By Russell Hohneck
My passion in ministry is that all theology works out in practice – it is the “rubber on the road” concept. Recently I experienced an incident where the rubber and the road were not working together. As I cruised along, the rubber didn’t stick and gravity brought us hard onto the road. The bike was totalled and I ended up a little worse for the experience.
The same result occurs when theology is gained for the purpose of learning and little attention given to how it is to be practiced. The Lord surely is the master at putting the two together. This is easily identified in the title by which the Lord is endearingly referred to throughout the Scriptures as “the Shepherd.” The greatest theologian then is known in terms of a very practical task. Shepherding the flock of God is the heartbeat of the Lord and biblical history and Scriptures are strongly marked with this analogy (e.g. Exodus 34; Psalm 23; John 10; Luke 15; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter; Hebrews 13:20). Even in heaven itself, Jesus will be known as the Shepherd:
“. . . for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, . . . .” Revelation 7:17.
No wonder at the end of three years of training His disciples in theology and personal mentoring, Jesus says to Peter while probing Peter’s love and devotion for Himself , “tend my lambs . . . shepherd my sheep . . . tend my sheep.” Shepherding the flock is the heart of the greatest Shepherd and every theology and ministry needs to reflect that very practical “rubber on the road” shepherding if it is to be centered on Christ.
I believe that TSBC has this focus as it trains and equips people within the church. Theology and shepherding go hand in hand and TSBC is striving to bring the rubber of theology to the road of faith.
For further reading:“The Minister as Shepherd” by Charles Jefferson.
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