In John 10:12–13 Jesus is quoted as saying the following about the difference between a hired hand and a shepherd:
“The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (NIV)
What is the primary difference between a hireling and a shepherd according to Jesus? The primary difference is their motivation for tending the sheep. The hireling does it for his own benefit and the shepherd does it for the benefit of the sheep.
When tending the sheep no longer benefits the hireling, he is nowhere to be found and leaves the sheep scattered and unprotected.
In contrast, the shepherd stands in when things get tough and does what his can to protect and care for the sheep.
I have known of “pastors” who have worked the church job market the way that some seek to climb the “corporate ladder.” A true shepherd doesn’t start with a small congregation and then seek to find an opportunity at a larger church so that he can be more comfortable or improve his lifestyle.
Sure, God can call men to change and grow in their responsibilities, but it must be God directed and God focused for this to be a true calling. If God is behind the change, it will be good for both the former church and the new church. If the change is prompted by the desires of a hireling, the former church will feel as though it has been left in the lurch.
Speaking as a sheep, I want a pastor who has a sense of calling, who ministers because he cannot do anything else without violating who he is, and who is in ministry for the long haul, no matter how difficult it gets.
How can you identify the hirelings? It is not always easy since the hirelings are often very good at appearing spiritual and self effacing.
I think that Ephesians 4:11-12 provides some insight to help distinguish between hirelings and shepherds. These verses tell us that the goal of church leadership should be the “equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
If a pastor is seeking to control the congregation, if he is the center of all the activity, if he maintains his place in the spot light, you might find that he is a hireling and not a shepherd.
On the other hand, a shepherd will be seeking to develop the gifts in his congregation, he will be feeding them from Scripture, he will focus on equipping the congregation to fulfill the mission of the church. He will then turn them loose to do the work of ministry. His focus is on the sheep and their development, not on his own position as leader.
In the end, it comes down to motivation. If you are a sheep, ask yourself is your pastor is working for the benefit of the congregation. If the answer is no, then move on and find a true shepherd. Staying under the leadership of a hireling will not be to your benefit.
If you are a pastor, ask yourself the same question. If you are pastoring primarily because you need a job, save all of us a lot of grief and go get a job outside the church. You’ll probably make more money and the collateral spiritual damage will be greatly reduced.
Lee says
November 13, 2016 at 5:20 AMJesus also makes it clear that He is the true shepherd…..It is also clear that actual Biblical leadership in the New Testament church consisted of elders, also called bishops. They were always mentioned in the plural form, and were simply those men who were older in the faith and age that met the qualifications as set forth in scripture. They were not to rule over the people as the gentiles do (Mark 10:42-43). Many times there is no mention of any leadership at all! The single pastor model, in which a person stands in front of a passive congregation week after week for a salary is unheard of in scripture. It is instead modeled on the early Catholic Bishop/Priest model. The first Corinthians model clearly calls for a participatory, each member functioning local body, and actually elders are not even mentioned in this particular letter. Even in instances when Paul spoke at length, for example, the Greek used to describe these interactions inferred that it was in a Q&A format, not in the lecture style known as rhetoric (1 Cor 2:4). Today’s churches are filled with Greek style rhetoric, and not the open participatory Holy Ghost led meeting found in scripture.
MarkMcIntyre says
July 22, 2014 at 4:06 PM@Ijay Thanks. I would add to your list that Paul gives the qualifications for leaders in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Leaders should lead because they are called to care for the sheep, but too often they lead because it feeds their egos. Power corrupts in the church as much as in the political world.
Ijay says
March 31, 2014 at 8:53 AMWhy will the church not be filled with hirelings?.If our so called General Overseers /Apostles of 21st century and church BIG leaders,base promotions into offices and positions on physical appearance ,fat offering and tithes,popularity,attendance to money-based theological schools owned by them,etc instead of using the Apostolic principles as in Acts 13 vs 3.We should not show any form of surprise if EXEC Pastors are hirelings.Tell me, is their fault?Can one give what you doesn’t have?.
Mark McIntyre says
October 2, 2015 at 4:32 AM@Ijay Thanks. I would add to your list that Paul gives the qualifications for leaders in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Leaders should lead because they are called to care for the sheep, but too often they lead because it feeds their egos. Power corrupts in the church as much as in the political world.
Unstoppable Evangelism says
November 21, 2013 at 9:58 AMI have witnessed the difference between a hireling and a shepherd this year.One new exec.Pastor comes into a church and backs up the cancellation of 75,000 Gospel Tracts that used to go out to the lost and dying.I confront him on this and he threatens to kick me out of church if Ibring up up the tract ministry again.Most christians do not understand how powerful Gospel Tracts are.According to American Tract Society some 53%of those that confess Jesus as Savior do so through some form of written material.Also teaching and learning systems have proven the written word to be the greatest means of learning a subject.Is.55:11 promises a supernatural effect on those who will adhere to His word.I confronted him and the blood was now on his shoulders as per James 4:17,Proverbs 21:13,Ezeq.3:21.That I would not be part of what the penal code calls an assesory to a crime.Yes to allow 600,000 messages of the Lord to stop.The average times a Tract is read is appx.5 times.If 25,000 fathers accept the Lord 92% of their families will accept the Lord.My other church asked me to order new tract racks the very next day of which the Tract racks are brimming full of Gospel messages.That my dear pastors is a Sheperd.Why because he cares for the lost.Hirelings seem to be 9-5:00 pastors.These are very poor examples to the flock since they ignore the fate of the lost so will the flock do also.Their are a small exceptions but if we have a Muslim in the white house we are not doing what we should be doing as BornAgain Believers.
brian says
October 20, 2016 at 10:54 AMjohn 16:2
Alex Brown says
April 9, 2013 at 10:20 PMGod bless you Mark and your ministry. What your article says about hirelings is very true and our Lord Jesus has warned us of these wolves in sheeps clothing, but sadly there are those in the church today that can’t discern the difference between the two. Amen!