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Living Sacrifice Day 35 – Shepherding: the Heart of Church Leadership


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Begin by reading 1 Peter 5:1-4

A number of summers ago, my wife and I spent time in a remote region of Morocco with some missionary friends. Nearly every day we would watch shepherds lead their flock of sheep up and over the mountain pass near the home where we stayed, or we would see them in a field near a highway we drove by. It is not a glamorous job. It is a job of caring for these animals and leading them to places where they can find water and pasture. As they walked up steep hills, it looked like a never-ending exhausting job. Often times the shepherds were dirty, they looked vigilant but tired, and they seemed to give no indication that the destination was nearby. It was like their job and their only concern was keeping the sheep safe and well fed, wherever it led them.

Over the past few days, I have been challenging you to not think of yourself as an average Joe just helping your pastor, but rather as a called member of the clergy, qualified for service – whatever that service may be. Today I want to talk about the heart of leadership.

Peter very intentionally uses the analogy of shepherd with church leader for a couple of reasons. First, Peter wants us to understand what church leadership is all about. Like those shepherds in Morocco, church leadership is not about being a glamorous CEO, it is about walking the trenches with the sheep. It is about putting them and their needs first and helping them find pasture.

Sadly, sometimes this point is forgotten among many church leaders. Instead of seeing the church as a ministry to serve, sometimes it can be treated merely as a corporation with success as its only aim. When pastors and elders lose the vision of shepherds and treat their jobs as though they were CEOs, attitudes quickly switch to “it’s my way or the highway.” I heard a story recently about a pastor who barged into a meeting, proclaiming, “You will pay me more, and all I’m going to do from now on is preach!” Sadly he had forgotten that being a pastor is not a calling to be Steve Jobs but to be more like Mother Teresa.

In some churches this happens because the congregation has unbiblical expectations of their pastors and leaders. Instead of seeing them as shepherds, they cater to the corporate mentality. They want their leaders to build a thriving empire of perfection, rather than a ministry of love and relationship building. They’ll roll out the red carpet and offer a free Mercedes, but when the leadership doesn’t grow the church in numbers, they’re out the door looking for a new flock with which to wander. Peter wants us church leaders and congregations to realize that leading in God’s ministry is a ministry of shepherding.

Secondly, Peter’s words remind us whose sheep we’re caring for. We are told that these are not our sheep but sheep that God has entrusted to us for a time. He tells us that our attitude should not be to do this service because we have to but because we may do it. One day, the Lord will return and hold us to account. Why should we be proud to say, “Look at the building we were able to build!” if our sheep are skinny and unfed. Why should we feel proud to say, “Look at the vision statements adorning our wall!” if our sheep have not been led to healthy pastures. Why should we feel proud to say, “Look at how large our church is!” if our sheep are all sickly and deformed. The point is that God cares primarily about His sheep. Sure, we must be good stewards of our building and facilities, but we must recognize that the true church, bought with the precious blood of Christ, is not made up of bricks and mortar, rather it is made up of human beings.

These human beings form the one body, which Paul talks about in Romans 12. Our calling as shepherds (whether it be elder, ministry leader, teacher, etc.) is to feed the flock by allowing them and encouraging them to use their gifts. Some churches don’t trust the congregation to do this because of fear that they’ll screw something up. But I think it would be wise to understand the job of a shepherd. Their job is not to merely get the flock into a pen ten miles away and say, “I’ve arrived.” Their job is to feed them. It is a calling marked by journey and never by destination.

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