“Like
Sheep
without
a
Shepherd”
Ezekiel
34:
1-16,
Mark
6:
30-34
Dr.
Central
Presbyterian
Church
May
18,
2008
In
comparing
the
leaders
of
But,
in
likening
the
ruling
class
of
And
so
now,
they
were
being
relieved
of
their
responsibilities.
Jesus
had
a
similar
observation
of
the
situation
in
his
day,
many
centuries
later.
The
current
religious
leaders
seemed
more
“out
for
themselves,”
than
for
the
common
people.
Mark
tells
us
that
Jesus,
“saw
a
great
crowd;
and
he
had
compassion
on
them,
for
they
were
like
sheep
without
a
shepherd.”
(Mark
6:
34)
Unlike
many
of
the
religious
leaders
of
his
day,
Jesus’
heart
went
out
to
the
common
people.
As
Abraham
Lincoln
once
observed,
“The
Lord
must
love
the
common
man,
since
he
made
so
many
of
them.”
We’ve
been
exploring
this
month
the
notion
of
God
as
our
shepherd.
But
sometimes
God,
with
varied
success,
chooses
people
to
take
on
shepherding
responsibilities.
God
entrusts
the
leaders
of
a
church,
for
instance,
with
such
tasks.
In
the
Presbyterian
Church,
those
responsibilities
don’t
just
belong
to
the
pastors,
but
also
to
various
lay
leaders
at
any
given
time.
So,
what
makes
for
a
good
shepherd,
a
good
leader,
in
our
day?
Some
time
ago
Janet
Stearns
lent
me
a
wonderful
little
book,
The
Way
of
the
Shepherd,
by
Kevin
Leman
and
William
Pentak.
In
it
they
develop
“Seven
Ancient
Secrets
to
managing
Productive
People.”
Let’s
walk
through
each
of
these
in
turn.
1)
know
the
condition
of
your
flock
By
that
they
mean,
get
to
know
the
individuals
within
your
flock,
one
“sheep”
at
a
time.
A
church
the
size
of
Central
has
to
be
very
intentional
about
this.
We
are
a
program-sized
church,
which
means
that
a
lot
of
your
pastors’
time
is
spent
working
with
our
three
governing
boards,
our
nine
clusters
and
our
more
than
a
hundred
ministry
teams.
We
spend
a
lot
of
time
writing
sermons,
preparing
classes,
answering
e-mails
and
resourcing
our
lay
leaders.
That’s
all
well
and
good,
but
we
dare
not
lose
track
of
you
as
individuals.
With
600
some
souls
here,
we
rely
on
Stephen
Ministers
and
Deacons
to
help
us
care
for
individuals
in
a
pastoral
way.
We
are
also
counting
on
other
church
leaders
to
help
us
identify
those
who
are
in
particular
need.
We’re
counting
on
many
of
you,
as
leaders,
to
keep
your
eyes
and
ears
open,
to
be
sensitive
to
the
needs
of
the
flock.
2)
Discover
the
shape
of
your
sheep
Partly
by
this
the
authors
mean
that
a
leader
needs
to
make
sure
that
the
right
people
have
the
right
job
in
a
congregation.
Jobs
in
a
church
should
match
spiritual
gifts.
Part
of
the
work
of
leadership
is
to
see
that
that
happens.
At
Central
we
try
to
do
this
by
means
of
our
Ministry
Menus
and
by
encouraging
our
members
to
take
a
spiritual
gifts
inventory.
3)
Help
your
sheep
identify
with
you
Great
leadership
isn’t
just
professional;
it’s
personal.
If
you
want
to
be
a
good
leader,
you
have
to
model
the
kind
of
behavior
you
want
from
others.
You
have
to
have
a
sense
of
personal
integrity
as
a
leader.
It
helps
to
set
high
standards
as
a
leader,
and
you
do
that
by
“relentlessly
communicating
your
values
and
sense
of
mission.”
You
have
to
define
your
cause
for
people,
and
tell
them
where
they
fit
in.
Your
Session
is
currently
working
on
a
statement
about
their
understanding
of
what
it
means
to
be
a
downtown
church.
They
are
asking,
“What
do
we
think
Jesus
is
calling
us
to
be
and
do
as
a
church
in
downtown
“My
sheep
know
my
voice,”
said
Jesus,
and
they
knew
it
because
he
spent
time
with
them.
He
took
the
time
to
teach
them,
in
word
and
deed,
what
he
was
all
about.
He
wasn’t
afraid
to
give
them
a
job
to
do,
but
then
he
equipped
them
to
do
the
work—“Go
out
and
make
disciples
of
all
nations,
teaching
them
to
observe
all
I
have
commanded
you
and
baptizing
them
in
the
name
of
the
Father,
and
the
Son,
and
the
Holy
Spirit;
and
remember,
I
am
with
you
always,
to
the
end
of
the
age.”
(Matt.
28:
19-20)
As
has
often
been
observed,
it’s
a
command
with
a
promise.
Jesus
doesn’t
ask
us
to
do
anything
for
him
that
he’s
not
prepared
to
help
us
do!
4)
Make
your
pasture
a
safe
place
Phillip
Keller,
an
actual
shepherd,
wrote
the
book,
A
Shepherd
Looks
at
Psalm
23.
In
it,
he
goes
through
how
each
phrase
in
the
23rd
Psalm
would
be
understood
by
a
shepherd.
I
was
amazed
at
the
lengths
to
which
a
diligent
shepherd
will
go
to
make
sure
that
a
pasture
is
a
safe
place.
A
good
shepherd
protects
his
flock
from
predators,
fending
off
wild
animals.
A
good
shepherd
carefully
surveys
any
field
to
which
he
takes
his
flocks,
systematically
rooting
out
poisonous
plants.
A
good
shepherd
anoints
the
heads
of
his
sheep
with
oil,
to
keep
little
critters
out
of
their
ears
and
eyes.
A
good
shepherd
anticipates
where
the
sheep
might
run
into
trouble,
and
tries
to
do
something
about
it
before
they
get
there.
Likewise,
a
good
church
leader
tries
to
anticipate
where
her
ministry
team
might
get
bogged
down
or
in
trouble,
and
tries
to
pave
the
way
for
them.
A
good
church
leader
does
everything
in
his
power
to
make
sure
children
are
protected.
That’s
why
we
have
our
Safe
Child
policy
here.
A
conscientious
church
leader
makes
sure
that
volunteers
are
trained
for
the
work
they’ve
agreed
to
take
on.
She
is
also
protective
of
the
volunteers
who
work
with
her.
That’s
all
part
of
making
the
pasture
safe
for
the
flock
here.
5)
the
staff
of
direction
A
good
rule
of
thumb
is,
“Lead,
follow,
or
get
out
of
the
way.”
As
a
leader
it’s
important
to
know
where
you’re
going,
to
get
out
in
front,
and
to
keep
your
flock
on
the
move.
In
other
words,
lead
by
example.
When
leading
the
work
of
volunteers,
you
use
persuasion,
not
coercion.
Give
the
people
who
work
with
you
a
certain
amount
of
freedom,
but
make
sure
they
know
where
the
boundaries
are.
If
we
try
to
micromanage
the
work
of
volunteers
in
church
they’ll
soon
get
the
idea
we’d
rather
do
everything
ourselves,
and
we
don’t
really
need
them.
They’ll
then
disappear,
or
stop
volunteering.
It’s
good
for
them
to
know
we
have
high
standards,
but
if
we’re
too
perfectionistic,
they’ll
get
the
impression
that
nothing
they
do
can
satisfy
us.
They
might
not
make
a
fuss
about
it,
but
they’ll
stop
volunteering.
So,
as
church
leaders
we
have
to
give
people
the
freedom
to
do
the
work
we’ve
asked
them
to
do,
but
also
some
clear
indications
of
what
they
can
and
can’t
do.
6)
the
rod
of
correction
As
church
leaders
we
need
to
continually
evaluate
how
things
are
going.
We
need
to
protect
our
volunteers
and
be
advocates
for
them.
By
the
same
token
sometimes
we
need
to
lovingly
confront
someone
who’s
not
getting
the
job
done.
This
can
be
very
difficult,
but
it’s
a
necessary
part
of
leadership.
A
good
shepherd
has
to
keep
the
sheep
moving
in
the
same
direction.
A
good
church
leader
approaches
someone
going
the
wrong
direction
as
a
teaching
opportunity.
She
doesn’t
let
things
get
too
far
off
track
before
she
does
something.
7)
the
heart
of
the
shepherd
Here
is
a
reminder
that
good
leadership
is
a
lifestyle,
not
a
technique.
It
requires
having
a
heart
of
compassion,
as
Jesus
did,
for
the
people
who
are
part
of
your
flock.
A
Christian
educator
named
Emery
Crisst,
once
told
this
story
from
his
childhood.
The
Sunday
School
teacher
of
the
church
where
he
was
attending
gave
the
children
a
Bible
assignment
to
do
between
one
Sunday
and
the
next.
Emery
hung
around
until
all
the
other
children
had
left
and
shyly
explained
to
his
teacher
that
he
would
not
be
able
to
do
the
assignment
because
he
didn’t
have
a
Bible
at
home.
She
said,
in
her
soft
voice,
“Why
that’s
alright,
Emery,
you
can
have
mine.”
And
she
wrote
in
her
Bible,
“To
Emery,
from
his
Sunday
School
teacher,
with
love.”
Years
later,
Emery
Crisst
remembered
that
spontaneous
act
of
generosity.
He
related
the
story,
he
said,
not
to
get
teachers
to
give
away
their
personal
Bibles,
but
to
remind
them
that
part
of
what
they
have
most
to
teach
is
themselves.
That’s
not
the
content
of
what
we
teach
in
the
church,
of
course,
but
it’s
an
inescapable
part
of
what
happens
in
church
leadership.
We
convey
what
we
value
by
who
we
are.
If
we
have
a
heart
for
the
flock,
it
will
come
out
in
the
compassion
we
share
for
the
sheep.
Today
we
are
recognizing
our
Sunday
School
teachers,
shepherds,
and
youth
group
advisors.
We
are
saying
thanks
to
them
for
their
countless
hours
of
class
preparation.
We
are
saying
thanks
for
the
publicity
they’ve
done,
for
the
lesson
planning
they’ve
performed,
for
the
teaching
they’ve
accomplished.
But
we’re
also
expressing
appreciation
to
them
for
who
they
are,
our
role
models
in
faith.
An
essential
part
of
what
they
have
taught
has
been
their
own
approach
to
life,
to
learning,
to
our
faith.
The
Christian
faith
is
incarnational—that
means,
it’s
embodied.
We
can’t
imagine
Christianity
without
Jesus--what
he
said
and
did,
who
he
was.
Likewise,
our
faith
is
always
demonstrated
in
human
form.
Ezekiel
was
telling
the
shepherds
of
Scripture
tells
us
that
God
is
constant,
but
God
is
quite
capable
of
changing
strategies
to
suit
his
unwavering
purposes.
We
believe
as
Christians,
that
God’s
promise
to
send
a
shepherd
was
fulfilled
in
none
other
than
Jesus
Christ.
It
is
he
that
“will
lead
his
flock
like
a
shepherd
leads.”
It
is
he
who
knows
his
own,
and
his
own
know
his
voice.
He
is
the
Good
Shepherd.
And
it
is
Jesus
of
whom
we
live
in
imitation—all
those
of
us
who
are
shepherds
of
an
earthly
flock
like
Central.
By
the
grace
of
God,
we
are
privileged
to
help
shepherd
the
sheep
in
his
name.
We
have
no
illusions
that
the
work
depends
entirely
upon
us.
But
those
of
us
privileged
enough
to
lead
in
the
local
church,
whether
as
pastors
or
teachers,
governing
board
members
or
ministry
team
conveners,
know
that
we
do
this
in
the
name
of
him
who
is
our
Shepherd
as
well.
It
is
he
who
calls
us
to
make
our
practice
as
good
as
our
proclamation,
our
actual
leadership
as
good
as
our
words.
It
is
he
who
forgives
us
for
those
times
when
we
fail
so
miserably
at
this
very
thing,
and
challenges
us
to
do
better.
It
is
he
who
moves
us
along
when
the
sheep
need
better
care.
Every
congregation
needs
shepherds
who
will
guide
the
flock
in
the
likeness
of
Jesus,
the
Good
Shepherd.
Amen.