We Need To Say Something About Pastoral Leadership

As I said in my earlier post, Jesus often taught through the use of mashal —Hebrew for parable, simile, etc. One such mashal is the parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. - Jhn 10:1-6 ESV

In a variety of mashals in the O.T. the people of God are frequently compared to a flock of sheep led by both good and bad shepherds. In turn, the LORD is portrayed as Israel's rightful Shepherd.

• You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. - Psa 77:20 ESV

• Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. - Psa 80:1 ESV

• For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them, that they may feel it." Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, "Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it." My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone from me, and they are not; there is no one to spread my tent again and to set up my curtains. For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the LORD; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. - Jer 10:18-21 ESV

• "For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. ... And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken. - Eze 34:11-15-24 ESV

• But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. - Mic 5:2-4 ESV

It is quite common among Christians to call their spiritual leaders pastors or shepherds. By this they mean to say that these men are under-shepherds of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. When Jesus first spoke this mashal to his opponents, especially the Pharisees, they did not understand what he was saying to them. Their presuppositions about Jesus completely prevented it. Above all, they could not even begin to imagine that he was the LORD Himself who had come among His sheep to rescue, gather and lead them.

All this compels me to explore in coming postings about spiritual leadership. What really is a pastor, a shepherd? What are his primary duties? And how may he prove himself to be a capable and responsible under-shepherd as he cares for some members of the LORD's flock assigned to him.

SMART Goals for the Kingdom

This is an open letter to a pastor-friend.

Dear Carl,

At the pastors' gathering last week you seemed to suggest that it is not wise for pastors to adopt the "business model" of setting up SMART goals for our mission. Instead we should be simply going about the business of the Kingdom in a pre-modern manner. That may be my own distortion of what you said. Nevertheless, I'd like to raise a question about pastoral leadership from the perspective of one recorded leadership Biblical event, namely the crossing of the Jordan under the leadership of Joshua, viewed from my faith perspective of Jesus of Nazareth as the LORD. Your comments are welcome.

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law (Torah) my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law (Torah) depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, for the LORD (Jesus) your God will be with you wherever you go.

"So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: Go through the camp and tell the people, "Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own." (Joshua 1:6-11).

You have your orders. This is your mission. Go!

1. Be strong and courageous for I, the LORD Jesus will be with you
2. Meditate on the Book
3. Speak about the Book
4. Do everything written in it
5. Lead these people
6. Get your supplies ready
7. Go!

Be SMART as we carry out our orders

"Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho. So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. . . Then the two men . . . came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us" (Joshua 2).

Joshua provided SMART goals for his army and the people of Israel. They needed to know exactly what they were to do as they took the land. Obviously they couldn't go in all directions at one time. They also needed the courage to accomplish what was before them. Forty years earlier their courage melted as they looked upon themselves as mere ants facing giants. Now, however, the LORD had prepared their hearts and opened their eyes with faith to see that He was going before them. So this was the time to move forward.

S - specific: "two spies . . . especially Jericho." This was the first and very specific strategic goal in the larger task of taking the land. Jericho had to be taken first. Other goals would follow, day by day and week by week.

M - measured: "look over the land." The army of Israel had to know what it was facing. They needed factual information. How large was this city? What were its fortifications and vulnerabilities?

A - achievable: "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands." This task was achievable for this new generation of fighters precisely because they put their trust in the LORD Jesus who was with them, guiding and protecting their every step.

R - realistic: "all the people are melting in fear because of us." The scouts brought back faith-encouraging news. The LORD had gone before to guarantee that the whole land would be theirs.

T - timely: "Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here" (1:11). They operated with a schedule. Each member of the army knew how much time was alloted to accomplish the awesome task before them. On the third day they would cross the Jordan and the great work would begin.

Am I doing eisagesis? Am I reading into the text what is not there?

There are many examples of leadership in the Bible. Based on this one, however, I humbly suggest that we may indeed do well to assist our congregations to understand their mission in terms of where the LORD has placed them, the resources He has given and the specific tasks before them. With this in mind we do well to adopt SMART goals to accomplish the same.