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After a conversation today with a pastor, I thought about what it means to “shepherd the flock” of God. Peter thought about this subject carefully after Jesus challenged him in John 21:15-19. From that encounter, Peter wrote with the Holy Spirit’s authority these words: “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2–3). Leadership by example is very critical to being an effective shepherd.
This is not a casual “job” that is taken on in our spare time. It involves the physical and spiritual well-being of those God has placed under our oversight. It is not a responsibility that we take on because ‘we are expected to do this because of our role as a pastor.” Shepherding is a calling from the Lord with qualifications (see also 1 Timothy 3:1-7). Before Paul left the Ephesian elders at Miletus, he said to them, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28, ESV) Peter is careful to assert that it is God’s flock. Paul gives the price that was paid for the flock of God. That gives the degree of carefulness that must be exercised in shepherding.
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How often do you think about the return of Jesus? Often these thoughts come when we are in severe pain or trouble, and we wish our horrible experience would suddenly end with the return of Jesus. But is His return just to take us out of our suffering or is it for a better purpose?
Jesus did say, “you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22). The context of this verse is that Jesus had been with them for three plus years, and He was preparing them for the moment of His departure. His crucifixion was close, and their hearts were not ready for the events that surrounded Jesus’ death. He wanted to help them look forward to something better. What role does the Spirit have in this time between the ascension of Jesus to sit on His throne with His Father and coming again to receive the Church as His Bride? In this same chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus says of the Spirit that “He will glorify me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). One of the greatest activities of the Spirit is directing our attention to the glories of Jesus. This prepares us for His return because we long to see Him again in all His beauty! DO YOU? Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case, it is a visual of what God is doing in Nepal. It may be very hard to see the pins on this map which mark the places where 135 pastors came from for the training conference in Kathmandu, but it give an idea of how far some traveled for the training. I urge you to use this map as a tool to pray for these men as they go back to their various locations.  Romans 12:9-11 happened to be a reference that came to mind and as I read parts of this chapter, I realized there are gems in these verses that the Church desperately needs. Prayerfully consider Paul’s points and apply them first to yourself, live them out, and then help others do the same.
What difference would these five imperatives make in a local church? Make sure you are doing them, see what results in others, and then answer this question.  The news from the training conference in Kathmandu has been pouring in over the last few hours. As you can tell from the picture, the attention to teaching and dedication to studying Scripture has been amazing. Most of the 135 pastors have completed all the lessons in God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) and will graduate tomorrow. For them, this is a big deal! Some have very little education and have learned more in three days than most would learn in five or ten years, or more.
Our team will each be preaching in different churches Sunday morning. As you are praying for the students and graduates tomorrow, remember to pray for our team who will be preaching God’s Word. One of our team was able to join our prayer zoom meeting this evening and said that he has never seen such hunger for God’s Word. It was like watching someone eating their first good meal after years of famine. The team member also confessed that this conference brought great refreshment to his own heart and a new perspective on his marriage and ministry. It will be challenging to come home after such a dynamic experience! This is the Lord’s plan to use revival in others to ignite a revival in us. If you are a regular reader of this blog and receive our newsletter, you will know that there is a special training conference starting Wednesday, March 26, 2025, and running for three days in Kathmandu, Nepal. As the host church was preparing for 135 key pastors and leaders to arrive yesterday, they stopped their work and read Luke 10:2.
“And He (Jesus) said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2). As the church members heard these words, they stopped what they were doing and gathered in one place in the church to pray for this special event. What would God do if every occasion was started with this kind of commitment to prayer, making sure that we are more concerned about what God will do in hearts of those who attend. Let us be in prayer for a special movement of God over these three days. “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). Today was very special! Knowing that I was facing a very difficult meeting this morning, it was hard getting to sleep last night. I woke up extra early and rushed to get dressed, grab a cup of coffee, and head to my office where my prayer list and Bible were waiting for me. After about twenty minutes of prayer, I started reading Daniel 10. Though Daniel was seeing a terrifying vision, these verses that spoke so loudly to me, I cried in joy!
“And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words” (Daniel 10:11–12). The Lord’s presence in my room was so real, I could not hold back the tears of joy, peace, and confidence in the Lord leading me through this day. I wanted to understand how to face what was ahead. Then I kept reading. “And He said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me”” (10:19). These words stayed with me all day, and though it was a hard day, I felt the Lord putting His hand on me at various moments that were beyond my ability to handle. He is here!! Is He with you in this way? There are times in our lives when God allows circumstances to create ‘pressure’ that seems almost too great for us to bear. At times like this I often turn to 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 where Paul lists all the events that could have ended in his death. Yet, God spared his life. But there were ‘non-physical’ events that added burdens that are only described in general terms, not in detail. Paul never looked for sympathy.
“And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). These were not forced on Paul, but he took them on as a requirement to fulfill his ministry and calling from the Lord. Why did he take on such burdens? His call from the Lord was not to one specific church but for the whole Church. I have no doubt in my mind as I read all of Paul’s letters that in the “revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12), Paul also received a broad understanding of what the Church meant to Christ. It is His Body! Any attack against the Church or any weakness in the Church was a direct reflection on its Head. Do we think this way and feel things as Paul did? We continue to receive wonderful news from S. E. Asia. You may remember that I sent a picture of our partner traveling on some very difficult roads that were so muddy, it was hard to get through. Now I have heard from him again with good news.
“Thank you for your prayers for us! We completed the 3rd training course of a total of 6 on March 5th. We walked safely without anything difficult with the Lord’s help. The hard days have passed, and we look forward to completing the next three very soon. We will leave it open to reach many other places which we cannot get to right now. Those we have trained will go back to their churches to train many people in their congregations in their language (GPHC). One place is very difficult for us to travel to because it is dangerous to go there with my Honda in this weather. They have very few Bible studies in this place, but God sent us there to help get them started again.” Thank you for remembering this brother in prayer (name has been left out for safety reasons).  The last few days have been overflowing with work and preparation for the training conference in Kathmandu, Nepal. The team leaves tomorrow (March 23rd) and it will take almost two days to actually land in Kathmandu.
God is moving in an unusual way in Nepal. Several months ago, our team held a training for 125 pastors using God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD). It was extremely successful! Now they are returning in just over a week to train 135 key leaders using God’s Plan for His Church (GPHC). Here is an outline of the trip and map so you can follow them in prayer. 1. March 26-28 - Training 135 key leaders from remote areas of Nepal to equip them to spread the gospel to Unreached People Groups. 2. March 29-31 – Preaching and encouraging churches in Kathmandu. 3. April 1-3 – Gospel Trekking in Northwest Karnali. 4. April 4-7 - Gospel Trekking in Southern Plains of Terai. Please be praying for this team (Don, Randy, Tim, Wesley, Bo, and Matheo) that God will be honored and glorified in everything and that their ministry will be very fruitful. Remember their wives and families at home. Thank you for going with our team in prayer. Because of the higher elevation, there are health concerns for those who go on the treks. |
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