Healthy, Growing Churches (1)

“But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 23.3 4

Demonstrations 10.3
Aphrahat (ca. 270-350)
“But when the great pastor, the chief of pastors, comes, he will call and visit his sheep and will take knowledge of his flock. And he will bring forward those pastors, and will extract an account from them and will condemn them for their deeds. And those who fed the sheep well, them the chief of pastors will cause to rejoice and to inherit life and rest.”

Jesus set the example of a shepherd, and He taught His disciples to follow that example in building His Church. Jeremiah foresaw the day of this great work of shepherding, and Ezekiel warned the shepherds of God’s people that He would hold them accountable for the condition of their flocks (Ezek. 34.1-10, on which Aphrahat was commenting). Pastors should follow the practice of Jesus in caring for the flock entrusted to them. What Jesus did, pastors should do. Jesus plainly taught the disciplines of shepherding, and we set these aside, or prefer other approaches to doing the work of pastoral ministry, at our own risk and peril. Pastors will be held accountable for the condition of their flock, and this has little to do with the number of sheep, but of their overall growth, as saints of the Lord, and as a body together. Pastors can be very busy doing many things, but if we’re not shepherding, then we should cease referring to ourselves as pastors.

Read through John 10. Can you identify the six disciplines which define the work of a pastor? How would you rate yourself in each of these?

T. M. Moore

How goes the work of shepherding?
Pastor, where are you in your walk with and work for the Lord? Are you growing? Covering all the bases? Working fruitfully toward the Kingdom of God? Shepherding God’s flock? Our Pastoral Hope Initiative can help you establish a framework and baseline for steady, fruitful growth. Using a variety of assessment tools, together with the book Fan into Flame, this 14-week protocol will give you a thorough look at the state of your ministry. Men, if you think you might want to work through this with me, watch this brief video, then, if you’re interested, let me hear from you at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotations from Church Fathers are from the Ancient Christian Commentary Series, published by InterVarsity Press.