There was a time when shepherds knew their sheep, and the sheep knew their shepherds. I’m speaking about the pre-industrial ministry era when churches were human-scale, and pastors were not primarily pixels on a screen. Instead, they were likely to visit you at home, work beside you in the fields, and pray over you at the hospital. These relational encounters throughout the week are what gave the pastor credibility when they stepped into the pulpit on Sunday.
Today, the pulpit is usually the only place we see a pastor, and if the research is accurate, that is probably only once or twice a month even for the most committed churchgoers. To be fair, the pastor of our congregation probably isn’t the person most influencing our faith anyway. That role likely belongs to a Christian social media influencer, political pundit, or best-selling celebrity pastor we’ve never met. And in either case, we grant them authority in our lives not because of their character but because of their charisma. From a screen or stage, all we can really determine about someone is their presentational gifts. Which, if they’re strong, we foolishly assume means they are also godly.
Structures that put a wide distance between the clergy and laity, between Christian influencers and the influenced, are the perfect breeding ground for wolves. False leaders have always been difficult to identify in the church, which is why Jesus compares them to wolves in sheep’s clothing. Externally, they appear righteous, godly, and sufficiently Christian. They use the right words, express the right ideas, and may even display the right symbols and engage in the right activities. That’s why Jesus warns us in the Sermon on the Mount to look beyond the surface. If we don’t, we will be easily deceived by false prophets.
Instead, we are called to identify a person by what lies beneath the surface, beyond the religious facade and the pastoral performance. But how? We need spiritual x-ray vision. Unlike Superman’s ability to see through disguises instantly, spiritual x-ray vision requires two things: time and proximity. Jesus said that a person’s true identity, like a tree, is revealed by their fruit. We cannot know a tree’s identity from a mile away. We must get close to it, and we won’t know the tree’s quality until the seasons have passed. The fruit of its branches will only be revealed with time.
The same goes for leaders; their true identities can only be known with time and proximity. That means getting close enough, regularly enough, to actually know the character of those who shepherd you in the faith, and it means granting more authority to the incarnate spiritual mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, in your life, and less to the social media voices, podcasters, and celebrity authors you can never truly know.
Our reluctance to do this, or to join Christian communities that are small enough for this to occur, helps explain the endless stories of scandal and abuse coming from ministries. Wolves use distance and brevity to hide, but the good shepherds are always revealed with time and proximity.
Daily Scripture
Weekly Prayer
From Mother Teresa (1910–1997)
Lord, when I think that my heart is overflowing with love and realize in a moment’s honesty that it is only myself that I love in the loved one,
Deliver me from myself.
Lord, when I think that I have given all that I have to give and realize in a moment’s honesty that it is I who am the recipient,
Deliver me from myself.
Lord, when I have convinced myself that I am poor and realize in a moment’s honesty that I am rich in pride and envy,
Deliver me from myself.
And, Lord, when the Kingdom of Heaven merges deceptively with the kingdoms of this world,
Let nothing satisfy me but God.
Amen.
No generative artificial intelligence (AI) is used in the writing of With God Daily devotionals.
Well said, oddly enough I get most of my knowledge from HP+. I don’t think y’all are wolves but I should try to have more interactions with people in person.
“…it means granting more authority to the incarnate spiritual mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, in your life, and less to the social media voices, podcasters, and celebrity authors you can never truly know.” Thank you for saying this. I need to pray for more in real life community, and seek out community with Christians with whom I disagree. It’s hard that my biggest, most significant questions seem to be ones I’d want go to you, your colleagues, and your guests with. I don’t personally know anyone (besides my husband) who has depth of knowledge of Scripture, is egalitarian, believes biblical marriage is between one man and one woman, is politically moderate, and bears good spiritual fruit in their life. I encourage you to consider that life for many people is different from yours in the Chicago suburbs. You have proximity to lots of different Christ-followers.