Diligence of a Shepherd

“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:32 (NIV)

Pastors are not hired hands. Because the local churches use voting as a method to determine whether or not a particular pastor is right for their church body, many church members believe that the pastor is hired by them and they are therefore his boss. The reality is that God calls pastors to serve in local churches. “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)

As shepherds called by God, pastors are given the task of keeping watch over themselves and the flock. In Acts 20 Paul warned the elders of the church in Ephesus that savage wolves would come into their midst and try to destroy the flock. The shepherds were therefore tasked with protecting the flock. But Paul also warned that some of those on the inside would rise up and distort the truth to draw some of the flock away. Paul considered these goats inside the flock as dangerous as the wolves outside of the flock.

Keeping watch is the same command that is given over and over again in the New Testament: meaning to be prepared, to teach, or to be accountable (Romans 16:17, Galatians 5:15, Galatians 6:1, Philippians 3:2, Colossians 4:2, and 1 Timothy 4:16). In other words, shepherds were to be diligent in teaching the flock. “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Hebrews 13:17 (NIV)

We live in a time when the church has ceased to be the body of Christ and has become a building to which we invite the lost to hear the message of Christ. The original plan instituted by God was for people of the Way (Acts 9:2) to take the message of Christ with them out into the world (Matthew 28: 19). Just as the Israelites failed to follow God’s instructions concerning the utter destruction of the Philistines (modern day Palestine) which has lead to a continuing struggle over land rights today, the church of today has failed to follow God’s instructions on making disciples.

This is not just about the Lost versus the Saved in the church. Many sources, including Billy Graham and Barna Research, have given us reason to believe that 50% or more of those in attendance in our churches are unsaved. So consider the many problems that we have brought upon ourselves by instituting a “Ya’ll Come” mentality in our churches:

Scenario 1: We invite lost people to attend the church. They assume everyone else that is there is a Christian. They have a bad experience because someone who is not a Christian says or does something wrong. They quit going to church because they see no difference between your church members and their non-Christian friends. 

Scenario 2: We try to teach our children the Biblical way to live. We explain that attending church is an important part of God’s plan for them. Their experience at church is that their friends from school act one way at school and another way in church. When they grow up they leave the church because to them it is all about being fake. 

Scenario 3: John is a new Christian. He is on fire about learning about God and serving God. He gets into a small group and soon realizes that more than half of those who attend don’t really study their lessons, read the Bible, or do anything in the church. John loses his fire and becomes part of the majority in the church that are attenders only. 

Scenario 4: The pastor announces a need for someone to teach a youth Sunday School class. After weeks of announcements with no takers, Bob decides he will volunteer. One of the boys in class asks how to prove that God exists. Bob has no clue how to answer this question and the teen leaves the church believing that it is impossible to know if God really exists.

There are many more such scenarios that have and continue to exist in the church today because we have failed to follow God’s plan to Go, Disciple, Baptize, and Teach. The first two were not meant to take place in a church building. We were told first to “go into all the world” (Mark 16:15). This command can also be translated, “as you go” or “wherever you go.” The second step was to make disciples: “fishing for men” or witnessing for the point of making converts.

The next two points are actually descriptive of what we are to do with these new disciples: baptize them and teach them all things. Baptizing was originally done anywhere they could find water. Once church buildings were constructed a baptismal pool was included for the purpose of submerging believers. The earliest Catholic churches in Israel feature baptismal pools large enough for a single person to climb down into and submerge under the water by kneeling down.

The final instruction was to teach the new disciples everything Jesus had commanded. We often confuse discipleship making with just this aspect of the command. We have forgotten about the first part, which requires that we go. And because we have forgotten to go and make disciples, we have simply brought the goats into the sheepfold in hopes that the shepherd will be able to convert them into sheep while they enjoy all of the benefits of being a part of the flock.

Our key verse shows how God will one day separate the lost from the saved. The example that is used is of a shepherd separating sheep and goats. Researching reasons why a shepherd would need to do this resulted in two possibilities: feeding and breeding.

Goats are browsers and will eat most anything in their path. They prefer twigs, leaves, and other more roughage types of foods. Sheep are grazers and need to eat lower food sources such as grass. If you keep sheep and goats together on a grassy plain, the goats will eat the main food source of the sheep. While goats and sheep can cross-breed, typically the result is a stillborn birth. This would have been a waste of valuable breeding time for a shepherd whose entire livelihood came from breeding, feeding, and selling sheep and goats.

So if the church is not meant to be a gathering of lost people, then why do we put so much emphasis on bringing the lost in, playing music that appeals to the lost, preaching to the lost, and teaching bible studies for the lost? Pastors need to be diligently teaching their flocks: preparing them for the dangers of savage wolves and warning them of imposters within the fold. In many churches we need to separate the sheep from the goats so that we can protect our sheep from the danger that has crept into our flocks.

This is part six 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.

2. Shepherding vs. Herding - driving the church forward or leading it by example?

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?