Pastor = Shepherd

It seems as thought now a days we as a church & a people see a pastors role as being simply that of a preacher, administrator, and one who encourages you when you are down. We expect the pastor to preach a good sermon on Sunday morning and to take care of church "things". Many times the pastor appears to be judged by how strong his preaching is and how much that preaching "feeds" us. But, is this really what a pastor's role is?

One of the things that i have found interesting over the years is that the word pastor actually is literally translated as shepherd. In fact in Spanish the word actually is shepherd. Well, so what? What does that have to do with anything? Actually, it has alot to do with alot of things. In order to really understand what a pastor's role is, we first need to understand what a shepherd is. I shepherd's job is both very simple, and very complex. Simply, a shepherd's job is to care for the flock. However, as many know, this is much easier said than done. Let's take a look at just a few of the facets involved in the role of the pastor.

First off, it is the pastor's job to feed his flock. This is a mentality and a view that pervades the church body, but that is not strictly true. The shepherd does not actually feed the flock. It is his job to bring the flock from pasture to pasture so that the flock can eat. He does not sit there and hand feed one sheep after another. He can only bring them to the right pasture so that they can feed themselves. If the shepherd had to do all of the feeding the flock would die of malnutrition. On top of that, if sheep remain in one place for too long they decimate the grass and plants in that area. Thus they need to only remain in one place for a period of time before going on to greener pasture where they can feed off of new grass. How many of us are feeding ourselves, and how many of us are expecting our pastor to be the one to feed us? How often do we get stuck on the same thing and the same way of doing things because "that's where God was moving before" and not move on to the new thing God has for us?

A shepherd's job is to correct his flock. Sheep are very finicky creatures. Many times they will do what they are supposed to, but many times they will do whatever someone else (or what they think someone else) is doing. As such if one sheep goes astray, many times it will lead the others with it. If one sheep continues to go astray time and time again, the shepherd will often have to take drastic measures. This can mean purposefully breaking one or more of the sheep's legs. By breaking the sheep's legs that sheep gets to the position where they can't do anything on their own. They are reliant upon the shepherd for food, water, protection, and even basic movement. The shepherd has to carry the sheep from one place to another on his shoulders. The sheep doesn't move until the shepherd moves them. The shepherd is that sheep's only means of protection. It can't run away. That shepherd becomes that sheep's life. As the weeks pass and the legs heal that sheep that was continually running away and leading others astray comes to the point where it is never willing to leave the shepherd's side again. Your pastor is your shepherd, are you ready for him to be a shepherd?

Other things a shepherd does... A shepherd is responsible for every action his sheep take. If a sheep gets into someone's garden and eats their vegetables, who takes responsibility for it? ... the sheep? The shepherd protects his flock from attacks and will pull the sheep from the mouth of the devourer. Look at the 23rd Psalm and try to see what would happen to a sheep that did not have a shepherd. A couple of years ago i put together the Unbeliever's 23rd Psalm to look at exactly this issue.