We are in the midst of a series on the Characteristics of a Healthy Church as taught on the mission field by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. I really believe that this excellent Bible study material should be considered by the churches in North America also, as we try to rebuild our ministries after a year of COVID-19.
The last time we visited the subject of a Healthy Church we focused on Healthy Leadership. We know that leadership is a key to a successful church, but so is Healthy Church Membership. If there are no willing followers there can be no visionary leadership.
In John Chapter 10, Jesus explains the relationship between Himself and His followers as like the relationship between a shepherd and the sheep of his flock. Let’s look at this teaching today as we consider Healthy Church Membership.
We will begin with John 10:1-4,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”
Good Sheep are Members of the Flock:
One of the very common terms you hear in technology circles today is the idea of an ecosystem. Very commonly you'll see the idea referred to in news articles and blog postings that a particular company brand name has developed an ecosystem where all of its products work together because they are of the same family.
When you purchase devices and software within an ecosystem everything in that ecosystem just works without hassle because it's a part of the same family. Pieces of hardware and software from other manufacturers can work with the items belonging to a particular ecosystem, but often they don't work as well and many times they just don't work at all. This causes problems and headaches for people who just want things to work. Those items are strangers and foreigners, and they are not part of the family.
The very first thing we must realize when we talk about Healthy Church Membership is that church members must be redeemed people. To be a true church member, to be a member of the flock, you must be born again, you must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
Is very common to see it said on a church sign or church brochure that everyone is welcome. It should be true that everyone, regardless of their life circumstances, regardless of what they believe, regardless of who they are, should be welcome to attend a local church. But attending a local church is different than being a member of a local church. There are requirements for membership and one of the basic, non-negotiable, requirements is the idea that everyone in a local church must be a true believer in their Lord Jesus Christ and they must have received his salvation and thereby become a member of his flock.
Many Christian leaders over the years have speculated about the percentage of unregenerate church members amongst churches in North America. I don't think anyone can know that number who is not the Holy Spirit. The fact does remain, however, that much of our problem in our churches stems from people who are not really members of the flock.
The first thing we need to see is that good sheep are members of the flock.
Next, let’s look at Verses 3 and 4,
“To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”
Good Sheep Know Their Shepherd:
Many years ago, as an Army officer cadet, I took an instructor training course. I was taught that the most important criteria for instructor confidence was knowledge of the subject. The basic idea was that if instructors knew the subject matter, they could always talk about it, even if they lost their place in their notes or had trouble organizing their notes in the first place. If instructors know what they are talking about then half of battle is over and they can have confidence in themselves.
The sheep must have confidence in the shepherd. They must know the shepherd and the shepherd’s strengths and his intentions. They must know that the shepherd’s goal is to take care of them, even when he leads them over rocky ground in order to take them to greener pastures. If the sheep don’t know their shepherd, they will not trust him, and they will have no confidence in him.
As I mentioned above, sometimes the shepherd must direct the sheep over difficult ground in order to find better pastures. Sometimes the shepherd must give the sheep medicine which is unpleasant to take but which will heal the sheep's illness. And sometimes the shepherd must correct and even chastise the sheep to protect them and keep them from harm. The sheep must know the shepherd and have confidence in the shepherd so they will continue to trust him.
So how do the sheep come to know the shepherd? Primarily by spending time with him. Church members need to spend time in the word of God and in prayer and they need to spend time with their human shepherd also. God is open to us knowing him. Pastors are open to us knowing them. The sheep however, the church members however, must make an effort to come to know their shepherd and thereby build up their confidence in the one who leads them and guides them and protects them.
More than once in my ministry I had the opportunity to work with a new staff member or support person who did not know me yet. From time to time, I would bring up an idea or have a request of them that they did not understand, and they were unsure about whether it was a good idea or not. I had to ask them to trust me and try out my idea, and they did. They were not comfortable doing that initially, but they did, and once they came to know me and my ways, things went much more smoothly. We need to come to know the Good Shepherd and His under-shepherds so that we can work smoothly with them.
The second thing we need to see is that good sheep know their shepherd.
Next, let’s look at Verses 4 through 10,
“This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Good Sheep Follow Their Shepherd:
My wife and I live in the country. Several years ago, when I got tired of cutting so much grass, we put up some fences and bought some goats. Goats are great at eating grass and clearing out underbrush, but they are terrible at following a person. They just want to go their own way and do their own thing. They are herd animals, but humans are not a part of their herd!
A deacon at a church where I was pastor once had some goats penned up in a barn. When he opened a door to go in and feed them, one of then butted him and knocked him down. All the others followed the first goat, trampling him as they escaped the barn!
Sheep, on the other hand, are usually more docile and they usually follow their shepherd. And they need to follow their shepherd because they need his protection. Sheep have few natural defenses and no offensive capabilities at all. They need shepherds to protect them, for without them they would be easy prey.
One way that a shepherd would protect the sheep in the time of Jesus would be to create a corral of thorns, and then usher the sheep inside for the night. Next, the shepherd himself would lie down across the door. Any wolf, be they four-legged or two-legged, would have to go through the shepherd to get to the sheep. This is what Jesus says He does for His flock, and it is also what a pastor does for the flock of a church.
Although sheep are more docile and they do follow better than goats, that is not always the case. Some sheep will stray and wander away from the flock. This is the essence of the Parable of the Lost Sheep. The sad fact is, when a sheep wanders from the flock, they become more vulnerable, and, since there is safety in numbers, the flock becomes more vulnerable also.
It is easy to criticize the people of Israel in the Bible because they are known as a proud and stiff-necked people, but we must remember that the United States was founded in rebellion, and a rebellious spirit has infused this land since that time. Also, we should not forget that Saul was warned that, “Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”
Good sheep follow their shepherd because it is the right thing to do and is also the right thing for them.
Next, let’s consider Verses 11-16,
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
Good Sheep Respect Their Shepherd:
Although we are accustomed to thinking highly of shepherds, the reality is their job was a humble one, as was their position in society. The job of a shepherd was dirty, tiring, and, at times, dangerous.
When we were serving in Africa, we would see teenage boys or young men leaving their compounds early in the morning leading their flocks out to find good grass. They would traverse a large, winding, circular path that would bring them back home late in the day. They would look tired, hungry, sweaty, and dusty all at the same time. Theirs was an arduous life and an unenviable lot.
Don’t forget, in Luke’s account of the Christmas story the Gospel writer said that the shepherds who first heard about the birth of Christ were “abiding” in the field, but we need to understand that the word translated “abiding” had the connotation of people who always lived out in the open field, not unlike the animals that they were tending.
So, when Jesus compared Himself to a shepherd, He was making a bold, counter-cultural statement. Like when He told the disciples that “the last shall be first, and the first shall be last,” what Jesus was saying went against the grain and it was the opposite of what the dominate culture expected.
Yet, if society did not respect the shepherd, the sheep of the flock did. They knew what he did for them, and they appreciated it. The shepherd lived with the sheep and thus he identified with them; the shepherd risked his life for the sheep and thus he protected them; the shepherd gathered the sheep and thus he united them.
Good sheep understand the sacrifices made by the shepherd on their behalf and they love and respect him for it.
Finally, let’s consider Verse 16,
"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
Good Sheep Share Their Shepherd:
When Jesus was talking to His disciples here, He was clearly thinking about the Gentiles. Jesus came first to the Children of Israel, but He also reached out to Samaritans and Gentiles during His ministry. He did not want the early church to focus on keeping Him for themselves, but instead He wanted them to give Him away to others.
The tendency in some churches is to keep their pastor to themselves. They don’t want to share their pastor with the community, or with unbelievers, or with their denomination, or with the mission field. Sometimes they don’t even want to share their pastor with his family or even with the pastor himself.
The fact is that pastors sometimes need to care for others besides their flock. Pastors need to care for their families, pastors need to care for the community, and like all believers, pastors need to care for the world full of people for whom Jesus died, Pastors can do none of those things if their sheep monopolize their time and attention.
One pastor I know will take a spiritual retreat each year. He goes by himself to a retreat center where he prays, reads the Bible, and attends worship. He returns home refreshed and renewed, and he has served the same church for 25 years! His flock have learned to share him, and they have been blessed in the process!
Don’t get me wrong, a good shepherd cares intently and competently for the flock. The flock needs to see, however, that they are not the entirety of the world.
Good sheep share their shepherd with generosity and a loving heart.
Conclusion:
When I was an Army chaplain, I prayed the invocation for many change of command ceremonies. I always prayed for the incoming and outgoing commanders, but I also made sure to pray for the troops as well.
What I would say is that without the troops there would be no unit for anyone to command. The same is true for the church. Without a flock there would be no need for a shepherd.
God’s people are the sheep of His pasture. We need to be good sheep!
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
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