Leadership Training 6

Last week we looked at shepherds; how biblically leaders in both

the old and new testament were called shepherds. What a
physical shepherd did and how he acted with the sheep. We also
looked at how God calls leaders spiritual shepherds. A shepherd,
biblically, is someone who leads a flock. Elders are called
shepherds, but so are kings, leaders, prophets, God the Father,
and Christ.
We looked at how a shepherd spent time with his sheep; he
actually lived with them. He built relationships with them; we
read how Jesus says that sheep know the shepherds voice.
I. To be a biblical leader you must have a relationship with those
you lead. While getting the job done is important, the people are
more important than the job. For instance, in the 1 st century when
the apostles called on the church to choose the 7 to help with the
food distribution to the widows, while the physical nourishment
was important, the spiritual nourishment of the widows and the
people distributing the food was more important.
To have these relationships with those you lead, you must have
three qualities:
1. You must be available. That means spending time with the ones
you lead. Not just time in getting the job done, but time with
them. Encouraging them. Listening to them. Being there for them.
If you are not there for the people you lead, you are not
shepherding them.

2. You must be committed to being a shepherd. Leading is a longterm commitment of time, energy, and yourself. It goes beyond a
single job; it is a lifetime endeavor. Jesus had the job of getting 12
men ready to spread the gospel once he was gone. But think how
he did it: he lived with these 12 men for three years. They went to
weddings, synagogues, villages, the temple, and sickrooms

together. They went fishing together. They walked down roads

together. He taught them, ate with them, and talked to them.
His commitment to them was that of a shepherd he devoted
himself to them.
Earlier we talked about how each one of us is leaders. And each of
us is to follow Christs example. That means that we have to be
committed to each other.
We wont be able to physically live with the people we lead like
Jesus did with the 12, yet we must follow his example and be
willing to spend time with the people we lead.

3. You must gain the trust of the people you lead.

Jesus said in John 10, 2-5: 2 The one who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him,
and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name
and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he
goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they
know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they
will run away from him because they do not recognize a
strangers voice.
Gaining someones trust is the only way for them to follow you.
Spending time with the people and accepting them for who they
are is the only way to gain their trust. Our lives, as leaders, must
be invested in the ones that we lead.
How can the sheep know us and our voices if we dont know
them. Notice how the shepherd calls his sheep by name? He
knows them, and so they also know him.

II. Distorted Shepherd Models

Some people wish to lead, but have a distorted view of what
leadership is. Have you ever seen any of the old sheepherder vs
cattle rancher westerns? Shepherds were not looked kindly upon
in western movies, so were going to use the western as a basis

for this. Weve looked at several other models of what church

leadership isnt; here is another.
1. Hired Hand
John 10:12-13 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not
own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons
the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and
scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and
cares nothing for the sheep.

The Hired Hand is someone who wants to be a leader without

spending the time and effort like the shepherd. When something
bad is about to happen to the flock, he abandons them.
Leadership is not a part-time job, it is not a fair weather only
job, you do not get the job by just dressing the part.

2. Cowboy
Have you ever watched a cattle drive movie. In a cattle drive they
would get one trained steer who knew how to be driven. They
would get him going, then the cowboys would get behind and
around the herd. The cowboys would yell, crack their whips, poke
the cattle with prods, and shoot their guns. The lead steer would
take off, and the rest of the cattle would follow. Lots of yelling,
whipping, prodding and so forth took place.
Compare that with Jesus in John 10:3-4 3 The gatekeeper opens
the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his
own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought
out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow
him because they know his voice
The main difference between a cowboy and a shepherd: the
cowboy drives, the shepherd leads. Jesus is not the brave cowboy;
he is the good shepherd. He doesnt force the herd to go the way
he wants. Instead he depends on the relationship he has built up
to lead. He always goes first, before us. He doesnt expect us to

strike out in an unknown way, instead he leads the way and

wants us to follow him.

3. Sherif
Some of you have probably seen Gunsmoke. Matt Dillon was the
law in Dodge City. What he said goes. He was the law, and he
demanded you do what he said.
Sometimes leaders take this approach. They resort to coercion to
get you to cooperate. But what they get is compliance, and
sometimes rebellion.
Jesus warned his apostles about this style of leadership in
Matthew 20:20-28
20

Then the mother of Zebedees sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a
favor of him.
21

What is it you want? he asked.

She said, Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your
left in your kingdom.
22

You dont know what you are asking, Jesus said to them. Can you drink the cup I am going
to drink?
We can, they answered.
23

Jesus said to them, You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for
me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.
24

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them
together and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high
officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become
great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave
28
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many.

Jesus destroys the Sheriff model of leadership, the lording over

leadership style here. Whoever wants to lead must serve and
become a slave.

4. The Town Council

A standard western movie trope is that some bad guy is coming
back to town to take his revenge. The first thing that the mayor
calls the town council to meet. This is the standard business
model, and was the model for church leadership for many, many
years. And there is nothing wrong with the model if it is only a
part of what leaders do. But what if meetings where the only way
a leader lead? Meet and then pass out edicts to the flock?
Back in John 10, Jesus said that the flock knows the shepherds
voice. How many of you know you U.S. senators and
respresentatives names, much less what their voice sounds like?
As a leader, you will have meetings to go to. But this cant be the
extent of your leadership.