God, do you see something in me that I don't see in myself? It's about Shepherd-leadership. (Jeremiah 23:4)

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 23:4 (TM) - larger reading Jeremiah 23:1-8

I'll set shepherd-leaders over them who will take good care of them. They won't live in fear or panic anymore.

STORY:

Last October the Prince and Princess of Wales allowed TV cameras into their home to film them as a normal couple with their two children.

During the interview Prince Charles described his job in these terms: "It, more than anything else, is a way of life. It's more than a job. It's a complete, 24-hour-a-day business, really."

OBSERVATION:

Shepherd-leaders – that’s what is needed more than anything today… in the church and in the world. A shepherd-leader doesn’t count the cost, doesn’t hedge their beats, doesn’t worry about their own personal future or reputation, and doesn’t look after their own welfare. Shepherd-leaders put it all on the line. It is a self-sacrificial role. It is tough. It is costly. It isn’t a job. It is doesn’t come with a job description. It doesn’t have a cut-off date. Shepherd- leaders do not retire. It is so needed.

The question is always this: Is God calling me to be a shepherd-leader? Be careful how this question is answered because we just might find ourselves in the role of a shepherd-leader!

John Maxwell shares his thoughts on leadership: Leadership in any organization - whether in the local church or in some other Christian activity - is never just a job. It is always a way of life, demanding from those who would be leaders a 24-hour-a-day commitment. The leader, in a sense, must always be on the job, deciding, directing and developing the work that has been entrusted to him while at the same time encouraging those in the work. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. 

God has promised to set up shepherd-leaders for His followers. If God has placed us in a position of shepherd-leadership than who are we to say – NO? It might be tough, but just look around and it will soon become obvious why God chooses who he chooses to be shepherd-leaders. Shepherd-leadership isn’t about being popular it is about being faithful.

And good shepherd-leaders dispels the darkness and relieves the fear of living. A shepherd-leader brings hope and possibility to every situation and we sure need hope today!

PRAYER:

God, if you are calling me to be shepherd-leadership I sure hope you know what you are doing. This is scary stuff. If shepherd-leadership is what it is going to be, so be it, but I cannot do it on my own. Breathe on me, Breath of god, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what thou does love, And do what thou wouldst do.