yet never cruel.
Public Platforms and Public Accountability
If you minister in public, you will be answered in public. That is not always persecution. Sometimes it is participation.
“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.”²⁴
“Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness.”²⁵
The Bereans were called noble because they examined even apostolic preaching by the Scriptures.⁹ Examination was not rebellion. It was faithfulness.
If you cultivate only affirmation, you may gain followers — but you will lose depth.
Prizefighters thrive on applause. Shepherds thrive on faithfulness.
What the Good Fight Actually Looks Like
“Fight the good fight of faith.”¹⁰
“I have fought a good fight… I have kept the faith.”¹³
Notice what marked Paul’s fight:
Tears⁵
Patience⁴
Self-discipline¹¹
Doctrinal clarity³
Love for the brethren²⁶
Endurance through suffering¹²
His fight was internal before it was external. It was against pride before it was against people.
The fiercest battles you will wage will not be against critics. They will be against insecurity, weariness, and the subtle craving to be admired for being bold or impressive, for whatever reason.
Fight those battles first.
Finish as a Shepherd
Young brother, when you stand before Christ, you will not answer for how many opponents you outlasted or slew. You will answer for how faithfully you fed His sheep.²⁰
Preach against sin.
Call men to repentance.
Contend earnestly for the faith.²
But remember:
You are a shepherd…Not a celebrity…Not a combat brand…Not a prizefighter defending a title or an image.
The good fight is not won by swinging at everything that moves. It is won by keeping the faith.¹³
May God grant you courage without cruelty. May you always have deep conviction, but without caricature. And may you lead with authority but without arrogance.
Fight the good fight — and finish as a shepherd.
———————
Footnotes
2 Timothy 4:2
Jude 3
Titus 1:9
2 Timothy 2:24–25
Acts 20:31
2 Corinthians 2:6–8
Galatians 6:1
James 5:19–20
Acts 17:11
1 Timothy 6:12
1 Corinthians 9:27
2 Corinthians 4:1
2 Timothy 4:7
Acts 17:2
2 Corinthians 5:11
Proverbs 29:1
Romans 14:1
1 Peter 5:2–3
Matthew 16:18
1 Corinthians 4:1–2
1 Kings 19:10
Acts 5:29
Isaiah 42:3
Proverbs 14:15
Psalm 141:5
Philippians 1:8
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