Even Wolves Must Serve the Church

The sovereignty of Jesus is so complete that even wolf attacks ultimately serve the church. Of course, for the king who turned the enemy’s greatest weapon, death, against him, this is par for the course. Wolves aim to serve themselves by causing great carnage, “tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain” (Ez 22:27). But in the end, even they serve the advance of the Church.

What is one way that they do this? By exposing who is a true shepherd – and who is a hired hand.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

-John 10:11–13

Jesus tells us here that his willingness to lay his life down for his sheep is the proof that he is the Good Shepherd. He cares so much for the sheep that he is not only willing but will in fact give up his life for them. This differentiates Jesus from the other self-serving religious leaders who run when faced with wolves because they don’t truly love the sheep, but themselves. Even when the wolves in sheep’s clothing (Judas, the authorities, and Satan through them) attack Jesus, he will not flee. He will face the wolf, even though it means losing his life.

Pastors of the Church, undershepherds, are called to walk in the footsteps of this Good Shepherd.

… shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.  

-1 Peter 5:2–4

This means that just as wolves served to differentiate the Good Shepherd from the hired hands, so they also now expose who is a true undershepherd and who is, at the end of the day, merely in it for personal gain.

The first time I realized this I was trying to respond to a tough question from a believing Iranian refugee who was visiting our church in Kentucky. He had questions about the fact that we had a number of pastors on staff who were paid full-time salaries.

“How do I know that they’re not just in it for the money? We have a lot of problems with this and the religious leaders in our culture.”

I had recently been teaching on evangelism from John chapter 10, so the Good Shepherd passage was fresh in my mind during this conversation. But the unexpected question shone the light on an aspect of the passage I had never noticed before. (Sidenote: I love it when this happens. Unexpected questions so often serve to be a goldmine for new insights into the Word.)

“Well, you’ll see that they’re not just in it for the money when things get hard, when the church gets attacked. True pastors will stay and defend the flock, like Jesus the Good Shepherd. Men who are just in it for the money will run. So, you just need to stick around long enough to see what they do when the church comes under attack.”

I stood by this answer, confident that our pastors were the kind of men who would indeed lay down their lives for the sheep if necessary. I didn’t know that in just a few years, I’d have to face a wolf attack myself. And I’d have to wrestle with whether I would stand my ground or run like a kid who’s really only watching these bleaters for the pocket money.

In addition to learning a lot about the nature of wolves during Ahab’s* sneak attack on our church plant, I was also learning about the nature of leaders. My own heart as a leader was being put to the test. Was I a hired hand? Would I stand and fight rather than seek to save my own skin? What about my fellow leaders, would they run? We had suddenly found ourselves in a crucible that would expose us, one way or the other.

I will say this. Everyone who is a Christian leader should strive and pray to be like the Good Shepherd when the wolf comes. We should all pray that on that day we will not turn out to be hired hands. And we should also strive to not be alone but to have a few others with us who will stand back to back, encouraging us to stand our ground, swinging their staffs into the teeth of the predator when it lunges, and pulling it off of us when it’s got its jaws clamped around our thigh.

My fellow leaders and I were caught unprepared when we faced our own wolf. But by the grace of God, eventually, when the deceptions cleared away and the fangs came out, most of us somehow managed to stand our ground and fight. We were tested – and found to not be hired hands, but undershepherds who cared enough for the sheep to at least go down swinging. God is good.

There is a particular kind of trust that develops when you’ve seen a man stand his ground against a wolf. The natural impulse of a believer is to move toward those who defended the sheep even when it was costly. This must be because they remind us of the Chief Shepherd. I do not delight in the carnage of a wolf attack. I get no high from the thrill of a predator suddenly revealed. But I do love seeing a true shepherd’s heart revealed. And the kind of camaraderie that follows when you know you have a brother who will walk with you through the very jaws of death.

Wolves, it turns out, have a particular ministry of exposure. They appeared and exposed the true nature of Jesus. And when they appear in our churches they will in turn expose our own hearts and those of our leaders. This is part of their purpose, seemingly part of why they are allowed to threaten the people of God.

They may think they are out to kill and fill their bellies. But the word of God is clear – even wolves will serve their purpose. Even wolves must the Church.

To support our family as we head back to the field, click here.

For my list of recommended books and travel gear, click here.

*Names changed for security

Photos are from Unsplash.com