How many sheep can a shepherd watch?
Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:39 pm
“Shepherds cannot personally remain involved with each one.� Especially the pastor of a mega-church! As Americans, the lie of “bigger is better� is deeply ingrained in us. What if all churches had a rule that once they reached an attendance of 150 members (the number that most church planting experts cite as the maximum number of people a typical pastor can shepherd well), that they would divide in two? I’m sort of joking here, but I am wondering out loud how a pastor of a church of 20,000 (or even 2,000 or 600, for that matter) can rightly be called a shepherd as it is logistically impossible for him to keep tabs on every single sheep. I have nothing against mega-churches (I worked for one) and I am all for the hiring of under-shepherds, but I have witnessed that on large church staffs, it is difficult for the lead pastor to even keep tabs on all of his under-shepherds! Of course it is crucial that these designated “under-shepherds� be screened and trained well.
To me, this meditation really captures the essence of what pastoring is all about.
To me, this meditation really captures the essence of what pastoring is all about.