Leading as a Shepherd and a Sheep

This is the first installment of a new series, where YPT asked a few youth workers to write about what they wish they knew when they were new in ministry.

I have oscillated between pompous overconfidence and debilitating imposter syndrome throughout my successes and failures. This means I can relate to leaders in Scripture like Nehemiah, Deborah, and Paul, who were flawed or unprepared for the assigned task. I continue to struggle with the belief that God can use someone like me to come alongside families and lead them toward Jesus. Conversations with other youth pastors have revealed that I am not alone.

Developing and believing in your leadership abilities becomes more complex when considering that those engaged in student ministry are both shepherds and sheep. Such a leader exercises authority under a lead pastor and is tasked to follow and lead simultaneously. Passages such as 1 Peter 5:2-4 encourage believers to embrace this dual nature of following and leading.

Six Aspects of Leadership as a Shepherd and a Sheep

How can we effectively be both sheep and shepherds simultaneously? Below, I have outlined six essential leadership areas crucial for understanding our calling as leading as shepherds and following as sheep and why I wish I’d known this when I was a new leader.

Identity

I cannot tell you how many times at conferences someone has asked who I am, and I have answered with my church name, role, and even the size of my ministry. Those things are true, but I must remember I am not defined by what I do. Those answers have occasionally been more important than who God says I am.

Because of the gospel, my identity is rooted in the grace, mercy, and redemption found in Christ. I have been called and set apart to be a representative of the Lord here on Earth and called to carry out his mission (2 Cor. 5:18-20). No matter how outwardly polished I may become as a leader, my heart is what truly matters (1 Samuel 16:7). God will not love me more or less based upon my success or failure as a leader; I am a child of God (1 John 3:1).

Authority

As a shepherd and sheep, I have always struggled with authority to one degree or another. I have chaffed and struggled under the leadership of some leaders and have eagerly followed the direction of others. It has been important for me to remember that every Christian leader serves under God’s authority.

As a youth leader, I am simultaneously under God’s authority and in authority over other Christians. I don’t want to be included among the bad shepherds in Ezekiel 34 who cared only for themselves and not for their sheep. This means I’m called to use my authority to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bandage the injured, and seek the strays and the lost (Ezekiel 34:4-5). And I do this with the constant reminder that I am a sheep who needs to be cared for and a shepherd who cares for and leads sheep.

Stewardship

My favorite youth ministry shirt simply states, “I have lost my receipts, but not my salvation.” How often have I had to explain things I have bought for student ministry? More times than I want to admit! These issues all go back to how I steward what God has blessed me with and use it to further the mission of God.

When I was young in ministry, I needed to learn that youth workers are "managers of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2). I had to learn to steward all resources (people, money, facilities, etc.) and exercise in pleasing God by using what he has given us well. God has been gracious by providing me with shepherds who have taught me how to steward and sheep who have allowed me to steward their gifts in kingdom work.

Mission

I have always found it easy to state the mission of shepherd and sheep but harder still to live out that mission in practice. As a Christian leader, my mission is to do God’s will and bring others into the will of God (Matthew 22:36-40; 28:19-20).

I need constant reminders that love is the cornerstone of Christ’s leadership. These reminders extend to how I follow leaders as a sheep and how I shepherd the sheep God has entrusted to me (1 Corinthians 13:3). I have learned that I primarily need to lead people to have a vertical love for God and a horizontal love for others. This clarifies how to undertake the mission of delivering the gospel to the world. If I can’t follow the mission that my shepherd has given me, how can I expect to shepherd others into carrying out that mission?

Fellowship

After 23 years in student ministry, my finish line is continuing to serve God faithfully with my team. There have been times when I have been tired, depressed, and ready to give up, but God has used those I am fellowship with to lift me and to endure.

Coming alongside others can be fraught with disappointment and hardship, but there are also incredibly sweet times of fellowship with other believers in the youth ministry journey. My ministry team is full of people blessed with various giftings, talents, and experiences. I am following a shepherd and leading a group of sheep as we run as a group of saints toward Jesus, encouraging and spurring each other on to reach the finish line (Hebrews 12:1).

Obedience and Dependence

There have been multiple times in my ministry when I began leaning solely on my wisdom or past experiences while foregoing the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.[1] [RB2]  I have had to learn from my mistakes while gaining wisdom and taking direction from the Holy Spirit. I continue to lean into God for strength, endurance, and love to faithfully serve our Lord and Savior (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5).

I have had the dual role of shepherd and sheep throughout my ministry career. I cannot fully express to you the number of times I have come home from our midweek student worship service and felt like a complete failure. I have made bad decisions and reinforced them by being stubborn and refusing to change. Despite this, I have clung to Christ. He made me to be who I am and called me to do what I am doing. I am a new creation in him through his grace and mercy. I am not a perfect shepherd or sheep, and I never will be, but he has called me to serve in his Church so that I will remain faithful to his calling.

If I can offer new youth leaders a word of encouragement, it’s this: Ministry is hard, but keep fighting the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12). Don’t forget, you aren’t running this race or fighting this fight alone or on your own strength. You are called to lead as a shepherd and follow as a sheep, even in a fallen, broken world. I pray that the Holy Spirit will allow you to see that authentic leadership comes from God and from an identity firmly rooted in Him. Godly leadership starts by learning to be a sheep who follows his shepherd.