Everyone of us needs true friends, good friends. But how do we know that these people are our true & good friends? I think most of us know the answer deep inside us.
For me, all good friends, all good pastors, in times of prosperity will not call on us nor visit us unless invited. They'll not rush to call on us to serve in committees or try to squeeze an invitation from us. Yet in times of adversity, they'll not hesitate to call on us or visit us, very often without an invitation.
It's not surprising therefore that many pastors today can no longer be regarded as shepherds of the flock. The job of caring for the flock has been delegated down the line to church staffers or lay-leaders. These pastors are mere administrators of the church. They are more interested in been interviewed by the media for taking a conference call from the White House, pushing a mega-church building fund program, or, endorsing the views of their favorite politicians. When I looked at these pastors, I see money written all over their faces. The prophet Ezekiel has something to say about these pastors:
Ezekiel 34:1-10 (NIV)
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. 7 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
