The Church Needs Good Shepherds

Shepherds have a difficult task but the rewards are awesome.

1 Peter 5:1-4 And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you:  

2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.

4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

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The secular example of leadership in world history is one of domination, from the Philistines to the Babylonians to the Romans, they all ruled with an iron fist. Even the Jewish religious leaders took up this autocratic leadership style of force and intimidation. Authority was not usually associated with concern, forgiveness or mercy.

Peter is writing this book to the persecuted church, the leaders in Judaism and the Roman government are intimidating the followers of Jesus to try and get rid of this new movement, Peter is telling the church leaders that in the face of persecution the church needs leaders to lead.

Peter found out the hard way that leaders are made and they are proven when times are tough. Peter failed when the pressures was on, he blew in no time right after boldly announcing his allegiance, Jesus forgave him and he also gave him a fresh mandate to take care of the flock. After that Peter went on to become the solid rock that Jesus had said that he would become.

Matthew 20:25-26 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.

The world had never seen leadership done the way that Jesus did it, the world had never seen a servant be a leader, the only thing that servants did was perform the jobs that nobody else would do. Jesus example shows us that we need to take care of the flock that God has placed in our care and serve them with the right attitude, cheerfully eager to serve God with Christlike humility, self-sacrifice, and affection for the sheep.

Psalm 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

If you read the entire twenty third Psalm you will catch a glimpse of the perfect shepherd, one that supplies every need, one that leads his sheep to safety, feeds them, brings them through the darkest days and prepares a place for them to live with him in his presence for eternity.

We must remember that the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ, will one day return and review our work. Will you be found following his example?

Related articles

• Seven Warning Signs of a Leader's Fall (thomrainer.com)
• Serve By Leading (wisdomhunters.com)
• The Believer's Survival Guide (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Can You Hear The Shepherds Voice?

scripture

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John 10:1 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.

9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” 21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

observation

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In the last chapter Jesus healed the blind man and a debate started about Jesus identity. Today in John 10 Jesus reveals more information about who he is.

The shepherd is the guy that the gate keeper knows and he will open the gate for him, unlike the thief that has to sneak over the back wall, the sheep know who the right guy is and they are drawn to him. Besides the thief there is also the gate keeper, this guy knows where his paycheck is coming from and he wants that money coming in at least until the wolf shows up and then he is history.

The gatekeeper and the thief have limited interest in the well being of the sheep, but the good shepherd leads his sheep to good pastures and offers them protection from the wolves that are anxious to get to them.

application

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Am I drawn to the Good Shepherd? The sheep are supposed to be, that is one of their traits, they know the shepherd, they know his voice and they are drawn to him. I must be careful if I don't hear the voice of the shepherd then I just may be in the arms of the thief or in the jaws of the wolf.

I am a stupid sheep and I must stay in God's word so that I will be drawn to the shepherd.

prayer

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Thank you Lord for laying your life down for the sheep. I want to always be drawn to you, listening to your voice, so that the thief or the wolf will not stand a chance.