Starving the sheep to feed the goats

The failure of Christian leadership in America

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. - John 21:17

Jesus had great concern for His followers and their spiritual well-being, so much so that He told Peter not once, not twice, but three times to tend His flock. Jesus regularly used the metaphor of a shepherd and his sheep to describe His relationship with believers. His commission to Peter, then, is as a hired hand, in Jesus’ absence, to guide His sheep, keep them safe, and feed them, just as the owner of literal sheep would hire another to do the same. 

The rest of the world Jesus compared with goats. The sheep and goats, while living on the same farm, so to speak, have different destinations:
But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Matt. 25:35-46

What happens when those hired to shepherd the flock, instead of supplying spiritual sustenance to the sheep, simply caters to the crowds? Starvation. The sheep are starving for God’s Word, yet few pastors provide it, and the results are disastrous.

Surprisingly in todays political climate, over 70% of Americans claim a belief in one true God and that that God exists in three persons. As this appears to be Christian faith, this should be encouraging; unfortunately, digging in a little deeper reveals some disheartening statistics. What does it say about Christian leadership, when a study published in September 2022 by Lifeway Research shows that 55% of respondents believe that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God” and that 53% of those polled believe that “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God”? This is not what would be expected from people who claim to believe in the Trinity. These tenets are diametrically opposed to the Christian faith.

The trend of watering down Scripture to make it more acceptable to the masses is not new. From the seeker-sensitive movement to mainline evangelical congregations, for decades church leaders have used entertainment to get posteriors in pews, and have used the power of positive preaching to nurture numbers. This is the way of the world. Most churches measure success by the size of their congregations rather than the quality of their fruit. This is contrary to Scripture and leaves true believers as spiritual babes. The author of Hebrews lamented this when he wrote:

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Hebrews 5:12-14

Those to whom this epistle speaks had been Christians for some time, but they were still immature, needing basic spiritual instruction and unable to receive deeper teaching. Yet desiring the disciples to grow, he continues:

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.

Hebrews 6:1-3

Christians are not intended to remain in spiritual infancy, but growth does not come apart from solid teaching. Unfortunately, orations from the pulpit are tailored to soothe the sinner rather than convict the congregation to cultivate their relationship with God, the devout are deprived. They tell heart-warming tales and personal stories, yet often mention only one related verse, if any at all. It should then be no surprise to find that 67% of Americans believe that God accepts the worship of all religions, despite Jesus Himself saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn. 14:6) and that “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:24).

Other questions were asked in the survey, and the responses should alarm Christians, especially in light of how many claimed to believe in a single, true, triune god (which you would then expect to be Christian). Here are some more of the disturbing results from the Lifeway survey:

• 53% believe that the Bible “contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.”

• 40% believe that science disproves the Bible.

• 71% believe all people are born “innocent”.

• 66% believe most people are good by nature.

• 59% believe the Holy Spirit is a force, not a person.

• 47% believe sex outside of marriage is not sin.

• 47% believe abortion is not sin.

• 46% do not believe the Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality is applicable today.

• 42% believe “gender identity” is a legitimate concept and a choice left to each individual.

• 21% even believe that “the Holy Spirit can tell me to do something which is forbidden in the Bible.”

This is a failure of leadership. This is the result of refusing to preach on sin and condemnation because it is uncomfortable, or because people are beaten down enough outside of church, or simply because doing so makes the preaching more palatable to pagans and pretenders. This is what happens when pastors shirk their duties and toss the sheeps’ food to the goats. This is what happens when dissertations from the dais are designed to put butts on benches rather than encourage ecclesiastical enlightenment.

While the goats are munching on the chaff churned out by capricious clerics, the sheep are becoming gaunt and anemic. They have been infantilized and left to nurse on dwindling milk, as Paul preferred:

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.

1 Cor 3:1-3a

Jesus was adamant with Peter and clearly foresaw coming troubles. The fact that He repeated Himself three times indicates Jesus emphasis on the subject at hand. Church leaders are failing to follow this imperative from the Chief Shepherd, and the sheep are falling away and starving. This trend must be reversed. Pastors must set the goats free to forage on their own and sate the sheep that they may flourish. Do not allow the goats to ravage the flocks food. As Jesus said, “feed My sheep.”