A good shepherd cares for the lost

For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock!” Zechariah 11:16-17

That is the model of a bad shepherd…If we invert the qualities, we see a picture of the kind of good shepherd who God will use to lead His people:

1. Care for the lost.

There are sheep that get lost, and sheep that have been lost all their lives. The first kind have been a part of a community and wonder off. The second kind have never found the community to begin with. A good shepherd is called to care for both kinds.

I’m embarrassed to admit that when I was a younger pastor, I didn’t ever check in on people who left the groups or congregations I was leading. I hated coming across like I was trying to be controlling, and I would always figure that they had their own reasons for leaving. I’d pray for them, but at the end of the day, if I never saw them again, I just moved on to other people who were right in front of me.

But that did not display the heart of a good shepherd. There are lost people out there, and like in Jesus’ story of the lost sheep in Luke 15, a rightly focused shepherd will show care for those who wander away.

But how do we care for the lost without making it seem like we are control freaks who just want them back at OUR church? I think the conversation has to be gracious. If a “sheep” has intentionally walked over to a different “fold”, then I have to recognize that I am not the Chief Shepherd, and it’s often perfectly OK for someone to be reassigned to another place.

But what about those who just drop out? We should make sure they are pursued and should let them know that our congregation is there for them. We let them know we are praying for them and that they are welcome back with open arms.

Those who have always been lost? We care for them, too. The pastors and the people of the church are called to be agents of reconciliation to our broken world.  Our congregation should function missionally to care for the lost—and the pastor is assigned to equip the rest of us to know how to do that.

And if we don’t really care for lost people, we are not expressing the heart of God.

Tomorrow: A shepherd who will seek the Young.