Responsibility and Accountability of Under-Shepherds

[rtankersley]

2. There is responsibility and accountability for an under-shepherd. Just as Jesus Christ sacrificed, His under-shepherds need to sacrifice. The under-shepherds efforts should be to the benefit and not the detriment of God’s flock. Laniak addressed such: “Hired Shepherds in ‘the real world’ were expected to be self-sacrificing in their work, increasing a flock’s numbers by careful attention to their needs. Fleecing the flock for an under-shepherd’s own personal, economical, psychological, emotional, or social gain or any other selfish gain is not acceptable to God. God will hold His under-shepherds accountable for how faithful we are to His ministry. God is always watching, and He will personally hold the under-shepherd liable because, in the end, the sheep belong to God and not the under-shepherd. As well, each under-shepherd belongs to God and not to ourselves. Keeping the Shepherd and Under-Shepherd relationship front of mind is essential as there are many inner and external factors that may drive an under-shepherd to think he/her is the center of God’s ministry, and that is not true. Such should never be the case as God’s ministry it is all about God and not about the under-shepherds.