The Shepherd

It is not hard to argue that at the core of all ministries is the heartbeat of the shepherd, the pastor.  These were the words, sage words, of my first pastor – who was himself primarily an evangelist, as well as being a good pastor. 

It is not too much of a stretch to say if we don’t have people as our raison d’etre then it is questionable whether we should even be in ministry – because ministry is serving people. It is not a title or position. And ministry is certainly not the use of, or worse, the abuse of, people in the name of a vision. When people are pawns, the shepherd is a wolf. He or she is a devourer, a fleece-er. Paul adequately warns us about those that are in it for themselves.

I contend it is unwise for a church leader to proclaim they aren’t a pastor, even if they aren’t primarily pastoral.  When a church is young, they will need to be, as Paul, a father and a mother to the people – pastoral, as much as anything else.  1 Thessalonians 2.7-12 

As and when a church grows to being larger than one hundred people a leader will still be pastoring/discipling the team around him or her. So, they never stop being a pastor even if they can’t, and shouldn’t be expected to, pastor the whole church. They will still be pastoring a smaller church/group -  a church within the church. The exception to this is when they preach and teach God’s word to the whole community. Jesus saw the people as sheep without a shepherd, had compassion on them, and taught them many things; teaching is an essential form of shepherding, and it doesn’t depend in the size of the audience. Mark 3.7-10; 6.34

A leader that proclaims to a young, and normally small, congregation that they aren’t a pastor is doing a disservice to the people. To begin with, a leader hardly needs to state the fact - it is proven in who is following.  Secondly, the people will feel a disconnect from someone who has, in other words, said they won’t be available for pastoral care. They might ask, ‘what do they do?’ And finally, it reeks of self-importance – something any minister needs to eschew. 

Peter speaks to this when he stated the elders were “to shepherd the flock of God among you (them), exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you (them), not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your (their) charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears you will (they would) receive the unfading crown of glory.” Peter weaves shepherding and oversight together in this instance.  He speaks using shepherding terms more than leadership terms, significantly calling Jesus the Chief Shepherd.  Apostle, though he was, Peter remained as a shepherd to the flock. 1 Peter 5.2-4. 

An apostle who isn’t (also) a shepherd will be task-focused, with little care for the actual purpose of proclamation/planting -  creating a people for the Lord.

An evangelist who isn’t (also) a shepherd will focus on stats/numbers and the pragmatic efficiency of their preaching.  

A prophet who isn’t (also) a shepherd will tend to be dogmatic, harsh, and lacking nuance in understanding humanity.  

A teacher who isn’t (also) a shepherd will be process-oriented, not people-oriented, unrealistic in expectation, given to intellectualism or oversimplification – a college professor or a preaching popularist.  

And a pastor who is only a pastor will tend towards – what the church looks like in many places today – small, un-discipled, and sentimentally inclined, instead of biblically oriented.