Hi incredible leaders & influencers,
Leo Harris, author of 'Operation outreach' makes this observation in Chapter 8 entitled: 'Ministries in the New Testament church' (which is an analysis of the Ephesians 4:8-11 five fold ministry giftings list.)
"Here (in Ephesians 4) the Greek word is 'poimen' meaning 'a shepherd' The pastor is a shepherd who cares for and feeds the flock of God." Under the heading of 'Teachers' Ps Harris comments; "The Greek is 'didaskalos' meaning an instructor, there is a close relationship between the ministry of Pastor and Teacher suggested in the structure of the text - Moffat translates this verse thus; "He granted some to be evangelists, some to shepherd & teach."
Intrinsic then to the Pastoral 'gifting' is the concept of a shepherd who both guards & guides the flock. If this is your gifting (ordained or lay; paid or volunteer) there will be a strong desire & demonstrated ability to function in this way. Closely akin to this may be the gifting to instruct & teach (and these two distinct giftings can often appear together i.e. the Pastor/teacher)
As small group leaders its important to understand that your primary ministry 'gifting' is for the church to care for and guide God's people and can be developed, expanded, and added too with further individual gifts of the spirit to enhance your effectiveness. Our prayer as a leadership & pastoral team is that each of our leaders (us included!) minister in our primary ministry gift, and that we all go on to grow, develop & add to this with a greater effectiveness in our local church.
Lets now turn our attention to John 10 vs 1-3
(you can read this in your daily use bible, in my bible it has the title 'the ideal shepherd')
"I assure you anyone who doesn't enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens it for him..." (HCSB)
We understand that there is a proper entry to the flock; the ancient 'fold' had high walls and a narrow entry enclosed by a gate and attended by a 'gatekeeper', or in the case of the remote fold, the shepherd himself would lie across the entry and become both gate & keeper himself. There were those who sought illegitimate access to the fold & the sheep to steal them away for profit. The shepherd however approaches in the right way, is known to the gatekeeper and to the sheep on an intimate basis. His access is 'frontal' and his interest with the sheep is to further their care and provide protection & guidance to them. I have observed over the years individuals make a illegitimate approach to the flock (usually by infiltrating small groups or 'under the radar' through relationships outside the corporate meeting) for the purpose of exploiting them for their own ends. Stop Thief! Robber! That is why we have a pathway for the identification & appointment of known, credible and trusted shepherds for our small groups. These ones rarely if never approach leadership or Pastoral staff, and avoid any interaction with them - be assured the "gatekeepers' of the church watch continually for 'hands on the wall tops' and Intel from watchful sheep about who is in the fold and what they are there for.
Vs 3-5 "and the sheep hear his voice; he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them."
Often in these mixed folds, several flocks may be gathered, requiring the shepherds to call to their flocks, (sometimes individually) to lead them out to pasture. In the 'mixed' flock of the church world - it is comforting to know that we have Pastors and leaders devoted to our care, and they know many of their flock by name, and are acquainted with them personally. Once outside the fold the Eastern Shepherd, went out ahead of his own leading them to food & water. Shepherd leadership requires us to 'know the way, show the way & go the way' In one sense Jesus leads us, and brings us to a predetermined destination; As leaders ourselves we provide much needed direction and security for people who trust that we know were we are going, and that it is not an aimless wander in the wilderness, hoping to chance upon food.
"The sheep follow him because they recognise his voice. They will never follow a stranger, instead they will run away from him, because they don't recognize the voice of strangers."
The reason sheep follow a shepherd? relationship. intimacy. trust. (in that order!)The voice of a leader who is known and knows them. Pastoral work requires a huge investment of time & care - but it involves investing yourself into other people. A tip! this will not always be appreciated, regarded or reciprocated! the effective shepherd however cannot withhold himself from these relationships if they want the flock to follow their lead. The answer to safe guard our flock from 'stranger danger' is to invest more of ourselves in them - at the end of the day ministries come & go, strange voices come and go - but you will have 'relational currency' with people and they will trust you - many times keeping them from strange ideas and strange people! (usually the ones who bring the strange ideas!) your ability to develop this rapport is crucial for the safety of the sheep.
Vs 6 "Jesus gave them this illustration, but they did not understand what he was telling them."
I love this! Shepherd life was well know to the people of the day as it was a very contemporary illustration of everyday life. However the disciples had a 'block' and couldn't seem to get to point of his story and apply it to either Jesus or to themselves! Surprised? don't be. In every generation however clear God is speaking to his people - we will all have to deal with 'spiritual block' In the next session we will look at Jesus second attempt to get through to his disciples..
verse 7 says "So Jesus said again" - I'm so glad God does not give up after the first attempt to open our understanding! - I think that this is such a key understanding that he earnestly restates and clarifies further this shepherd/sheep analogy, as it would become a so important to the disciples when they later led the growing NT church.
Next week 'The Pastor's heart' Part 2 "The good shepherd"
John 10:7-13
Be baaaaaack soon!
Ps Rhett
No comments:
Post a Comment