So we come to where the rubber meets the road. How does the man of God shepherd the sheep? What is his primary responsibility? Is it learning to tolerate "messy" for the sake of progress? Is it cementing your call through fierce focus? Is it learned at the latest leadership summits and fancy conferences? No beloved. It begins with and ends with His Word. The pastor must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. Taught by whom? Taught by his college of divinity? Taught by the Purpose Driven Church? Taught by the leadership from his denomination? No, no, and no. Taught by Jesus Christ.
They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. - Matthew 23: 6-12 (ESV)
We have one instructor - the Christ. Sorry Rick Warren. We are not supposed to water down, sugar up, or make culturally relevant the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel does not need to made seeker friendly. It needs to be held firm to. It needs to be preached. Why does it need to be held to firmly? So that the pastor can shepherd the sheep as instructed by the Great Shepherd. So he in turn can provide clear instruction from God in sound doctrine. Why? Because that is what the sheep need! They do not need seven steps to a better sheep. They do not need a 30 minute pep talk about how great they are. They do not need a quick and dirty lesson on how much God loves them. They need sound doctrine. Here is the kicker though, for those of you who fancy yourself pastors, when you do not provide the sheep with sound doctrine - you actually starve the sheep. Here is a prophecy against such shepherds, taken from the Word of God:
The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. - Ezekiel 34: 1-6 (ESV)
CEO pastor listen well to the Word of the Lord! The weak you have not strengthened while you fixated yourself on fierce focus. The sick you have not healed while you made sure of your calling. The injured you have not bound up while you were learning when to push and when to back off. The strayed you have not brought back while you insisted on healthy and productive relationships. The lost you have not sought while you tolerated "messy" on the altar of progress. You have ruled with harshness and force instead of discipline and hospitality. You have all of the leadership principles figured out but you do not feed the sheep. You have your salary and benefits but you do not feed the sheep. You have you cars and mansions but you do not feed the sheep. You have your cable show and radio ministry but you do not feed the sheep. You have the top ten bestseller about how the sheep you do not feed are destined to reign. You have taken the Word of God and His sheep and made merchandise of them. Woe to you for you will answer for every sheep entrusted to you.
I can comfortably say this because of the final responsibility listed in the key verses spelling out the traits a pastor needs to possess. We are called to not only hold firm to the Word for the instruction of sound doctrine but we are also called to openly rebuke those who contradict it. Pastor, you are not on a team with other pastors. You are on the team of Jesus Christ. Those who do not preach the unspoiled Gospel are not your friends because they are enemies of the cross. If you see the Gospel being maligned, molested or misused - speak out against it! That is what you are called to do! The only unity is with Christ and His Gospel. There is still time beloved but it is running short. Find a man of God who is brings the full Gospel to you for instruction in sound doctrine. One who cares about you as a shepherd. One who is hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. One who is not arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain. One who understands that he is a steward of God first, foremost, and always. Find that man and be fed. I do not care if the church is a run down shack on the edge of town. I do not care if it has no nursery or children's ministry. I do not care how bad the parking is. Find that man and be fed because Christ is coming soon and we need to be ready. Our unsaved family members need us to be ready and we have to stop playing silly church games.
Pastor, forget the pop psychology and latest church growth fads. Forget the leadership summits and church planting conferences. You have not been called to be creative, develop productive relationships or practice fierce focus. You have been called to shepherd the sheep of Almighty God and they are starving to death amidst the feeding of the goats that is the purpose driven model. Work on the things God outlined for you in Titus. Move away from the secular philosophies that rule the day and get back to holding firmly to the Word you have been taught by Christ Jesus. Only it has to words of everlasting life. Only it has the power of God unto the salvation of men. There is still time man of God. Come back to the Sheep. Come back to the Word of the Lord.
Reverend Anthony Wade - July 8, 2014
