CEO or Shepherd

The Bible has much to say about leadership and leaders. Time and again the Old Testament shows us how important good leaders are for all of God's people to be able to serve Him properly, and how poor leaders pave the way for total apostasy. Good leadership is just essential among the people of God.

Yet ideas about leadership flux and change. That is why it is important to examine contemporary ideas about leadership against the backdrop of scripture. What people want and expect from leaders now may be very different from what God commissions His leaders to do among His people. In this article we want to contrast one of the most commonly used models of leadership, the CEO model, with the model that appears constantly in scripture, the shepherd model.

When we talk about being a leader we think of someone like Lee Iacocca: a chief executive officer. The very name says it all, doesn't it? The Big Cheese. The Rainmaker. The Decision Maker. The CEO stands as an icon in America today of what leadership means. How CEO'S ACT AND WHAT THEY DO LARGELY COLOR OUR IDEAS OF LEADERSHIP, EVEN IN THE CHURCH. FOR EXAMPLE, BEING THE CEO in corporate America means you get the perks and benefits. A corner office. The executive washroom. The big salary. The CEO commands it all. Being a CEO also means you get your way. That is what being a CEO is all about, right? You make the calls, you decide what happens next. That is leadership today, right? Finally, the CEO doesn't do the drudge work. We may not know exactly what the CEO is doing in his corner office but he surely isn't doing the day to day grind work. The CEO is above that kind of labor!

The CEO idea for leadership is the most prevalent model in our country today. It is what many people think of whenever they see a leadership position described in the Bible. Yet isn't it interesting that the Bible never uses this metaphor to describe godly leaders? God never describes Himself as a CEO, nor does He ever charge elders to run the church like a corporation. That isn't because there weren't large businesses in biblical times. For example, the Bible describes large trade enterprises (see 1 Kings 9:26ff). Why aren't the managers of these business singled out as the image for how God wants His leaders to behave? The answer is simple: God desires a very different kind of leadership and leader. The pattern for leadership in scripture is the shepherd.

Take any concordance and run references on ""shepherd"" and ""shepherding"" and you will quickly see how important this profession is in God's scheme. David terms God his shepherd in Psalm 23. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd twice (John 10:11,14) and uses the shepherd as an illustration of love and concern for the lost (""the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine in the fold . . . "" Luke 15:4). Lousy leaders are said to evil shepherds (Ezekiel 34:5ff). Most importantly, elders are called to shepherd the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2).

Shouldn't the shepherd model inform our understanding of what God desires for pastors (Greek for ""shepherd"") of His people today? I do not know everything about shepherding or sheep but I am sure it is a mistake to substitute in ""CEO"" EVERY PLACE WE READ ""SHEPHERD!"" IF THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD WANTED US TO THINK OF A CEO WITH ALL THE ACCOMPANYING POWER, PERKS AND PRIVILEGES HE COULD HAVE USED SOMEONE WHO LED LIKE THAT. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WORLD THE CAESAR FUNCTIONED, IN SOME WAYS, MUCH LIKE TODAY'S CEO. Why doesn't the Holy Spirit tell elders to ""Caesar"" the church? In fact, the very opposite is said: ""Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock"" (1 Peter 5:2-3). To reinforce the power of this point consider that Jesus actually is a king but still describes Himself as a shepherd easily and repeatedly. We would do well to think of leadership in shepherd terms, wouldn't we?

This becomes especially important when we consider how different shepherding is from being a CEO. The shepherd receives no power-laden benefits. There is no executive washroom for shepherds! Isn't this in line with how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, never enjoyed special status or perks when He was here, and indeed, actually forbade them (Matt. 23:5-7)? Further, the shepherd never gets his way. What shepherds do constantly and continually is see that the sheep have their needs met. They do what is best for the sheep, not what they want. The shepherd may want to go home early, but if a sheep is lost off he goes to find it. Jesus models this constantly as He talks of how He does not do His own will but the will of the Father (John 5:30). All of this is to say that shepherds sacrifice themselves. This is what Jesus did. ""I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep"" (John 10:11). Jesus did this because He loves His sheep. That is what the leaders of God's people today are called to do as well. No extra pay or benefits. No special clothes or reserved seats. All they have is the love of the flock that causes them to give and sacrifice anything and everything for the good of the sheep.

What does all of this mean for us today? It means as we look out among us for additional elders we need to put worldly patterns of leadership away. Jesus is not the CEO of the church and He is not looking for vice-presidents to sit on the board with Him. The church isn't a business. We are not marketing anything nor are we trying to manage things and people so as to turn a profit. The church is a farm. All around us are sheep who need feeding and shepherding. Thus, as you think about who can serve this flock do not look for someone with a flashy three-piece power suit and lots of business savvy. Look instead for the one is among the sheep, working diligently to care and tend them. Look for the man with a shepherd's heart.