The Leaders Among Us

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the needs of our church leaders. I’ve had several conversations in the last three days that have made me realize just how much prayer our leaders need. Of course, I’ve always known that, and I’ve coveted those prayers for myself as I lead various groups and churches.

Leadership isn’t easy, and our leaders are isolated in so many ways. Think about the last time you had a conversation with a pastor or professor when you really heard what is happening in their lives, both joys and struggles. It doesn’t happen often. Our shepherds cannot lay their burdens on the shoulders of the sheep. That is not the call God has given to them. That also means that the shepherds rely on each other for strength and support. Hopefully they get the support they need. Either way, they really need our prayers.

I’ve been blessed by shepherds who were willing to be vulnerable (in appropriate ways of course) with their sheep. But that vulnerability reveals the spiritual warfare that they face every day. Temptation to rely on their own strength. Temptation to seek the glory of men instead of the glory of God. Temptation to lose focus and get carried away into sin or absurdity. Attacks from people who disagree with the decisions they make. Attacks from people who want to maintain control over others. Attacks from people who don’t understand the church or Christianity. Attacks from people who think that using gifts for the service of the church (either as pastors or professors) instead of to further an academic career is a waste of time. The loss of loved ones. Pressure to perform. Personal illness. Doubts. Demands to publish. Committee requirements. Family sacrifices. Mourning. Constant accessibility.

Even when we don’t know what is happening in the lives of our shepherds, they need our constant prayers. They need God’s protection over them to be healthy. So many of our shepherds struggle with major health problems. Perhaps like Paul, this is just a thorn in the flesh. But if these are attacks of the devil, we need to pray for release. I’m thinking about one of the church leaders who almost died five times shortly before he was supposed to answer a call to run a charitable foundation. This was no ordinary illness. We need to pray that God will sustain our leaders’ health to be able to fulfill the commissions God has given them.

We need to pray for renewal and rest for our shepherds. They serve on committees, make decisions, do research and study, spend hours in conversations with their sheep, and pour out themselves in the service and love of God and their neighbors. They are fulfilling a call, and they are blessed to be able to serve in their roles, but even a call can end in burnout if our shepherds do not have the space and resources to be renewed themselves. We need to pray that God will continually refresh them with the joy of their call. We need to pray that they will have the discipline to spend time seeking God and waiting on his voice. We need to pray that they will experience daily the life- and joy-giving presence of God in their lives.

We need to pray for the constant guidance and direction for our leaders. It is so easy to lose sight of whom we are serving and why. Too many of our shepherds “fall from grace.” It isn’t just the media cases who struggle with these temptations. Any one of our leaders can get too caught up with the praise or criticism of others. Any one of us can begin to think that we are important and draw attention to ourselves instead of pointing to God. Any one of us can choose paths that are easy instead of paths that are faithful. The kings of Israel provide ample examples of people who ended up falling themselves and often bringing most of Israel with them in the process. We need to pray that God will give our leaders the strength to resist temptation.

The last couple of days at WTS/SPS have been difficult as I have been faced with my own negligence in prayer for these shepherds in my own life. I have too easily assumed that things were smooth sailing because I did not know that they were difficult. I’ve watched the pain, uncertainty, and resilience in these shepherds faces as they shared their lives with me. I’ve heard the brokenness of people who watched their friends and colleagues fall into sin. I’ve seen the struggles of church leaders who work with churches in crisis after pastors make destructive decisions. Their stories speak volumes to their own need. Our shepherds need us to place them on our permanent prayer list and to pray for them by name every day. If we doubt that, we need only think of the prayers we would desire if we were in similar situations.