Foundations of Christian Leadership, Mentor's Guide, MG07

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F O U N D A T I O N S O F C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

them and scatters them. [13] He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. [17] For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. [18] No one takes it fromme, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father. Jesus used vivid metaphors and images to communicate his understanding of caring for his people, and one of his most cherished was the image of the shepherd. He addressed himself as the “Good Shepherd,” the one who would, in obedience to his Father’s command, gladly give his life for the sheep, his redeemed company. Throughout every dimension of his life and ministry our Lord stands out as one who offered care to those who were in need, whatever their lot, situation, or position. Whether spending time with one of the rulers in Israel in dialogue (Nicodemus) or befriending a lonely, spurned Samaritan woman, our Lord provided clear evidence of his caring heart, of the nature of true pastoral care. Our Lord was neither biased nor bigoted, and never seemed to berate or belittle the individuals that he encountered and cared for. He met each particular individual in the moment and at the point of their specific need. In all of the representative examples of his rich ministry provided in the NT, our Lord respected the dignity and worth of each one, whether, child, woman, or man. Our Lord did not believe that “one size fits all” in terms of caring for the people he encountered in his ministry. Rather, he was careful to honor the individuality and uniqueness of each person’s situation, and tailored his own particular response to that person’s need, lack, and burden. This kind of specific, particular, and contextualized care is the heart and soul of the pastoral ministry, and is also why the art of pastoring is so little practiced today. At a time when many pastors envision the role of the senior pastor as a religious CEO who does not “dirty his hands” in the details of people’s lives, we desperately need a new (or rather, a truly old) kind of pastoral leadership. A great need exists to rediscover the nature of biblical caring, a kind of ministry which is focused on meeting the needs of individual persons, particular families, and specific neighborhoods and communities. Look again at the remarkable care of our Lord to specific individuals –the widow of Nain, the blind Bartemeus, Zacchaeus the publican, and the demoniac of the Gadarenes. In each case it is the same Lord loving,

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