They Smell Like Sheep

Shepherds onthe Hills of Bible History

One Sunday, adear friend and member of my congregation cornered me after asermon in which I repeatedly referred to elders as"shepherds."

"Whydon’t you find a better way to communicate this spiritualleadership idea? No one in our church knows anything aboutshepherds and sheep—especially the way all that stuff workedin the ancient world. That picture just doesn’t connect witha modern church."

Admittedly, theshepherd metaphor does sound strange in the cyber-world of ourdaily experience. We don’t normally see these picturesque,rural characters rolling down the expressways or eating at ourlocal McDonald’s. But, after carefully considering myfriend’s suggestion and searching in vain for a contemporarymetaphor that would better connect the biblical notion with ourtimes, I finally had to explain, "I can’t find anyfigure equivalent to the shepherd idea in our modern, urbanworld. Besides, if I drop the shepherd and flock idea, I wouldhave to tear about five hundred pages out of my Bible, plus leavethe modern church with a distorted—if not neutered—viewof spiritual leadership." God keeps pointing shepherds tothe pasture to struggle with sheep.

In Bible times,the shepherds were as common and familiar to most MiddleEasterners as are telephones and supermarkets to modern-dayAmericans. Almost anywhere in the Bible world, eyes that liftedto gaze across the landscape would fall upon at least one flockof sheep. As my friend Ted Waller reminds us, in antiquity,

the family often depended upon sheep for survival. A large part of their diet was milk and cheese. Occasionally, they ate the meat. Their clothing and tents were made of wool and skins. Their social position often depended upon the well-being of the flock, just as we depend upon jobs and businesses, cars and houses. Family honor might depend upon defending the flock.

Shepherdsthroughout History

The shepherdmetaphor shows up more than five hundred times in Scripture,across both Old and New Testaments. Without question, thedominant biblical model for spiritual leadership is the shepherdand flock. If we want to understand the biblical model forleadership, we must embrace the concept of shepherd.

God as Shepherd

In the"olden days" of the Old Testament world, the watch-careof God himself is pictured in the shepherd/sheep relationship.Most of us can quote the familiar words, "The Lord is myshepherd." The prophet Isaiah penned this less familiar butequally eloquent picture of God, "He tends his flock like ashepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them closeto his heart; he gently leads those that have young." What awinsome picture of our God!

Can’t youjust envision the awkward and delicate little lamb, ears askew,one gangly leg dangling near the shepherd’s elbow? Noticethat the shepherd tilts his head so that his beard nuzzles thelamb’s cheek and his resonant voice murmurs gently to thelamb as they move through the twilight toward the rest and safetyof the sheepfold. Old Testament readers would have pictured justsuch a gentle, caring relationship between God and hispeople—"the sheep of his pasture." And although"we all, like sheep, have gone astray," we still have a"good shepherd" who will love us and lead us gentlyback to the fold.

Prophets,Priests, and Kings as Shepherds

Later, Godpictured his prophets, priests, and kings as shepherds. When Godchose David—the shepherd-king after God’s "ownheart"—he "took him from the sheep pens; fromtending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of hispeople. . . . And David shepherded them with integrity ofheart."

God alsoexpected the prophets and priests of Israel to shepherd hispeople, but they often failed miserably at their task. Althoughmany did not live up to their role as shepherd, God came backagain and again to the idea that the leaders of his people wereshepherds—even though some were bad shepherds.

God warnedthese "false shepherds" in graphic language; and in nouncertain terms, he pronounced woes on their heads. The prophetJeremiah blasted the "shepherds" of Judah formisleading their flock, setting it up for captivity in Babylon.

My people havebeen lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and causedthem to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain andhill and forgot their own resting place.

Leaders whowere responsible for the spiritual well-being of Judah shirkedtheir duties and instead indulged their own selfish desires. TheLord’s rebuke comes through loud and clear in this passagefrom Ezekiel:

Woe to theshepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should notshepherds take care of the flock? . . . You have not strengthenedthe weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have notbrought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruledthem harshly and brutally. So they were scattered.

Then he spellsout their sentence:

Weep and wail,you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. Foryour time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall and beshattered like fine pottery.

The shepherdmetaphor for the leaders of Israel was not lost on the Israelitepeople. Those ancient folks knew that the food on their tablesand the clothes on their backs—not to mention the familyhonor—was inexorably linked to the way they cared for theirflocks. And thus, they understood that the very spiritualsurvival of their nation hinged on the quality of work done bytheir leaders.

It goes withoutsaying that the prophetic warnings against the unfit spiritualshepherds of Israel hold implications for today’s churchleaders. Today’s leaders carry life and death responsibilityfor their people, just as did the prophets, priests, and kings ofold.

Jesus asShepherd

In the NewTestament, Jesus is our shepherd. In the Old Testament, God haddropped hints of the coming shepherd through the prophet Ezekiel:"I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, andhe will tend them . . . and be their shepherd. I the Lord will betheir God, and my servant David will be prince among them."

Speaking ofhimself as the loving shepherd, Jesus says that he leaves theninety-nine in the open country and goes in search of the lostone. "And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on hisshoulders and goes home." He drapes this stinky, waywardsheep around his neck and carries it home. Think of it. Jesusleft the comforts of heaven and came into our universe, ourpasture, to smell like sheep! Jesus sweated like we do. He walkedour pathways, braved our wolves, faced our temptations, andshared our struggles. The Holy One of Israel came in Jesus Christto be our good shepherd.

My friend Roytells a fascinating story about a trip to Palestine some yearsback. One afternoon, he stood on a ridge overlooking a long,narrow gorge. Below him, the gorge opened out into rollinggrass-covered pasture lands. A single trail meandered down thelength of the gorge floor, then branched out into dozens oftrails when it reached the grasslands. A group of shepherdsstrolled down the gorge trail, chatting with one another,followed by a long, winding river of sheep. At the forks of thetrail, the shepherds shook hands and separated, each taking adifferent path as they headed out into the grasslands. Royrecounted the fascinating sight that followed.

As theshepherds headed their separate ways, the mass of sheep streamingbehind them automatically divided into smaller flocks, each flockstringing down the branch trail behind its appropriate shepherd.When the various shepherds and their flocks were distanced fromeach other by a few hundred yards, each shepherd turned to scanhis own sheep, noting that some strays had been left behind andwere wandering in confusion among the rocks and brush.

Then one of theshepherds cupped his hands around his mouth and called in astrange, piercing cry, "Ky-yia-yia-yia-yia." At hisshout, a couple of stray lambs perked up their ears and boundedtoward his voice. Then a second shepherd tilted back his headcalling with a distinctly different sound,"Yip-yip-yip-yipoo-yip." A few more strays hurriedstraight toward him. Then another called his strays with ashrill, "Hoot-hoot-hoot!" Each shepherd, in turn,called. Each of the strays, hearing a familiar voice, knewexactly which shepherd he should run to. "In fact," myfriend Roy marveled, "none of the wandering sheep seemed tonotice any voice but the voice of his own shepherd."

This is whatJesus meant when he said, "My sheep listen to myvoice," but "do not recognize a stranger’svoice." The sheep pick his voice out of a cacophony ofvoices and follow it. The shepherd "calls his own sheep byname and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, hegoes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they knowhis voice."

This is theessence of spiritual leadership: sheep following a shepherdbecause they know and trust him. This kind of trust andallegiance can be gained only one way—by a shepherd touchinghis sheep, carrying them, handling them, tending them, feedingthem—to the extent that he smells like them.

When theapostle Peter instructed church leaders on how to lead, he spokeof Jesus as "the Chief Shepherd." We must not missPeter’s point. Jesus, the Chief Shepherd is our model: he isthe archetype, the blueprint, for the way modern, Christianleadership gets done.

Evencontemporary believers instinctively warm to Jesus’comforting words of sheep and shepherding. Because Jesus laid hislife down for us, he woos us and wins our trust, our affection,and our loyalty.

Good spiritualshepherds today imitate the Chief Shepherd. Like him, theyattract flocks through loving service and authenticrelationships. Like him, they feed and protect their flocks. Theyknow their flocks and their flocks know them. They are trusted asmen and women who are committed enough to put their lives on theline, daily, for the precious people they lead.

The Apostles asShepherds

After modelingshepherd leadership, Jesus passed the model on to the apostles.Three times in one brief conversation, Jesus charged Peter(possibly as a representative of the entire apostolate):"Feed my lambs," "Take care of my sheep," and"Feed my sheep." By implication he is saying,"Adopt my spiritual leadership style."

Later, he toldthe Father, "As you sent me into the world, I have sentthem." One would find it hard to believe that after threeyears of watching Jesus and being coached by him—and nowcommissioned by him—that these twelve men would invent newleadership strategies. Jesus had modeled the shepherd style ofleadership, and this is what they used in their lives and modeledto others.

Today’sLeaders as Shepherds

Both Peter andPaul passed the shepherd model of leadership on to us. Paulpleaded with the leaders of the church in Ephesus,

Keep watch overyourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has madeyou overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he boughtwith his own blood.

Again Peterwrote,

Be shepherds ofGod’s flock that is under your care . . . eager to serve;not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples tothe flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receivethe crown of glory that will never fade away.

Let me grab themodern church leader by the literary ears: this shepherd metaphorwas passed on to us intentionally! By the time Paul and Petercall church leaders "shepherds," the shepherd motif hadgathered centuries of significance. A massive iceberg of divinemeaning had accumulated across the Bible and now lay below thesurface of this word. Peter and Paul are invoking a wholetheology of spiritual leadership, not merely throwing in acolorful figure of speech.

So I told mymodern friend, who had trouble with ancient shepherds, "Iguess I’ll stick with the shepherd idea. Seems better to tryand help us both understand what the shepherd model is about thanto butcher my Bible and run the risk of distorting God’splan."

This metaphorand its implications are worth pondering. No question: some spadework lies ahead of those who unearth this pastoral, ruralmetaphor and connect it with our hi-tech, urban experience;however, a little digging is well worth the effort because whatwe uncover is indispensable to a clear, biblical understanding ofspiritual leadership.

The RelationalBasis of Shepherding

The BiblicalShepherd

While some maynot feel comfortable thinking of certain people as sheep andothers as shepherds, our discomfort will likely disappear when werealize that the shepherding model revolves around therelationship between the shepherd and his flock. It is not afigure of strong over weak or "lords" over servants.Quite the contrary. The shepherd figure is one of love, service,and openness.

Ancient,Middle-Eastern shepherds lived in the pasture with the flock andwere as much a part of the land as the sheep were. Through alifetime of shared experience, shepherds nurtured enduring trustrelationships with their sheep.

When a tinylamb was born into the wilderness world, the shepherd took thetrembling newborn into his hands, warming it and caressing it.Among the first sensations felt by the shivering lamb was thetender hands of the shepherd. The gentle voice of the shepherdwas one of the first sounds to awaken the lamb’s delicateeardrums.

The shepherdlived with the lambs for their entire lives—protecting them,caressing them, feeding and watering them, and leading them tothe freshest pools and the most luxuriant pastures—day andnight, year in and year out. So by the time the lamb grew to"ewe-hood" or "ram-hood," it naturallyassociated the touch of the shepherd’s hands and the soundof the shepherd’s voice with "green pastures" and"still waters," with safety, security, love, and trust.Each sheep came to rely on the shepherd and to know his voice andhis alone. They followed him and no one else.

Of course, thelambs understood clearly who was in charge. Occasionally, theshepherd might tap an unruly lamb on the ear with ashepherd’s crook. But this was a love tap, embraced in anenfolding circle of relationship. The shepherd smelled likesheep!

When theday’s grazing was done and night was approaching, theshepherd would gather the sheep together and lead them into aprotective fold. Some were crude, makeshift circles of brush,stick, and rocks, forming barricades four or five feethigh—safe little fortresses in the wilderness. Others werelimestone caves in the hillsides. Even today, in Palestine, onecan see roughly constructed, temporary sheepfolds dotting thepastoral landscape. But each circle is incomplete, broken at oneplace to form an opening into the fold. Beside this portal theshepherd would take his place as he gathered his flock into thefold for the night, at times physically becoming the"gate."

Part of thenighttime ritual was the gentle inspection of each, individuallamb. One by one, each lamb would come under the shepherd’srod for review. Each would feel the shepherd’s hands andhear his voice speaking its name. Under the care of the shepherd,the sheep would "come in and go out, and find pasture."

"Goodevening my friend, Yellow-Wool. You look tired. Long day?C’mon inside and rest. And you, Ragged-Ear, let me pull thattick from your cheek. Come in, Spotted-Face, Broken-Foot,Shiny-Nose . . . " until all the sheep were snuggled insidethe safety of the fold for another night.

With the wholeflock examined and bedded down, finally, the shepherd himselfwould lie down, stretching his body across the opening. So, theshepherd literally, physically became the door! His body kept thesheep in and the dangers of the night out. No sheep could wanderinto danger because the shepherd’s body held them in. Wolvesand robbers could enter to harm the flock only over the dead bodyof the shepherd. Some claim that, even in modern times, morningwill occasionally find scattered sheep, without a shepherd. Uponinvestigation, a bleeding, battle-worn shepherd will often befound somewhere nearby—sometimes even a dead one. Theshepherd would literally lay "down his life for thesheep."

What acompelling and fitting model for leadership. No wonder theshepherd metaphor is a constant theme of the Bible. And alongwith the other two models we’ll look at—mentor andequipper—its root is in relationship and its model is Jesus.

TheContemporary Shepherd

Grab yourpencil. Get ready to circle the next profound phrase. A shepherdis someone who has a flock. As obvious as that may sound, it isfrequently overlooked—for many church "leaders"function in name or office only and in reality have no flock.

Flocksnaturally gather around food, protection, affection, touch, andvoice. Biblical shepherds are those who live among the sheep;serve the sheep; feed, water, and protect the sheep; touch andtalk to the sheep—even lay down their lives for the sheep.Biblical shepherds smell like sheep.

One shepherdesswho smells like sheep is my wife Carolyn. Carolyn frequently"adopts" lonely young singles who move to our area."Tim" was one of them. Our circle of friends loved Timfor his fun personality and his servant heart. We all quicklybecame very attached to him. Eventually, Tim confided to Carolynand me that he had a serious, life-threatening illness. As theillness progressed, he and Carolyn became especially close. Shespent countless hours with him in his final weeks—often justhugging and holding him like her own child. Outside of his ownloving family, she was one of the very last to touch Tim beforehe died. The following note from Carolyn was read at Tim’sfuneral.

My friend,Sunday, when I kissed you on the forehead, you looked into myeyes and said, "Thank you."

But it is I whoshould thank you. Thank you for the way I saw your life grow inChrist. Thank you for sharing a day last year helping me decoratemy Christmas tree. Thank you for the blackberry cobbler on mybirthday. Thank you for the Weatherford peaches you brought byearly one morning. Thank you for asking that I be present whenthe elders called a special meeting to pray for your healing.

Today, Icelebrate, and I ask everyone who loved you to celebrate with me.

This was trueshepherding by a lady who touches her flock personally and deeplyand is touched by them as well.

Church leaderswho shepherd well will foster congregational infrastructures thatleave them plenty of time and opportunity for flock-building. Agood deal of their leadership will be hands-on andpersonal—for this is how flocks are formed.

The shepherdand flock relationship eloquently implies at least threequalities of spiritual leadership: availability, commitment, andtrust. This is how spiritual flocks are formed today.

RelationshipsRequire Availability

Two of mywarmest memories of "available" shepherds find WallyBullington walking around in them. Wally was a football coach; heis now retired, but is still known by most people as"coach." Wally shoots straight, but always with loveand warmth and follow-through.

One memorycomes from a church-wide father/child canoe trip on the GuadelupeRiver. Two kids came along who had no dad at home. Wally spenthours with them—teaching them to tie flies, paddle canoes,catch fish, set up tents, and more.

The othermemory involves the son of a single-parent mother. When thisyoung boy’s parents were accused of a crime, he feltsocially cut off from everyone. In addition, it appeared that hemight have to drop out of his much-loved private school. Manyafternoons found Wally throwing a football with this boy on avacant lot.

Years later,both boys, now men, still see Wally as a father figure and stayin touch with him for counsel and love. He touched many others aswell. Shepherd Wally built long relationships with these lambsand earned their trust, affection, and loyalty. Because he madehimself accessible and available, these sheep know Wally’svoice and follow him. Authentic, spiritual bonding like this isas real as family blood ties—maybe more so—and in someways, just as irreplaceable. Around this shepherd, a flockgathered across the years—a flock that authentically loveshim, depends on him, follows him, and listens to his voice.

RelationshipsRequire Commitment

Shepherdingsheep requires a long-term, costly commitment of self, time, andenergy and the building of open, authentic relationships.Shepherding is no easy task. Jesus, the "ChiefShepherd," exemplified this commitment in his relationshipwith the Twelve. Jesus chose them so that "they might bewith him," and for three years, they went everywhere hewent. They went with him to weddings, temples, villages, fields,synagogues, and sickrooms. They even went fishing together. Jesuschanged them by his touch. He taught them, ate with them, andprotected them. He talked with them until they began to hear hisvoice way down in their souls. Eventually, people could tell bybeing around them that "they had been with Jesus."

Modern-dayshepherds rarely have the opportunity to spend such constant timewith their sheep; but the intentionality of Christ, hisrelational approach, his commitment—these we can emulate.

Jim isabsolutely unavailable on Wednesday nights to anyone outside room222. Why? Because he has committed this time to a Challenge groupled by Dr. Jan Dunn, which gathers in that room. Challenge is aspecial group hosted by our church. It began as a divorcerecovery group, then broadened to include any persons strugglingwith painful relationships, whether divorced, married, or single.

At first, Jimwent to encourage Jan. Jan is an experienced professor andpractitioner of marriage and family therapy, but she felt unsureabout whether her efforts would be affirmed by the church orwhether they would even help people. Jim committed his Wednesdayevenings, for an entire year, to being an affirming presence tothe Challenge group—and the group has flourished! Over thispast year, many have found recovery and healing—and God.Jim’s role is low profile; he rarely says anything exceptwhen requested to lay hands on some specific anguishing personand pray for him or her. However, his shepherding presence haslegitimated the whole effort. One in the group said, "Gosh.Just the nonjudgmental, compassionate presence of an elder in theroom is as healing as anything else the class offers." Jimgets sheep smell all over himself on Wednesday nights, and heloves it. Jim definitely has "gathered a flock."

RelationshipsRequire Trust

Sheep followtheir shepherd "because they know his voice." Throughhours and days and weeks and years spent with their shepherd,sheep come to know from experience that they can trust him. Trustis earned, not demanded, and it is built over time.

We trust Jesusbecause he keeps his promise to be with us to the end of theworld. When we first come to him as trembling, newborn lambs, hecaresses us in his gentle, firm hands. His love warms us,protects us, and feeds us. His spirit waters us, and hecontinually talks to us. He never abandons us or misleads us. Wetrust him because he is trustworthy.

So it is withmodern-day shepherds. Men and women who would lead a flock mustearn the trust of the sheep. When the lives of leaders areinvested in the lives of sheep, the sheep come to know and trusttheir voices. This is what Jesus meant when he said that ashepherd’s sheep "follow him because they know hisvoice."

Not only do thesheep know the shepherd, but the shepherd also knows thesheep—intimately. "He calls his own sheep byname." Biblical leaders know faces and names—andpersonal stories. Because the shepherd knows and serves them all,they trust him, and he "leads them out."

Being placed ina leadership position does not guarantee a following, but a trailof sheep will usually follow the voice of a trusted shepherd.

Jack wassuccessful in business, visible in the community, had been adeacon for years, and was loved by many people. But friends sawalcohol sneak up on him, until his world began tounravel—business, health, family. Finally, through anintervention initiated by my wife, Carolyn, Jack checked into atreatment center. Now aided by a twelve-step group, Jack has beensober for more than eight years. Throughout the process, Jackgained a whole new vision of God and a life of flourishingrelationships.

Back on thefifth anniversary of his sobriety, the shepherds of Jack’schurch threw a huge "dinner party/sobrietycelebration." This did wonders for Jack and his family. Andthe positive shepherding implications spread out from thatgesture—like circles from a rock thrown into apond—reaching the far corners of their 2,000-member churchand beyond. That one evening instilled hope and inspired trust inthose shepherds on the part of many more Christians who werestruggling with alcohol addictions. Acceptance and healing flowedthrough one key shepherding act.

In a societywhere trust is rarely extended or deserved, the"shepherd" style of leadership—by its verynature—inspires trust. God’s design fosters trust inchurch leaders and nurtures loyalty between church members.

Even after thisbrief look at the biblical metaphor of shepherd, it’s easyto understand why God chose such a model for spiritualleadership. Its implications are as applicable today as they weretwo thousand years ago. When godly, loving, gentle shepherdsfirst build authentic relationships with their flocks, then riseup and "lead out," sheep hungry for biblical leadershipand wise guidance will willingly follow.

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Excerpted from They Smell Like Sheep by Lynn Anderson
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.