In the early 19th century, there was a popular English nursery rhyme told to young children. It went like this:

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

And can't tell where to find them.

leave them alone, and they'll come home,

wagging their tails behind them.

It is a cute rhyme, but completely false. Sheep left alone don’t come home wagging their tails. Sheep left alone get lost. Sheep left alone hurt themselves. Sheep left alone to die. The Jewish prophet Isaiah voiced one of God’s favorite metaphors for humanity with these words, “We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.” Insulting, to say the least, except that it is true. Despite our economic, medical and technological progress, this description of humanity as sheep holds true. Like sheep, we are disoriented. Like sheep, we are divided.

Living in the “information age”, we enjoy the multitude of benefits of things like real-time video calls to the family on different continents to finding virtually any recipe in seconds; while at the same time we struggle with how to process all the information directed at us. We wonder what is true and what is false. We wonder who to trust and who to fear. We look ahead to the possibilities of progress while concerned about the probability of virus varieties, cyber criminality, hazards of artificial intelligence, and countless other complexities of our world that we struggle to make sense of. Not to mention our own personal struggles with purpose, identity, and selfishness. We are disoriented.

Living in the “post-truth age” many consider we have arrived at the great truth. That truth is that there is no truth. A blatant contradiction, but many consider it freeing. They talk on shows with smiles on their faces saying things like “You do you and I’ll do me.”; “Your truth is different than my truth.” It all looks good in a daytime television studio, but time will tell how it will play out. I expect it to be an erosive philosophy. In my humble opinion, the logical outcome of post-truth is not progress and unity, but “might” becomes “right”. The one with the most power dictates the rules. We are divided and we are greatly vulnerable.

In all of these things, the dearth and/or vacuum of godly leadership becomes more palpable and consequential. People are looking for someone to re-orient them. They are looking for someone to unite them with and in reality. This vacuum will be filled, the question is by whom? What kind of leadership does the world need?

I propose that the world needs good shepherds. We need good shepherds in homes, in schools, in houses of worship, in politics and every place we find leadership vacuums. What is a shepherd and what does shepherding have to do with leadership? Here are some descriptions of a shepherd:

A Shepherd is someone who lives with sheep.

A Shepherd protects sheep.

A Shepherd feeds sheep.

A Shepherd knows where to bring the sheep.

A Shepherd speaks to the sheep.

A Shepherd knows their sheep by name.

A Shepherd bandage the wounded.

A Shepherd cares for the weak.

A Shepherd smells like sheep.

The entire life and the well-being of the sheep is dependent upon the Shepherd.

Sheep thrive under the watchful eye of a good shepherd. Jesus took this metaphor of the shepherd and sheep to a whole other level with his description of the good shepherd. He said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Naturally speaking, the life of the sheep is given for the sake of the shepherds. Shepherds raise sheep for what they can get from them, whether that be wool, milk, cheese, or meat. But with Jesus, this gets flipped around and the Shepherd gives Himself for the sake of the sheep. His life is given for the life of the sheep. Extraordinary! That is the kind of shepherd I would like to follow; that is the kind of shepherd leaders are supposed to be, and that these are the species of shepherds this confused and disoriented world dearly needs.

Leadership is often understood in terms of power, authority, and the making of right judgments and often rightly so as these are necessities. Yet, these are not the core manifestations of leadership exampled by Christ. At the core of His leadership was power expressed through suffering, authority expressed through humility, and right judgments expressed in mercy and true love. All things we would do well if we could dare to model after Christ in all the areas of leadership that we find ourselves in.

The world is crying out for leadership. Let’s be leaders that point to and take our example from The Good Shepherd.

Selah!

Noel Cammack

Noel Cammack is the Senior Pastor of The Life Church in Portlaoise. Along with his wonderful wife – Heather, Noel is leading the flock of God's dear sheep with amazing examples. Noel and Heather, thank you for heeding God's call to serve His people on this island (Ireland) and enjoy a wonderful holiday at home in Alaska.

© Selah Series 2021