Willing Sheep
Tom approaches the doors with caution this week. It has been a discouraging past few days for him. He was not expecting the doctor to call with that diagnosis. The weariness has spread from the physical to the emotional. He doesn’t want to answer the question so often asked in passing: “How are you?” The thought of standing up to sing songs of praise isn’t exactly thrilling. And yet, here he comes, walking in.
Beth is beaming as she anxiously hangs around the entryway. She is waiting for a friend that has finally taken Beth up on her offer to come visit one week. Many times, her name has been spoken at the altar. Beth can’t wait for the conversation she will get to share with her pastor when she gets to introduce her to him. Here she comes, walking in.
Cindy is only here because she is, quite literally, living on a prayer. Her world has fallen apart, her hope has vanished, and she does not know where else to go. She knows, deep down, that there is no where else to go. She doesn’t know, however, what to expect. What are Christians like? What is God like? It’s been years since she was in a church. She’s a little afraid, but she is holding out hope that someone in this building will know how to help her. She walks in.
“There are two certainties each can cling to as they prepare to enter: through the door they will find pasture, and they will find shepherds.”
Every person who walks in every local church on every Sunday morning has a reason for doing so. No two Sundays look the same for the sheep as a whole. There is a mosaic of motivations that compels men and women like Tom, Beth, and Cindy through the doors. But there are two certainties each can cling to as they prepare to enter: through the door they will find pasture, and they will find shepherds.
The Good Shepherd and His Servants
What makes a local church so powerful, so revitalizing to people from all walks and seasons of life? Most certainly, it is because every local church, together as one flock, is presided over by the one Good Shepherd (John 10:11–16). As Psalm 23 famously reminds us, our Lord, as our Shepherd, is the one leading us, comforting us, restoring us, feeding us, and protecting us.
1 Peter 5 recognizes that there is a “chief Shepherd” who oversees the flock as a whole (1 Pet. 5:4). But in the preceding verses, Peter expands the role of “shepherd” to include the elders of the church (1 Pet. 5:1–3). Upon the resurrection and ascension of Christ, his disciples are commissioned and sent to operate as if they are “under-shepherds” who lead the flock in his name.
Only Christ can prove to be our everlasting and perfect Shepherd. But in his wise providence and tender care, Christ has entrusted this work of shepherding to leaders in the church, leaders like Peter himself (John 21:15–17). The weary, the stray, and the hungry sheep alike find all they need in the house of God, thanks to the chief Shepherd who has placed local shepherds among them.
“The weary, the stray, and the hungry sheep alike find all they need in the house of God, thanks to the chief Shepherd who has placed local shepherds among them.”
It’s important to recognize that some have felt anything but shepherded in their particular church context. Maybe their shepherd has exploited the sheep, has fed themselves, has left them vulnerable to attack, or has passively neglected the sheep’s care. Sadly, there are some who bear the title “shepherd” yet none of its biblical qualities. This has been true for a long time (see Ezekiel 34). It’s essential to remember, in such moments, that we do have a perfect Good Shepherd, and that it is God’s desire for us to give ourselves to faithful, Christlike shepherds.
Dutiful, Privileged Sheep
That brings us to another important point. We know that God’s avenue of care for his people goes through the ministry of shepherds. But there is a question before us we must consider: “Are we willing to be shepherded?” Megan Hill raises this question in her book A Place to Belong: Learning to Love the Local Church and further explains, “the privilege and duty of the flock of God [is] to receive the shepherding of its elders. But before we can receive their ministry, we must identify as their flock” (61–62). Here, Hill makes two key arguments worth expounding. First, it is the flock’s privilege to be shepherded, and secondly, it is the flock’s duty to be shepherded.
Both of these convictions are essential to grasp. Whether or not Tom or Beth or Cindy or you realize it, taking advantage of this privilege and committing to this duty can make or break your spiritual life.
It is a duty to receive shepherding. Sheep are at their worst when given absolute free reign to wander and graze and rest wherever they please. And the same is true for those in Christ. We are commanded to practice obedience and submission to our elders (Heb. 13:17). The effectiveness of a shepherd’s leadership in a local church comes with the sheep’s willingness to commit himself to a shepherd. As Mark Dever says, “If Christians expect their pastor to fulfill his biblical responsibilities, church members must make themselves known to him. They must regard him as a gift from Christ sent to the church for their good” (Why Should I Join A Church?, 30).
Your absence from the local church is not inconsequential. Your perpetual delay of church membership is not trivial. If there is any hope of you being numbered with the ninety-nine or called by name should you go astray, it will require your diligent presence and commitment to the flock. When we carry out this duty, not only are we obedient to the Word but we also discover the privileges that accompany being shepherded.
It is a privilege to receive shepherding. Think back to our opening stories and imagine a healthy church with healthy shepherds. What faithful shepherd would not lean in to listen to and pray for Tom? What faithful shepherd would not rejoice with Beth and carefully minister to her friend? What faithful shepherd would not give Cindy a divine reason for the hope that is in him? And most of all, what sheep would turn such care away?
The sheep often miss the fullness of the shepherd’s work. What they aren’t usually privy to are the hours spent in private prayer, the words spoken to feed hungry souls, the shields wielded to protect the church from harm, the striving to depend on the Spirit’s leading, the humility to do important, life-saving acts for the sheep for nothing in return. Take a moment to pray for your shepherds. Pause to consider the weight they carry for you and your flock. Thank them. Should you be willing to receive it, they are God’s gift to you.
Are You Willing?
Take a moment to ask yourself: What is my own commitment to the local church like? Maybe it’s consistent but feels hollow. Maybe it’s atrophying. Perhaps what’s needed is a fresh reminder of the good gift of being sheep in the hands of shepherds.
It’s important, because Tom and Beth and Cindy are us. We come to Sunday morning bringing a week full of emotions and experiences, hopes and hurts, burdens and blessings. What a comfort to know that when we walk in, a shepherd will be there. Nothing like the local church cares for our souls with such intensity and intentionality.
Who wouldn’t invite the experience of being loved, listened to, prayed for, encouraged, and protected into their life?
Are you willing?
Zach Barnhart currently serves as Student Pastor of Fountain City Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is married to Hannah, and they have three children. You can follow Zach on Twitter or check out his personal blog, Cultivated.