“Here is a trustworthy saying, ’If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.”
1 Tim 3:1
For the people of Jesus’ day, shepherding sheep was a normal yet mundane occupation; and I guarantee you it wasn’t looked on as a particularly praiseworthy job. In fact, being a shepherd was lonely and hazardous. A shepherd must stay vigilant out in the open fields night and day – – be ready for a sheep to wander away at any moment, and keeping an eye out for predators licking their chops wanting to devour one of the juicy little lambs.
Sheep were always prone to danger – – not surprising. Why not? Because the animal has a pea for a brain!
Listen to this actual news story, “Hundreds of sheep followed their leader off a cliff in eastern Turkey, plunging to their deaths this week while shepherds looked on in dismay. Four hundred sheep fell 16 feet to their deaths in a ravine in Van province near Iran but broke the fall of another 1,100 animals who survived. Shepherds from a nearby village neglected the flock while eating breakfast, leaving the sheep to roam free. The loss to local farmers was estimated at $74,000.” As one writer commented, “One sheep wandered off a cliff and 1,499 others just followed along. Can you picture it? 1,500 sheep, each walking off a cliff, one after the other. Soon they were piled so deep that the ones at the bottom were crushed to death and the ones on top were lying on a big downy-soft pillow. It is completely absurd and tells us one important fact about sheep and the first reason sheep absolutely need a shepherd: they are not the smartest animals in the world. In fact, they may well be just about the dumbest animals in the world.”
Isaiah 53:6 uses this same picture of a sheep to describe all us in our sinful condition, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – everyone – to his own way…” If you are called to be a pastor/shepherd of a church, you will be asked to work with wandering sheep every day. Sounds like a great career move, doesn’t it? Chasing sheep, this is what God calls the pastor to do. Does this sound like a noble task to you? Well God says it is in I Timothy 3:1. How would you define a noble task, and how should I view a noble task?”_____________________________
Do you believe pastoring (taking care of sheep) is a noble task? ______________
If no, why then are you even reading this? ______________
If yes, then you need to always remember that not just anybody is allowed to do this job. Not just anybody off the street who decides they want to be a pastor can be a pastor; it is granted to the few who are gifted and called! I find it is rare to find a person who likes to watch sheep. Seldom is the person who will give up their life, their freedom, their desire for cool independence to spend their life caring for simple sheep. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard, “Why do you choose to meet with people that don’t really give much back to you, or appreciate the sacrifice?” All I can say is that “God has put the desire in me to do it.”
In some sense, watching sheep doesn’t require you to be a brilliant mathematician, a creative writer, or even a high caliber leader. But it does ask you to be made of rock solid stuff, the kind of stuff that demands for you to be the type of person who. . .
* WON’T COMPLAIN
* WORKS HARD
* HANGS IN THERE – – EVEN WHEN EVERYONE ELSE BAILS
Out of these three, which do you think is the hardest?________________________________________
A noble job is noble for the sheer fact it will prove to be both dangerous and strategic. Listen to what Eugene Peterson says about it:
“Why do pastors have such a hard time being pastors?
Because we are awash in idolatry. Where two or three
are gathered together and God comes up, a
committee is formed for making an idol. We want
gods that are not gods so we can be “as gods”.
The idolatry to which pastors are conspicuously liable
is not personal but vocational, the idolatry of religious
career that we can take charge and manage.”
I especially think the reason pastoring is so hard these days is because there is overwhelming contempt in our culture for any kind of authority. People don’t like to be told what to do, especially by a pastor. Look at a new church’s beliefs about church that was on their website:
“Jesus is the head of the church, not the ‘pastor.’ Unfortunately, pastors have become the functional head (“boss”) of the church for most people. That is unhealthy and dangerous. . . Church isn’t somewhere you go, it’s something you are. It’s something you do. So, yes, we believe many churches have made a practice of wasting way too much money on elaborate buildings and large staff salaries. More of our money should be used to “church” ourselves in the world, where we work to repair, restore, renew, re-create, and reconcile.
The clergy/laity/(pastor/congregation) divide is debilitating to the Body. From the beginning, God’s design was that mankind (men & women) would collectively represent Him. Even the ancient prophets dreamed of the day that everyone would be as a priest. Power and authority in the Church is not positional, but revolving and shared. We are to submit to one another, side by side, not over and under. The authority given to us by Christ is to serve. Therefore, our elders must be the greatest servants among us!”
(1) What do you agree with about this statement? ____________________________
(2) What do you disagree with about this statement? __________________________
How can the following verses help crystalize the concept of pastor in your mind:
– Hebrews 13:7, 17 ________________________
– 1 Peter 5:1-4 __________________________
– Ephesians 4:11-13 _____________________
Why do you think there is such contempt for authority in our society? ______________________________
What happens when there is a sharp dispute in the church where two groups of people see an issue two different ways and they cannot agree – who wins? _________________________________________
How did the church handle it in Acts 6:1-7? ________________________________________
I want to end this section by looking at an email that I sent to a ministry friend who was really struggling in his ministry and wanted to quit because he didn’t think what he was doing was that important. He was frustrated that people really didn’t seem to either listen or change under his leadership. They seemed to wander and quit following just like sheep. He started questioning both himself and even the role of a pastor, is it even needed? So instead of teaching him, and telling him it is important, I took the Socratic method of asking him questions. Here they are. . .
– If you could somehow see the invisible reality behind your ministry, what would it look like?___________
– Do you really think there are demons and angels vying for the souls in your congregation? _____________
– Who are you competing against? The world, the flesh and the Devil or other pastors and their programs to see who is the best in God’s eyes?_____________________
For me, I answer my call to pastoring and perseverance daily by believing that each word I utter in “sincerity” has behind it the power of life and death. If I utter words to make people happy it ends most the time in catering to pride and pride leads to death. If I utter convictions and exhortations and encouragement based on scriptural fact, I believe life through the Spirit will be produced. With that being said, march on., stay vigilant, protect the sheep…just like Jeremiah in Jeremiah 15:19.
Memorize it, it will save your ministry!
