Then the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” So he said, “I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, like sheep which have no shepherd. And the LORD said, `These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.’ “– 1 Kings 22 : 16 – 17 (NASB)

As I continue my shepherding Bible study, I came across this passage again.  While the passage (see also 2 Chronicles 18) does not refer to a specific person or persons shepherding, I still thought there was a lesson or two here for those of us entrusted with shepherding the Church.

The king mentioned in the passage above is Ahab, king of Israel.  Israel’s kings have turned away from God and began worshipping the Baal.  Ahab contributes to the blasphemy by erecting Ashura poles on the high worship places.  His evil wife and queen Jezebel is intent on killing all God’s prophets, Elijah most of all.  Unbeknownst to Ahab, the verses above and in fact all of 1 Kings 22 are about the end of his reign as king of Israel.

Three years have passed since Israel warred with Aram.  Israel was victorious in the previous conflict when God delivered the Arameans into the hands of the Israelites after the Arameans thought God’s power was limited to the hills (1 Kings 20).   Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, has allied himself with Ahab.  It is a curious alliance as Jehoshaphat has done much to restore Judah to worshipping God, unlike Ahab.  Having been in that part of the world, I know blood ties are strong.  Possibly a common ancestry is what binds Ahab and Jehoshaphat together, for faith certainly does not.  Regardless, Jehoshaphat asks Ahab to seek God’s counsel before going to war.  Ahab consults his “prophets”, who assure him God will be on his side if he wars with the Arameans again.  Jehoshaphat knows the prophets did not consult God and so he asks if there is no true prophet to consult (note the difference between “the prophets” in verse 6 with “prophet of the Lord” in verse 7).  Ahab confirms there is, but he is reluctant to consult him because he won’t tell him what he wants to hear.  Still, Ahab sends for God’s prophet, Micaiah.

The messenger who fetches Micaiah tries to convince him to tell Ahab what he wants to hear.  Micaiah states he will only say what the Lord has told him.  Interestingly, once he is in Ahab’s presence Micaiah does tell Ahab what the other prophets had already said.  Ahab may be evil but he is not naïve.  He must have sensed what I imagine was Micaiah’s mocking tone, both toward the king and his so-called prophets.  True to his word, Micaiah delivers God’s message that Ahab will lose the battle and the Israelites will be “scattered on the mountains, like sheep which have no shepherd (found in verse 17 and referencing Numbers 27:17).  Micaiah is rewarded with imprisonment for delivering God’s message telling Ahab what he does not want to hear.  Ahab ignores the message, fights with the Arameans, and is killed.

Years ago I was attending staff training at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  The thrust of the training is to turn Army officers into good staff officers.  I remember one portion of our training consisting of a “B” grade video The Road to Abilene.  The video takes place during the hot Texas summer in a small town an hour or two away from Abilene.  It is set during the 50s or 60s when vehicle air conditioning was not standard equipment.  A family is slowly passing a long hot afternoon.  One of the family members mentions they could drive to Abilene for ice cream to cool off.  What ensues is a discussion where everyone eventually goes along with the idea.  Cut to the end of the video.  Everyone is soaked with sweat and quite irritable.  They start blaming each other for a long hot road trip with no air conditioning.  I forget how the video ends, but I do remember it ends with everyone upset with everyone else.  It seems none of them really wanted to go to Abilene but none of them wanted to be the one to say “no” either.  They all succumbed to what we call “groupthink”, which is basically going along with whatever idea or plan is presented even if you don’t think it is good.

The lesson for us was good staff officers will avoid groupthink and present our superiors with the information they need to make decisions, even if that information is unpleasant or unpopular.  We were still to have the courage to present the information, regardless of personal consequences, because we were usually dealing with decisions costing lots of money and, more importantly, potentially costing lives.  Sometime after my training I had the opportunity to serve in Iraq with a commander who encouraged contrary opinions, provided you had the facts and analysis to back up your conclusions and recommendations.   Because of this I and my staff were able to gain his trust and confidence over time and we enjoyed successes for the remainder of our tour.

So what are the lessons for us?

First, avoid groupthink to encourage HOT (honest, open, transparent – not to be confused with heated or angry) dialogue.  Unfortunately, there are times when a congregation’s shepherds are accused of groupthink.  What people are not privy to are the discussions that go on behind closed doors or the information discussed because of the trying to maintain someone’s privacy, trust, and confidence.  Fortunately, the shepherds I serve with are so diverse there is usually HOT dialogue, especially over non-routine matters.  Most of our meetings also include our ministers, and both always provide valuable insight and other perspectives for us to consider in our decision-making.  However, we never let those discussions disrupt the unity or harmony among the shepherds because that will sow the seeds of division within the congregation.  In fact, there have been times where one of us will disagree with the others but will yield so we can maintain unity and harmony in the body.

Second, be prepared to be unpopular.  Micaiah presented a message from God and was rewarded with a slap from a false prophet and imprisonment from a king.  In some cases be prepared to receive a figurative slap that comes in many forms from members disagreeing with how you handle things.  Some do it intentionally, some unintentionally, but it hurts just the same.  I know I was guilty of the same in my younger, more spiritually immature days (and yes, I still have a long way to go).  One reason they do it is because they don’t have all the information you do, and they also forget you are fallible.  This is also the time to remember the numerous New Testament warnings about false prophets.  They will spread lies to fill the information gap we create as we protect our members’ confidentiality.

Third, seek God’s counsel when making decisions or conveying information.  Consider the options, search the Scriptures, pray, make the best decision for the body, and then communicate your decisions and as much of the information behind the decisions as possible to the congregation.  Of course, remember the second point as you do:)

Finally, we must remember Micaiah’s warning about what would happen if Ahab ignored God’s word.  The sheep would be scattered and leaderless.  If we ignore God’s word then our sheep will also be leaderless and scattered, and we will answer to God for it.

May your blessings exceed mine today and all your days. – DEM