Section 01 - What a Pastor Looks Like

Psalm 23:1 to 6 says,

The LORD [Yahweh] [is] my shepherd; I shall never be in need.
He causes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me to a resting place by the water.
He restores my soul: he leads me on the right path to glorify his name.
Even though I pass through the narrow valley overshadowed by death, I will not be afraid of wickedness because you [are] with me; your club and your shepherd's staff they convict and comfort me.
You arrange a king's banquet before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my container is overflowing.
Truly good things and kindness will run after me every day of my life: and I will remain in the house of the LORD [Yahweh] for the duration.

Today the term pastor has come to mean something very different to what it was meant to be originally. Perhaps the reason most of us have lost the true meaning, is because we have never seen the Eastern shepherd at work.

If you want to recognize a Pastoral Ministry, you need to understand what a true shepherd is.

We are going to be looking at some of the signs of the pastoral calling. To do that we need to understand how a shepherd works, because the words shepherd and pastor are exactly the same thing in Scripture.

You can go right back into the Old Testament and look up the word pastor and you will find it there. Pastor was there way back then and the Israelites were shepherds.

Remember when they came to Egypt and Joseph spoke to Pharaoh on their behalf concerning a land that would be given to them. He told Pharaoh,

"My family are shepherds, and we need land where they can bring their flocks."

Shepherding and sheep were a normal part of life for the children of Israel. And that concept of the shepherd as being the leader of the flock has been brought right into the New Testament.

In the New Testament you read that God gave the fivefold ministry to the church. Included in that five is the word pastor, and when you read it you can put the word shepherd in there. It is the same thing.

If you are to understand the pastor, you will have to understand how a shepherd works.

And if you see exactly how a shepherd works and should work, you will understand how a pastor should work. This is because the pastor is a type or a picture of the work of a shepherd.

In this section I would like to look at various aspects of the shepherd and see how they apply to the pastor.

We are going to start by looking at the Eastern shepherd, then we are going to consider the pictures that Jesus gave us of Himself as being the Good Shepherd. From these we will get some very clear pictures of exactly what is involved in the Pastoral Ministry.

Finally we are going to summarize it, and consider the actual signs that you can look for in identifying the ministry of a pastor or shepherd.

The Eastern Shepherd

As we come to look at the Eastern shepherd, we find that the Eastern shepherd is very easily identifiable.

The picture that is always painted in the Scriptures and in real life, is the picture of the shepherd putting out his sheep and walking ahead of them.

As the shepherd walks, the sheep come trailing behind him. It is the standard picture of the Eastern shepherd.

I have shared this story concerning the Eastern shepherd before in other places, but I am going to share it again here because it is relevant.

The story is told of somebody who visited the Holy Land, and for the first time went to look and see the Eastern shepherd in action.

He had read so much about the Eastern shepherd, how he goes ahead of the sheep, but had never seen it. He couldn't wait to see it actually taking place the way it was described.

He hurried out to where the sheep were to see how the shepherd worked, and as he approached he saw a flock of sheep running down the road.

However, instead of a shepherd walking ahead of them, there was a man behind them with a whip, driving them, beating them and pushing them down the road. He was amazed and said,

"That isn't the way I have seen it taught. Have they changed it? Don't they do it the same way anymore?"

He got hold of one of the people in the area and said,

"Please explain this to me. I always understood that the Eastern shepherd was the shepherd who walked ahead of his sheep and the sheep followed him. How come this shepherd is standing behind the sheep and driving them?"

The person he was talking to just laughed and said,

"Oh no you've got it all wrong. That's not the shepherd with the sheep. That is the butcher who’s driving them to the market."

You can see the picture very clearly. The shepherd goes ahead of the sheep. The one who stands behind the sheep and drives them is not the shepherd at all.

David the Shepherd

David was a shepherd. He was called from the sheepfold to be anointed to be king of Israel. You did not pick that kind of job. It was one of the lowest forms of work. It was the kind of work you gave to the black sheep of the family (pardon the pun).

David was the little nobody. He was the little younger brother that you gave all the dirty work to, so he had the dirty work of looking after the sheep.

But David understood what it was to be a shepherd. That is why when he penned those words in Psalm 23, he understood exactly what was involved in being a shepherd. He took that picture and he translated it to the Lord.

He began to see that the Lord was the shepherd, and that he was the Lord's sheep. And knowing how a shepherd should really be, he saw in the Lord every good quality that there should be in a shepherd.

Qualities of a Shepherd

Then came the greatest shepherd of all - the Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus again gave us another description; another picture of what the true shepherd should look like.

I would like to combine those two descriptions together in this section to find some qualities that you should look for and identify in one who is to be a shepherd.

As you identify those qualities, you are also going to be able to identify the qualities that should exist in one who is called to be God's shepherd, the pastor of the flock.

He Meets Their Needs First

In Psalm 23:1 David says,

The LORD [Yahweh] [is] my shepherd; I shall never be in need.

This is kind of a summary of the whole goal and purpose of the shepherd. This is the final result of what should take place when the shepherd is doing his job correctly. When he is being a true shepherd the sheep should never have a need.

The shepherd is to make sure that his sheep does not lack for anything. His prime concern is their needs first. He puts their needs first above everything else.

If you are going to look for one who has the ministry and the calling of a pastor, you are going to have to find somebody who puts the needs of his flock ahead of his own. He must be one whose prime concern is for the people that he is leading.

He is concerned about them. If he is doing his job correctly, those who are in his flock and who are following his leadership should be able to say,

"With this man as our leader and our shepherd we have never lacked for anything. Our needs have all been met."

Anybody who fails to fulfill that calling is not a pastor. He is not a shepherd.

He Provides Rest and Provision

David says in Psalm 23:2,

He causes me to lie down in green pastures...

The sheep should be in a place of rest. I want you to visualize this picture. The shepherd has led his sheep to a beautiful meadow that is full of wonderful green grass for them to feed on.

He stands there with his shepherd's staff, brings them one at a time and says,

"You have five minutes to eat finished because we have to get moving."

Can you see that?

"Okay, you've eaten enough now get. Give somebody else a turn now. Next... One at a time. Hey you're fat enough."

Can you see the shepherd being like that? No, he brings his sheep and he causes them to lie down. They don't just come to where the food is good. He makes them sleep in it until they are saturated with it.

He lets them eat until they are full. And you know what happens when you are full? Your eyes start to close. The shepherd is there to make sure that the sheep are fed, are satisfied, and are at a place of contentment and rest.

They are not force-fed or forced to eat what they do not want to eat. Nothing is withheld from them either if they are hungry. They are fed on good food, not dry grass. The shepherd does not say,

"That green pasture is too far away. These dumb sheep can live off this grass down here. It may not be the best, but oh well it's food. Let them eat. Who cares, they are just dumb sheep."

What kind of shepherd is that? He is not God's kind of shepherd.

Do you know something about sheep? When they are allowed to lie down and rest and eat to their heart's content, you do not see any conflict, bickering or fighting. You don't see one sheep saying to another,

"Hey, get out of the way. I want that piece of grass there. I saw it first."

It does not happen when there is plenty of grass to go round or when the sheep are lying down. It is a bit difficult to fight when you are lying down. It is a place of rest, contentment and being fully satisfied.

The pastor does not hammer the flock. He doesn't browbeat them and push them, and force them into something that they do not want.

The pastor is one who brings the flock to a place where their needs are met, and where they can rest in the Lord. They can rest in His provision and can be satisfied and contented. Any person who fails to do that is not a pastor.

David says in Psalm 23:2,

... he leads me to a resting place by the water.

You know there is something about water that is so relaxing. It just seems to bring rest and peace doesn't it? We sometimes travel great distances to go and have a picnic, and always the best place to have a picnic is where there is water.

It is great having a place with beautiful green grass. That is a good place to have a picnic too. But there is just something about having water there as well.

There is something wonderful about having that beautiful green grass to sit on or lie down on. But it is even better to just sit next to water, whether it be cool, clear still water, or a bubbling brook.

There is something about water that brings life. It brings peace and contentment, and an atmosphere in which you can relax and rest.

So the shepherd is to bring the sheep not only to the green grass or to rest in the meadows, but to rest by the waters. Why is this? Because after you have had a meal you usually need something to drink.

It is a bit dry just chewing on that hay all the time. You need to have a bit of water to go with it.

The Word and Anointing

What are we talking about here? The pastor must be someone who is able to meet the needs of the flock.

They must be fed on the Word and partake of the anointing of the Spirit of God. The pastor is one who gives an adequate balance between the Spirit and the Word.

Some other ministries over-emphasize one or the other. The teacher just loves the Word. He wants to feed people the meat of the Word.

He wants to give them the bread of the Word. He wants to get them full, until they are so full they are dying of thirst, but he is going to give them some more food.

The prophet just loves the anointing, the glory and the worship.

He says, "We don't have time to preach the Word. We just worshiped for an hour and a half tonight. We didn't get time to preach."

The teacher on the other hand says,

"Cut the preliminaries and the worship and just get into the Word."

If you want to be a pastor you will have to be a bit of both. You are going to have to learn to balance.

You will have to bring the flock to a place where they are fed. Then you will have to bring them to a place where they can receive the anointing of the Spirit of God as well.

I am sure you have heard that old saying that says,

"If you just live on the Word all the time you will dry up. If you just live on the Spirit all the time you will blow up. You get the two in balance and you will grow up."

Well the pastor wants to teach the flock to grow up, so he will have to balance the Spirit and the Word.

This is no ordinary person. This is someone who is able to feed the flock from the Word. And he can also to bring the flock into the presence of the Holy Spirit. We will look more at this as we go on.

Allows Emotional Expression

David says of the Lord his Shepherd in Psalm 23:3,

He restores my soul...

That is just a small little phrase, and I dare say most people who have quoted Psalm 23 just kind of skimmed over that and said,

"Well I don't really know what that means, but it sounds good."

There is a wealth of meaning in there.

The Soul

What is the soul? The soul is the place of the mind, the emotions and the will.

The soul is the place where your personality or your real self is to be found. It is the entire seat of all you are and your whole control tower.

The Emotions

Within your soul there is a need for desires and for feelings to be expressed. The pastor is to encourage and help the flock to meet their desires and to fulfill them.

He is to encourage them to express the feelings of their soul. To do this he will have to give them a chance for emotional expression.

That is part of what is involved in restoring the soul. It is to allow the soul to be healthy. The emotions will have to be catered to, and desires will have to be met. The feelings will have to be satisfied if the soul is to be restored.

The Mind

How about the mind? Your mind is filled with goals, plans and dreams.

The pastor is one who should be encouraging each person in his or her personal goals and plans. He should be helping them to see a possibility of fulfilling those goals, plans and those bubbling ideas that have been going through their minds.

The Will

The soul has a will, and the will wants to do something. The will cannot be passive. It must act and must do something. The pastor is one who must allow personal expression of each person's will.

He must allow each member in the flock to be able to do something; to be able to take those desires, goals, plans and dreams and put them into motion.

If you are not doing that, you are not restoring the soul of the sheep, and you are not fulfilling the calling of a pastor.

Acceptance and Recognition

Within the soul lies the basic human need for acceptance and recognition. The pastor has to know how to make each person in that flock feel that they are accepted and part of the flock.

He must know how to give recognition to the accomplishments, talents and abilities of every single member of the flock. He must meet the need for acceptance and recognition in the flock. All of these are involved in restoring the soul.

Do you want to be a pastor? This is going to be one of your prime objectives and goals.

Do you think God has called you to be a pastor? Then you will have to know how to do this.

You are going to have to know how to bring people to a place where their soul is healthy and functioning the way God intended it to, and it is going to cost you. We will be looking at that more.