Bad Shepherds
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!”
That is how our first reading starts this week (Jeremiah 23:1-6), and that is a scary opening line for someone serving as a professional minister. Frankly, when you consider that this probably refers to religious and political leaders, this is a scary thought for leadership in general. Ministers, politicians, managers, community organizers, and even teachers are in the line of rhetorical fire here. I can’t help but read this and wonder, “Am I one of the bad shepherds? Am I doing what God called me to do, or am I misleading people? Am I giving God and the Church a bad name?”
This is quite a reasonable fear for any good minister. I’d like to think that having this fear is actually a mark of a relatively more trustworthy minister. If I never took time to consider that I might be wrong, I’d probably end up being very wrong. But as much as I can reassure myself that I have just enough self-doubt to not be an abusive vicar, how does the church know that?
I imagine the Israelites may have been frustrated with even the good news of this passage. Sure, God will raise up new shepherds for them, but how do the Israeliltes know the new shepherds will be better than the old ones. Even if there are better leaders available, how will the people know which ones to follow. Charlatans become successful by being particularly good at convincing people they are who they say they are. If a deceiver’s skill goes far beyond my ability to discern fraud from authenticity, how can I trust anyone?
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question. Anyone who tries to tell you there is, might be trying to deceive you themselves. If we’re being completely honest, this is really difficult, and the question of authority may have different answers in different contexts, so for now, let’s just focus on the context of ministry. How do you know that I or any other religious leader properly bears their entrusted authority? How can you tell the difference between a good and bad shepherd?
Two methods immediately come to mind. First of all, if a pastor is at your church, they must be good, right? Bad people don’t become pastors. Abusers don’t get into the clergy. Toxic pastors get kicked out, right? If someone has been called to serve your church, they must be good. Unfortunately, this is blissfully naïve. The sad reality is that some pastors really aren’t good fits for the church they are serving. Even worse, some pastors really aren’t even an ideal match for the office in general. The simple fact that they have the vestments does not prove that they are a shepherd sent by God.
One might expect that one could differentiate between a good and bad shepherd by testing them against the Word, and that certainly seems reliable. If they are preaching a message entirely contradictory to Scripture, they must be false teachers. Then again, radically different views of Scripture have been held by various groups of Christians for much of our history. There are many interpretations, and a skilled rhetorician may be able to convince people that their perspective is correct, when most of the church would declare it anathema. If you need evidence, just look at all the rich and famous preachers of the “Prosperity Gospel.”
So, if neither their job title, nor their education, nor the tests of the Word are enough to prove a pastor good or bad, what do we do? How do we tell? Perhaps the answer is not one single thing among these options. Perhaps we need to think of them all together. Synods do their best to prevent harmful, abusive, people from becoming rostered leaders, but if they miss some, testing their teachings against an informed understanding of the Word and Christian theological tradition can go a long way.
But I still think this remains more complicated. The sad truth of the matter persists. Sin is everywhere. Even with the best of intentions and a strong theological education, I will still make mistakes and teach and preach something that borders on or even delves into a false teaching. I have my own personal biases and sinful limitations. I cannot be a perfect preacher and teacher. Even if I could be a perfect preacher, I’d still make mistakes in other places. I would fail in my pastoral care duties and make someone feel unloved and overlooked. I would fail in my administrative duties and get something done late and mess something up. I would fail in my personal discipline and wake up late for church. Or I would let my own sinful nature interfere with my job and bring a bad name to myself and the community.
I don’t think I could ever be a “good” shepherd. I will always be just one mistake away from scattering the flock, and I will make a lot of mistakes. Furthermore, I think this is the truth for all pastors. You shouldn’t trust us to save you, but then again, you never were supposed to. That’s the point.
When God promises to raise up Good Shepherds for Israel, God may have intended that historically to mean specific leaders who would lead better. However, what that means today is different. The Good Shepherd that God has raised in none other than Jesus. In the reading and preaching of the Word and through the Sacraments, God comes to us to change our lives. These are our shepherds, not ministers themselves, but the Word and Sacraments that point us to God.
Shepherding God’s flock is a noble pursuit, a holy office. Neither I nor any other human will ever be able to properly bear the weight of this office by their own merits. We don’t have to. Our job is not to be the Good Shepherd ourselves but merely to point to him. There is only one Good Shepherd: Jesus Christ. His work is complete. The Holy Spirit brings you to faith in the merits of Christ’s life and his passion and resurrection. No preacher is above critique, but no preacher saves you. Nor do you save yourself. Jesus, the Good Shepherd has worked out your salvation, and that is something that you don’t need to do any work to discern. It is always freely offered.
