Shepherding vs. Herding

“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 (NIV)

Sheep dogs herding sheep

God seems to like to shake things up. At times He seems to be very traditional in His ways by giving the Israelites all of these rules and regulations to follow and feasts and festivals to observe, but then He enters into the world in a very unusual manner that did not fit in with the understandings and expectations of His people and their traditions. The people of Israel were looking for a king to come sweeping in with force to free them from their oppression and rule victoriously in Jerusalem. Yet prophecies did make it clear that the Messiah would be born as a child (Isaiah 9:6); that He would be born among the smallest of the clans of Judah (Micah 5:2); that Jesus would be crucified for our transgressions, killed for our sins, and that through His blood we would be healed (Isaiah 53:5); and that their righteousness will come from One who is meek (Psalm 37). This does not sound like a plan for achieving greatness and power among the people of Israel.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,

declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)

God does things in His own way and that is why He chose to use the shepherd as the perfect example of a leader for His church. A shepherd was not the most desired position to have, yet look at the importance that they had in Biblical history:

• Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob, shepherds all, and God chose to make him the second in command of Egypt through some very unusual circumstances; 
• Moses went from being the third highest ranking person in all of Egypt to living as a shepherd in the desert before God called Him to become the leader of His people;
• David was a simple shepherd boy when God used Him to defeat the giant Goliath and secure a victory for Israel over the Philistines; and
• the angels were sent to the shepherds in the fields so that they would be the first to hear the proclamation of the birth of the Messiah.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. While He is preparing a place for His flock in heaven, He has assigned others to serve as shepherds to care for His flock. These pastors are to be overseers, often translated as bishops or pastors. They are to care for the flock until the return of Christ, the Good Shepherd.

It is important that we understand that there are two different forms of shepherding when we consider the leadership requirements of the overseers for the church. When Europeans and Americans think of shepherds we get the image of a man whistling orders to a dog that then rushes around herding the sheep into pens. It is closer to cattle herding than biblical shepherding. This form of shepherding was unknown during the time when the term shepherd was used to describe the role of a pastor.

An Eastern shepherd did not herd the sheep, driving them wherever they desired the sheep to go. Shepherds in the bible would walk in front of the sheep and call out to them. The sheep recognized their master’s voice and would follow him. This is leadership by example or modeling. The pastor’s role is to model the Christian lifestyle for others so that they will know how they are to live as servants of Christ. He should proclaim God’s Word to them so that they can learn to hear and trust his voice. The church needs to know that the shepherd loves and cares for his flock just as Christ loves and cares for His church.

My father taught me one of the most valuable lessons that I have ever learned about leadership: he told me that a good manager will never ask his employees to do anything that he would not be willing to do himself. This has helped me to remember that I am not lording my leadership over others, but that I am modeling the way they are to go. If I expect them to work hard, they need to see me work hard. If I expect them to care for others, they need to see me caring for others. If I expect them to worship God freely or delve deeper into His Word, they need to see me doing those things.

Shepherd carrying a wayfaring sheep

The shepherd also had to endure some difficulties in leading a flock of sheep. He had to fight off predators: bears, lions, etc., sometimes putting his own life at risk in order to protect his flock from attacks. The shepherd had to make sure that the sheep found good pastures, still water, and safe places to rest. And when one of the sheep strayed from the flock, after rescuing the sheep the shepherd would often break one of the legs of the wayfaring sheep then carry it on his shoulders until the leg healed. During the healing process the sheep would be with its shepherd always. The sheep would learn that its very life depended on this shepherd. Once the leg healed, the sheep would stay right by the shepherd with no thought of straying again.

Does your church leadership shepherd or herd the flock? If your leadership are following God’s directions as shepherds, the flock will grow to trust their teachings, they will trust that the leaders are watching out for them, they will trust that their leaders are taking them to the best places for growth, and they will trust that their leaders love them enough to discipline them when they wander into dangerous situations.

This is part two in a series on Shepherding. I encourage you to read the other posts in the series:

1. All We Like Sheep - glamorous may not be the best description for us.

3. Shepherds and Sabbaths - did God intend for pastors to rest?

4. Searching for Lost Sheep - it is not only the unsaved who can be lost.
5. My Sheep Hear My Voice - can you hear the voice of the shepherd?
6. Diligence of a Shepherd - What is one thing pastors should be diligent about?