Hired hand. Good shepherd. The two terms conjure up very different images.
Hired hand brings to mind a temporary arrangement, perhaps someone who is passing through. A hired hand does a job that needs to be done, but it is usually menial and earns little recognition or reward. The task requires no special training. One of many people could do it. If one hired hand does not work out, then another is readily available.
Frequently a hired hand is viewed as less than a total person. After all, he is just a “hand.” He performs a function. That is all. His needs or personhood are less important than his performance.
The term “hired hand” also implies an over-under relationship. The hired hand is the inferior. The one doing the hiring is the superior. Absent from the term are concepts of the hired hand being a partner or an associate — common terms in modern business parlance. Thus the term says something about its user.
Generally speaking, most of the term’s connotations are negative, indicating the users’ view of another and the work he does as well as how he sees himself in relationship to others.
Good shepherd brings to mind an entirely different image.
A good shepherd spends time with the flock. He learns each sheep by name, and the sheep learn his voice. Even when flocks are mingled together, he can call and his sheep will respond. They will recognize his voice and follow. Between the shepherd and the sheep, there is a relationship.
A good shepherd is knowledgeable. Through careful observation and painful experience, he has learned where his sheep can find green pastures and still water. And he knows how to lead them to these sources of sustenance. These are valuable qualities.
A good shepherd is strong and dependable. The community and the animals trust him to keep the sheep safe from harm and defend the sheep against predators.
A good shepherd also is valued by the community. The whole village turns out to celebrate with him when he successfully rescues a straying animal, defeats a predator or safely brings the flock back from the high pasture.
Humanly speaking, the temptation may be for churches to view their pastors more like hired hands than like good shepherds. The church may want to emphasize that it is the boss and the pastor is the hired hand.
Consider the church that has fired every pastor it has ever had as well as a good number of staff members. Or consider the church where the same group of leaders goes to every pastor after about three years and instructs him to begin looking for a new place to serve.
In such cases, the pastor is treated like a hired hand. His services are not valued. He is easily replaced. His needs and those of his family are less important than another demonstration of the over-under relationship between the congregation and its hired hand.
For many, it is hard to consider someone a shepherd. To do so implies members of the congregation need someone to help them through a dangerous world and frightening times. It is difficult for some to acknowledge they need assistance in facing evil or comfort and guidance when facing uncertainty.
That is not a confession some people are willing to make. Many continue to cling to the notion of being rugged individuals able to handle alone whatever life may bring their way. How foolish.
As a result, pastor and people frequently live in unnecessary tension. When disagreements arise, conversations are not for the purpose of learning from one another in order to move forward together. They are opportunities to pick holes in the reasoning of those who disagree and learn how to strengthen one’s own positions.
When committee decisions do not go the way one wants, it is not a time to hear the voice of God speaking through others. Rather it is a time to build a coalition for the next business meeting to make sure the committee’s decision is rejected.
Interaction between church leaders and the pastor becomes guarded lest something inadvertent be said that could result in someone going after the pastor’s job.
When a pastor has been treated like a hired hand, is it surprising if he becomes guarded or his family has trouble becoming a part of a new community?
How many times can a pastor and his family endure such treatment?
Likewise, when a church has attempted to treat its pastor like a good shepherd only to have its efforts spurned, it is not surprising if the church is slower to respond positively to the next person called to serve the congregation.
Still the way the church views the pastor will make a major difference in the relationship between pastor and people. Recently a pastor friend shared, “I know the members care for me. I am not afraid to say what I really believe is best.” His body was animated as he spoke, his voice full of excitement.
I could not help but recall a few years earlier when he served a church that treated him like a hired hand and the difference in him then and now. When he shared about what was going on at church, it was easy to see the difference in his ministry as well.
The Bible says pastors are to be shepherds, not hired hands. In 1 Peter 5:2, the apostle wrote to the elders, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care.” If pastors are to act like shepherds according to the command of Scripture, then it is incumbent on church members to recognize and respond to these men of God as good shepherds and not treat them like hired hands.
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