They Smell Like Sheep

I read a great book this week - They Smell Like Sheep, by Lynn Anderson.

It's about leadership.
Leading like a shepherd.
Leading like The Shepherd.

The shepherd metaphor is referenced more than 500 times in scripture. Throughout the Bible, the cause of Christ to rescue a fallen humanity is illustrated in terms of a shepherd rescuing his lost sheep. Isaiah used this metaphor by saying that, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way (Is 53:6)," clearly eluding to the coming Christ, the Good Shepherd, Who would love us so much as to lay down His life for us.

In Jesus' day, the concept of shepherding was widely understood. It was a familiar way of life for many of the people to whom Jesus spoke. It's easy to understand why the concept of shepherding is viewed, by many, as equally as totalitarian and dictatorial as the leadership encountered most in today's culture, as in, a shepherd mightily ruling over his sheep, however, that view of shepherding is improper and inaccurate. 

To the contrary, a shepherd is one who deeply loves and cares for his sheep. Anderson says that, "for the family of a shepherd, the food on their tables and the clothes on their backs, not to mention the family honor, was inexorably linked to the way they cared for their flocks." To that end, a shepherd is not one who lords his power over the flock; rather, he is one who intimately shares his life with his flock.

A shepherd knows each sheep by name; he nurtures the young, bandages the wounded, cares for the weak, and protects them all.

A shepherd smells like sheep. 

What's intriguing is that Jesus led in stark contrast to what's normally defined as leadership. His definition of leadership is one who is last and servant of all (Mark 9:35). Jesus' definition of leadership is servanthood. Try typing in servanthood once and you'll see that it isn't even a recognized word in our dictionary.

Jesus definition of leadership, and His revolutionary display of power through servant leadership, is apparently why many of the Jewish people did not recognize Him as Messiah. While they waited for a messiah who would physically restore Israel and lead them into a messianic age of global peace, Jesus, The Messiah, presented Himself as a suffering servant and not as the conquering king they were expecting.

It begs the question, have we embraced the wrong kind of leadership?

As the church of Jesus, rather than embracing shepherd-like leadership, have we somehow been drawn to, eerily attracted to an authoritarian, totalitarian form of leadership rather than the shepherding-style servant form of leadership modeled by Jesus?

Israel longed for a leader who would cast down their enemies and redeem their place in the world. They were looking for, in their leader, a physical display of strength, of power and of might. I have to ask, do we look for the same in our leaders? In our pastors? 

Have we embraced the wrong kind of leadership in the church? 

People long for pure leadership, an honest and caring shepherd. Servant leadership shines in stark contrast to the leadership of modern American culture, and quite frankly, the leadership of most modern day churches. 

Gene Edwards, in the preface of A Tale of Three Kings, speaks of what I believe we have come to not only embrace, but expect of our leaders, inside and outside of the church:

"I noted some years ago a growing number of letters from Christians devastated by the authoritarian movement that had become so popular with many evangelical groups. A reaction to this totalitarian concept eventually set in. A mass exodus was soon under way. The stories being told by these spiritual fugitives are often terrifying and sometimes unbelievable...I have never seen anything that has damaged so many believers so deeply. The wreckage appears to be universal, and recovery from it is almost nil."

So it was in Jesus' day, as it was in 1980 when Edwards wrote those powerful words, and it continues to be true even still today. Jesus modeled for us the purest and most powerful and effective form of leadership the world has ever known. It is the responsibility of the church to not only study Jesus' methods and model of leadership, but to adopt it and institute it.

The church should be known for its strength, but not the kind of strength that has created this mass exodus.

Jesus said they will know you are my disciples by your love.

Jesus smelled like sheep. His hands and feet were always dirty because of His lifestyle of engaging people, particularly those who were considered the least. He modeled leadership in the form of a humble servant and loving shepherd. He did not lord His power over people, rather, engaged them with a caring, gentle and loving spirit. Jesus met the needs of those to whom He ministered. Out of His deep love and compassion for people, He equipped others to do the work that He was physically unable to do Himself.

The message of Christ continues to this day. His healing and hope continues to bring light and life to a dark and broken world. Jesus modeled strength through servanthood, power through sacrifice. His selfless love, His willingness to be intimate and serve the least, and His enthusiasm for suffering loss for the sake of rescuing even one lost sheep, makes Jesus the perfect model of leadership, standing above all who have come before and whoever will follow.

You're Not Fit to Lead!

You're not fit to lead. There. I said it.

Did you think you ever were fit to lead? Really?

What is it with us who think we have something to offer? What is it with leaders who think that they are where they are because of something that they've done?

You'll have to admit that Paul was a model leader. If anyone could think something of himself, it'd have to be Paul. But listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians:

"God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, 'Let the ones who boast, boast in the Lord'" (1 Cor 1:27-31).

I got a message from someone today who was a part of a ministry I led a few years back. Here's what he wrote: 

"It's amazing to see how faithful I was and willing to give then, and where I have fallen now. I'm so sorry I disappointed all of you who put an investment in my faith with your time, energy and prayer."

Disappointed? Is that the message I've been sending? Is that what people think my response will be if they fail to measure up? Judgment? Who am I to judge? I'm not the measuring stick. Far from it, thank God!

What is the message we're sending as leaders? As Christians? Is the message that we've arrived? Is the message that we have it all together, all figured out? Is the message that we are where we are based on something we've done? Is the message one of a snub attitude toward people who don't measure up? And measure up to what? Us?

Look at what Paul says as to why God chose him to lead: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost sinner, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1).

God sent His Son Jesus into the world to extend His mercy, grace and love on failed people. On top of that, the people God chooses to lead in His work, apparently, are the most failed and weak of all. Look back to 1 Corinthians as to what words God uses to describe those He chooses: foolish, weak, low, despised, things that are not... Why? So that none can boast of what we have done, but only of what God has done for us.

So, to the one who is feeling shame and guilt, who has fallen short and feels like you just can't measure up - perhaps you are a lot more like Paul than you think. Perhaps you are a lot more like every other great [insignificant] leader God has chosen to carry out His work! Get up, brush yourself off and breathe in the mercy, grace and love that is specifically for you...

And, to the leaders of the faith, you great [foolish] and mighty [weak] men and women so valiantly [only through the power of the Holy Spirit] carrying out the work of Christ, remember why you've been chosen. Remember Who it is you're working for. Remember Who it is that deserves all of the glory, honor and praise and every ounce of the credit...