When is a Shepherd not a Shepherd

Sermon: When the Shepherd Stands or Falls

My friends…

There was once a church that burned with holy fire.

Not a polished church… not a wealthy church… but a praying church.

They had little in the beginning—but they had God.

And in those early days, there was an old pastor.

He wasn’t known for titles.
He wasn’t known for committees.
He was known for one thing…

He prayed.

When trouble came, he didn’t pass it on—he carried it.
When the young struggled, he didn’t avoid them—he sought them out.
When the church had nothing, he believed God for everything.

And the young people?
They filled the prayer meetings.
They cried out to God.
They saw answers.

There was life.

But time passed…

And the old pastor grew weak.

And one day… he died.

And a younger man took his place.

Now listen carefully—because this is where everything changed.

The young pastor had ideas.
He had plans.
He had structure.

And at first, it looked like growth.

More organisation.
More meetings.
More systems.

But less prayer.

And then trouble came.

Not from outside…
but from within.

Division.
Confusion.
Coldness.

And the young pastor did something the old one never did…

He stepped back.

He said,
“Let the committee deal with it.”

And from that moment on…
the burden shifted.

Committees began to lead what only a shepherd should carry.

Meetings replaced prayer.
Decisions replaced discernment.
Discussion replaced desperation for God.

And the young people?

They stopped coming.

Why?

Because young people are not drawn to structure…
they are drawn to life.

And life had quietly left the building.

The church that once believed God for everything…

Now believed Him for nothing.

Oh, they had money now.
They had buildings now.
They had comfort now.

But they had lost the one thing that mattered most—

Dependence on God.

And the church became like the Dead Sea.

Taking in…
but never giving out.

No missionaries sent.
No vision birthed.
No schools built.
No lives raised up.

Just gathering…
holding…
keeping…

And slowly dying.

Now hear this—

God does not hold committees responsible for the flock.

He holds the shepherd.

As it is written in Ezekiel 34:

“Woe to the shepherds who feed themselves and not the flock.”

And Jesus Himself said in John 10:

“The hireling sees the wolf coming… and flees.”

So I ask you today—

What is a shepherd?

A shepherd stands.
A shepherd guards.
A shepherd prays.
A shepherd carries the burden when no one else will.

And what is a hireling?

He protects himself.
He shifts responsibility.
He hides behind others.

That young pastor thought—

“If something goes wrong, the committee will answer.”

But heaven said—

“No… you will answer.”

Church…

We don’t need more systems.

We don’t need more committees.

We don’t need more structure without spirit.

We need shepherds again.

Shepherds who will pray when no one is watching.
Shepherds who will stand when it’s uncomfortable.
Shepherds who will lead people back to the altar.

Because when the shepherd stands…

The sheep will follow.

But when the shepherd steps back…

The flock scatters.

And I leave you with this—

When is a shepherd not a shepherd?

When he no longer stands in the place God called him to stand.

GOD IS A GOOD GOD 

GOD KNOWS GOD LOVES GOD CARES 

WRITTEN FOR GEORGES WEB MINISTRIES

5th  May April 2026