In his excellent book, THE LEADERSHIP DYNAMIC (Crossway), Harry Reeder reminds us the pastor must be a shepherd, not a rancher — and a faithful shepherd at that: “While a false shepherd will abandon his sheep in hard times, a true shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep at all times. Christ is our model, and Christ-centered leadership stands in contrast to self-centered leadership.
“The world’s leadership models are self-centered and manipulative, which leads to using and sometimes abusing followers. Worldly leadership is all about power, control and personal promotion. It’s a cattle drive. Sometimes it’s effective in reaching a goal, but inevitably it’s all about the leader, and those who pay the cost are the followers. Whether it succeeds or fails, it usually leaves behind unbelievable human wreckage.
“The biblical model of leadership must be distinctively different. It’s Christ-centered, not self-centered. The Christian leader who practices Christ-centered leadership shepherds his sheep, which is achieved by positioning himself in front of the flock to lead and set the pace for it. The dramatic contrast between the false shepherd and the good shepherd is the good shepherd pays the cost for the sheep while the false shepherd seeks to profit from the sheep, and therefore the sheep pay the price.”
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #11064]