I hiked up into the Ko’olau Range just behind Honolulu and saw this spectacular view…another one of my favorite places.

Scripture

The shepherds of my people have lost their senses.
They no longer seek wisdom from the Lord.
Therefore, they fail completely,
and their flocks are scattered. Jeremiah 10:21

Observation

I sat across the desk from one of the most astute observers of Christianity in America. On a shelf were rows of books he has authored about vital ministry. But in front of me I saw the face of a man sad beyond speaking. With a sigh he pushed an email printout to me. It tabled the statistics of church growth in American denominations and by state. If the church were in business we would call it a recession. All churches are declining. Some were flat-lined. One boasted a few points gain, but as this seasoned observer noted, the birth rate alone was twice their growth factor, so that denomination too was moving south.

Why are denominational numbers declining? We could call in the spin doctors, but the answer is here in the Bible. Shepherds lose their flocks when they no longer seek wisdom from the Lord. Sheep live where the pasture is green. If pastors are without the green pasture that comes from daily time in God’s word they will soon lose their sheep.

About 150 years ago professors taught young pastors to question the Bible instead of letting the Bible ask questions of them. Contemporary pastors care caught in the spin cycle of busyness. Seventy percent of pastors interviewed claimed that the only time they spent Bible reading was in preparation of their Sunday sermon. If the scripture has not first fed the preacher how can he in turn feed the sheep?

It is interesting that Jesus definition of love given to Peter is the faithfulness of a shepherd to feed the sheep. We need to come back to the heart of love for Christ. We need to call pastors back to more than Bible reading, but into a place where they allow the scriptures to read them.

Application

John Wesley said, “I am a spirit come from God and returning to God… I want to know one thing, the way to heaven… God Himself has condescended to teach me the way… He has written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri (a man of one book). Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone. Only God is here. In His presence I open, I read His book; for this end, to find the way to Heaven.”

Prayer

Father, today I ask that you would call pastors back to the place where Your voice is real. Let us read your word as more than academic exercise but as heart application. Let there be many raised up calling your leaders back to the word. And if you need someone to speak to your shepherds then Lord use me.