“Shepherding can be fun!”

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” [Acts 20:28].

Apostle Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian Elders [Acts 20:17] is believed to be unique because it is his only major address in the book of Acts that is directed to believers rather than to unbelievers. Paul is speaking here to men of the church at Ephesus, who were blameless, faithful to their wives, men whose children were Christian believers and were not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. They were blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain, but hospitable, men who loved what was good, who were self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. They held firmly to the trustworthy message as it was taught and were able to encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who opposed it [Titus 1:6-9].

As a congregation faced an imminent threat of implosion, with its top echelons distraught and confounded, I made the innocuous declaration to one of its leaders that, “… shepherding could be fun”. With eyes wide open and mouth agape, he asked, “How? Please tell me, I’d like to know.”

Apostle Paul admonished elders of the church at Ephesus to have the care and oversight of the flock that was under their guidance. What is striking here is that shepherds cannot be negligent or partial in their office. They are also required to take care of their health [3 John 1:2], the obvious matters of life, and provide for themselves and their family [1 Timothy 5:8]. They are to use their gifts, given them and commanded by the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 12].

The Flock Congregants are compared to a flock of sheep, which are to be looked after and watched over by the ministers of the word, who act as their shepherds [John 21:15-17]. The flock is the church of God, made up of people whom God has chosen for Himself through the sacrifice of His only son, Jesus. God called these people by His grace out of the world, separated them for His own use and glory, and dwells among them [2 Corinthians 6:16].

The Good Shepherd The shepherd should therefore learn to know the state and condition of his flock, to watch over them, and to feed them with knowledge and understanding, for which they are approved by Christ [through the Gospel]. The shepherd is expected to take note of everyone in the flock, from the poorest to the richest, the sickest to the healthiest, the ‘abused’ to the secure, the strongest to the weakest, the timidest to the boldest, etc. Because the flock is a group of potentially holy and cute people, whose souls are dear to God, to Christ and to the Holy Spirit, a special attention must therefore be given to each and every one of the flock - welcoming back again, that which had strayed [Luke 15: 11-32], and going after that which was lost [Matthew 18:10-14]. A good shepherd cares about, loves, and watches over individuals, as well as the entire flock. He lays down his life for his sheep and gathers them all into one flock.

The Bad Shepherd Having seen how precious the flock is to God, how dare we take advantage of them! A description of the bad shepherd cannot be made clearer than Ezekiel 34. “ 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them…” [Ezekiel 34: 2-6].

Delegation It is impossible for the elders to personally provide individual care to their flock – hence the concept of ‘delegation’ [Exodus 18]. For example, in Acts 6, we see how the Apostles acknowledged that the needs of Greek-speaking widows were not being met. They therefore took responsibility for ensuring that the women’s needs were addressed. However, this was not done by the Apostles, whose primary calling was to evangelize the world [Acts 6:2]. Rather, they asked the disciples [the flock] to choose seven men from among them to address the matter. The two guiding criteria given to the congregants/disciples/flock for choosing the seven men were: full manifestation of the Spirit [Galatians 5: 22-23], and wisdom [James 3:13-18].

The sheep and the goats Sheep prefer to stay in a group and weather a storm in a tight group and in any condition. Contrary to popular beliefs, male sheep will reinforce and charge during confrontation [Matthew 21: 12-17]. Goats, on the other hand, are naturally curious and independent. They are more likely to seek out shelter in harsh weather. Also, the male goats will butt heads during confrontation [3 John 1:9-12; 2 Timothy 3: 8-10;]. Why do we think then that our Lord Jesus Christ would associate ‘good’ with sheep, but ‘bad’ with goats [Matthew 25:31-46]? Goats are very independent animals and can survive on their own. Goats hardly care about each other, because they are motivated by their own selfish desires.

However, sheep require a lot of help to stay alive. Also, sheep easily give in to fear and flee in different directions when they are stressed out about something. But they feel calm and assured when their shepherd is around. Sheep will follow their shepherd anywhere, because they trust him [John 10:27-28]. They know that the shepherd cares for all their needs.

Not all congregants are sheep though; some are goats! If you are meek, inoffensive and shun rebellion, then you are a sheep! Are you patient in sufferings, afflictions, oppressions and injustice? Then you are a sheep! Or are you self-seeking and making the work of your leaders nightmarish and burdensome [Heb 13:17-19; 2 Timothy 4:14]? Then, you are a goat!

Reflection Now, regarding the leader who was preoccupied with the 'power' struggle/control in his congregation and wanted to know how shepherding could be fun, my reply was: “Take time out to thoroughly study out Jesus. Did the thief on the cross ever in his wildest imagination think he would make it to heaven? Was Judas part of Jesus’ last supper? Did Jesus also wash Judas’ feet? Did He know that Judas would betray Him? Jesus could have ‘ostracized’ Judas from the Passover meal sooner if he had wanted. Rather, Jesus washed Judas' feet along with the other disciples! This is a classic example of focus - it was no hard work or rocket science for our Lord Christ. By the way, what is rocket science to Jesus, when everything is under Him? Remember, Judas was still one of Christ’s own - apostles! Jesus did not judge or condemn the thief on the cross, neither did he treat Judas any differently from the rest of His apostles – yet, Judas would betray Him.” I could feel a sudden ‘realization’ in the heart of my hearer [from his countenance], who had to exit the conversation by this time for a pressing issue.

We should apply what Apostle Paul was speaking specifically to the elders of the church at Ephesus at the time, to ourselves today. The significance of the admonition lies in the fact that it is Apostle Paul’s last speech as a free man; he was later to become a prisoner for the rest of his life. Juxtapose that with our Lord Jesus’ three-fold post-resurrection appearance command to Peter in John 21:15-17.

As most parts of the world mark today as Father’s Day, we [family shepherds and church leaders/elders] should not forget to care for our family and the congregation/flock. The people under our care are precious people, for they have been bought with the blood of Christ. Let us remember how Jesus cared for His disciples and exhorted them to do likewise [John 13: 14-15]. Jesus also speaks of the shepherd rejoicing after he seeks and rescues the one lost sheep [Luke 15:1-7].

Conclusion If you head a household, you are a leader. If you lead people in any capacity in the church, your conduct is under God’s scrutiny [James 3:1]. You must ensure that you are in good physical and mental health [1 Timothy 4:8; 3 John 1:2] to be able to effectively lead God’s people – because the flock is extremely precious to God. Do not forget that God has bought all of us [the church] at a price [1 Corinthians 6:20] - death of His son on the cross [Colossians 1;22]! Therefore, if we mess with God’s people, we mess with God [Proverbs 14:31]! So, note that the most prominent aspect of shepherding is serving the flock as a whole, not lording it over them [Matthew 20:26; 1Peter 5:2-3]! And for the goats, it is not too late to experience a sheep-rebirth… there is absolutely nothing impossible for God to turn around [Acts 9:1-19]!

Happy Father’s Day and Shalom!

Amsterdam Church of Christ