Paul combines both sides of the pastoral equation in the same paragraph in 1 Thessalonians 2. He doesn’t look for praise from the Thessalonian church or from anyone else (v. 6). But he was gentle among them “like a mother caring for her little children.”
At the very foundation of Paul’s being he was Christ’s possession. Christ, the Lord of the church, called him to a ministry where he stood in Christ’s church as pastor and apostle. All he did flowed from his deep sense of being under orders from Christ the Lord. This is the foundation of Christian pastoral identity.
At the same time, Paul could say he was all things to all people (1 Cor. 9:22). He was sensitive to his environment and adjusted his ministry to church and community. But this cultural and ecclesiastical formation, while crucial, was built upon the solid foundation of his identity in Christ.