Shepherds after my own heart

Lying down in green pastures?

SHEPHERDS AFTER MY OWN HEART
Pastoral traditions and leadership in the Bible
By Timothy S. Laniak
IVP. 304 pages. £14.99
ISBN 978-1-84474-127-4

Shepherds after my own Heart is the latest in a series of books which are designed to assist the reader in the task of building a biblical theology, in this case, around the theme of pastoral and leadership traditions in the Bible.

The author is Associate Professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, USA, who writes in a scholarly and accessible way.

The title comes from Jeremiah 3.15: ‘I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding’.

The book is an extended exploration of the metaphor of ‘Shepherd’ written in the context of burgeoning books on leadership. The unique contribution it seeks to make is in moving away from the fluffy, frolicking sheep imagery on the one hand, and also the ‘heavy shepherding’ imagery on the other hand, to a more ‘…robust, comprehensive shepherd leadership, characterized as much by the judicious use of authority as by sympathetic expressions of compassion’ (p.21).

Grand sweep

The opening chapters of the book have a general introduction on the use of metaphor (which, while a helpful summary and explanation, mean that it is a while before the reader arrives at the specific metaphor of shepherding). From this foundational understanding we are encouraged to build a biblical theology of shepherding from the grand sweep of Scripture.

This is a biblical-theological task which involves hearing the cumulative voices of biblical writers on the particular theme of Shepherd. Developing the analogy of the river, the two main springs feeding this theme are the Exodus and the Davidic King, further developed by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah. This is built upon by the four Gospel writers and concludes in Peter and Revelation.

By way of summary, the author makes the following conclusions about the role of shepherd-leaders:

- The biblical imagery of shepherd leadership is one of comprehensiveness: ‘Pastors are generalists’;
- Good shepherds act sacrificially for the benefit of their flock;
- The human shepherd role is derivative of the divine shepherd role; every shepherd is an under shepherd, and therefore also a sheep of YHWH, the good shepherd;
- The people under their care are prone to wander, scatter and get lost;
- The vision of the shepherd’s role is one of rescue and seeking out the lost;
- Other aspects of the shepherd metaphor include: Warrior, King, Father and Lamb. (see pp.247ff).

The resilience of this metaphor makes it readily applicable to pastoral and leadership roles today. The author gives some hints as to the contemporary implications which will stimulate themes for preaching and for application to modern ministry. The book provides rich resources for a sermon series on the topic as well as a steer away from fluffy or heavy shepherding models today!

The Rev. Dr. Simon Vibert,
Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

Lying down in green pastures?

Grand sweep

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