Attempts at Honesty

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How well do you shepherd your flock?

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Shepherd with Sheep
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In judgment of the Nation of Israel, God said this through the prophet Zechariah:

“For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. ‘Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock!’” (Zechariah 11:16–17a, ESV)

In this verse-and-a-half, we are giving a list of the qualities of a bad shepherd. This is one who is worthy of judgment because he:

  • does not care for those being destroyed
  • does not seek the young
  • does not heal the maimed
  • does not nourish the healthy
  • devours the fat sheep.

Those of us who have been identified as church leaders should take note of this list. We have an opportunity to do things differently. Looking at the list above, some questions come to mind.

  • Do we care about those in our community that have not yet heard the truth about Jesus Christ?
  • Do we actively reach out to those who are outside of our fellowship?
  • Do we encourage young people to engage with us over spiritual matters?
  • Do we have a vibrant youth ministry or are we just going through the motions?
  • Do we monitor our track record for young people remaining in the church after they go off to college?
  • Do we effectively minister to those who come to our church hurt by life’s trials? Or do we heal the wound superficially by pressuring them to cover it up?
  • Do we nourish the healthy people in our congregation by giving them opportunities to grow in their understanding and ministry?

On the negative side, we must also ask ourselves if we are devouring the fat sheep. Are we using up the strong people in our congregations by giving them more to do without providing a nurturing environment where they can find refreshment? Church burnout is a real thing.

Honesty requires the admission that we don’t do any of these perfectly. Inability to do them perfectly does not relieve us of the responsibility to keep them in mind and humbly seek God for strength and wisdom to improve in these areas.

All of the items in the list above are related to the second great command to love my neighbor. A list like this is helpful because it reminds me that to love my neighbor, I have to get to know him and know what is going on in his life.

To do all of this, I have to get my focus off myself and become increasingly aware of the people around me.

The LORD and the LORD alone is my shepherd

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We need a shepherd

Shepherd to still waters

Because we live in a fallen world, we have disappointments. Others let us down and we sometimes let others down. It is especially troubling when we are disappointed by leaders. Too often we set them up for failure by having expectations that they cannot fill. To be human is to be tainted with the Fall; we are far from perfect. Perhaps this is why many of us find comfort in Psalm 23.

God is the shepherd

David begins by making a declaration that the LORD, Yahweh or Jehovah, is his shepherd. David is the king who is shepherded by God himself. In other words, David is acknowledging that he needs to be lead.

When David wrote this psalm, he was at the top of the food chain and arguably one of the most powerful men in the world. Even though he occupies such a lofty position, David knew he needed God. It is the LORD and the LORD alone who was David’s shepherd. Contrast this with current notions of self made men who need input from no-one.

 A Lesson for Leaders

If David, arguably the greatest king in Israel’s history, needed God as his shepherd, as leaders we would do well to keep in mind our own need. Christian leaders, while filling the role of under-shepherds, need to remember that we are still sheep that are prone to wonder off and get lost.

Many Christian leaders have fallen into sin or error by believing their own press clippings and forgetting or ignoring their need for God. When this happens, it turns out badly for everyone involved.

The result of following

What is the result of looking to the LORD as my shepherd? David says, “I shall not want.” It is on the basis of acknowledging God as my shepherd that I can begin to experience contentment. Jesus said,

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

The rest of the psalm describe what “not wanting” looks like or foundation upon which David is content. The shepherd leads him. David understands that because of God’s character, David can expect good things from God such as green pastures and still waters. David knows that the shepherd has David’s best interest in mind.

Like David, our understanding and our practice can be two different things. David understood that his contentment comes from God, yet his affair with Bathsheba shows that, like us, he sought to find his contentment outside of God’s provision.

Without God we may at times find green pasture and still water. In a limited sense we may have some soul restoration through music and the arts. Yet it is only through the Good Shepherd, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, that we can be truly be guided into the paths of righteousness. It is only through that relationship with Jesus Christ that we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear. It is only a relationship with God through Jesus Christ that will allow us to dwell with God forever.

It is God and God alone that can provide all these benefits. The emphasis is on the character and nature of the shepherd. God is the only shepherd we can completely trust.

We let others down. We let ourselves down. Others let us down. Yet through it all God remains faithful as David reminds us in Psalm 23.

On the difference between a hireling and a shepherd

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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)

ShepherdWhat 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.

Irresponsible Shepherds Bring Desolation

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Sheep with ShepherdEd Stetzer recently wrote an article regarding the decline of the United Methodists. This decline is not unique to that denomination, other “main-line” denominations share this experience.

These denominations have been in the news for abandonment of standards that held sway in Christendom for 2000 years. For example, The Presbyterian Church USA recently enacted rules that will open up ordination to homosexuals. As bad as this is, I would argue that this failure is a symptom of a larger problem.

The larger problem is the abandonment of Scripture as the authority upon which the Church should build its belief and practice. With the rejection of the inspiration of the original manuscripts, the church has lost her moral foundation. With the claim that Scripture is man-made comes the notion that Scriptural commands and principles can be set aside at will. This is done to the detriment of the church.

The pastors and leaders in these denominations, and those who have trained them, must bear a majority of the responsibility for the decline. By rejecting Scripture, they have also rejected Jesus Christ, no matter that they still use his name. Those who reject Scripture are irresponsible shepherds who are not providing proper spiritual care to their flocks.

Yes, I am aware of the attempts to explain that the Bible doesn’t condemn homosexuality. In their attempts, these shepherds perform exegetical gymnastics to stretch words into meanings that the writers and original readers never would have understood. This ploy has been in play since the beginning and is a variation on the theme of “did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1-7)

I recently read these words in Jeremiah 12:10:

Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness. (ESV)

God, through Jeremiah, condemned the shepherds of Israel that led that nation into rebellion against God. As the verse above states, that rebellion turned the Nation of Israel into a desolate wilderness. Rebellion against God and his commands and principles always carries negative consequences. Just as when one is on the top of a sky-scraper, one ignores gravity to his peril.

Later on in Jeremiah 23:2, he writes;

2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.

As in ancient Israel, the shepherds today will be held accountable for what they feed their sheep. James 3:1 tells us that teachers will be held to a higher standard. God has given the gifts that enable the shepherds to lead and he expects that those gifts be used wisely and for good purpose.

The point of this is not to bash the main-line denominations, but to encourage those who are committed to the study, teaching and application of Scripture to stay the course. To care for the flocks that God has brought into your congregations requires that the flocks be fed good spiritual nutrition which can only be found in Scripture. Anything else is junk food at best and poison at worst.

If there is any temptation to stray from accurately teaching Scripture, I’d like to remind you of the words of Peter when asked if he was going to leave Jesus. When Jesus asked Peter if he would leave him, Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68)

The Apostle Paul instructs us to “hold fast to the word of life” in Philippians 2:16.To do so will reverse the decline.

Remember that the drowning man needs a life preserver, not more water.

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