Kinnon on sheep

I've been reading about sheep (in relation to mega churches) on Bill Kinnon's blog this morning. He makes some interesting points, including the following, which I hope he won't mind me borrowing...

One of the key words too often used by mega church leaders to describe those in the pews is "sheep." And they, of course, are the shepherd(s). They claim the term as scriptural (it is) but practice eisegesis in its interpretation rather than exegesis. Certain mega-ego pastors have done videos complaining about sheep stealing - from their eisegetical position, of course.

Sheep lack intelligence (I'm being charitable), are obstinate and don't smell particularly good. Shepherds know the lay of the land - where the best grazing is, where the fewest predators are, where they can best guard and care for their flock. And, they know their sheep.

Jesus, when he speaks of himself as the good shepherd in John 10, says the shepherd knows the name of his sheep and they know the shepherd's voice. There is an intimacy that exists between the shepherd and the sheep - they live together. An average shepherd when Jesus spoke these words, was responsible for around 100 sheep. Yes, these shepherds would often combine their flocks with those of other shepherds - yet they still knew their own sheep - they were still responsible for their 100.

Too many pastors (pastor being the latin word for shepherd), create a profound distancing between sheep and shepherd. Sheep are stupid, must be lead, need constant discipline and, apparently, are the property of the shepherd. These hireling shepherds sound an awful lot like the shepherds the Lord describes in Ezekiel 34.

Nice one Bill. Baaaaaaaaa!