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The Dynamics of Pastoral Care

Warren Wiersbe

Clarifying the Call

A Biblical Model

God has a special fondness for shepherds. Abel was an obedient shepherd whose

offering was accepted. When God needed a liberator for Israel, he invested forty years training

Moses to care for sheep before charging him with the care of his people Israel. When Saul failed

as Israel’s king, a shepherd boy was God’s choice to sit on the nation’s throne: “David

shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them” (Ps. 78:72).

The highest title Scripture assigns to a political leader is that of shepherd. The reason for

that usage is that God identifies himself as a shepherd: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1).

The shepherd image as applied to God first appears in Jacob’s blessing for his sons. Jacob

declared that Joseph’s ability to endure hardship was “because of the hand of the Mighty One of

Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel” (Gen. 49:24). Israel learned to address God

as shepherd in prayer: “Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel” (Ps. 80:1). The prophet Isaiah also

applied the shepherd image to God: “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in

his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (Isa. 40:11).

In the New Testament, Jesus is called the “great Shepherd” (Heb. 13:20) and “the

Shepherd and Overseer” of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). He identifies himself as the “good

shepherd” (John 10:11, 14), confirming that the work of salvation is that of a shepherd caring for

a flock of sheep. In describing heaven, John wrote that “the Lamb at the center of the throne will

be their shepherd” (Rev. 7:17). In glory, our worship will be directed toward the sinless sacrifice

and beautiful Shepherd.

In the Old Testament period the title “shepherd” was applied to religious and civil

leaders. When David was confirmed as king his task from God was to shepherd Israel (2 Sam5:2). God makes clear that he cares about his sheep, and that he expects his shepherds to do their

job his way. Ezekiel 34 is a polemic against the spiritual and political leaders (shepherds) of

Israel who exploited their position and God’s people for personal gain. God promised to judge

the pseudoshepherds and tend to his flock himself. Jeremiah repeats similar judgments on those

who are called to serve God’s flock as shepherds but have failed to obey the Lord (Jer. 23:1-4;

25:34-38).



Paul’s charge to the elders of Ephesus was to “be shepherds of the church of God” (Acts

20:28). Here was a Pharisee and tentmaker by trade encapsulating the pastor’s call and work

with the shepherd motif. He goes on to warn about wolves (v. 29). I find it significant that Paul

deliberately spoke of shepherds, flocks and wolves to sophisticated elders from the urban cultural

center of Ephesus.

1

Jesus’ challenge to Peter was to care for His sheep (John 21:15-17). Peter was the

disciple taken from fishing boats and nets to be a “fisher of men” (Matt. 4:19). In this final

recorded challenge to Peter, Jesus indicated that Peter would be a fisher of men (evangelist) by

taking care of the flock (shepherd). Peter got the message, because in his first epistle he invoked

shepherd imagery (lamb, sheep, flock, shepherd) twice (1 Peter 2:25; 5:2-4). Based on his

training and experience before becoming a disciple of Jesus, we would expect Peter to tell

fishing stories in his letters. But he doesn’t; he lifts up the work of a shepherd.

God’s People as Sheep

As well as identifying God and his appointed servants as shepherds, Scripture identifies

God’s people as sheep. The first biblical reference to God’s people as sheep comes from Moses,an experienced shepherd. In Numbers 27:17 he asks God to replace him with a leader Israel can

follow confidently “so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” David also

referred to the people of Israel as sheep (2 Sam. 24:17). In Psalm 44 the sons of Korah lament

that God has given up his people like sheep to be devoured and scattered (vv. 11, 22). Asaph

referred to the Jewish nation as “the sheep of [God’s] pasture” (Ps. 79:13; 100:3). Sheep’s

tendency to wander is applied is applied by Isaiah to the sinful tendencies of the human heart in

53:6: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray.” “My people have been lost sheep,” said the Lord

through Jeremiah (Jer. 50:6), and Jesus developed that theme in the parable of the lost sheep

(Luke 15:1-7).

Matthew recorded that Jesus felt compassion for the people he ministered to because they

were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). God’s people, like sheep, need someone to

guide them. Without a shepherd, sheep will wander off and end up in trouble. “The paths of

righteousness” (Ps. 23:3) are where God’s people should go, but all too often they frequent the

paths of unrighteousness. When a sheep wanders off from the flock, a genuine shepherd seeks

for it until it is found (Matt. 18:12-14; Luke 15:1-7). One sheep is so valuable that the shepherd



will invest the time and energy to bring it back to the fold. The shepherd who seeks the lost is

twice used in the gospels to show God’s passion to find these persons who are lost (Matt. 18:12-

14; Luke 15:1-7).

Sheep are not highly intelligent. A veterinarian friend once remarked to me that “sheep

are as dumb as a box of rocks.” I once saw a farmer demonstrate how sheep unthinkingly followone another. He had several sheep with him, and he got the first to jump over a stick he was

holding. The second sheep also jumped over the stick, as did the third. Although the farmer

removed the stick for the fourth and fifth sheep, they still jumped where the stick had been.

While people are smarter than sheep, God’s people do need a shepherd to care for them.

This does not mean that pastors (shepherds) are always wiser than sheep – because pastors are

sheep too! So how are we, God’s people, like sheep?

2

I have a number of young friends who raise sheep for the annual 4-H fair, and they

always name each sheep. Jesus said that the shepherd “calls his own sheep by name” (John

10:3).

I once sat with an anxious mother in the pediatrics ward, watching her sick little boy

under the oxygen tent. A group of physicians, a staff doctor and several students, entered the

room.

“This is an interesting case,” the doctor began. “This case arrived with high fever and –“

“His name is Ryan!” said the mother firmly.

“Excuse me, what do you mean?” asked the doctor.

“Twice now you’ve called my son a ‘case,’ and he is not a case. He is a little boy and he

has a name,” responded the mother.

A spiritual shepherd affirms the value and identity of each person in his or her care.

Sheep need nourishment, and the shepherd’s job involves finding good pasture. Sheep

are not discriminating diners and will eat noxious weeds as well as good grass. A farmer whoraised sheep told me that sheep don’t always know when to quit eating. They eagerly gorge

themselves, leading to other, more serious problems. They also need to be led to the quiet waters

(Ps. 23:2) so the quick current doesn’t pull them under to drown.

Because the sheep are defenseless, they need protection. Jesus said you can tell the hired

hand because he runs away from danger (John 10:12). A real shepherd fights off enemies of the



flock. David fought off a lion and a bear to defend the sheep (1 Sam. 17:34-37). Jesus laid

down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).

In the course of grazing or traveling, a sheep could get injured. Stones, branches, insects,

snakes, or other sheep could inflict a wound. Each evening a shepherd in Bible times would

examine each ram, ewe, and lamb. When he found a cut or bruise, he would anoint the area withoil, the first aid of that era (Ps. 23:5). Sheep need a shepherd skilled in the art and practice of

healing. Not healing physical wounds, but the deeper wounds of soul and spirit, mind and

memory, emotion and conscience.

God is a shepherd. He commands His servant-leaders to be shepherds. God sees the

church as His flock and individual people as His sheep. This is not the only image for pastoral

work and ministry, but it is the dominant one. Spiritual shepherds are to introduce persons to

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and to nurture healthy relationships to him.

How then should we understand the work of a spiritual shepherd? Let’s consider thetask.

_________________

Warren Wiersbe, The Dynamics of Pastoral Care, pp. 19-24

pcare_clarifying the call_wwiersbe.doc

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