WHERE ARE THE SHEPHERDS?         DO 662   1/78
--Who Lay Down Their LIVES for the SHEEP! (Jn.10:11-15)

         1. (From a talk to a new Shepherd:) I've always been a champion of the underdog & the little fellow, the handicapped & the poor guys who are getting a raw deal & who are not treated fairly, & who are being fleeced or abused & mistreated.
         2. It's every king's problem to try to learn the truth from the people at the ground level. Many a king had to disguise himself as a peasant or labourer & go out alone or with a bodyguard to talk to the people themselves to find out the truth. He couldn't get the truth through his own superior officers who were giving him a completely distorted picture of what was going on, a rosy-glow scene which was not actually true.
         3. I am concerned about the little fellows down there who work hard on the pavements, on the front lines litnessing. To me, they are our greatest soldiers & heroes--not the bigshots who sit in their offices on their fannies & do nothing but "supervise on paper"!
         4. I supervised my sheep closely! I tried my best to see what state my flocks & fields were in before I built my own house.--Pro.27:23; 24:27.
         5. And I think I was a faithful shepherd, even while we were on the road. I used to go around at night & visit all the vehicles & cars & trailers that the people were sleeping in, making sure that they had ventilation if they had heaters inside. I made sure they had a comfortable place to sleep, were warm, had enough blankets, clothes etc.
         6. I believe I was a faithful shepherd even when I was just a nobody, just a humble shepherd of a little flock of stray sheep running around the country together. I did my best to take good care of them. Thank God!
         7. I believe they KNEW that I loved them & was concerned about their welfare, as much if not more than my own. Way back in our first little Soul Clinic Schools, I was always checking on the students to make sure that they were comfortable & cozy.
         8. I've always tried to make sure in my own little home that everybody is comfortable & has sufficient furniture, clothing, covers etc.
         9. I have always been concerned about the sheep & particularly those with whom I was in direct contact, where I could be a direct observer & investigate in person to see how they do. So I have really tried.
         10. But at this level it's almost impossible to know the truth unless you can actually visit the Homes yourself in person. Most information comes from reports & upper officers, some of whom have been hiding the facts.
         11. They still don't seem to understand that the whole thing is for the sake of the little people at the bottom--not for the sake of the "lords over God's heritage" at the top.--1Pet.5:3.
         12. The whole idea is to preach the Gospel to the poor, set at liberty them which are bound, heal the sick, cast out devils, deliver the little people, the people that are right down there at pavement level!
         13. The Chain of Cooperation was intended to give the sheep even better care. Instead of that it turned out in many cases to simply give the LEADERS better care & develop a lot of top-heavy leadership that wasn't even needed, didn't care for the sheep, fleecing them to the bare skin!
         14. I want you to be a little more open, a little more candid & not afraid to talk, because I HAVE to HEAR. I need to hear not only the GOOD things but I need to hear the BAD things too, because we're now in the process of trying to CHANGE things!
         15. We want to change the bad things to GOOD things, but we can't do it unless we know what's happening & what's going on or been going on. You need to be HONEST with us & tell us exactly what you feel & think.
         16. The last message that Jesus gave to His Disciples was "Lovest thou Me?" They said, "Well of course, Lord, You know we love You!" He said, "Then FEED MY SHEEP!"--Jn.21:15-17. Some of these leaders have gotten the idea that the SHEEP are to take care of THEM!
         17. If you take good care of your SHEEP they WILL take care of you, that's true. But it will be in love & because they appreciate the good care that THEY are getting. They KNOW that you LOVE them because you CARE for them, & are more concerned for THEIR welfare than your own.
         18. That's the kind of shepherds we need, that's the kind of leaders we need. That's the kind of people we are seeking.
         19. You don't have to worry about hurting anybody's feelings. You don't have to worry about so-called "speaking against leaders" or being afraid to tell me the truth about what's going on.
         20. I have bawled out some people who were working with me before because they refused or failed to tell me the TRUTH, but they said, "Well, we didn't want to tell on them or be a troublemaker." So they let the trouble go on until it was almost beyond remedy! So I said:
         21. "You KNEW this was going on & you didn't TELL me, so that makes YOU just as guilty as THEY are because you PROTECTED them & made it possible for them to get away with it!"
         22. Failure to report a crime is a crime! If you SEE a man being robbed or you SEE his house being broken into, you SEE the thief entering in or the car being burglarised, & you do not report it to the police, the police consider YOU ALSO guilty!
         23. You owe ME & the LORD & the SHEEP more than you owe THEM! You owe me the TRUTH, the naked unvarnished awful truth, more than you owe them any feeling of protection for their sins! Tell me more of the FACTS.
         24. It's a very commendable virtue when you're able to stick it out through thick & thin no matter what, faithfulness, sticktoitiveness, determination, see it through, muddle through no matter what, because you know it's the Lord's Will & His Work & God's calling for you.
         25. So although you have had many trials & tribulations & discouragements & put-downs & a few put-ups, & probably some shut-ups, at least you've learned a lot. GOD'S WAY UP IS DOWN!--And some of you have taken these demotions & scoldings & put-downs well.
         26. Sometimes it's harder to take PROmotion than it is DEmotion. We can manage to survive it better & it doesn't influence us as much. As Rudyard Kipling's old poem said:
         27. "If you can take SUCCESS & FAILURE & treat these two IMPOSTORS both the SAME, then you'll be a MAN, my son!" And God Himself through Jesus said almost the same thing when He said,
         28. "Well done, thou good & faithful servant".--Mt. 25:21. He didn't say FAILURE servant & He didn't say SUCCESSful servant, but He just said FAITHFUL servant. And "one thing is required of a SERVANT", as Paul says, "and that is that he be faithful", that WE be faithful.--1Cor.4:2. And we are ALL servants.
         29. "He that is GREATEST among you must be SERVANT of ALL."--Mt.23:11. He must be the lowliest servant of all & serving the most people & really a servant, a slave. t
         30. Every good leader is a slave to his people. Every good public servant is a real servant of the people. Those who are NOT is the thing we're trying to cure in our own ranks now.
         31. Some leaders, instead of being public servants & realising they are to be the slaves of the PEOPLE, have gotten the idea that the SHEEP exist for THEIR benefit to serve THEM!
         32. The policy of some people has always been GET as MUCH as you can & GIVE as LITTLE in return as possible. Well, that's maybe good BUSINESS policy with SOME people, but that's not the way the LORD does things.
         33. God's way to PLENTY is to GIVE it away, "he that scattereth abroad, it increaseth".--Pr.11:24. Most selfish businessmen don't look at it that way. They figure the more they can withhold, the more it's going to increase.
         34. So much good manpower & good leadership has been lost through mistreatment & evil dealing by selfish leaders who were only concerned about protecting themselves.
         35. But it's ridiculous to put up with these abuses & keep your mouth shut & don't say anything just because you're afraid you'll be dealt with by your leaders if you tell on them!
         36. Now I want to warn you again if you protect these people & you don't tell me the whole truth, YOU are just as GUILTY!
         37. I want to find those who really LOVE the sheep & are concerned for them & have a HEART!
         38. We need to find SHEPHERDS. We need to put them in positions where they can be more effective & better able to care for the sheep & have the power to do so.
         39. We're looking now for REAL SHEPHERDS: I want to know, where are the folks who are concerned about the SHEEP? Where are those "who are willing to lay down their lives for the sheep," as Jesus said? "The HIRELING FLEETH but the GOOD SHEPHERD lays down his LIFE for the sheep."--Jn.10:11-13.
         40. Who do you know with the greatest concern for the welfare of the LITTLE ones, their comfort, their protection, their well-being, their food, their clothing, their housing, their little bed, their heat etc.?
         41. I am so far removed from the Homes right now that it's impossible for me to PERSONALLY supervise them ALL, but I want to find those who WOULD supervise them the way I supervised them.
         42. I want to find men & women with MY love & MY concern & GOD'S Love & His concern for the sheep who are willing to get out there as Visiting SERVANTS.
         43. I want to find the kind of shepherds & undershepherds who will LIVE & DIE for the sheep!--Not just sit around fleecing them & living in luxury while the SHEEP are dying!
         44. Help us find TRUE shepherds for the sheep! Where ARE they? Do YOU know?

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family