Leading a Flock...a Flock of what?

As I first strum my guitar on Sunday morning, I pray that God will move in the people I see in front of my eyes. I pray that their hearts will be touched and set ablaze with God's Holy Spirit. I pray that love would continue to move after the service and spread throughout our small city and beyond. Sometimes, though...I just pray people will sing with me!

I don't understand why some people look to the leaders of our church as separated from the congregation. I don't understand how the worship leader became the sole soul performer. I don't understand why the preacher is the only one shouting praises!

God gives us examples of leaders in his illustrations of shepherds and their flocks. The Good Shepherd leads the flock. He tends to its needs and cares for it. He defends it from the wolves. He alone is the "Good Shepherd".

I would like to see us as a flock of another sort. I would like to see us as a flock of geese. (Hang with me, okay?) Geese fly in a V-shaped formation. They never fly alone, and they always fly with purpose.

(http://missionaljourney.blogspot.com/2009/06/missionallike-flock-of-geese.html)

Taking a look at a different flock, sparrows, we see a flock with no purpose. They fly this way and that way. Zig-zagging throughout the skies with no intent and are often hard to follow. They have no leader but instead fly in a swarm of sorts.

(http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hawar-islands.com/blog/media/blogs/obs/2009/eid_nov/sparrows.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hawar-islands.com/blog/index.php/2009/&usg=__GX9Rr2l3vZH-lElEUZxztrbVtSE=&h=531&w=800&sz=36&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=sMK2Ain5SglkMM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=178&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dflock%2Bof%2Bsparrows%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D618%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=629&ei=rQYuTeGJOML38AaBr4y5Cg&oei=rQYuTeGJOML38AaBr4y5Cg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0&tx=103&ty=26)

Now back to the geese... The geese have purpose, direction, and a leader, all of which, sparrows do not have. This leader is no different from the rest. He/She may be stronger than most, but they all know where to go; they all look the same (to me); they all know why they are going where they are going, and they are all ready to lead. Here's what geese do in flight. The V-shape is for aerodynamics. As winds hit against the leader, the currents are dispersed across the rest of the flock. After a while of flying and battling the currents, the leader will drop back into the V, allowing the next one to come take the lead for a while. This continues throughout their flights. 

So, as a leader, I expect to have to be strong at times. I expect to work hard, get tired, and experience a little turbulence. What I also pray for is that when our leaders get a little worn out, others will take the lead in their place. I believe that happens all the time. I am confident in our body of believers and their willingness to serve. 

I pray for their confidence to lead. I pray that the body sees the leaders as one of the flock. I pray that worshippers no longer watch their leaders as an audience but that we worshippers would join in the praises of our God, that we would all have purpose, that we would all have direction, knowing to whom we are flying, knowing that at the end of our long, tiring journey, we are ready to embrace the warmth of paradise.