The Good Shepherd and Good Shepherding

JOHN 10 (The Good shepherd’s words about Himself)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. ¹³ This happens because he is a hired man and doesn’t care about the sheep… ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, ¹⁵ as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. I lay down My life for the sheep…²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me.

(LUKE 15:3 So He told them this parable: ⁴ “What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, ⁶ and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!'”)

ACTS 20 (Paul’s warning words to the Ephesian elders)

²⁸ Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers, to shepherd the church of God,8 which He purchased with His own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ And men will rise up from your own number with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. ³¹ Therefore be on the alert…

I PETER 5 (Peter speaks AS an elder TO elders)

¹ Therefore, as a fellow elder…I exhort the elders among you: ² Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will;2 not for the money but eagerly; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

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Shepherding is as old as dirt. Both Old Testament shepherding texts and contemporary shepherding form the context of the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd is the context of New Testament church-shepherding. All of that is the context for church-shepherding in our times. To our detriment, this concept is too often minimized in both elder selection and eldering itself. (Neither I Timothy 3 nor Titus 1 deal with it, so neither do we. Go figure.) Regardless, both the church and prospective elders should desire to know what shepherding means.

If we want to know what it means, we need to know what it is. In scripture, the shepherd metaphor is no mere side issue. It shows up more than 500 times. In the Old Testament, Jehovah speaks of Himself as the Shepherd of His people. Israel’s leaders are called shepherds (and false shepherds). And, of course, Jesus self-describes Himself in shepherd terms. It is the DOMINANT model for spiritual leadership. Without it, I may supervise but will I serve? I may take care of money but will I take care of people? Will I focus on being over or with people? Huge difference!

Certain things are always true about good shepherds:

1. They are NEAR the sheep. As much as possible, you want to be near the ones you love. No long distance shepherding. No Skype. No deliberate distancing akin to a corporate board. The shepherd is hands on – right there, all the time. Therefore, the sheep trust him. It is not an organizational but a relational thing. God’s people are no different. Time and closeness are signals that an elder really cares about the people whom God has entrusted to him. It also is the best way to detect any sickness, injury, or wandering away. Indeed, we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. That is why an elder must get behind closed doors! A good shepherd will be NEAR the sheep.
2. They are FOR the sheep. Sheep are skittish. Having many natural enemies, they are easily scared. But the shepherd will never hurt or misuse them. Beyond that, he will stand between his sheep and danger, to the point of death. He is their protector. Furthermore, he nurtures and tends to the weak and the wounded. That is not just a Sunday job. Nor can it be done from a church office. No sheep is ignored, minimized, or lost in the shuffle. On a church organizational chart, a good shepherd-elder’s name will be at the bottom as a servant, not at the top as a superior. Think on that. A good shepherd will be FOR the sheep.
3. They are AHEAD OF the sheep. That is Psalm 23, is it not? Read it in light of our focus. By nature, sheep are followers. They just assume the shepherd knows the best paths of protection and provision. As a good shepherd, an elder guides the people of God with sound judgment and clear biblical insight. Sheep cannot lead a shepherd. Likewise, the sheep of the Lord should not have to lead an elder. He knows the way to pray, think, walk by faith, study the Book, serve, love and conduct himself. These qualities are his right to lead fellow believers through the wilderness to the land of promise. He is no spiritual or emotional light weight. His leadership does not have to be constantly announced, but is cemented by what the Lord’s sheep see, hear, and feel. On that basis, the flock in his care readily follows. A good shepherd will be AHEAD OF the sheep.