Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalm 77.19, 20

The work of shepherds
Jesus our Good Shepherd leads us as His sheep (Jn. 10.3-5). It’s safe to assume that He expects all those called to be shepherds like Him to lead their flocks as well.

But where? It will do no good for shepherds to put themselves forward as leaders if they don’t know what the green meadows and still waters look like for their flock, or which are the best ways of getting them there.

Shepherds need a clear and compelling vision, both for what it means to grow as a disciple of the Lord Jesus and for what constitutes a healthy, growing church. Beyond that, we need a vision of the Kingdom of God and how we expect it to come on earth as it is in heaven. Lacking such vision, we’ll just be leading the flock of the Lord ‘round and ‘round the same mountain, exerting ourselves in many ways, but getting nowhere.

We can’t make disciples if we don’t know what made disciples look like. We can’t equip the saints for the work of ministry if we’re not clear about ministry. Our church won’t grow it we don’t know what makes for a healthy, growing church. And the Kingdom of God needs visionary leaders who don’t balk at little things like the Red Sea, but go forward in faith, following the Word of the Lord to realize all His precious and very great promises.

God wants you to lead the flock He has entrusted to you. Are you going where He’s leading?

Resources for Shepherds
You can have a look at the state of your ministry and your work as a shepherd by working through our book, Fan into Flame. Readings and assessments will give you many reasons to thank the Lord for His grace and to seek Him for more of it. You can have a free copy of Fan into Flame by clicking here.

Our latest ReVision series focuses on the theme, “Disciples Making Disciples.” You can download all the studies in this series thus far by clicking here. Use the pop-up to update your subscriptions by adding ReVision to your regular mailings.

Rusty Rabon’s new podcast, A Song to the Lord, can enrich your walk with the Lord and help you appreciate all over again the power of our great heritage of hymns and spiritual songs. Listen to the latest issue by clicking here.

Speaking of the heritage of Christian hymnody, if you missed our first InVerse Theology Project installment on “An Essay on Preaching”, featuring some powerful insights from William Cowper, that great 19^th-century poet and hymn-writer, you can listen by clicking here.

Check out the latest Article Reviews and Insights on the Resources for Shepherds page (click here).

From the Celtic Revival
“...for it is no new thing that the kingdom of heaven should be the object of strife and contention. And do not hope that it is men alone who persecute you; there are devils in those who envy your possessions; against them take up that armour of God to which the apostle points, and make a path to heaven, hurling these arrows, as it were, of earnest prayer.”

  - Columbanus, Letter to His Disciples, Irish, 7th century[1]

Read more from the leaders of the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD) in recent issues of Crosfigell by clicking here. Would you like to learn more about the Celtic Revival? Write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I’ll send you our free book, The Celtic Revival: A Brief Introduction, in PDF.

T. M. Moore

Understanding the Times
The work of shepherding requires that we have a good sense of the world around us – the world into which the Lord’s sheep go each day, and which we must equip them to enter as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. Our book, Understanding the Times, provides an overview of what we’re up against in this secular age and how we should prepare to advance the Lord’s reign in it. Order your free copy by clicking here.

It is our privilege to provide resources and opportunities to equip and encourage church leaders in building the Lord’s Church and advancing His Kingdom. Please pray that God will move many of those we serve through this ministry to share with us financially in its support. If the Lord moves you to give, you can use the Contribute button at the website to give with a credit card or through PayPal, or you can send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 360 Zephyr Road, Williston, VT 05495.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Walker, p. 27.