3 ways to use preaching and teaching to effectively shepherd the local church you serve …

One of the greatest joys in the life of a servant of God is to proclaim the Gospel to non-believers and see them believe the message, repent, and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

But’s that’s just the start.

As a shepherd of a local church, you now have a flock that God has entrusted into your care. That is one of the greatest responsibilities of your life, and given the nature of sheep, tending to their care will be a challenge.

That’s because sheep are difficult!

Warren Lamb illuminates for us just how difficult sheep can be:

Jesus Christ is called The Great Shepherd; He calls us His sheep. On one of my shelves in my study is a little book bearing the title, “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.” The author, Phillip Keller, was a sheep rancher and has many insights to share about sheep. One that he shares is this:

“Sheep require more attention than any other livestock. They just can’t take care of themselves. Unless their shepherd makes them move on, sheep will actually ruin a pasture, eating every blade of grass, until finally a fertile pasture is nothing but barren soil. Sheep are near-sighted and very stubborn, but easily frightened. An entire flock can be stampeded by a jack rabbit. They have little means of defense. They’re timid, feeble creatures. Their only recourse is to run if no shepherd is there to protect them. Sheep have no homing instincts. A dog, horse, cat, or a bird can find its way home, but when a sheep gets lost, it’s a goner unless someone rescues it. So the over-riding principle of Psalm 23 is that sheep can’t make it without a shepherd.”

While shepherding four-legged sheep is laden with challenges, so is shepherding the two-legged kind who have turned to follow Jesus as the Great Shepherd. Entering into the kingdom of God isn’t easy, it’s a narrow gate and once in, the way is not easy:

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it,” Matthew 7:13-14.

In the early days of the church, no one knew better just how trying shepherding a flock of God’s sheep could be than did the Apostle Paul. As his life — and, thus, also his ministry — was drawing to a conclusion, he wrote to his younger co-worker, Timothy, to encourage and challenge him to continue the work of shepherding God’s flock Paul so passionately loved and served:

“I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching,” 2 Timothy 4:1-2.

After entering the narrow gate onto a new, different, and even difficult way, sheep can be prone to wander. In addition to that proclivity, Paul had already been battling the great troubles false teachers were causing the early church, including misleading sheep off the way of Jesus. So Paul instructs Timothy to use the shepherd’s tools of preaching and good teaching to do three things in order to protect and care for the flock of God: “… Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”

To explore this instruction, let’s change metaphors from shepherding and imagine a skilled gardener tending to a delicate plant. First, they carefully correct its posture, gently nudging it to grow straight and tall. Then, they might need to prune away dead or overgrown branches, rebuking any harmful growth that could hinder its health. Finally, with patience and tender care, they nourish the plant, encouraging its growth with nutrients and sunlight. In the same way, as shepherds of God’s flock, we are instructed to correct, rebuke, and encourage our congregations with the same precision and love, protecting and guiding their spiritual formation so they may remain steadfast on the way of Jesus, spiritually maturing to be more and more like Christ.

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ,” Ephesians 4:11-13.

To get to such a standard, you’ll have to employ — with all patience — good teaching that corrects, rebukes, and encourages.

Scotty