5 Smooth Stones

So what is a Biblical shepherd’s gift, and what are its a tt ributes? We have come to perceive the gift as someone who stands behind a pulpit, preaches and teaches, and so “feeds the fl ock.” The pastor will organize and administer, and often need to handle physical jobs around the church. Since there are no New Testament descriptions of a shepherd, we must look to the Old Testament. In Isaiah chapter 40:11, the shepherd is instructed to “... will feed His fl ock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.” Biblically, to feed the fl ock is to take the fl ock to be fed rather than to supply the food or hand feed them. Yet we sometimes see the shepherd as the only one who supplies the food rather than the one who also leads or carries to the pasture, which is more a description of the gift of a shepherd. In fact the word pastor comes from the word pasture, not leadership or oversight. We can see this connection in Jeremiah 23:1 KJV, “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and sca tt er the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.” While most other translations substitute the word shepherds for pastors, although either one is properly used here. A gift is not contingent upon a position in order to be manifested, whereas eldership over a church is a position in which the person is set in to use their gift. A teacher will teach regardless of position, an evangelist will evangelize regardless of position, likewise a person with the shepherd’s gift will guide and carry regardless of position. This is the individual within a group who will have a direct in fl uence on others to lead, steer and encourage them to pursue God. This person has the ability to guide and gather people without a title or position with the board because they operate in the gifting that the Lord has bestowed. The shepherd will function within the gift of being able to direct Christians to the place where they will be fed. He has the ability to guide and gather. This is the gift of a shepherd and it is not in the least contingent upon a person’s position in the church, but as with any gift, it will belong to the person everywhere the Lord sends him to serve. In bible times, the fl ocks of sheep were usually tended by more than one shepherd, and these shepherds were not usually the owners of the fl ock. Most usually these shepherds were shepherding the fl ocks belonging to their father, or their father-in-law. Often shepherds within our churches become too possessive because they forget they are to guide the Father’s sheep and not lord it over them as if they owned them. God’s fl ock is entrusted to the shepherd but is not owned by the shepherd. When there are many shepherds working together this is much easier to remember. 30