Searching For Lost Sheep

All we, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

What exactly is the purpose of the church? This one question has caused almost as much dissension in the church as the discussion on worship styles. And just as with worship styles, I believe that God is honored more with an “all of the above” answer than a divide and conquer mentality. But there are specific purposes for the individual church bodies and the shepherds who lead them.

Many would say that we are called to seek lost sheep, but the bible mentions several different types of lost sheep. There are those who do not yet belong to the flock. They are described as lost sheep because sin separated them from God. Jesus said that He came to seek the lost sheep (Luke 19:10). There are those who have strayed, perhaps seeking an easier path or greener pastures, and they must be found and returned to the flock (Psalm 119:176). And then there are those who have been purposely led astray by spiritual leaders who kept them away from God’s teaching (Jeremiah 50:6). Each of these sheep has a different need requiring vastly different methods for seeking and retrieving. 

Thankfully there is no single purpose for the church. I attended the largest theological seminary in the world and even among the wise and godly men and women who taught at that wonderful institution there was some disagreement on the primary purpose of the church. In the School or Theology they taught that the proclamation of the Word was the primary purpose, whether it be through sermons, missions, or personal evangelism. In the School of Religious Education they taught that discipleship was the primary purpose of the church. And in the School of Music they taught that worship of God was the primary purpose.

Like James and John seeking to have an honored seat at the right hand of God, those who wish to name and claim the primary purpose of the church have failed to understand God’s Word. Scripture makes it very clear that the church is a body, the Body of Christ. Each part has a unique and equally important purpose (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).

Understanding that the church does not have one specific purpose or role is vital to understanding what I am about to share. Too often churches have chosen to gear their entire work around one specific purpose of the church. Typically this is evangelism, which is of extreme importance to God who sent His One and Only Son to die for each lost sheep. But when every ministry in the church is used for that one single purpose, the ministries lose their uniqueness as ordained by God.

Some of the purposes or ministries of the church do correspond with evangelism. Many discipleship courses teach people how to share their testimony with others, but Discipleship includes many other aspects of growing in Christ. Missions work is ultimately about sharing the love of Jesus with the lost community or world. But all of the areas of the church that teach or prepare people to be evangelistic should have one thing in common: they teach people to leave the flock and go out after the lost sheep.

In the modern church, the average member seems to believe that their only responsibility is to get their lost friend to attend a church service or bible study class so that they can hear about Jesus. This may sound like blasphemy to those who have grown up in an evangelistic church, but the church is a place for those who already believe in Jesus and should not be treated as a depot for dropping off lost people to hear about salvation. This is completely contrary to the teachings of Christ about the lost sheep in Luke 15.

Perhaps if churches focused more on all of the purposes of the church, we would have a healthier body that is going out to search for and bring back the lost sheep. God designed the church to equally focus on the following purposes: Worship, Discipleship, Fellowship, Ministry, and Missions/Evangelism. Many have disregarded these purposes solely because an individual wrote about them in a best-selling book; but God, not man, initiated these purposes.

As Christians, we need all five of these in our own lives. Without worship we lose our joy, without discipleship we lose our direction, without ministry we lose our identity, without missions/evangelism we lose our calling, and without fellowship we burn out like a solitary ember too far from the fire.

God has called us to find the lost sheep, but that calling does not negate our responsibility as the body of Christ to engage equally in all of the purposes of the church. Only when we maintain an equality of purpose will we be equipped for seeking those who are outside of our flock, those who have strayed from the flock, and those who have been purposely led away. We must be strong enough for the task at hand, and that requires following all of God’s commands, not just the ones that fit our own preconceived beliefs.

This is part four 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?
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?