Shepherding the Flock of God

• Shepherds vs overlords
• Shepherds vs hirelings
• Shepherds vs administrators (Elders & deacons)
• The Pastor’s job description

Much of today’s current structure in the church is an old wineskin that cannot contain the wine that God is going to pour out for the harvest that is coming to the church.

One of the major changes that must take place is the redefining of the role of leaders, as we see a full fivefold ministry model being restored. Although we are excited about the emergence of apostolic and prophetic ministries in these days, it is also essential to note that the ministry of pastor has evolved through traditions into something quite different than the scriptural definition, and needs redefining as well. For instance, nowhere in the New Testament do we find a pastor being the solo minister in a local church. What we do see is churches led by apostles over teams of ministers some of which were prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, administrators, and many others under that catch-all groupings of “elders” and “deacons.”  We see, for instance in the case of the Antioch church, from which Paul’s apostolic team was sent, certain prophets and teachers giving leadership to the church. Pastors weren’t even mentioned.

The common government of the New Testament church was a plurality of elders, made up of a diversity of ministry/leadership giftings, who recognized within their midst headship, diversity, apostolic grace to lead and build, and prophetic grace to cast forth vision.

So are we saying the church does not need pastors and pastoral leaders? On the contrary, the church needs pastoral ministry more than ever. But let’s define Biblical pastoral ministry and we will discover a few things that will change our perspective of exactly what a pastor is, and that the effective church needs a whole team of pastors to effectively pastor the church.

In both the Old and New Testament the word for 'shepherd" and "pastor" is the same word in Hebrew and Greek. A pastor is simply a shepherd, and a shepherd is a pastor, both naturally and spiritually.

We see this clearly in Peter’s first epistle.

 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” 1 Peter 5:1-4

Shepherds vs Overlords

God says in 1 Peter 5, that pastors are not to be lords over the sheep. "nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:3)

In the Lord’s church where the pastor and the members are spiritual there will be a sense of unity. The pastor leads...not as the BOSS, but a loving shepherd who wants the best for the sheep and leads them carefully.

At issue is the reality that leadership in the Kingdom of God functions quite differently than leadership in the world. In fact, it has even been called the upside-down Kingdom, because the Kingdom of God works very opposite the natural domain. For instance:

The way up is the way down... HUMILITY “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time”(1 Pet. 5:4-6; also, Phil. 2:3-7) It is the humble that are exalted and the proud become abased. If we attempt to lift ourselves up we stumble, if we get low we will be exalted by God.

Letting go is the way to receive... SURRENDER (Mk. 8:24,25; Mk. 10:29,30) If we try to save our life we will lose it. If we let go of our life we will find it. We must give to get; sow to reap... etc.

The greatest is the servant of all…  SERVANTHOOD (Matt. 20:25-28) Great leaders are the ones who are great at servanthood. Give one who is a servant-at-heart a position of authority and he will use his position to serve others.

The meek shall inherit the earth. MEEKNESS (Matt. 5:5) If we have to foist our leadership on others, we show that we have none. (Or that ours is the world's version of leadership) A wise leader is peaceable, and easily entreated. (James. 3:17)

A overlord may seek to benefit materially by his labors, and this of course is a serious offence (“and not for sordid gain,”1Pet. 5:2; 1Tim 3:3,8). But, as the Pharisees so amply demonstrated, one may have completely wrong motives for leading even if he cares not at all for financial profit. He may be "overlording", for example, in caring for power and authority, or for honor and respect without responsibility.

I have known of leaders who were driven by personal ambition in ministry the way that some seek to climb the “corporate ladder.” James gives s a serious warning about this in James 3:13-16.  A true shepherd doesn’t view relationships as a means to an end or view their activities from a purely opportunistic mind set.

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.

Shepherds vs Hirelings

In John 10:11–13 Jesus is quoted as saying the following about the difference between a hired hand and a shepherd:

“The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.”

What is the primary difference between a hireling and a shepherd according to Jesus? One of the primary differences 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 he can to protect and care for the sheep.

A hireling runs from tough tasks; a shepherd runs towards them. If we used a fire as an example the hireling would be fleeing the scene and the Shepherd would be rushing towards the fire.

Hirelings view the work as one who punches a clock. When their time is up, they go about their own agendas. We need pastors who have a sense of calling, who minister because they can’t do anything else without violating who they are; with a sense of destiny, gifting and created purpose, and who are in ministry for the long haul, no matter how difficult it gets.

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.”

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 they are called to. 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, serving more as a coach and a cheer leader for others.

A hireling lets sheep suffer; a shepherd will suffer for the sheep. A hireling won’t fight wolves; a shepherd is willing to fight for the sheep. A bully comes in and starts causing problems and the hireling just plays nice. Hirelings are only worried about their agenda and don’t want to get labeled a radical or a hater. Shepherds have hard conversations and it may mean their character gets maligned, but they can’t stand to see sheep get abused, manipulated or deceived. A true shepherd will protect the sheep and fight off the wolves.  He will carry a staff and use it when the flock is threatened by wolves or when the sheep are hurting each other.

A Word about Wolves

The shepherd is called drive out the wolves and to protect the sheep, as a faithful steward of an entrustment from God. A very real problem, however, is that all sheep were once wolves. A newly converted sheep, looks a lot like a wolf. And a skilled wolf in sheep’s clothing looks a lot like a sheep. Skill and discernment is needed so as to not chase out the Lord’s real sheep who still have some “wolfiness” about them while their hair is falling out and their wool is growing in, or to not let the wolves remain who are well disguised as sheep.  God give us grace and discernment.

Shepherds vs administrators (Elders and deacons)

Much of the western church has come to resemble more of a corporate entity rather than the Family of God or the Body of Christ. And with that, some of it’s leaders have become more like corporate CEO’s than mystics, visionaries and spiritual leaders.

From the beginning of the Church the apostolic leaders realized they had to guard against being caught up in the inevitable organizational administration of the church so they could continue to give themselves to “prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Act 6:1-4.) The ordination of deacons was for that very reason, so that the deaconate could attend to the administrative details, leaving the elders to attend to prayer, study and teaching. As one who has over the years, pastored several churches, ran a K-12 Christian school, started a Christ-centered counseling center, a regional School of the Holy Spirit, and various other ministry endeavors, I discovered that the many “good” things that can be part of the ministry are often enemies of the “best” things, which are prayer, study and the ministry of the Word.

Job Description of Pastor/Shepherd

There are a number of pastoral epistles in the new Testament giving young ministers instruction on how to effectively pastor/shepherd the people of God. (See 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus)  But one of the most thorough job descriptions comes from the prophetic words of Ezekiel where the Lord is scolding the shepherds of Israel for what they didn’t do.

“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,  “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.”

 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.

I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.” Ez. 34:1-4 11-12,15-16.

We see here that the Lord rebuked the shepherds who failed to feed the flock, strengthen them, gather them, heal them, bind up the broken, and protect them from harm. It is the description of one who protects, corrects, guides, and provides. In essence this can be described as the “ministry of feeding and caring” as expressed in these tangible ways.

We further see God’s promise of Shepherds after His own heart, in Jer. 3:14-15, who will spiritually feed the flock.

“I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 3:14-15

A pastor will feed the people with knowledge and understanding from an anointing to teach and impart Biblical truth. But he will also bear the people in his heart, pray for healing when they are hurting and sick, tend to their souls, and will round them up when they are drifting away. A pastor is the expression of the individual care that Jesus has for His flock.

As we move toward more of the Biblical roles and definitions of pastors, and the emergence of apostolic centers vs local churches this means several things regarding the ministry of the pastor. It means they need a willingness to recognize and make room for a new wineskin of leadership and ministry. In many cases it will take a whole new structuring of the government of the church to make room for apostolic and prophetic foundation layers to work.

It also means we must simplify and clarify the description of pastoring so as to recognize that many can participate in the ministry of feeding and caring, and we must recognize the many “pastoral” people in our midst that God has gifted to pastor/shepherd the people. A true Eph. 4 pastor will equip the members of the church to, each one, be pastoral in their growth into the image of Christ, the Great Shepherd.