The Shepherd / The Unhurried Life

The Shepherd

Ephesians 4:11 March 12, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. Many of you do not know that Gary and I go way back and have

followed each other around for years.

1. I first met Gary here at MVC years ago as we both just attended

here, Gary was a newly married man working at the steel mills

and I was a single who started attending here after the military

2. While going to Moody I became the custodian here at

MVC. When I left for seminary, Gary took my place as

custodian as he was going to Moody.

3. As Gary worked here, they recognized in Gary pastoral gifts and

invited him onto the staff of MVC.

4. About the time, I graduated from seminary Gary was feeling led

to take on a senior pastorate out in Montana and moved out

there. I was invited to come back and take Gary’s position as a

pastor at MVC

5. When Pastor Bill retired from being the senior pastor at MVC,

he recommended me as his replacement and my first move was

to bring Gary Olson on the staff to take over my position, which

was his original position as the shepherding pastor.

6. Now Gary is retiring and I will be following him in that!

B. Gary has had an office next door to mine for literally decades here

at MVC. Because I know him so well and have seen him in action

I have had a nickname for him that I have called him for years – it

is “parexcelant”

Parexcelant is a use in Greek grammar of the definite article

“the”. It stands for a special class where they stand alone, a

one of a kind of thing or person!

1. Well, Gary is the pastor par excellent – as a pastor he stands

alone in a class of his own, a one of a kind of pastor!

2. Pastor Gary stands at the door every Sunday looking for new

people or someone who looks like they are in need and asks,

“How is life in your world today?”

3. Actually he does that all week with staff members, people who

come into the church and people within the congregation who

are hurting in some way or have been gone for a while whom

Gary contacts and pours out the love of Jesus upon them in

various different ways.

• Now that we know what par excellent means

II. What does pastor mean?

A. Actually, the English word pastor only shows up one time in

Scripture and that is in Ephesians 4:11. Turn and read 11

1. This is a group of special leaders that God has given to the

church, pastor-teacher

2. According to this passage, this will be hard for you to accept

Gary but I think the rest of us see it.

a. Listen – read v8, 11 – he gave

b. Gary you have been a gift to MVC and me from Jesus Christ

in the way you have pastored us!

B. This same Greek word is used in other portions of Scripture and

gives us a different window to understand the work of a pastor.

1. Turn to John 10:11 – this is the exact same Greek word as

Ephesians 4:11 – read

2. Could be read like this, “I am the good pastor/shepherd, the

good pastor/shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

3. Jesus is not only a pastor/shepherd parexcelant – he is the

parexcelant shepherd/pastor in a class of his own, a one of a

kind of shepherd/pastor! Read

C. The word pastor and shepherd are the same word in the Greek!

Shepherd is a figure of speech that is an image taken from the

world of caring for sheep to communicate a similar truth in the

world of God’s people, God’s flock!

1. When we look at the work of a shepherd as revealed in

Scripture we understand the work of a pastor!

2. I could take you to many many verses but let me summarize

some of what the Scripture says about a shepherd.

a. They seek out and bring back the sheep who have wandered

away

b. They tend to the needs of the flock, especially the hurting

and weak

c. They feed the flock so they will stay healthy

d. They lead the flock, especially with God’s word and God’s

heart

e. They protect and deliver the flock from danger.

3. I could tell you story after story of the way that Gary has done

each of these at MVC for the people of MVC.

D. So now that we know what a pastor is the big question is how do

we move on without pastor/shepherd/care-taker who has gently

cared for and led the people at MVC?

1. You can have the best preaching, best worship, the best vision –

mission and strategy and the best programs, but if you do not

feel like someone cares for you, you will eventually be gone.

2. As the old saying goes – people do not care how much you

know, until they know how much you care.”

• So …. I want to suggest three ways

III. How does MVC replace someone like Gary Olson

A. While we cannot replace the person of Gary, we can replace the

work Gary did as a shepherd by caring for one another.

B. First, by the elders along with the staff, because staff have many of

the same responsibilities and duties as elders,– living out the

following passages:

1. Passages - read 1 Peter 5:1-4

2. It is one of those times, you do not replace what one person

does with another person but you need to get a number of

people to do it.

3. Elders and staff – that is a responsibility that God has given us

in his Word.

C. One anothers –

1. That phrase that the New Testament uses to teach us the

responsibilities that we have towards one another in the body of

Christ. When you study it, you find that the bulk of it has to do

with shepherding and caring for one another.

a. Things like: being devoted to, subject to, teaching,

encouraging, admonishing, greeting, being hospitable

(loving strangers not entertaining our friends), accepting,

stimulating to good deeds, bearing with, serving, loving and

confessing your sins to.

b. These are all ways we are to relate to one another and if we

took on these responsibilities seriously, we would be well

shepherded as a body.

2. One of the best ways that can be done is by joining small groups

where we get to know others and have opportunities to care for

one another like that.

3. But not only small groups – if we are only friends loving friends

then we will fall short of what the Scripture is calling us

to! Each one of us needs to take on the responsibility of seeing

someone we do not know or who looks like they are hurting and

say, “How is life in your world today?”

D. Finally, every one of us needs to learn to rely upon the Chief

Shepherd to guard and shepherd our own souls!

1. Read 1 Peter 2:25

2. The spirit of Jesus works deep within us watching over our

souls, which are prone to wander and guarding us in deep war

within where our flesh desires war within our souls.

E. When a church’s leaders pastor/shepherd/care for their people like

that, and the people pastor/shepherd/care for one another like that,

and all of us learn to let Jesus pastor/shepherd/care for us in the

deepest core of our being then even people like Pastor Gary say I

want to be pastored/shepherded/cared for by a church like that!