Shepherds, CEOs, or Servant Leaders?
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The invisible flock
Where are the people who used to sit next to you on Sunday?
Not the ones who moved away, but those who quietly slipped out the back door
and never returned. Where are the wounded, the disillusioned youth, and the
elderly who built the foundation?
When did shepherd stop meaning "servant" and start
meaning "CEO"? Walk into almost any modern ministry and you will find
no shortage of vision statements, expansion plans, and personal branding. But
if the prophet Ezekiel walked into our gatherings today, would he see thriving
flocks—or leaders feeding on their own influence?
Statistics look great on a slide deck, but statistics don't
have names, hurts, or doubts. Behind the bright lights and growing budgets lies
a haunting divine query from Ezekiel 34: "Woe to the shepherds of
Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the
flock?"
Fifteen years ago, I first reflected on this severe warning.
Today, as platform-building continues to replace pastoral care, that passage
reads less like ancient history and more like a real-time diagnosis of
contemporary spiritual leadership.
The crisis facing the church today is not a lack of vision,
resources, or talent. It is a crisis of the shepherd's heart.
The rise of the platform and the decline of the flock
In many modern Christian circles, leadership has quietly
shifted from humble service to personal enterprise. The metrics of successful
ministry are no longer measured by how well the broken are healed or how deeply
the lonely are known, but by the size of the audience, the reach of the brand,
and the expansion of personal influence.
We see leaders who build platforms instead of people.
Success is calculated in social media followers, book sales, and building
projects, while the actual human beings within the community remain unseen. We
celebrate rising attendance figures on Sunday mornings while completely missing
the individuals who quietly drift away unnoticed through the back door.
When programs replace personal care, and statistics replace
names, the church ceases to be a refuge and becomes a corporation.
The institutional hold and the chaos left behind
This self-serving posture reveals itself most clearly in how
leadership is held and guarded. Across various denominations and independent
organizations, we observe leaders manipulating internal boards and rewriting
governance policies—often extending retirement ages simply to hold onto
authority, enjoy the perks of position, and prolong their reign.
Instead of preparing the next generation and stepping down
with grace, authority is hoarded. When these leaders finally depart—whether
through old age, scandal, or death—they frequently leave their churches and
institutions in utter chaos. The sheep are left with heavy financial burdens,
fractured communities, and deep spiritual disorientation.
Self-appointed apostles and modern "prophets"
arise, building personal empires at the explicit cost of the flock. They feed
on the fat and clothe themselves with the wool, but they do not strengthen the
weak, heal the sick, bound up the injured, or search for the lost.
The wounded and the invisible
Because the shepherd’s eyes are fixed on the stage, the most
vulnerable are routinely overlooked:
- The
young people: Disillusioned by hypocrisy, performance, and spiritual
superficiality, they leave the faith without anyone ever pursuing them or
asking why.
- The
silent suffering: Believers wounded by spiritual abuse, legalism, or
severe pastoral neglect sit in isolation, wary of organized church life.
- The
forgotten: The elderly, the widowed, the single parents, migrants, and
the economically poor who bring no prestige, big tithes, or social capital
to the organization remain completely invisible.
We are left with churches where hundreds or thousands
attend, but terribly few are truly shepherded.
God’s radical response: Decentralized, servant leadership
God’s answer to ancient Israel—and to us today—was not to
appoint a bigger earthly CEO, establish a tighter central hierarchy, or set up
a religious dynasty. God’s answer was to become the Shepherd Himself.
In Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd came down. He did not
come to be served, but to serve, setting a completely new model of leadership.
He left the ninety-nine to seek the one lost sheep. He washed feet, spoke to
outcasts, remembered names, and ultimately laid down His life for the flock.
Crucially, when Jesus passed on this responsibility, He did
not create a supreme earthly monarchy to be handed down from one patriarch to
another. When He commissioned Apostle Peter, He initiated a decentralized,
shared model of pastoral care.
As Peter later writes in 1 Peter 5:1–5, the responsibility
of shepherding is multiplied across local elders who are called to:
Be examples to the flock, leading by personal character rather than
dictatorial authority.
- Serve
willingly and eagerly, not for dishonest gain, financial greed, or
personal prestige.
- Refuse
to lord it over others, recognizing that the people belong to God, not
to the leader.
True biblical leadership is not centralized power that feeds
off the people; it is decentralized care that empowers, protects, and serves
them under the authority of the Chief Shepherd.
The three questions before us
Ezekiel 34 and the gospel of Jesus Christ present us with
three fundamental questions that every believer, pastor, and church body must
answer today:
1. Where are My people?
This is God's searching heart. He knows the names of the
invisible ones. He sees those sitting alone in hospital rooms, the youth
wrestling with doubt, the migrants struggling in silence, and the saints who
stopped coming to service because no one noticed their pain.
2. Where are My shepherds?
This is God's direct challenge to leaders. Are we caring for
the flock, or are we using the flock to build our own platforms? Are we
preparing others to lead, or are we clinging to power until everything falls
apart?
3. Who will go and find them?
This is Christ’s invitation to the entire body of believers.
Shepherding is not reserved for a clerical elite or a charismatic speaker on a
stage. Every Christian is called to participate in God's search—to visit the
sick, listen to the hurting, bring back the wandering, and offer genuine,
sacrificial love.
The true Shepherd’s promise
The ultimate hope of Ezekiel 34 is that God does not leave
His people at the mercy of bad shepherds. He declares in verse 11: "I
myself will search for my sheep and look after them."
Jesus fulfilled this promise on the cross and continues it
through His Spirit and His true, humble followers. The call today is to abandon
the lure of empire-building, tear down the platforms of self-promotion, and
return to the simple, costly, and beautiful work of shepherding God's
people—one person, one name, and one lost sheep at a time.
Stop reading here: Below is my first published blog:
The First write up, published in 2010
Philipose Vaidyar
Where are the Neediest People?
They are in the cities;
some say, due to rapid urbanization migration to cities is on the rise and
the mainstream population will be in cities in a few years, they believe. They
are in hi-tech jobs and in the multinational software field; that’s what the big
industry is. They are in world markets; that’s where the business and the
outsourcing are. They are in IT; that’s how the world is moving today…” The
analysis goes on.
Most of the mass media
messages today including Christian TV, are formatted for the upper-middle
class. They are believed to be the opinion-makers and movers of society. It’s
only a partial truth.
The builders of the
nation are not just managers and professionals. Every individual, community, and people group (ethnic, linguistic, social, economic, and professional groups are
important and they have a role to play in society and possess a place in God’s
kingdom. But most often many are ignored
or neglected. We need to acknowledge and identify every people and the people
who are needy in different respects whether urban or rural.
Take for example
urbanization. People move from villages to cities. The affluent use their brain
to earn and build their citadels in posh environments while the poor and the
uneducated use their muscle power to win their bread and weave their dreams
under tin roofs and plastic sheets. If the population grows and moves to
cities, the number and size of slums also will swell. The information-rich
continue to become richer while the information-poor continue to live in
perpetual poverty and struggle to live just for a day. The rich in India
survive because of the poor, in all respects. In a country like India, the rich
and poor live together in the same geographical area, especially in the cities.
Before we can think of reaching them, before we formulate messages for them, we
need to understand different layers of society- the powerful and the marginal.
One easy indicator for
this is to look at them from the perspective of their basic lifestyle- where
they live, what they eat, what they wear, how they communicate, and transport.
Where do they
live?
What do they
wear?
What do they eat and
where do they eat?
How do they ‘convey’
and use conveyance?
When we assess their status we also need to think about the individuals who lead them.
WHO ARE THE LEADERS?
Who are the leaders of
my People?
The leaders of my people
are powerful. Money and media have replaced muscles. Information and media
are powerful. They lead people so they can manipulate information. They are
dealers rather than leaders. Instead of helping their flock, they are helped;
instead of serving the needy, they are served. They thrive and prosper at the
cost of their followers. They boast that they do not own anything in this
world. But they live in the air, meet in five-star hotels, and once they land, they
move only by the costliest vehicles to meet their crowd. Since they are not
news-makers, they buy channels to make sure they will be on the mini-screen. Let
the land be swept by a tsunami or shudder by the quake; it means an opportunity
for them to serve and come into the limelight. The poor, vulnerable, underprivileged,
and unreached are essential for their sustenance.
Several social sector
sponsorship programs in the name of the poor are deceptions. The slogans of
justice and sustainability of the poor are on paper and on digital media.
Not even 2% of the sponsorship reaches the sponsored children directly in kind!!
Heavy, thick management
survives and serves them; stay on the leadership to the maximum to get
fattened. The rest goes for publicity, mobilization, and managing systems and
procedures. More people work on systems, tools, information processes, internet
and intranet, designing, monitoring, and evaluation than on the field where the
poor and needy are!
The disparity and
injustice within their organization are Himalayan!
Can you imagine that a CEO
of a certain social organization draws INR 8,25,000 per month, then an array of Senior Directors, Group Directors, senior managers in the leadership
alone, and all their support staff, while a new staff in the field gets INR
15,000 to 20,000 per month?! The staff with 10 years of experience used to get INR 40,000 per month, and with the re-recruitment process, being given a pay of 15,000 to 20,000.
A sponsored child (all the children) used to receive a one-time benefit of Rs. 300 or 400 per year, but due to recent regulations, that benefit is still being reduced. Field staff who do the heavy work
are heavily reduced, jobs are combined, and salaries are reduced, whereas there is only an increase in leadership positions. A couple of years ago, according to
one of the auditors, the organization reduced 50 field staff to take care of
the promotion of 5 directors to the level of senior directors.
We would pay a heavy
price for this in the years to come!
The leaders of today are
not very different from those of a few thousand years ago.
The leaders of Israel
are rebuked by the Lord, and He still rebukes. The message is still relevant
today. Ezekiel, the prophet of Israel, was urged by God to speak against them.
The Word of God comes against the leaders who feed on their sheep. Let those
who have an ear, let him hear!
This is seen in Ezekiel 34:1-16 and ff
1 And the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, So says the Lord Jehovah to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you kill the fat ones, but you do not feed the flock.
4 You have not made the weak strong, nor have you healed the sick, nor have you bound up the broken. You have not brought again those driven away, nor have you sought that which was lost; but you have ruled them with force and with cruelty.
5 And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd. And they became food to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill. Yea, My flock was scattered on all the face of the earth, and none searched nor sought for them.
People live in the hills and mountains. As invaders came in, the natives who could not resist them or did not submit to the oppressive caste system forced upon them fled to the interior hills. These are the tribals of today. (North-Eastern tribes are exceptions). Those who were willing to submit to them by receiving menial jobs and status in society became the scheduled castes. This is history and the story repeats in new formats and with new implications. In urban cities today, the weak and the poor find their solace in slums. The powerful continue to lead, oppress, manipulate, kill and make the weak their food.
The prophecy continues…
7 Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:
8 As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock.
9 Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah.
10 So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. or shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, and they will not be food to devour.
11 For so says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the lands, and will bring them to their own land and feed them on the mountain of Israel by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture, they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord Jehovah.
16 I will seek the lost, and bring again those driven away, and will bind up the broken, and will strengthen the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
The master shepherd, the son of God, came to this world to seek the lost and save the perishing. He heals and saves, delivers, restores, sustains, and satisfies. But today, many leaders are far away from the lifestyle of the master. Neither they are available for the needy, nor they are reachable for the lost; not affordable for the poor. They live and lead for themselves. They manipulate information; exchange it to mobilize resources for their benefit in the name of the poor and vulnerable. They hide in their luxuries and want to reach the lost through mass media. The lion's portion goes for the management of sustenance of the leadership.
In the name of healing and salvation, they build their kingdoms on this earth and promote themselves and their products. Their strategies are to please those who support them. They look at the people only through defined ‘windows’. They want to ‘bless the nation’ by casting a national vision for the coming decades. They think they can ‘disciple a whole nation’ and ‘build’ them up. They are willing to network with others who fall into their wavelength. They recruit more personnel for different layers to have higher profiles and promotions for themselves. Whatever be the work, people are considered human resources and manage them as resources and with economic principles. The structure and restructure the organization and make new definitions to save their positions and suppress the lover caders and grass-root employees. The Word of God is against such leaders; the judgment of God is coming upon them. God hands them over to wickedness that they never repent unless they are fallen caught red-handed.
That’s how Jesus saw the people and their leaders.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to the disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” [Matthew 9:36-38] And then he called his disciples and sent them.
He asks us: “…. do you love me?”
If ‘yes Lord’ is the answer, His response is “Feed my sheep”
He still asks us: “…do you love me more than these?”
If ‘yes Lord’ is the answer, His response is “Take care of my sheep”
How do we take care of our people???
Pictures from personal files are used only for illustrations
1.How do we respond to needs and requests
of others when we are in a better situation- be it a poor wanderer, a staff or a
missionary of the organization we work?
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