“The Heart Of A Shepherd” (Part One)

Some time ago, Day Of Discovery television aired a series of programs about two shepherds. One, Nizar Touma, is a pastor in Nazareth among the Palestinian believers there. He has a small but growing church ministry that is seeking to make inroads for the Gospel in Jesus’ hometown. The second was Menno Kalisher, who pastors a congregation of Jewish believers in Jerusalem. It was pretty fascinating watching the first week as the cameras followed Nizar through Nazareth in a typical day of ministry, then into their worship on Sunday. The second week, they followed Menno in Jerusalem as he preaches Christ in the city where Jesus died and rose again. Fascinating stuff.

Two shepherds. Two flocks. They have almost nothing in common except Christ. They live in a world where everything pushes them to hate, except Christ. For me, it was challenging to see and feel the heart of those shepherds for their people. As they model a shepherd’s heart, it is useful to see and embrace their passion for the flock. It is even more useful to turn to the Scriptures and see the heart of another shepherd and his passion for the church of Jesus Christ.

This shepherd was the apostle Paul, and the flock in question was the church of Thessalonica. He wants to share his heart with them—the heart of a shepherd. Some have said that Paul wrote this chapter to defend his ministry. I disagree. Though he will offer statements in his defense, that is not his purpose. His purpose is not to defend his ministry—it is to define his ministry. To show them the heart, life and work of a shepherd. Consider with me 1 Thessalonians 2:1-20, beginning with…

The Shepherd’s Methods (vv.1-8)

How did Paul approach the challenge of shepherding the ministry there? He had two basic methods and a smattering of important attitudes. Here, we see the methods:

A. Boldness (v.2) in evangelism

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.

The word that Paul uses is “parresiadzomai”, and is always used to speak of evangelism! It means to show confidence or assurance! Paul boldly declared Christ and His salvation—in spite of the challenges he faced in the name of Christ. The critical thing to notice here is where his boldness came from. He said he had boldness “in our God”! In spite of the opposition, he had a boldness born out of his relationship with the God of heaven.

This is what made his evangelism such a good model to follow. He shared Christ:

• With boldness;
• With determination;
• Regardless of the response (good or bad)

This is Paul’s pattern: and it lays a challenge before us. Our job is to speak the gospel, not convert people. Our commission is to tell the world, not to convert the world. Our calling is to share the message, not shrink under the pressure! Paul sought to share the Savior—boldly and determinedly. He doesn’t moan or complain, he just keeps plugging along. His methods began with reaching people for Christ.

B. Edification (vv.3-5) purity in teaching

For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness—nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.

Notice the balance that is here. Not only does he hit the first half of the great commission, he adds the second half as well. Not only does he seek to reach the nations, he teaches them all that Christ has commanded. Notice the character of his teaching:

1. Pure in content (not from error, not deceitful)
2. Pure of motive (not to please men, not for greed)

The word that he uses to describe the problem of a deceitful shepherd is one wandering (as in error). It is the picture of a false shepherd who leads the sheep astray. You see, Paul recognized that people could minister the gospel (see Phil.1) from wrong hearts and wrong motives—and that such ministry might actually see results because of God’s commitment to bless His word! But Paul was determined that it would never be said of him. He was committed to having a ministry reputation that was without reproach. He sought to preach the gospel for the sake of the lost and to minister the Scriptures for the growth of the saved. He would not misuse his position, his authority, or his ministry to advance himself.

Paul’s methodology was simple: preach boldly, teach purely. What gave him such a commitment? We’ll look at that tomorrow…

2 Responses to ““The Heart Of A Shepherd” (Part One)”

1. lakehills101 says:

   February 4, 2010 at 10:52 am

   Good article, Bill. As a pastor/church planter, I really appreciate this. Having been in local ministerial associations in the past, I’ve just had to scratch my head and wonder at how some pastors approach ministry as a career rather than a calling. God help us to always have a heart for God, His word, and His people…

   Mike Knapp
2. Bill Crowder says:

   February 5, 2010 at 10:43 am

   Thanks Mike…
   I wish I had understood this better when I was younger in ministry