Called, Not Hired

There is much confusion in churches today as to whether a church hires or calls a pastor. I would like to suggest to you that a pastor is called by God to a specific congregation and the church acknowledges that call.

From a logical standpoint, if a pastor is hired by a church, then he could be fired by the church. This alone can be a detriment to a pastor's ministry. He will lack the job security that comes from knowing that God has placed him in a church. He will also be afraid that if he fails to preach adequate sermons, the congregation could let him go. This mentality will be also do damage to the pastor who runs into conflict with his congregation. The tendency here will be to run away from the conflict rather than face it and seek peace.

If, on the other hand, a pastor is called to a congregation, his ministry will be accompanied by the stability that God gives. The pastor will be confident that God has him in the right place, doing the right thing. The church will be confident that God has put the right man in their church. They will be more willing to work through difficult issues and more willing to listen to their pastor's teaching--even when he might step on their toes.

From a biblical standpoint, Jesus teaches these things in John 10:11-15:


"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. -John 10:11-15

So pastors, let us follow Christ's example and care for our congregations, even in the midst of turmoil and attack. Remember, you are called to your ministry by God. He will use you to accomplish His will in that place.

The True Shepherd

“I will make  them and the places all around My hill a blessing: and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing…Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they , the house of Israel are my people, says the Lord GOD. You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God, says the Lord GOD.” –Ezekiel 35:26, 30-31

Israel had some good shepherds and some bad shepherds. They had King David, who “shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” (Psalm 78:72). King David was a good shepherd. He shepherded by godliness and giftedness. But Israel also had some pretty bad shepherds. They had evil kings who made deals with the wicked, Gentile nations. These kings cared only for themselves. They failed to feed God’s flock and they effectively scattered God’s people among the nations.

After pronouncing judgment upon these wicked shepherds, God describes how He would be the True Shepherd for the people.  He would gather them from the nations to which they were scattered. He would feed them. He would care for them. He would rain showers of blessing upon them, and upon all the places around them. Then the people would know that God is with them.

The Lord Jesus is the True Shepherd described in Ezekiel 35. He tells us in John 10 that He is the good shepherd and “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” This claim that Jesus makes attests to His deity. Only God could be described as the Good Shepherd. 

The True Shepherd takes good care of His sheep. He provides their needs, feeds them when they are hungry, protects them when they are in danger, and blesses them beyond measure with His presence. Jesus is always with His sheep. He dwells in us as individuals, and among us as His flock. We are truly blessed with showers of blessing by the True Shepherd.

Are you one of Jesus’ sheep? Do you hear His voice? Does He know you? Do you follow the True Shepherd? 

Bad Shepherds Beware!

'"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD.' -Jeremiah 23:1

Shepherding God's flock is a privilege. If God has put you in a position of shepherding, He has trusted immense responsibility to you. Think about it, you are to watch out for people's souls (Hebrews 13:17). As a shepherd, you are to lead the flock by example (1 Peter 5:3-4), feed the flock (John 21:17), and oversee the flock as a servant leader. This is a monumental undertaking. 

God takes it very seriously when His shepherds fail to care for the flock that God has entrusted them with. He says here in Jeremiah, "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" Ouch. Apparently, some of the leaders of Israel had failed tremendously in their shepherding responsibility. Instead of nurturing and caring for the people, they had destroyed and scattered the people. Israel was in rough shape, and God places the blame upon the shepherds.

This should serve as a warning to us pastors to shepherd God's flock with all love and care. We must seek to build people up and unite the 'sheep' around the Gospel of Christ. May we be faithful to God's call and lead the flock with a humble, loving, Christlike example.

Power for the Weak

Isaiah 40:28-29 – “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary, His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.”

These verses truly amaze me. Each time I read them I try to wrap my mind around what they really mean. Think about it. God is in heaven. We are on earth. Here God is described as everlasting, Jehovah, Creator, He never faints or grows weary, and we can’t even know how much He understands or knows—not to mention the rest of the description of God in Isaiah 40:12-26. Yet in all His greatness we read that He gives power to the weak and increases strength to those who have no might.

It is a humbling thing to study the attributes of God. Look deeply into His perfections and you will see not only how great and vast He is, but also how incredibly small you are. Many people think themselves to be truly great and mighty, but they have never taken a good long look at the Lord of hosts, the everlasting God—the Creator. If you really think you are great, I want you to try something. Why don’t you try creating something? Start out small. Let’s see you create an amoeba. Oh, and by the way, start with nothing. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? After all, you do consider yourself to be great and mighty.

The point is that when anyone stands next to God and compares themselves to Him, they can’t measure up. In fact, it is not even close. How can a created being measure up to an infinite being? We are all weak. We are all without strength. We need the power of God. We need His might. In His grace and mercy He has provided exactly what we need if we are humble before Him. James 4:6 - “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

I praise God for His tremendous care for His people! Isaiah 40:11 – “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”