Umpires and Shepherds - The Pastor and Leadership
Posted: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
by Mark Parsec
Wordcasters
Last week I spoke on how the pastor, as the shepherd of the church, searches for lost sheep. One of the reasons for this is that it is best to shepherd a flock when all of the sheep are together in one location. Imagine the difficulties a shepherd must face when the sheep are scattered in every direction of the compass. You can almost imagine the poor shepherd frantically panting as he chases one sheep to the north, another to the south… then another to the east and another to the west. If ONLY the sheep would stay put!
The good shepherd gathers the sheep together into one fold.
Yet, even when the shepherd has managed to keep his flock together there are challenges. The shepherd must learn the habits and tendencies of his sheep if he is to understand them and help them. And the sheep too, must learn to recognize the shepherd’s voice and obey him.
But, as with all God’s creatures… sometimes the sheep just don’t get along with one another. And sometimes the sheep don’t heed the voice of their shepherd. Sometimes chaos and confusion enter into the flock itself and when this happens it is up to the shepherd to restore order and harmony.
The same is true with the church. Sometimes Christians don’t get along with one another and sometimes they don’t get along with their pastor. When this happens chaos and confusion enters into the church and this thing is not of God. For the Word of God tells us, in 1 Corinthians 14:33, that… God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
You see, Satan loves nothing more than to stir things up… to bring confusion, contention and chaos into the church. And… when this happens it is the pastor’s responsibility to restore the peace and harmony of the church. As the shepherd of the flock it is his duty to establish order in the house of God in accordance with the Word of God.
In 1 Corinthians 14:40 (NASB) the Apostle Paul informs us that, when it comes to the conduct and affairs of the church…All things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.
The Bible gives us many examples of times when chaos and confusion entered into the midst of God’s people. One such example, and what was done about it to restore order and peace, is provided for us in Exodus 18:13-24 (NIV)…
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
15 Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws."
17 Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
In the account from Exodus we learn that Jethro couldn’t believe what he saw when he found Moses trying to micromanage each and every problem that arose among the people of God. There were just too many people with too many problems… Moses would wear himself out trying to settle each case! In response, Jethro basically told Moses, “You are not the judge and jury of these people. That’s not your job, man!” As the shepherd of God’s people, Moses’ job was not to be an umpire.
Interestingly, Jesus taught the same thing! In Luke 12:13-14, the Word of God tells us that…
13Someone from the crowd said to Him, Master, order my brother to divide the inheritance and share it with me.
14But He told him, Man, who has appointed Me a judge or umpire and divider over you?
If Moses wasn’t an umpire and Jesus wasn’t an umpire, why do so many people think that pastors ARE umpires? But… if pastors aren’t umpires then how in tarnishin’ are they supposed to restore order and harmony in the church when someone is stirring up chaos and confusion?
Jethro’s comments to Moses provide us with 4 key functions that pastors should utilize to maintain order in the church…
1. Pray – (v. 19) You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
In other words… Moses was to bring the people’s disputes to God and pray for their problems. Pastors must do the same for the people of the church if they are going to maintain order in the house of God. Order in the church begins with the pastor on his knees!
2. Teach – (v. 20) Teach them the decrees and laws
In other words… Moses was to teach the Word of God to the people so they would know what God expected of them. Pastors must do the same. They are to teach the Word of God… not philosophy, not politics… but the Bible! If there is to be order in the house of God then the pastor must teach people what the Bible says.
3. Preach – (v. 20) … show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. The New American Bible puts it this way… make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.
Not only was Moses supposed to teach the Israelites the Word of God… but he was to make known to them the way to live, the way to go, the work they were to do for the Lord. Pastor’s do this same thing when they preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way that it helps people to understand not just their salvation, but how to live for Christ in today’s world, where the Lord wants them to go and what he wants them to do. It is called casting a vision.
Moses needed to cast a vision for the Israelites so they knew where they were going and how they were going to get there. Pastors must do the same thing. If the members of the church don’t know where they are going then they can’t walk in unity. They will wander, stumble,fall and fight. By giving the members of the church a vision of where they are going and how they are going to get there and the work each member can do, the pastor brings order and harmony to the church.
4. Select & Appoint – (v. 21) 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
Moses could not cast a vision and lead the people of God if he spent all of his time enmeshed in people’s trivial problems. In order to free up some time, Moses needed to find and choose godly men who were trustworthy, loyal and honest. In other words, Moses needed to build a team around himself. Notice… these men were not voted upon by the masses… they were chosen by Moses himself. This was not a democratic process.
Jesus did the same thing! The multitudes that followed him didn’t sit down and hold an election, they didn’t vote on who was going to be the apostles. Jesus chose them for himself. The Word of God tells us…
Mark 3:13-15 13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: (See Matthew 10:1 and Luke 6:12-13)
Pastor’s must do the same thing by selecting individuals that love God, whom they can trust. They must delegate responsibilities to them. In business it is called team building. In the church it is called sharing ministry. In Exodus these men were called judges. In the New Testament they are referred to as elders. These individuals help the pastor accomplish his duties.
So… what does all of this have to do with you? Your pastor is looking for a few good men and women. Mature Christians who love the Lord and want to be of service to him and the church. Individuals who want to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. People who want to be team builders instead of team busters. The question is… when the pastor calls on you, will you be ready to step up to the plate?
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Good article Mark. I remember years ago when my old friend told me that there are the talkers and the doers and the doers equal 2% and in my experience I found that to be true.
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