Who Is Shepherding Them?
Shepherding Souls
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13:17
The Quiet Ache of Divided Allegiances
There’s a particular ache in the heart of a pastor that many will never see. It comes not from public criticism or church conflict, but from the slow erosion of pastoral connection. A once-faithful member now divides their time among multiple churches. Another still calls your church “home,” yet hasn’t sat under your preaching in months. A third shares their struggles - but only after seeking out a podcast preacher or a YouTube prophet. And somewhere in all of it, the soul care of the local shepherd is sidelined.
Hebrews 13:17 doesn’t mince words about pastoral authority and responsibility. “Obey your leaders and submit to them,” the text says - not because pastors are infallible, but because they are “keeping watch over your souls.” The Greek word for “keeping watch” (agrupneō) implies sleepless vigilance, the kind that comes from deep responsibility and burden-bearing. The pastor isn’t a spiritual vendor offering optional inspiration; he’s a divinely appointed guardian of souls who “will have to give an account.” That’s sobering, and deeply personal for anyone who has carried the weight of a congregation’s spiritual well-being.
Shepherding in a Fragmented Age
Today’s ecclesial culture rarely reflects the vision of Hebrews 13:17. Congregants attend where the music moves them, the youth program impresses them, or the schedule suits them. Some drift to larger churches for anonymity; others follow charismatic teachers online. What gets lost in this shuffle is the sacred covenant of spiritual oversight. Submission isn’t servitude; it’s recognition that God has placed under-shepherds in our lives to guide, protect, and nurture us in Christ.
Richard Baxter, in The Reformed Pastor, wrote, “It is a sad case that men should be so eager to teach others, and so loath to learn themselves; and that they will so boldly venture on the work of teaching and ruling the flock of Christ, while they are so careless and unfaithful in the discharge of it.” The tragedy today isn’t merely unfaithful pastors, but untethered sheep, those who have no desire to be led at all. Without committed spiritual relationships, they drift spiritually, emotionally, and theologically.
Membership Vows in a Consumer World
When someone joins a church, they make a covenant, often publicly. In many Methodist traditions, those vows include commitments to support the church “with their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.” These are not small promises. They reflect a biblical understanding of life together, a mutual submission that binds pastor and people in a shared spiritual journey. When someone maintains the label of “member” but is functionally absent or divided in loyalty, the covenant is strained.
In Acts 20:28, Paul charges the Ephesian elders to “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” Pastors don’t claim authority on their own merit. They’re placed there by the Spirit and held accountable by God. When sheep wander without accountability, they remove themselves from the very structures God ordained for their growth and protection. The shepherd’s staff can only guide the sheep who stay near enough to be led.
Authority Without Authoritarianism
There’s an instinct among many modern Christians to equate pastoral authority with authoritarianism. But the two are not the same. Biblical authority is always rooted in Christ’s own shepherding posture: humility, sacrifice, and love. Pastors aren’t called to dominate, but to serve. Yet their leadership still matters. A shepherd isn’t merely a mascot; he’s a watchman.
Paul models this in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8: “We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children… because you had become very dear to us.” Pastoral leadership is tender, not timid; authoritative, not authoritarian. But without submission to that spiritual leadership, the relationship becomes lopsided and ineffective. The shepherd groans. The sheep scatter.
The Rise of Virtual and Vague “Community”
One of the unexpected effects of the pandemic is how easily the digital replaced the incarnational. Many now claim to belong to “a community” rather than “a church,” a word shift that sounds benign but carries deep theological implications. “Community” lacks the doctrinal shape and sacramental substance that defines the church biblically. The Church, rightly understood, is not just a gathering of like-minded people – it’s the body of Christ, with structure, shepherds, sacraments, and shared mission.
Online worship can be a blessing for those shut in or ill, but it cannot replace the embodied life of the local church. Hebrews 10:25 warns against “neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,” because the corporate gathering is part of how we “stir one another up to love and good works.” Pastoral ministry is rooted in presence. Discipleship is relational. You can’t be shepherded by a screen.
When the Church Becomes a Religious Utility
Some who left long ago still call your church “home.” They want a wedding there. Or a funeral. Or pastoral counsel. But they haven’t been shaped by your preaching, prayed with your people, or participated in your mission for years. What they mean is not “my church” in the biblical sense. They mean “my fallback,” “my sentimental option,” or “my emergency contact.”
This isn’t meant to sound harsh. It’s meant to diagnose a condition. Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned of “cheap grace” - grace without discipleship, without the cross. Likewise, we risk cultivating a “cheap church” - church without covenant, without shepherding, without submission. It’s a transactional religion that treats the church as a utility rather than a body. Pastors feel this keenly. And so does the Lord.
The Joy of Accountable Community
Hebrews 13:17 not only exhorts believers to submit but invites them to a deeper joy: “Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” The implication is clear: when the pastoral role is resisted or minimized, everyone suffers. The pastor cries. The people flounder. The church weakens.
But when believers live in covenant with their local church and place themselves under the care of a faithful pastor, joy abounds. There’s clarity, accountability, and nourishment. The pastor watches over the soul not as a burden, but a blessing. And the people grow, not as spiritual consumers, but as disciples. As John Wesley wrote, “The gospel of Christ knows no religion but social; no holiness but social holiness.” Holiness happens in covenant community.
Key Principle
Biblical shepherding requires real spiritual submission, not casual affiliation. A faithful pastor watches over souls with vigilance and love, but that ministry only flourishes when the flock stays near and submits to the care God has provided. The strength of the local church, and the joy of its shepherd, depends on covenant faithfulness from both pastor and people.
Action Steps
Reaffirm Your Membership Covenant: If you’ve made vows to a church, revisit them. Are you honoring those promises with your presence, prayers, gifts, and service? If not, confess and commit anew to the spiritual family God has placed you in.
Reestablish Pastoral Connection: Make intentional time to sit with your pastor or spiritual leader. Ask for prayer. Share your spiritual struggles. Open your life to the one charged to keep watch over your soul.
Reorder Your Worship Priorities: Regular corporate worship isn’t optional, it’s essential. Build your schedule around your church’s gathered life, not the other way around. Be discipled by proximity, not popularity.
A Shepherd’s Word of Encouragement
To the pastors reading this: your calling is sacred. The work you do matters more than you can see. Even when sheep wander, the Chief Shepherd sees your labor. Galatians 6:9 still holds: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” You aren’t alone. Christ is with you. And your faithful shepherding, even when unseen, is building something eternal.
To the members and seekers: God has designed the church not just as a place to attend, but as a people to belong to. Your pastor isn’t perfect, but he’s appointed to care for you. Let him do it with joy. Show up. Stay near. Be led. It will be to your advantage.