Shepherd

Ephesians 4:11-16

Ephesians 4:11–16 NLT

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

I watched this week as a group of people acted like shepherds and pastors to each other from a secular company.

As many of you may have heard Starbucks lost a 19 year old member of their team to a terrible accident. This Starbucks happens to be one that I frequent often and a PT Staff member from Core church works there as well. Both she and I reached out to the staff and that quite frankly would be expected.

However I watched as this secular company also provided pastoral care in a way that any church could learn from. Everyone from the corporate office to the local store acted in unity.

After the young man died corporate closed the store to allow team members to grief, managers allowed the store to be closed for a few minutes for Sybil a Core staff member to pray, they allowed the staff to set up a memorial for both the workers and customers to remember this life. And on the day of the memorial they were allowed to morn on the job.

Profit on that day did not exceed the importance of care. The culture of Care displayed by Starbucks from the top down was on display for anyone and everyone to see.

The shepherd/shepherding is the function and calling responsible for maintaining and developing healthy community and enriching relationships.

This involves a commitment to encourage a holy loving people, nurture spiritual maturity, maintain communal health, defend the community of faith against breakdown, and engender loving community among the redeemed family of God....It is the responsibility of everyone not just the Pastor to model love not selfishness.

John 13:34-35

John 13:34–35 NLT

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

I saw this play out during my sisters battle with cancer as well. My sister lived among a lot of TDCJ people as her husband worked for the prison. She was not part of a faith community when she started her battle with Cancer but she received care form her family and the Prison employee family....food, rides, money and company. Eventually she was part of a Church that provided this kind of help as well.

I share these examples only to point out the Love is a language that is understood by anyone with a need and anyone that allows themselves to be moved by a need.

This week many of you acted on your shepherding gifts by providing water, putting band aids on bobo’s making sure kids got from one place to another safely, feeding them and their moms and dads as they enjoyed water slides and hotdogs....

Over the years many of you have acted on your shepherding gifts by bringing food to the sick and bereaved, during the pandemic by sending cards and dropping off flowers, calling people and praying for them…the list goes on.

Many have always done this…Betty Long shepherded me today by bringing me a bag of treats for fathers day…to shepherd does not mean to spend hours upon hours talking and doing it is instead moments of kindness reminding people how much they are loved.

This has traditionally been an expectation of Pastors…This has lead to an idea that if the pastor has not been to see me the church does not care about me....the only problem with that is the Church is not made of full time pastors…its made up of friends, and family members....what if we took on the idea that if we have been visited by people in our church we have been visited by the pastor.

This is not to let pastors off the hook I do visit with people, respond to needs and reach out every week and I enjoy it. But the local Church is made up of several other people that have this calling as well.

When a people are living into their shepherding gifting they are multiplying the ministry of the Pastor and of Jesus.

Those with that have the gift of shepherd as their primary gifts have the unique ability to provide a comfortable space for people, a trusting relationship ripe for their personal and spiritual growth. Seek places to serve as a counselor, small group leader, care giver, or role model.

The rest of us should act as a shepherd when the Spirit of God leads us…it may only be for one moment or a season of life. But acting on this calling is essential for the kingdom of God.

John 10 1-5

New Living Translation Chapter 10

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

Shepherds show how much they care which paves the way for others to share what people need to know to walk in the way of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus earned the title good shepherd by sacrificing himself for all of humankind.

New Living Translation Chapter 10

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.

This is what we remember when we come to the Table.

Apostles Creed confession

Communion