Monday, July 9, 2012

The Shepherd’s Shame

 

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

17 “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?’”

—The words of God through the Prophet Ezekiel from Ezekiel 34:1-19

 

Very commonly today, parishoners from almost any particular church hold their pastor in high esteem. They may also hold in high esteem those fellow members of the congregation who serve in leadership positions. In many cases the pastors and church leaders deserve the trust and esteem given them by the members of their congregations.

But not every pastor or leader is worthy of trust or esteem. Some such individuals have forsaken the duty of their calling and have turned, instead, to selfish decisions that do not protect the pathway of faith for the members of their congregation. More’s the pity.

Conscientious pastors and church leaders wince at the thought of their colleagues in leadership who have led their congregations away from the truth of the Gospel and, instead, follow a pathway that leads to heartache and spiritual decline. This becomes particularly true when the infection of self-centeredness affects more than one congregation and speards throughout part of, or an entire, denomination.

The Apostle Paul made it very clear in 1 Timothy 5:17-20:

17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.

I hope you took the time to read the rather lengthy Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post. I know that it takes a special effort in our hustle-bustle world to read such a long passage. But the message of this passage is an important one. It’s also one that you will seldom, if ever, hear a pastor preach about today.

You see, God has given His prophet very specific words to speak. These words condemn the shepherds. They describe a condition that is not foreign to us today when we look across the wide span of congregations within the borders of the United States.

Obviously the words could apply to real shepherds. However, if you read carefully, you will discover that God uses Ezekiel to give a message that more directly applies to those in leadership during Ezekiel’s time in history. I have no doubt that the leaders of Ezekiel’s day realized this message from God applied to them, as well.

Sadly, many pastors, in their roles as shepherds of the flock, have become every bit as corrupt as the shepherds in Ezekiel’s time. And the corruption of the pastors has carried over onto the leaders who labor under them. Those leaders sometimes blindly follow the path the pastor chooses to follow. When the pastor becomes corrupt, the leaders become corrupt, too.

That word “corrupt” is very interesting. Anthony F. Gregorc, Ph.D., points out that the word “corrupt” indicates “a rupture of the core.” When we see corruption overtake the pastor or leaders of a church, we truly do see a “rupture of the core.” Once the core has become ruptured, it takes a mighty work of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to put the church back together again. In fact, many once-glorious churches—where Christ was honored and His name proclaimed—have fallen prey to a rupture of the core. The corruption has literally ruined countless lives, especially the lives of young people.

When we observe this phenomenon at work around us, we should redouble our efforts to pray earnestly and fervently. We should ask God to stop the rupture of the core and bring healing and restoration to His people.

Some may suggest that to even talk about such things is despicable. They will accuse the person speaking the truth of “airing dirty linen,” or “emphasizing the negative,” or “failing to forgive,” or “holding too tightly to the past,” or any other variety of defensive words that they will try to use to sidestep the very kind of issue I’m describing: corruption of the core.

Yet God always moves someone to speak His truth in the midst of Satanic chaos. Perhaps you are the person through whom God wants to speak His truth in your specific situation. If so, arm yourself with the whole armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-18 and, with a spirit of humility seasoned by God’s grace, speak the truth with gentle boldness.

Will you pray with me?

Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

Precious Father, we pray for every congregation in our land where the pastor or the leaders of the church have fallen into sin. Where these servants have turned their backs on Your perfect will, we ask You to bring healing and restoration to their congregations. Where sinful men and women must be removed from office in order to bring restoration, we ask You to do this.

If You intend to use our voices to speak Your truth against those who have brought a rupture of the core to a church, please give us humility and strength that we may speak with gentle boldness seasoned with Your great grace.

We thank You, Gracious Father, for hearing our prayer in and through the powerful Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Copyright © 2012 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.

 

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