Godly Leaders Feed The Flock

Jeremiah was a prophet to church leaders. Jeremiah knew that God had promised, ‘…..I will give you shepherds according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding’ [Jer 3:15]. If you are truly a church leader after God’s heart, you will be concerned first of all with feeding the flock. God continues His promise, ‘And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord’ [Jer 23:34]. Those leaders who feed their flocks are the ones we want to follow.

Wicked Leaders Fleece the Flock

Jeremiah saw that problems arose as a result of errant [sinful] leadership. He rebuked bad leaders. We are instructed to avoid those church leaders who mistreat the flock. “And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.” “My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill; yes, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.” “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey [kill], and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and not my flock; therefore, O you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.’ ‘Thus’, says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall they feed themselves any more for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be food for them’ [Ezekiel 34:1-10].


A few years ago, I listened to a message from a well-known religious leader who was teaching the “proper” relationship between pastors and people. He believed that people existed to serve the leadership. I remember his exact words,


Ø ‘When I need my house painted, I just call some of my flock in and they paint the house.

Ø When I need my fields harvested, I just call some of my flock and they harvest my rice.


I found it difficult to believe that one who had known God’s ways and walked in his paths could now say that the flock existed to serve him, rather than he, existing to serve the flock. God says loud and clear, ‘AVOID THAT KIND OF LEADERSHIP.’ Those that fleece the flock and those that use the sheep to serve their own ends and needs. The Prophet Mica shows how both the spiritual and the political leadership corrupt themselves. They build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with inequity.


Ø The heads thereof judge for reward and

Ø The priests thereof teach for hire and

Ø The prophets divine for money’ [Mica 3:10, 11]


The leadership of Micah’s day was serving for one thing – money. Watch out when money becomes the motivation and the pre-occupation of leadership. The love of money is clearly the root of all evil and whenever that becomes the motive for wanting a leadership role, destruction will follow. The prophet further pointed out ‘….yet will they learn upon the Lord, and say, “is not the Lord among us?” No evil can come upon us. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps….’ God tells us if we allow false leadership to remain in power, both leaders and people will be cast down into destruction God sends judgment on whole nations for leadership errors. We are to refuse leaders who fleece the sheep.


‘Beloved, follow not that which is evil.’ [3 John: 11].


Jesus Established Qualifications

Jesus established the qualifications for church leadership when He said, ‘But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees; and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep, the hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and cares not for the sheep [John 10: 12, 13]. What does the hireling care for? The hire [the money]! That’s his only motivation, just what he can get out of it he doesn’t care for the sheep. As far as he is concerned, they are just ‘dumb sheep’ to be taken advantage of. That’s the attitude of the hireling. The true shepherd cares for the sheep, is willing to lay his life down for their protection and go hungry, if necessary to see that the sheep are fed. He never makes a decision on the basis of how much is in it for him; how much the salary is or how big the title may be. This doesn’t mean that the true and faithful shepherd has no right to receive financial support. The scripture uses an allegory [parable] to teach us our responsibility to give financial support to true shepherds, ‘Do no muzzle the ox that treads out the corn’. As oxen work at the treadmill, the Bible gives them the right to eat some of the corn they are treading out.


By this, God teaches us that Church leaders must be cared for financially.


However, if an ox is eating everything he treads out, muzzling him or getting another ox might be the farmer’s only alternative. The ox must tread out more than he consumes or the corn grower will go out of business.


Godly Leaders Feed The Flock