Sheep and Shepherds
John 10:2-5 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.
Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Who is the leader of a church? Does it matter? For many Christians and even pastors, they push the idea that it really doesn’t matter. But more than that, if you are at a church because of the pastor there, then you are doing something wrong. Rather, they expect you to be loyal to the church itself, and act as if the pastor is irrelevant. After all, the synod or other denominational hierarchy will provide you with an “overwhelmingly qualified candidate.” Or, if you are an independent church, you shouldn’t worry about it because the committee will find a new pastor and everything will go well. But in the end, the pastor leaves, and people leave when he goes. Why is that?
Is it because those people aren’t committed to God? Is it because they are only there because they are a “cult of personality” for whatever pastor it is? Or is it something deeper? While it may be easy to write off those people as somehow being defective, reality is telling us something. Reality is saying, “The pastor does matter, no matter the structure of the church.” Sure the congregation can say that the pastor is simply something akin to an adviser by not giving him any authority over the goings on at the church. For example, he can attend voter’s meetings, but he doesn’t get a vote. Or perhaps, he isn’t allowed to come at all. Perhaps, he doesn’t even have a say over doctrinal things and again, everything is decided by the church itself. Or by the elders, presidents, committees, etc. that are all elected by the church as its representatives. In other words, the business of the church is almost if not entirely separated from the pastor. But even then, what happens when he leaves? What happens when the new guy comes in?
Is everything super smooth and no one leaves? Or are there still people who abandon ship? Why does that happen? After all, the pastor is just the guy who preaches on Sunday morning. He is just a figurehead when it comes to the big decisions. Maybe you haven’t even met your pastor because the church is so large. Why would anyone be upset, especially if they do not have a personal relationship with the guy? And the answer people have come up with is to encourage people to be loyal to the church itself. But is that a wise way of dealing with the problem? Or perhaps a more poignant question, does encouraging people to be loyal to the church solve the problem?
The answer, especially in this day and age, is no. It may help a little bit, but for many, the reality is that they are focused on themselves. They are focused on their needs and not really the needs of the church or the organization. And, in being focused on their needs, they will end up going wherever it is better for them. So, if the new pastor comes in and he doesn’t preach or lead well, why would they stay? They may still be members to receive some benefits, but they can find better preachers on the internet. There is usually another church (or dozens more) in the area. That is especially true if someone belongs to a Baptist/non-denominational church. And, like I talked about in a previous article, what is the large focus of many churches? It is, “Find the one you are comfortable with.” Right? So, if the pastor leaves, the expectation has already been set that members should leave if they are no longer comfortable. That was part of the deal when they signed up to be members of the church, and it is the church that is trying to change the terms now.
But why is it that way? Why is it that the pastor matters so much for so many people? Ultimately, it reflects what Jesus tells us about His church. What does the term pastor mean? It means, “shepherd.” Well, what does a shepherd do? He leads, cares for, and defends his sheep. Who are the sheep? The sheep are the followers or rather members of the church. Will sheep follow the voice of a different shepherd? No. So, if the shepherd, (i.e., the pastor) leaves a congregation, why would you expect the sheep (i.e., the members) to automatically follow the new guy? Especially, when they don’t know the new guy? He may have all the best credentials in the world, but if the voice isn’t right, Jesus tells us, “The sheep won’t follow him.”
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, reality is what it is. The pastor, the priest, etc., is the leader of a church. And when he is weak, misguided, or outright a false prophet, the people will respond to that. Sometimes it means that the membership will leave. Other times, it means that the church will stagnate, problems will fester, and the church itself will collapse (Ezekiel 34:1-6). Those problems are often not resolved when the pastor leaves. In fact, very often, the unresolved issues come to the forefront making it that much harder for the next pastor or the church in the interim. That is what makes selecting a good faithful pastor so important. We need someone who is going to encourage, and if need be, force us to take care of our wounds.
But because the pastor is the leader of the congregation, that is also why when the pastor leaves or is replaced, people will also leave. They will leave no matter how much we try to say the church is more than its pastor. And, since our mission is to get more people to heaven, how do we stop that? After all, getting more people to heaven is more than just bringing people in, it is retaining them. The question then becomes, how do we make a better transition? How does a church lose fewer people in that transition?
Losing fewer people begins with the acknowledgment that the members are sheep. They are not the pastor. Their roles are not the same. If they were the same, Jesus wouldn’t have made a differentiation between the sheep and the shepherds. And that means, we need to understand the needs of the membership in those terms. As it says in Jeremiah 23:3-4, “‘But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,’ says the Lord.” And more pointedly, the Lord, that is Jesus, did fulfill that prophecy by sending shephards, beginning with the twelve, in Matthew 10:5-6, “These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ‘Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’”
And what do sheep need? What do God’s people need? They need protection, stability, familiarity, and guidance (essentially what Jesus told Peter to do for His sheep in John 21:15-17). Those needs were probably being met by the pastor who is now leaving at least to the members currently present. And, now that he is leaving, those responsibilities need to be transferred to the new guy. And it cannot be just on paper, it must be in the hearts and minds of the church membership. Or, if the original pastor is being removed, or leaving under bad circumstances, that confidence must be established.
Transferring or at least starting to establish confidence is most easily done by recommendation. This is something that is easily understood in our society. Who are you more likely to hire: someone who comes recommended by someone you trust or someone with no recommendation? Obviously, you more than likely choose the person who comes recommended. That is why we buy products that have good product reviews. In fact, this is one of the key ways Paul installed new pastors, was by sending them to the churches as recommended (Colossians 4:10-11). Keep in mind this only works when the person making the recommendation is viewed as trustworthy and credible. In other words, trying to convince someone to take the recommendation of a person they don’t know or don’t trust isn’t going to go well. In fact, the more they try to emphasize their credibility without having earned or gained it the more it will turn the sheep against their recommendation. In practical terms, people new to a denomination that installs or recommends pastors to a church will not hold those recommendations in high regard. They especially won’t hold them in high regard if they are distrustful of the hierarchy or systems. In other words, berating or encouraging them to trust the process will not generate trust. It will not make those sheep more likely to stick around and in fact, it will probably make them less likely because the stranger (i.e. the new pastor) feels all the more forced upon them.
Another way of bringing in a new pastor is by allowing the membership to get to know him first. That can be accomplished in many ways. One way is by training new pastors from within the congregation itself. This can be difficult in many instances because “A prophet has no honor in his own country” (John 4:44). Another way is by giving a chance for the membership to actually get to know the prospective pastor before he is brought in. That is what they did when Matthias was chosen. Everyone knew him and was comfortable with him already (Acts 1:15-22). That may mean interviewing him ahead of time, bringing him into the church for a few Sundays to meet the people and preach, and providing an opportunity for the whole congregation to question him. Forcing the congregation to select someone who they don’t know and are not provided adequate information increases the chances of sheep fleeing.
“But getting to know a pastor beforehand is disruptive to them and takes too much time,” some will say. Yes, that process is disruptive, for the church, the prospective pastor, and the prospective pastor’s current church. But it is also essential. God, when He tells us to test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and to not give the pastoralship to someone easily (1 Timothy 5:21-22), isn’t telling us those things for His benefit. They are for our benefit because He knows and in fact, has warned us, about the hirelings and false prophets in the world (Matthew 7:15). And those warnings and directions are not to be taken lightly because a bad pastor will destroy a church (2 Peter 2:1-3). Are you sure your church is immune from false prophets? Is Jesus only warning others and not us? Did God promise only to send false prophets to the unbelievers and not to His faithful (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)? Therefore, it is supremely important for us to be slow, methodical, and thorough.
But more than that, the responsibility for examining pastors is given to the people (the membership) and you or they will do it one way or another. Remember, sheep are listening for the right voice. And, if they do not hear it, they will walk away from the church. But more than that, when a false prophet came into Israel, it was not the responsibility of the leaders to kick the false prophet out, it was all the people (Deuteronomy 13:6-9). Moreover, Jesus gave His warning of false prophets and how to examine them to the multitudes of His followers (Matthew 7:15-20). In other words, His intention is not for the activity of examination to be isolated to just a few. It is not His plan, that only a few should be qualified to examine the teachers. Therefore, it is in keeping with Jesus’ Word for the pastors to teach the people how to examine well, rather than poorly. Plus, it is better for the people to examine the new pastor before he comes in, than after. Again, Jesus’ sheep will only follow the voice of their shepherd (John 8:37-47).
Have you ever been a part of a church that went through the process of bringing on a new pastor? How well did it go? Did people (maybe even yourself) leave and what do you think could have been done to keep them at your church? How has having a pastor who is distant, a poor preacher, or something else negative, affected you or your church?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission.
All rights reserved.
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