Shepherd Leadership- WEDNESDAY

To contrast the Good Shepherd from the "hireling", Jesus made a big distinction.  It came down to self-sacrifice for other people.  It came down to not running away from responsibility under a threat.  It came down to a total commitment to stay the course until the end.  Was He tempted to pull out?  You bet He was.  At any time He could have pulled the plug and said, "Too much.  They are not worth it!"  He did not take that option, but instead yielded to the Father's plan.  You see a good leader must also be a good follower.  Jesus followed the leadership of His Father and this made Him the great leader that He was.

When Jesus spoke His masked words in the scripture above, He was speaking of the sacrifice of His life to purchase our freedom.  His was the total commitment of His life for His purpose, which was to redeem you and me.  In John 10:9 Jesus describes Himself as the "gate for the sheep."  He became this "gate" for you and me so that we can go in and go out and find pasture (Heaven.)  He laid down His life for His sheep.  This was Jesus, and the way He led.  But the question is, can we learn from Jesus ... should we learn from Him?  I think so.  But we have to go against our instincts and the way the world sees success.

Let's do a perspective test on contrasting leadership.  When was the last time you felt the leadership you operated under was about you rather than the leader himself?  Did you feel this leader wanted to help you be successful in your endeavors or was it about you making your leader successful in his endeavors?  Did you sense a true interest in you, your family, your likes and dislikes, or was the interest only surface rhetoric?  Did you feel that your leader wanted more for you than maybe you did yourself and was helping you see the successful person within you that you hoped to be?  Was this leader helping you become this person or was his interest only about you becoming the person for the job?  Was this leader trying to see a healthy person emerge who would be good in any job, and not just what he needed of you?  In a way you can see the difference in shepherding leadership.  These are some contrasts that point out the distinctions of a Shepherd Leader verses a Hireling, whether it's in a church or a business or a home.  If you want to know which leader is most needed, ask yourself which leader you would want to work with or live with?  Which leader would you be excited to work with, or dread working for, for that particular distinction of with or foridentifies a Shepherd Leader?  The Shepherd Leader creates a partner in a mission whether it is in business or on the mission field, for he makes himself seen as a partner with his constituent rather than a lord over the one he leads.  Jesus is LORD, but He was always humbly approachable, and still is today.  He leads by showing what He is all about within.  He shows His heart.  He shows His agenda.  There are no surprises, no duplicity with Jesus.

If we want to lead like Jesus, we do not have to try and be Jesus, but simply adopt His values and His heart for people.  When this happens, people around us begin to see us as a Shepherd Leader rather than a hired gun to whip them into shape and keep them there.  This is when we create a culture of trust and joyfully labor together for a mutual purpose.  Lest you think I am speaking only to the business culture, let me say quickly that I do speak of leadership there, but I also reference a man as a father and husband in the home, with friendships, in church or wherever a man or woman has influence.  I speak to a dynamic in all our relationships in that in some way and at some point someone has to lead out and begin to represent Jesus by the way we value and serve people.  I believe at some point and in some way we all have to be leaders, and the question is, "Which one do you want to be?"  Let's talk more about that tomorrow.