Community Shepherds

Recently I had a discussion with my dad about his community work with community leaders. Dad is a retired pastor who loves the local church and local pastors. After telling me about all the community leaders who were effectively representing God's Kingdom in their sphere of influence, he expressed disappointment that local pastors seemed to be preoccupied with the typical three concerns of "buildings, bodies and budgets." They were more focused on maintaining their authority in their local congregations and with competing with other congregations than they were providing redemptive leadership in the community.

As we shared and prayed together I remembered the ministry and message of the Old Testament prophets. They were faithful, in the context of God's covenant, to remind the local leaders of their responsibilities before God. In the words of Dr. King, it was their responsibility to "speak truth to power." And they didn't just address their message to the local priests but to all kinds and levels of local leadership:

• They addressed their message to Kings, to civil, governmental leaders (e.g., Isaiah 7 & Jeremiah 13).
• The prophets spoke to the Wise or Sages, to the local educators and counselors (e.g., Jeremiah 8 & Hosea 14).
• The prophets were faithful to deliver the word of the Lord to Priests, to local religious leaders (e.g., Isaiah 28 & Ezekiel 22).
• They also called False Prophets to account, those who only spoke what those in power wanted to hear in order to gain influence for themselves (e.g., Isaiah 44 & Jeremiah 50).

What strikes me as significant in these prophetic passages is the fact that God (and God's prophets) did not consider one kind of leadership more significant than another. All were governing with God's delegated authority. All were equally accountable to God for the nature and results of their leadership.

In fact, the prophets used one word to describe all community leaders: Shepherd. The Lord viewed every leader as someone God had appointed to shepherd - to lead, feed, guard and care for God's sheep. The Kings were to faithfully shepherd God's people (Micah 7:14). Even the future Persian Emperor, Cyrus, was referred to by God as a "shepherd" (Isaiah 44:28). God's view of God's own leadership was that of a shepherd (Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:16). All leaders were judged by how effectively they shepherded the flock God had assigned to them (Ezekiel 34:2-10). If people and communities thrived under a leader's governance, it showed they had shepherded well. If people and communities suffered as a result of a leader's influence (usually because they were using their authority to benefit themselves), they were judged by God (Zechariah 11:17).

In my conversation with my dad my conclusion was simple: God requires all local leaders - civil, educational, business and religious - to faithfully shepherd the citizens of that community. While it might be frustrating getting local pastors to see the big picture, when the mayor and the superintendent of schools, and even local business people, lawyers and judges, are all committed to being faithful shepherds as representatives of King Jesus in the community, there is much to celebrate! In fact, if local pastors spent more time exercising a redemptive influence in the broader community among the other community leaders, their prayer to see God's kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven, might come closer to fulfillment! Well done, Dad!