To Lead … From the Front—or From the Back?

The earnest young minister’s voice rose to a crescendo of excitement as he shared the miraculous conversions of a drunkard and a man deeply imbedded in a cult. Yes, it was moving. Yes, it was something to rejoice about! But we, the congregants, rejoiced quietly. Unfortunately, this was not to the young minister’s liking. “What’s wrong with you?” he queried. “You should be excited and jumping for joy!” A few amens rose up here and there at this admonishment, but from the young man’s facial expressions you could tell the scolding had not elicited the response he wanted. Inwardly I cringed—even as I resolved to tack on wisdom and maturity to my prayers for this budding minister—and so wished he could have sat under the ministry of Brother Carlton Spencer. President of Elim Bible College in Lima, New York, when I had the privilege of sitting under his anointed teaching, Brother Carlton shared some wonderful lessons on shepherding—lessons gleaned from none other than the Good Shepherd—lessons that have helped me through the years in life and ministry alike. It was at a minister’s seminar in Mexico City that I heard Brother Carlton Spencer share some interesting insights about Jesus as our Shepherd. He told of a time when a gifted student at the college he presided over worked on a painting on canvass he wanted to bequeath to the school. When he finally finished, the student invited Bro. Carton to come see his creation. The young man fairly vibrated with excitement, so ecstatic was he to be able to bless the school with the work of his hands and God-given talent. Brother Carlton went. And, when they got to the painting, did his best to hide his disappointment. He didn’t want to crush the student’s spirit—but the painting was all wrong. It depicted the shepherd driving his flock of sheep from behind. Bro. Carlton had been to the Holy Land. He had seen oriental shepherds at work. And he had seen how they literally embodied the shepherding points set out in Psalm 23.

Speaking of the Good Shepherd, the second verse of that Psalm says,“He leadeth me.” It does not say “He driveth me.” The oriental shepherd leads his sheep. That is, he goes in front of the flock, not behind it. The picture the student had painted showed the shepherd driving the sheep from behind. Definitely not how the Good Shepherd leads. The Good Shepherd is our example. He doesn’t beat his sheep over the head and yell at them. He leads by going in front and showing the way. He doesn’t drive from behind, striking them and brow beating them. In the context of preaching, this would translate into the minister infusing his words with emotion and letting the Holy Spirit infuse the congregants with corresponding expressions, not yelling/fussing at them to do this, that, or the other to pacify the minister’s ideal of the perfect response. Sometimes, I can attest personally, when something is absolutely wonderful, I quietly rejoice as the marvelous words sink into my spirit. Loud huzzahs can be vocalized by merely parroting others in the heat of the moment, totally mindlessly. Huzzahs might be loud , but are not necessarily indicators of heartfelt wonder. Do we want mere noise? Or do we want rejoicing from the heart? In 1 Kings 19, God whispered to Elijah. He didn’t yell at him. He didn’t conk him over the head to make him listen. He didn’t shake him to make him listen. No, He whispered to him in a soft, quiet voice. This is not to say that our God doesn’t show strong emotion. In John 7:37-39, Jesus cried out, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink …”. Jesus didn’t speak in a mellow, sonorous voice here. He didn’t use a namby-pamby voice. No, He cried out with deep-felt emotion! His message was so important that He actually bellowed His call to follow Him. Jesus showed us clearly that He was unashamed to show strong emotion. And what did He say in John 14:9? “He that hath seen me hath seen the father.” With His very own words He tells us here that He is the reflection of all things Father God. If we see strong emotion in Jesus it is a sure fire indicator that God the Father is passionate. He is fully capable of strong emotions. Yet … when He leads, He does so with great gentleness. `This gentleness is not a sign of weakness. David says in Psalm 18:35, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” He goes before us, not behind us like a cruel overlord whipping us into shape. Because of His great love for us, He is merciful and it is through gentleness that He evokes the obedience to His commandments that seal our love for Him. There have been times when I wished God had hit me over the head with a frying pan to get my attention. We have a tendency to be so focused on our own thoughts, our own path, our own wants, that it is so easy to miss His still, small voice. But bullying is simply not His way. That is the devil’s purview, he who comes to destroy (John 10:10). The devil barges in and demands. Gentleness is God’s way. Gentleness is the avenue through which He leads and guides. Brother Carlton felt constrained to store the inaccurate painting, though crafted beautifully, in an attic, where it would not encourage people in an erroneous belief. But I am pretty sure God won’t consign this young minister full of zeal to some hidden out-of-the-way place. God is not finished with that young man. He has better things in store for him (Ephesians 2:10). I will pray for him—and God’s Holy Spirit will faithfully and gently nudge, nudge, nudge him. And I am full of hope that one day soon he will awaken to a better way to encourage God’s flock. Instead of berating the sheep, he will lead them to a place where exhilarating testimonies cause joy to well up in each congregant’s spirit by the hand of God, not by the bludgeoning of sharp words. And he will learn that sometimes noise does not always equate heartfelt praise. Sometimes it is the gravitas of quiet wonder that is a more sincere tribute to God’s mighty works. May God help us all to follow in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd and lead His sheep by loving example and gentle words!

“… speak evil of no man … but (be) gentle …” Titus 3:2

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men …” (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle …”(James 3:17)

“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11).