Healthy Sheep Make the Best Shepherds

There is a subtle danger that comes with ministry.  I don't think it happens intentionally.  It just happens little by little.

We spend our days preaching, leading, visiting hospitals, sitting with hurting people, and trying to help others follow Jesus.  When trouble comes, people call us.  When a decision needs to be made, they look our way. After years of doing that, it's easy to become so accustomed to being the shepherd that we forget a very important truth.

We are still sheep.

David understood shepherding better than most of us ever will.  Yet when he wrote Psalm 23, he didn't begin with what he knew about leading sheep.  He began with what he knew about being one: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1, NKJV).

David may have been called to shepherd others, but he never stopped seeing himself as one of God’s sheep.  Neither should we.  God may entrust us with the care of His flock, but we are never promoted out of it.

Rest In Who You Are

Ministry is something God has called us to do.  Belonging to Christ is who we are.  The longer I've been around ministry, the more convinced I am that getting those two things out of order can do something to us.

We start taking things personally that probably aren't personal.  A growing church makes us feel successful.  An empty pew can make us wonder what we're doing wrong.  A compliment sticks with us for a while.  Unfortunately, criticism sometimes sticks even longer.

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11).  Sometimes we need that reminder.  We are responsible for being faithful.  We aren't responsible for being Jesus.

Maybe that's why every ministry leader needs some time with the Lord that isn't connected to ministry.  Read the Bible without looking for a sermon.  Pray without planning your next move.  Let God speak to you before you start thinking about what everyone else needs to hear.

There are times when you simply need to be a sheep with your Shepherd.

Let the Shepherd Restore You

Then David writes, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2–3).

Those words preach well.  They can be very difficult to practice.

Most ministry leaders I know are pretty good at pushing through.  There is always another Sunday coming, another meeting on the calendar, another phone call to return.  We tell ourselves we'll slow down when things settle down.  After enough years in ministry, you discover that things don't stay settled very long.

So, pay attention to your soul.

Take your day off.  Spend time with your family.  Go for a walk.  Laugh.  Sleep.  Have a hobby that has absolutely nothing to do with church.  More importantly, make room to hear from God yourself.

Needing rest doesn't mean you are failing as a shepherd.  It reminds you that you need the Shepherd’s care too.

Let Others Walk With You

Ministry can also be lonely in a strange sort of way.  You can be surrounded by people every week and still have very few people who really know how you're doing.

Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another's burdens.”  That “one another” includes us.

Find a few people around whom you don't have to be Pastor.  Someone who knows you well enough to recognize when “I'm doing fine” isn't quite true.  Another pastor who understands;  an old friend; a mentor; maybe, during certain seasons, a good counselor.

You don't need a crowd.  You just need somebody with whom you can put down the shepherd's staff for a while.

Peter told church leaders to “Shepherd the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:2).  A couple of verses later, he called Jesus “the Chief Shepherd” (v. 4).  I think those two verses belong together.  We have been entrusted with His sheep.  What a privilege that is.  But while we're caring for them, we shouldn't forget that we belong to Him too.

So, every now and then, put down the staff.  Let somebody care for you.  Sit beside still waters. Let your soul catch up with your body.

And remember:

You were never promoted out of the flock.

Let the Shepherd shepherd you.

Blessings,

Will