Pastor like Jesus [Pastors and Practice]

—Ben Arbour

[Editor’s Note: In the midst of writing a book on the same topic, Ben Arbour has agreed to offer us a series, Pastors and Practice, arguing that Christ is our true model for pastoral ministry. Throughout this series, Ben will explain how Christ’s example should affect the governing of the church and the ministry of pastors.]

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Here’s a crazy idea: Follow Jesus!

So far in this series, I’ve been identifying what I believe to be a serious problem in many Western evangelical churches. I now want to turn towards constructing an alternative vision of ecclesiological polity—one that I believe is more in keeping with the New Testament and one that sees Jesus as the model pastor.

One of the saddest things I’ve come to realize is how little attention Jesus gets when we discuss leadership. When it comes to ecclesiology, we think that because the Church as it now exists wasn’t birthed until Pentecost in Acts 2, we can’t really learn anything about church life from Jesus or the Gospels. We would all be well served, however, to continually remind ourselves that Christ is the head of the Church and must be its model leader.

Where does Jesus weigh in on this discussion? Well, we’ve been discussing the idea of shepherding people—do you remember that little phrase Jesus used to describe Himself: the Good Shepherd? It shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus has modeled pastoral leadership for us. After all, if Christ is our example in all things, it makes perfect sense that we would take some cues from him on pastoring as well. Let’s take a look at how He describes a good shepherd in John 10.

Read the words of our Lord: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27, ESV).

From this verse, where Jesus is describing Himself as the Good Shepherd, we can deduce:

1. A good shepherd communicates with his sheep.
2. A good shepherd knows his sheep.
3. A good shepherd’s sheep follow him.

But this isn’t exactly revolutionary. After all, even pastors who don’t really know their people well, know them at least in terms of their corporate membership in the church. Perhaps that is enough, right? A faithful pastor communicates to his congregation by preaching the word. Isn’t that enough?

Hardly. John 10:14 reads, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me” (emphasis added).

Here, Jesus says that the relationship isn’t one way—not only does the shepherd know the sheep, but the sheep also know the shepherd. Is this true in most churches today? Do the congregants know the pastor?

Well, perhaps—if the “knowing”, again, is allowed to be generic. At least most of a congregation knows the pastor in some general sense. However, if the Good Shepherd’s “knowing” is general, then John 10:14 requires that both directions of the pastor / sheep relationship could be vague and generic. Is this biblical? Does it meet the demands of Christ’s example?

No, and here’s why: Jesus went on to clarify with great precision what kind of “knowing” He had in mind for the sheep and shepherd. Consider Jesus’ calling Himself the Good Shepherd in full:

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:14-15)

The kind of “knowing” that Jesus had in view for shepherds and sheep was the same sort of relationship He enjoyed with His Father. According to the typical pastor / congregant relationships in our churches today, this would mean that Jesus has an empty and meaningless relationship with His Father—you know, that shallow, superficial inter-Trinitarian fellowship. Oh, wait…

Christ really raises the bar here, doesn’t He? The same degree of closeness Jesus enjoyed (and still enjoys) with the Father is the type of relationship that a good shepherd has with his sheep. As pastors, we should be seeking to develop those kinds of close relationships with the people whom we are called to shepherd.

That’s just what a good shepherd does; anyone who doesn’t do this isn’t a good shepherd. Even more seriously, the pastor who does not know his sheep cannot claim that Jesus is the model he is seeking to emulate—at least not when it comes to pastoral leadership. Not seeking to emulate Jesus is simply unacceptable for those who believe the Christian faith is centered in Christ.