Ian Hamilton of the Banner of Truth gives this important word to the church family concerning the preacher/pastor in his short column The Indispensable Support of the Ministry
“At their best, preachers/pastors are fragile, prone to be cast down, overwhelmed by the momentousness of their calling to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. No wonder Paul cried out, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ Ministers are moment by moment in Satan’s firing line. I know this is true for all Christians, but I have no doubt it is especially true for Christ’s ambassadors, his weak, only too vulnerable and temptable servants. My aim in writing this is to encourage all who read it to pray for and support their ministers. I have known men in the ministry who have laboured faithfully for many years in the work of the gospel with a deep sense of aloneness. Perhaps they have been too unwilling to expose their, at times, overwhelming sense of weakness to their congregations. They have pressed on, but often struggling to do so.”