The Purposeful Shepherd Zechariah 11:16 Introduction: I want to share my heart with you this morning. For certain this is a candidating Sunday. I never have liked the word "candidate." It sounds like a politician campaigning to be elected and it intimates that the guest pastor is campaigning for a job. I assure you this is not the case. I do not need a job. I have a job, a very good job. I am here seeking the heart of God and trying to discern His will while plan and listening carefully to the voice of the Holy Spirit. That is what this, so called "candidating" process is all about - discerning the mind and heart of God - His will for our lives. The Lord has given me some precious promises with which to return to the task of pastoring after a short sabbatical at the National Office of the C&MA. One of these promises is from an obscure passage in the Old Testament book of Zechariah. It is a negative "pastor's" passage in Zechariah 11:16. It is a passage about Zechariah having pastored a wearisome flock. He says "So I pastored the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock...in one month I got rid of three shepherds (lots of worthless ones around). Then... "The flock detested me and I grew weary of them and said, 'I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another's flesh." My friends, there are some sick flocks (congregations) who God says are worthless, like the fruitless tree - Why cumbers it up the ground? There are congregations who are dying a slow and inexorable death and they don't even know it. Like the frog in the pot of hot water they have slowly become accustomed to disease. There are congregation that are so off the track that they east one another's flesh, they are oppressed, they are wearisome, they are marked for the slaughter! Be sure you are not one of those doomed congregations who have long since ceased to listen to the Spirit of God wooing them back to His fold. Finally God said, "Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd for I am going to raise up another shepherd over the land who will..." (Here is where the lesson and my instructions and His promises come in although they are in the negative against the foolish shepherd - ours is to do the opposite of the foolish thus be wise and faithful shepherds. ) It is an illustration of a negative image - like an x-ray. By the stark contrast you can diagnose the diseased flock and better yet you can discover a healthy one. Verse 16: The foolish shepherd are those who will not do these four essential ministries. They will not, 1) care for the lost 2) seek the young 3) heal the injured 4) feed the healthy. Therefore a good shepherd does the opposite. He cares for the lost, seeks the young, heals the injured, and feeds the healthy. Not only is it an outline of an effective pastoral ministry it is the same outline Jesus used to describe the scope of his earthly ministry in Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:16-21. It is also a prioritization of church ministries. So there is the outline for a successful shepherding strategy. For me God has spoken this very personally that this is His ministry strategy and should be mine as well in any congregation I pastor. Let's consider these shepherding principles carefully. 1) Care for the lost sheep - those yet outside the fold. It is number one in God's eyes and always has been. The son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. "Lord make me faithful in seeking the lost as you do!" The shepherd's prayer ought to be "Lord, let me see the world as you see it." Or a Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision said, "Lord, break my heart with the things that break the heart of God. (i.e) John Sorensen's testimony of not witnessing to a neighbor for six years, then not being believed. Ron Hutchcraft DL Moody 2) Seek the young. Jesus said "Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not for such is the kingdom of God." That word "LET" means DO NOT HINDER THEM FROM COMING. Sometimes the greatest hindrance is neglect - little or no attention to children's ministries. It is a fact that 80% of the people who come to Christ do so before their 18th birthday!!! That is astounding! It is that they are yet in their tender years and responsive to the gospel. As the years go by they become hardened soil harder and harder to reach. The older someone is the harder they are to reach for Christ. NEGLECTING THE YOUNG IS HINDERING THEM FROM COMING TO CHRIST. (My testimony) (Marilyn Manson) (Littleton shootings - testimony of Cassie) (ie. Brazil ark ministry?) 3) Heal the injured. Oh, how many of the flock are injured!!! By life's cruelties, by sin, by each other, by emotions, by wrong (ungodly) thinking, by ruinous patterns of behavior. They need to be healed - the blind, the lame, the bruised, the beat up, the oppressed by the enemy, and the despairing. They all need a shepherd's heart of care and concern for their well being. He leads them beside the still waters - to restore their souls. Jesus said this was what he was called to do. Isaiah 61:1-3 and following. Jesus began his ministry with this passage as the outline of his ministry in Luke 4:16-21. I'd like my ministry to follow Jesus - healer of broken hearts, lives, and bodies! "Lord make my ministry a healing ministry - a healer of the breach. Compassion, pity on the injured is the chief responsibility. Love them back to health. Carry the wounded on your shoulders if and when necessary - but don't carry the whole flock! And don't carry them for long. Teach them to walk again. (ie) Divorce is now 70% of US marriages! What are we doing to heal the hurting? Are we shaming them and driving them away from God or are we reaching out in compassion to those who have had their greatest marital fear realized. Healing implies an intercessory prayer ministry - for without me you can do nothing, Jesus said. 4) Finally, feed the hungry. That's the best part, the easy part, the part that satisfies. He didn't say force-feed the stubborn but look for hungry sheep and feed them all they can take - the milk, and the meat. Sometimes we want to give too much meat to babes, other times too much milk to the mature. There is a balance. Feed the flock of God!!! Woe to the worthless shepherds that feed themselves and desert the flock. Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my sheep." That was his call as well as to care for the lost, to seek the young, and to heal the injured. Conclusion: Littleton - Columbine Here's a personal account from someone who attended her memorial service: "Cassie was totally anti-Christian 2 years ago. She was involved in witchcraft and very suicidal. Her parents forcibly drug her into the youth pastor's office. When she walked out, his reaction was, 'Wow, she's a lost cause.' Through the prayers of her church's youth group, parents, and youth pastor, about 6 months later Cassie walked back up to the youth pastor and said, 'You'll never guess what I did today. I gave my life to Christ!' From that point forward, Cassie was a radical evangelist on her campus. The funeral showed some videotape of her sharing parts of her testimony, which were very powerful. It was because of her radical faith on campus that she was asked if she believed in God. She replied, 'Yes, I believe in Jesus.' (Not 'I believe in God' as the media has reported.) The funeral was more of a celebration of Christ's work in her and through her. A number of girls shared how she had led them to faith. At Cassie's memorial service, over 75 kids made first-time commitments to Christ." From a Columbine pastor: "After the memorial service at our church, we walked over to the makeshift memorial, near the school and gathered around John's [John Tomlin, one of the victims] battered old Chevy truck and prayed. The Lord is even using John's truck as a place of prayer and ministry--I can't believe this. Guess what was on the dashboard of his truck? His battered Student Bible. God is in this. A message from Rick Chromey, youth ministry prof at St. Louis Christian College: "As I watched a CNN story on the history of these two young men, I was met with a realization: I, myself, could have easily been one of those boys. You see, there is a fine line between good and bad. Grace and law. Love and hate. Good and evil. And even though I chose 'right' most of the time, I could have gone the other way quite as easily. As an adolescent I was a loner for the first couple years in high school. A few friends, nobody close. I was short and geekish. My hair rarely combed and my clothes second-hand. My grades were terminal Cs and Ds. My music was hard and fast and quite wicked. My home life was shattered. My self-image in pieces. My hatred for those around me boiling. I was smart enough to know I didn't fit in. "But I had one thing those boys did not: a church youth group that loved me. Despite my stupid jokes and boyish pranks, they never laughed me from the group. Despite my parent's divorce, they never stopped the love. Despite my hatred and anger, they continued to care. We went to retreats together, conferences together, camps together. We cruised Friday night Main Street together and hung out at Saturday night basketball games together. I belonged, and that was enough. I fit in THERE. I had a place in my church (even when I showed up in my KISS T-shirts blaring AC/DC from the car stereo!). Eventually I also found a place in my high school. My geekish ways faded as I expressed myself on stage. My anger waned as I vented with a solid tackle on the football field. My biting words were well spent in speech competitions (winning honors). And my inner angst flooded my drawings in art class. Within time, all such pursuits helped to carve the man I am today. I'm thankful only that NO ONE gave up on me. "Here's my point: I could have easily gone the other direction, but did not. Why? Because a church cared. My youth leaders loved me and the group accepted me. "I understand that one of the Columbine shooters was once a churchgoer. But I imagine that something happened and he disconnected. Within time his disconnection destroyed lives--both his and the lives of others. Loss of life conceived from loneliness. Mayhem born from misunderstandings. Tragedy inspired from trouble. "An advice columnist once wrote: 'It's better to build a fence at the top of a cliff than a hospital at the bottom.' That is so true. Maybe it's time every Christian--no matter their age--started building fences. It's not so hard. 'Strange looking' teens come to our church every week. Their hair is quite strange, dyed rather colorful. Most are unpleasantly drilled with ear and nose rings. Many bear tattoos. And their music is rather odd. But they keep coming. For whatever reason, our church has given them a home. And they need to know I care. They need to feel the touch of an overweight, bald guy. They need to see I care for them. Littleton has taught me a lesson. Trenchcoats don't kill people. Troubled people kill people. Empty people. Disillusioned people. Desperate people. May I never walk past another teen and judge his character by the clothes on his back. I want to make a difference. I want to build fences. May a little 'Littleton' hang upon my heart hereafter as a reminder to love kids. All kids. No matter their disposition, dress or desires. Period. TO: L I T T L E T O N FROM: G O D DATE: A P R I L 2 1, 1 9 9 9 Dear Parents, Friends and Loved Ones, Of these precious youth you've lost, I see your broken spirits, I know the terrible cost. Though evil reigned at Columbine, And horror filled the air, I wanted all of you to know, I left Heaven and came there. I summoned Heaven's Angels, Long before the call came in, To share the dreadful warning, Of what would soon begin. The angels' wings were folded, They knew what was to come, When I said, "I'll lead this mission." They followed one by one. "I will go and get these babies, And bring them home with me, Where they'll live in Heaven's Schoolhouse, Where it's safe and terror free." Yes, I've prepared a Special Schoolhouse, It stands out from all the rest, The Welcome Mat reads, "Columbine," It's reserved for Heaven's best. I was hovering all around them, In the Library and the Hall, When the evil forces entered, Your children heard me call. I wrapped my arms around them, Pulled them close unto my breast, "I've come to take you with me, We must go and leave the rest." "Your friends will long remember, All the cool times that we shared, And the Angels will remind them, How very much you cared." Yes, I took those precious children, In the twinkling of an eye, We were on our way to Heaven, To their Schoolhouse in the sky. I know your hearts are broken, I know the pain you bear, My heart is also broken, By the evil everywhere. Please help me fight this battle, To keep our children safe, Through prayers and love and sharing, And holding to the Faith, That Peace will surely reign one day, In schools throughout the lands, For all our future hopes and dreams, Rest in our students' hands. I'll give you peace to fill your heart, Send sun to break the night, Provide the strength to move beyond, The wrongs and do what's right. You ask how I can know your pain, From the loss of your dear one, It's because it seems like yesterday, When I, too gave up a Son. This is a true story......... BRIAN WARNER In the mid 80's, this teenager named Brian Warner began to go to a youth group. He was sort of an awkward kid, and no one really wanted to talk to him. The youth pastor would go over to him, and like do the usual pastor thing, you know, how are you, that's good, and then talk to the other more popular kids. One day they went to an amusement park, and the pastor wanted them to be in pairs, but no one wanted to pair with Brian, so he walked the park by himself. The pastor didn't think he really needed to talk to Brian because he had gone to a Christian academy all his life up to 8th grade and was raised in the church. Brian was at church for about 3 and a half months, and then one day he just stopped coming. A few years later, the youth pastor had become leader of a seminary. One of his former students had become a youth pastor and called him up. He asked his former pastor if he remembered the boy named Brian Warner. The pastor remembered the name, but after a bit of description, he knew exactly who he was. The fellow asked his pastor, "Do you know who he is now?" The former pastor said no. Giving him a hint, the student said "he doesn't go by Brian any more." The pastor was stumped. He replied, "Brian Warner is now Marilyn Manson." This is a true story. As you can tell, the boy in this story, Brian, was shunned by the "Christians" in this youth group. If you think hard enough, if he had been accepted into the group, he might not be what he is today. He is a hurt man. Regardless of his actions, he still has feelings and truly believes that that is what Christianity is all about. If someone could reach him, maybe -- just maybe -- he could help to bring millions of teenagers into heaven instead of leading down the road to hell. Just something to think about. Something to pray about. Let everybody know, that no matter how weird or awkward the person may seem, never ever be a snob to that person. They need your love.