The idea of reviewing your past is not a new one.  God renews his covenant with the Israelites in Exodus 34 as they resume their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.   The Israelite’s journey from Egypt to Jordan is reviewed in Numbers 33.  Joshua reviews Israel’s history in Joshua 24.  Nehemiah and Ezra remind the Israelites of their covenant and to keep God’s commandments, and the writer of Hebrews reviews the generations of faith and “cloud of witnesses” that have been part of God’s redemptive plan since time began.

With this in mind I thought I would use this post to list the shepherding lessons I have learned and shared thus far as I’ve studied shepherds in the Bible.  This will also be my last post for the year as our congregation heads in to a very busy time of preparing the soil now and for the year to come with our congregation’s participation in the Castle Rock Starlighting, planning to participte in next year’s Leadership Training for Christ, working with my fellow shepherds and shepherd “alumni” to create a leadership development process for the congregation, writing and delivering our Spiritual State of the Congregation charge, and a host of other activities that always develop at the end of the year.   I do however plan to continue writing next year about my personal joureny to become the best shepherd I can be for God and our congregation based on Bible lessons.  So, on with the review.

Since I started this blog in February I have posted 18 Biblical lessons that have helped my development of a shepherd for God’s people.  What follows is a short chronological summary of each.

1. Passing the Baton of Faith.  In a relay race, the runner of each leg must successfully pass the baton to continue the race to the finish.  The same goes for passing our faith from one generation to the next as described in Hebrews 11, which is achieved through incorporating our multi-generational value known as the “Vertical Slice” in the life of our congregation.
2. Leaders Take Responsibility.  In today’s society this is a simple, yet revealing characteristic of real leaders.  Those that shirk responsibility and blame others are bad leaders.  Those that accept responsibility for both good and bad (especially the bad) are like Moses in Exodus 32, who through God’s moulding and shaping was willing to give his life for the rebellious Israelites.
3. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.  Beuracracy stifles initiative and creativity and punishes those that think and act “outside the box”.  If you lead a congregation the same way you will also stifle that congregation.  It is one of the differences in leading and organization such as the military from which I retired and an organism such as the church (Romans 12) which I now shepherd.
4. All In.  Jesus was fully committed to fulfilling God’s will to be the sacrifice for our sins.  Just as Jesus calls Peter and Andrew to follow Him in Mark 1:16, we are called to follow Jesus with everything we have.
5. Return on Investment.  Investments take resources and attention to grow.  One of the Chief’s of Staff of the Army when I was serving stated our people are our greatest asset and we should invest in them.  Moses did this almost 4,000 years ago when he invested in developming Joshua to succeed him as the leader of the Israelites to conquer the Promised Land.  Moses’ investment took time (at least 40 years) to come to fruition.  Therefore, if we want to develop the next generation of Church leaders we must dedicate our time and resources to doing so.
6. A Better Pasture.  In Genesis 47, Jacob’s shepherds guided their flocks to better pastures so they could survive famine.  We should do the same for our flocks so they have a place to flourish.
7. God is My Shepherd.  Jacob is fully aware in Genesis 48 that God guided his life.  If we let him, God will guide ours as well.
8. The Shepherd’s Example.  In Numbers 27 Moses asks God to provide a successor and describes that successor as a shepherd.  As Moses describes the shepherd’s activities he defines for us what shepherding by example entails, from leading the flock to resting.  We shepherds usually aren’t very good at the resting part.
9. A Shepherd’s Heart.  David demonstrates shepherding is so much more than the “qualifications” found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  It is about Godly character manifested in Godly action.
10.  The Road to Abilene.  Miciah dares to tell Ahab what he doesn’t want to hear in 1 Kings 22.  At times we have to tell people what they don’t want to hear, not because we want to, but because God demands it.  We also have to avoid groupthink while balancing unity and harmony to lead God’s people.

11.The Lord Will Build a House.  As God reminds Dvid and Nathan in 1 Chronicles 17,  we should consult God in prayer and study before any new undertakings, we must strive to attain God’s level and not bring Him down to ours, our church buildings are no more holy than the local store, and God is more than our best laid plans.

1. The Shepherd’s Shepherd.  Shepherding Lessons from the 23^rd Psalm.
2. The Only Constant.  As Abraham and Sarah found out, God provides, He provides to fit His plans and not ours so we better accept change, and we will be blessed if we place our faith in God.
3. The Best Offense.  Psalm 28 reminds us we are to protect God’s people, carry them through the difficult times, and do so with love, care, strength, and endurance.

15.The Shepherd’s Words.  Ecclesiastes 12 reminds us we should teach God’s people to have knowledge, this knowledge comes from God’s Word, and God’s Word should drive us to act.

1. Jeremiah “In Charge”.  In Jeremiah 17 we are to fulfill God’s Will even if it is not popular, by their very nature leadership roles are lonely ones, and leadership is a marathon, not a sprint.
2. A Better Future.  While most of the prophets are thought of in terms of “doom and gloom”, they also provided messages of hope.  Jeremiah does so in Jeremiah 31 and we should do the same for our flock collectively and each one of our sheep as the opportunity arises.
3. The Shepherd’s Cloak.  We will sacrifice all parts of our lives for our sheep, but at some point we have to let the rebellious ones go for the good of the flock.  In other words, we should wrap our cloaks around us and not embrace those that willingly leave the fold and defy our pleas of restoration.

I thank the handful of you that read my blog and thank the Lord for the opportunity to share my lessons with you.  May your blessings exceed mine today and all your days, and I will return next year.

– DEM