In my last leadership lesson I shared a story at the end. I told you that story to help you see the principle of washing feet, but I want you to know that it wasn't always like that for me. Knowing how to wash feet or how to lead people effectively did not come easily for me. For every one story like that there were several that were very unlike that, full of mess and mistakes, re-conversations and bumpy roads to hopefully better ministry. Such is leadership, right? We fail as humans and press into the One Who never fails as He teaches us His way. Washing feet and leading others in ministry are things I still have to work at and areas where God is still faithfully teaching me.
About ten years ago someone finally named a part of my gifting: shepherding. I had a very limited understanding of spiritual gifts and thought, that of the ones I knew about, I just didn't fit well. Along came shepherding and so much about how God had made my new creation made a lot more sense! I was given a chance to explore shepherding more fully when God gave me a growing responsibility within an organization of people, about people, for people. Here's what I learned.
As a leader, you are a shepherd. Remember, we don't get to disengage and just lead. I recently saw multiple posts on facebook with a picture that showed the difference between a boss and a leader. It looked Egyptian, and in the first picture the boss is sitting at a desk pointing ahead. The desk is on top of a flat being pulled by the minions that work for the boss. In the picture below it, the boss is titled leader and is at the head of the group pulling the weight of the flat with his people pulling behind him. He is still pointing ahead, but you clearly see the difference. Just like our Good Shepherd in John 10, we are leading and should be calling our people to follow, pointing the way.
Through simple logic, if you are a shepherd, God has given you sheep. You have a job to
lead and care for your sheep, and by the design of this relationship, they
should follow your lead. You are leading them to new places, better places,
greener places; you desire good for them and for the people they are impacting or for the mission and vision they are realizing.
They have their faces in the fields of your ministry and could tell you a ton about the feasting
and the dirt associated with
ministry. They know you and you know them. You are on a journey together. There are several facets of shepherding, but one stands out to me here.
As a shepherd,
often you are giving the call to your people to move. I know as leaders, we don't stop long. Ministry is always moving. I am so thankful Christ showed us that in His own ministry. He stopped and stayed to complete the work the Father had given Him to do (Jn. 17:4, Mk. 1:38-39), and then He moved. When it’s time to go to better,
greener places, how are you issuing that call to them? How are you
communicating the better, greener place and what it’s going to take to get
there? If "people speak" isn't you (I have been known to speak that fast and fluent), then how are you presenting your goals? How are you getting your people to see your vision, invest in the mission, and move with you? Sheep are known for wanting to stay put until they have ravaged a field and pulled the grass up by the roots. Then they stand there bleating with a belly full of gross stuff, wondering who will feed them here. Here is no longer the answer to their hunger. We all have to move, shepherd and sheep, so how do we go together?
As a new leader, I was passionate about our goals, all of them. In every area I desired for all of us to have excellence so we could make one outstanding Christ-centered ministry. I felt the
reality and pressure of our goals, and I was hungry to move people
to a place where they would feel heart and soul engaged in meeting those goals.
Surely that would result in our mission and vision exploding! Yes…but
there was one problem. Not all my people were interested in those goals or even
in following me there. I recall an email I wrote to my people when I had
finished reviewing our results for the month. The picture was not pretty, and action was needed on the part of everyone, but mostly them. (I kid!) In my mind I affectionately
termed it the “Get it done” email. I think the subject line was “A hard
email to write—response required.” I covered everything from their original offer letters, their current commitment to their roles, the heart of our mission, the numbers achieved and a trend report for visual clarity, how they submitted their detailed "TPS reports", and maybe I addressed someone's kitchen sink. You can imagine
after reading that how everyone wanted to run into the arms of Jesus, confess
all their issues that had deeply contributed to these lackluster results, and rush forward into ministry with a freshly painted
banner that read, “‘A Hard Email to Write’ – Ginny Changed My Ministry!” That’s what
I imagined. Looking back, I imagine they ran into the arms of Jesus for an
entirely different reason. I'll bet they were ready to paint a different banner of ministry that
would have been very easy for them to
write and difficult for me to look at. No, my
email did little to move my people to heart and soul engagement in our goals.
And they were good goals.
That's when I learned the dark, flesh-side of shepherding: sheep dogging. I came across this concept in Dallas Willard's book Hearing God. According to Willard, sheep dogs know exactly where they want the sheep to go and they will bark, bite, chase, and corral them to get them there. "Sheep dogging" is manipulating people to a pre-determined outcome, only speaking half-truths with niceness but not being transparent or clear, emotionally standing back, allowing only the circumstances and facts to speak without listening or prior real investment in real people, neglecting details to soften a truth, and/or using authority to force an outcome without tending to the relationship. It can even be biting with anger, tone, and attitude. Sheep dogging sees a goal and tends only to the sheep so far as they will cooperate in moving towards the goal. The movement and goal are the point, not the people. What's hard to admit is when you love people and are for people, and yet you have sheep dogged people. Oh but the pressure of ministry! I have felt it. I have been the nicest sheep dog ever...with titanium tipped teeth and the swiftest moves in the tri-state area. Oh the pressure of ministry!! Can I counter that? Oh the Presence of The Shepherd.
Shepherding is different. It is leading people in a right path to take them to a right place in their best interest. Sounds like sheep dogging except shepherds lead and guide with tools and vision, always looking to their Good Shepherd to guide them; they don't manipulate or bite. We see this nestled in Psalm 23. (If you want an excellent book on this, I highly recommend A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller.) Shepherds take responsibility to nurture, model, and establish trust and confidence through relationships. With sheep in ministry who are called by Jesus to serve Him and others, it is your job as a shepherd to show them how movement or goals are the greener pasture, why it’s a better place, and how Jesus and people are on the path as well as in the results. Your sheep want you to tell them why they are making the move or working towards this new facet of mission and how it reflects the heart of their calling and Savior.
Are you feeling a big "ughhh" inside? That sounds like a lot of work and time away from important meetings/email and emotional connecting and spiritually investing and blah, blah, blah to get to where we need to go now. You feel a sense of urgency and want to create an action plan. I get it. Remember, I know the pressures of ministry. Urgency and action - that’s good. Before you map your new team action items, remember that while you see a need to act, you are shepherding sheep. You may need to balance your own fresh energy to move or meet a goal with the fact that you are going to have to bring your people up to speed and engage them in a Christ-led journey to meeting that goal. If you press and don’t fully consider people, you may be in for a much longer journey. Sheep are quite an unruly, obstinate bunch. That's why we're referred to as sheep by God. Recall in your life who has invested in you as a sheep and shepherded you. Now consider who has sheep dogged you. What's the difference in those experiences?
My point and heart with shepherding vs. sheep dogging ultimately comes down to this: We don’t move people. People don’t move
people. Jesus moves people. All our efforts in the world may inspire or even
scare people into temporarily moving, but it’s not lasting change with internal
transformation that expresses itself with greater faith, love and action on the
outside. Only Jesus can do that. As a shepherd, you will never move your sheep.
You must look to the One Who called them, follow Him and use His words to
call His sheep. Think again about John 10. Jesus says that His sheep know His voice,
know Him, and follow Him. As their anointed, appointed shepherd for this
season, you must use His words so that His sheep will hear His voice and you
can all follow Him to better, greener places together.
So, consider the following questions as a shepherd with sheep:
- What gifts do I see in these people, just as they are? Ask God to reveal to you why these people in this place for this season. He is at work in these sheep. What's He doing in them and through them right now individually? As a team? If you don't know that answer, this is your starting point. Know your sheep and how He is shepherding them with His voice, leading, and nearness.
- Where is Christ in this? What does He say?
- How have I led in this so far? Would my people agree with my assessment of my leadership here?
- How have I prayed for my sheep in this? For myself?
- Where do I need to build into relationships (serve and wash feet) so that I can lead?
- Consider what you know about the character of God and His Word. Where do I see my desired movement or goal reflected in scripture and/or in Him?
- What’s eternal in what I want to do or in the journey to get to where I want to go?
- How does moving or meeting these goals reflect Jesus and people? What’s glorious about Jesus in this goal and the path to meeting it? What about this journey and the goal embrace people?
- How can I skillfully and rightly take the word of God (which really is The Word, Jesus) and use it to call my people to go with Him and me?
- What will my sheep need with this? How will I serve them and keep pointing them to Christ while I pull the weight of this ministry with them?
I learned some really hard lessons along the way from sheep dogging to shepherding. And movement is just one facet of shepherding! When I chose His way of shepherding, He never failed to care for His sheep, including me. And we never failed to reach His new place for us, even if the road felt like the valley of death at times. He is indeed the Good Shepherd. Will you follow Him?
Just another seed of my faith,
Ginny
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