Throughout the Scriptures there are a multitude of images of leadership. We see prophets and judges, elders, deacons and apostles. We see fathers and governors and centurions. And yet while each of these are powerful models of leadership there is one image which dominates the metaphor and language of leadership in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, the lowly shepherd.
Over and over again prophets and kings hold up the lowly shepherd as a model of true leadership. God is a shepherd, Jesus is the good shepherd and he leaves Peter with the command to "feed (shepherd) my sheep". Unfortunately though, we too often imagine leadership to be the sole prerogative of pastors, ministers and administrators. We content ourselves in the knowledge that the demands of leadership are being left in the apt hands of the professionals.
But the bible lays out a clear imperative for growth. We enter into our Christian lives as sheep. We're lead from place to place. Let's face it, we're mindless consumers. We roll in, we get fed and we go home. The leaders, lay and professional, take care of our needs and tend us when we're sick. And all of this is great. We need the help...but only for so long. As Paul, Peter and the author of Hebrews all tell us at some point we've gotta give up the spiritual milk.
At some point we must grow past our mindless need. We come to God and his Church wounded but sooner or later its time for us to take up the healing. Every spiritual sheep is called to someday become a shepherd in turn.
So what distinguishes shepherds from sheep? A sheep is a fundamentally passive creature. They instinctively congregate in herds and are easily lead from place to place by food or simply a strong presence of leadership. A shepherd, on the other hand, has a stake in leadership. Not everyone's stake will be the same but the very first moment when a baby Christian takes a step into ministry they begin the process of becoming shepherds. God has gifted each of us in a unique way and he calls us to utilize those gifts as only we can. God intends every follower to become a leader, to have a vision and enact it, be it through more traditional leadership roles or through more subtle arts like service and even through following the leadership of another. Sometimes leadership just means the difference between being lead along and choosing to follow.
Another mark of a shepherd in the making is the the gradual denial of the self. A sheep is a fundamentally self-centered creature. With a few exceptions (most notably ewes with lambs) a sheep spends most of its time taking care of its own needs. They graze for themselves and wander for themselves. When attacked sheep just panic and flee. By contrast a shepherd has to put the well-being of his flock ahead of his own, standing in the face of danger to protect his helpless charges. In fact, it is this very training which prepares the young shepherd and musician David to confront the behemoth Goliath. We begin to become shepherds when we learn to place the well-being of others ahead of our own. God calls his shepherds to stand against bears, lions and sometimes even giants. Its only a good shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for flock, who is willing to stand at the gate and keep watch even when his eyes and limbs burn with fatigue. This is the quality of leadership which Jesus embodies for us, a leadership which does not seek its own good first but rather those of its followers.
Finally, a good shepherd transcends utilitarian calculation. A sheep lives in the shallow world of cost/benefit and pleasure/pain. But Jesus tells us that a good shepherd will not rest until he has attended to each and every sheep, regardless of the feasibility. And while a lit bit of logic and rationality goes a long way in almost any endeavor in life it will ultimately fail us as guiding principles for love. Love has to be a bit irrational. Love can't worry too much about what time it is or what its going to cost. Because love that is conditional and convenient is ultimately and tragically flawed. Jesus decries these things and offers his very life as the counter-example.
The transition from sheep to shepherd is not an easy one. In the eyes of the world its not even a particularly natural one. But it is a transition we're called to make. Jesus didn't come for servants and ultimately he didn't come for sheep. Jesus is calling us past reception of ministering into partnership in his designs, from kingdom-residents to kingdom-builders. Ultimately, there comes a point when we all have to grow up and shed our wooly selfish natures, becoming the leaders we're called to be.
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