What type of herder are you?

Recently, some events in our lives got me to thinking about leadership styles.

Some people are goatherds.  They drag their team with them, usually with a lot of effort because the team is so reluctant.



Some people are cowherds.  They let the cows go and come back and get them—sometimes months later—when it is time for them to move again.



Some people are shepherds.  They lead their sheep to where the food is and then hang out with them to make sure they’re okay.



God expected His kings to be shepherds. 
Regarding David we read: “And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’” (2 Samuel 5:2)

Jesus called Himself the good shepherd.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.(John 10:11)

Church leaders are to be shepherds.
It’s not surprising that we call the leaders of our churches pastors. Our English word pastor comes from the Latin pastorem, meaning shepherd.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:11, 12)

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4)

Sometimes I would rather be a goatherd.  If I drag the flock with me, I can make sure the flock does the job right.

Probably more often, as an introvert, I would rather be a cowherd.  Unengaged with the herd most of the time.  Just letting it do its own thing while I do my own thing.

It takes a lot more effort to be a shepherd.  Building a relationship and trust with the team so that it wants to go with you.  Continually checking in on the team to make sure they have everything they need.

As a leader more by chance than by choice, I need to be reminded occasionally (often?) that I am a shepherd and not a cowherd.  People won’t use those terms, but that is more or less what they are saying.

What kind of herder are you?

The Summit

This past week it was our joy to attend the Southeast Asian Leadership Summit.

A lesson in linguistics

This event brought together MB Mission leaders from throughout the region.  As such, there were several languages being used.  At times my head would spin from not knowing which speaker/language to latch onto.

Andy organized the event.  He had our agency's mission and vision statement reduced to a quasi-mathematical formula that could be printed on t-shirts that our participants could wear--even in places not friendly to the gospel.




The summary statement was printed in full in three languages on our notebooks, and would have been in four, if Khmu had a written language.

We were blessed by a visit from Randy F. as he shared some stories of how the mission and vision of MB Mission is playing out around the world.




In a country where being a leader typically means having a title, an office and a nice salary while others serve you and do all the work, we were honored to be able to demonstrate the nature of leadership as modeled by Jesus in serving others.




Encouragement

We had the opportunity both to be prayed for and to pray for others.





Worship through music was in Thai, English, Burmese or Khmu--depending on which group was leading.





It is easy to get discouraged when we are constantly surrounded by "problems" that need to be fixed.  As our team has been working to implement changes to bring about lasting solutions, we were encouraged by this conference which laid out a foundation for what we are trying to do--and in a very timely manner.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)