Too distant to be an effective shepherd

[qzhang]

If the pastoral image of shepherd is correct (which I believe it is), then as shepherd, I’m too far away from the sheep.

The shepherd should be very close with the flock. In fact, he should be in the midst of them. His life should be mingled with the flock’s lives. He should be attentive to the sheep all the time: watch over them, walk with them and sleep by their side. In order to effectively lead the sheep, the shepherd should know each and every one of the sheep. Only by inter-mingled with the sheep, can the shepherd fulfill his duties such as guiding, feeding and protecting. This life-togetherness is a prerequisite to be an effective shepherd. But this is exactly the problem for me. I feel that I am too distant from the sheep:

For one thing, the flock has their own daily schedule: go to work, study, take care of the children, work at different shifts etc. There is not enough time for the sheep to rest, not to mention having a deeper relationship with the pastor. In addition, people in North America enjoy a private life. It may be great to meet other fellow Christians once a week. But it would be a stretch to meet them more than a week. The sheep are willing to meet pastors only on a need-basis, or when there is a problem. This combination of busyness and “private life” mentality creates a wall between the shepherd and the sheep.

For another, we as pastors have our own issues. The struggles in sermon preparation, devotional life, family matters, personalities, too much workload etc. may create to additional barriers to this shepherd-sheep relationship.

As a result, I often found myself more like a firefighter than a pastor, an ER doctor than a shepherd, a professional than a family member. If the image of “shepherd” is correct for a pastor, I am definitely too far away from the sheep.

The early churches did not seem to have the problem of distant life. Instead, they had very close relationship, just like a family: They worshipped in their own houses, had meals together, and even shared their property.

But distance is clearly a challenge for many pastors in North America today. Regardless of whether the sheep are too distant from the pastor, or the pastor is too distant from the sheep, this very distance hinders pastors from being effective shepherds.
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Peter Zhang