Owen and Ferguson on the Work of the Pastor

When you boil it all down, the work of the pastor can be summed up as follows. Our endeavor is, insofar as we are able, to make those who are not united to Jesus Christ realize that they are not united to Jesus Christ. And to make those who are united to Jesus Christ realize that they are united to Jesus Christ.

This is not original to me. Sinclair Ferguson introduced the thought to me, with a reference to John Owen's view of pastoralia. (Thanks for tracking the source down, John Tweeddale!).