disciplines. As Bunyan’s Christian puts it, one of the earliest steps down the path of apostasy comes when backsliders “cast off by degrees private duties, as Closet-Prayer, Curbing their Lusts, Watching, Sorrow for Sin, and the like.”2 So, my dear young brother, guard your heart. Go to God’s Word first and foremost as a believer. Remember that before you are a shepherd you are a sheep. As a pastor you need the very same things that you commend to others. Follow the wisdom of Robert Murray M’Cheyne