What's the difference between a goat herder and a shepherd?

Tonight is the end of the first four years since I resigned as a minister on 5.12.13.   One of the things I have noticed about great leaders in the last four years by observation is the difference between a goat herder and a shepherd.  I have written a post for my blog on a daily basis for these four years, but I have not preached a single sermon.

Goat herders have a way of forcing followers to come along.

Shepherds way of drawing people by love.

Goat herders use pagan methods.  They use “lord it over” tactics to drive the goats.  They may use stick or staff to beat instead of guide and rescue from danger.  They are rulers or lords or bosses.  They exercise authority.  They tell you they are the boss.  They don’t speak with people, they speak down to people.  They don’t listen they tell.  They don’t ask, “What do you want me to do for you?”  They tell, “Here is what I want you to do for me.”

A real leader would never assert loudly that he or she is the “boss”. A shepherd is a servant-leader.  First he is a careful follower before he is a leader.  He willing to be the slave of all.  He is the servant of the introvert sheep and the extrovert sheep.  He is a helper of the perfectionist, Martha type and the easy going Mary type.  He knows that there are temptations and dangers for the prodigal worldly child of the Father and bad attitudes and lostness for the elder brother type child of God.  He is the servant of all.  He serves the weak and the strong.  He looks for the old school to keep going and pushes to keep the doors open for the young who may need a bit more freedom and flexibility.

When you want to know if a man or woman is a Jesus following shepherd or a worldly goat herder this may help to clarify your thinking.

Larry Wishard

Matthew 25

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Mark 10.

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

³⁸ “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”