Craig Owens' new book is a timely help for shepherds.
Craig T. Owens, When Sheep Bite (craigtowens.com, 2024).
Shepherding the Lord’s flock can be challenging in the best of times. I recall a comment by John Muir, the father of the national parks movement, who served as a shepherd in Yellowstone valley for some time. He observed that the sheep were difficult to move and to keep going in a single direction. They didn’t always respond well. In fact, he wrote, “It takes a whole flock of sheep to make a single dumb animal.”
Since we are all the Lord’s sheep, we can probably identify with that—slow to learn, hard-headed, cold-hearted, lazy, complacent, and easily irritated. Not all the time, of course, but some of it, at any rate.
But when your calling from the Lord is to be a shepherd in the Lord’s flock, to feed and nurture His sheep, protect them from spiritual harm, guide them into a richer and fuller experience of Jesus, and help them find their proper place of service in the Kingdom of God, tending the sheep can be especially challenging.
Even more so when the sheep are not only sluggish but when they bite —when they can be downright stubborn, mean, and unlovable.
You can’t just kick them out of the flock at such times, and moving to some new pasture will not guarantee that the sheep there won’t bite, too. Shepherds need to realize that sheep can bite—not always intentionally—and that part of what being a shepherd requires is knowing how to deal graciously and truthfully in such situations.
Enter Craig T. Owens, the busiest shepherd I know—and one of the most winsome and effective—and his excellent little book, When Sheep Bite. In three concise sections Craig shows us how to be clear about our calling, to deal with particular kinds of sheep bites, and to grow yourself and your flock to avoid or overcome such bites in the future.
Believe it or not, my fellow shepherds, the sheep have a variety of ways to take a chunk out of your sense of wellbeing. Flattery, criticism, gossip, slander, challenges to your authority as a shepherd, and outright abandonment—expect to be bruised and bloodied by these all. But you can limit the damage such attacks inflict by knowing what to do to continue serving as an agent of grace and truth when such situations arise.
And by continuing to grow in the Lord and His calling, taking care to shepherd our family, guarding the flock’s spiritual health, and exercising discernment we can endure the tough times, know true healing and renewal, and continue to serve the Lord in feeding His flock.
When Sheep Bite is a practical, realistic, and heart-to-heart addition to Craig’s series on shepherding. I encourage every shepherd to read and practice the common-sense, loving, and Biblical directions his wise counsel offers.
You can order When Sheep Bite by clicking here.