Contents
Shepherd Leadership …………………………………………………………………………... 1
Biblical Basis ……………………………………………………………………………. 1
Connection to Servanthood ……………………………………………………………… 2
Real World Application …………………………………………………………………. 3
Tom Carson …………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………. 6
ii
1
Shepherd Leadership
Biblical Basis
One of the most common “motifs” for describing healthy leadership, especially within
Christian circles, is that of a good shepherd. This picture recognizes our own lost nature as
people, the sheep in this image, in need of a strong and benevolent leader to help direct us
forward. It is nearly impossible to discuss the biblical basis for the shepherd motif as an example
of healthy leadership without considering what is possibly the most famous Scripture of all time,
Psalm 23. In this passage, David beautifully describes God himself as a good shepherd that leads
him well, causing him to rest in safe places and walking with him in the midst of danger and
peril. Just a few books of the Bible later, God himself, through the prophet Ezekiel, speaks
against the priests and leaders of Israel, making the opposite comparison by calling them bad
shepherds.
This comparison of a shepherd as a biblical leader is not limited to the Old Testament.
For example, in John 10:14-15, Jesus describes himself this way, saying “I am the good
shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (English Standard Version). Here Jesus describes
that a good shepherd both knows his sheep, meaning he has a relationship with them, and
willingly serves them, even to the point of laying his life down for them. Later, in Acts 20, Luke
records Paul warning church leaders to carefully guard their flocks against false teachers and
those that would try to lead people astray. In 1 Peter 5, Peter also gives similar instructions to
early church leaders about how to shepherd the flock, writing “not domineering over those in
your charge, but being examples to the flock.” Shepherd leadership is not glorious or dominant,
it is a role of humility and service to others.
3
Bibliography
Dami, Zummy Anselmus. “Informal Teacher Leadership: Lessons from Shepherd Leadership.”
International Journal of Leadership in Education 26, no. 4 (2021).
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603124.2021.1884749?
journalCode=tedl20.
Earley, Dave.EPastoral Leadership Is... How to Shepherd God’s People with Passion and
Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2012.
Gunter, Nathan H. "For The Flock: Impetus For Shepherd Leadership in John 10."EThe Journal
of Applied Christian LeadershipE10, no. 1 (2016): 8-18.
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-
journals/flock-impetus-shepherd-leadership-john-10/docview/2549055937/se-2.
Hermawati, Oki, Erwin Santosa, and Innocentius Bernarto. “The Effectiveness of Shepherd
Leadership and Trust in the School on Teacher’s Work Motivation and Commitment to
the School During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”EVeritas: Jurnal Teologi dan PelayananE19,
no. 2 (2021): 215–227. https://ojs.seabs.ac.id/index.php/Veritas/article/view/407.
Laniak, Timothy S.EShepherds after My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the
Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006.
Resane, Kelebogile T. "Servant Leadership and Shepherd Leadership: The Missing Dynamic in
Pastoral Integrity in South Africa Today."EHervormde Teologiese StudiesE76, no. 1
(2020). https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/
scholarly-journals/servant-leadership-shepherd-missing-dynamic/docview/2377841511/
se-2.
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