Jesus foretold that in the last days, “because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Today, we see an epidemic of hostility and fading love in our society. Right in the middle of this dark mess, God places His people to model and proclaim His better way of living—loving others with the tender heart of Jesus. LEADERS ARE CALLED TO LEAD THE CHARGE IN EMBRACING AND REFLECTING HIS HEART!
People need to know how much you care, which will help open them up to caring about what you know.
Paul urged the leaders of Ephesus to “shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). People are incredibly valuable to God—so much so that Jesus shed His blood for them. As the Good Shepherd, He is passionate about giving leaders who carry “His heart” to care for His flock. For leaders to be effective, they must embrace the shepherding heart of Jesus. God’s motivation for sending Jesus, as seen in the incarnation, was His deep love for people (John 3:16). The incarnation—God coming to us in human form—was initiated and sustained by His compassionate heart.
As John 1:14 (MSG) says, “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” Jesus, the Good Shepherd, didn’t just deliver messages from heaven or preach from a distance. He entered into the lives of people, filled with love and care. He is seeking to give leaders to His people with the same heart. Leaders are to follow His example, seeking His heart in their interactions with God’s people.
Restoring God’s Shepherding Heart in Leaders
Our leadership and church family are part of a restoration movement (Isaiah 61:1-4, Luke 4:17-21). We desire to see every aspect of Jesus’ design for His church, revealed in the Bible, restored in the church today. We believe that all five ministry gifts in Ephesians 4 are essential to the Body of Christ, and we labor to see them all in action. Yet, there is often a tendency to downplay the pastoral gift as less important than the others, with comments like, “Oh, he’s just a pastor.” This perspective diminishes a key aspect of Jesus’ leadership heart. EVERY LEADER SHOULD SEEK AND EXHIBIT THE SHEPHERDING HEART OF JESUS. Even Peter, the great Apostle and fellow elder, exhorted elders to “shepherd the flock of God” willingly, without greed or dominance (1 Peter 5:1-5).
In my own experience, most of my leadership mistakes weren’t about what I did but how I did it. I often acted out of frustration rather than the shepherding heart of Jesus. When I did, I learned the truth of James 1:20: “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
Paul emphasized the importance of this shepherding dynamic when speaking of love. He highlighted things all Christians value and desire to move in, “gifts of tongues, prophecy, and knowledge, mountain moving faith, sacrificial giving, and bodily sacrifice.” He emphasizes that moving in all these things is worthless if not motivated by love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Promise and Prayer for Shepherds with His Heart
God promised through Jeremiah that He would “bring people to His city and give them shepherds after His own heart” (Jeremiah 3:14-15). This promise was fulfilled first in Jesus, the ultimate example of a shepherd who reveals God’s heart. Jesus embodied Father’s mercy, and He calls us to do the same: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
Jesus’ empathy and compassion formed the foundation of His call to pray for more laborers. The gospels record 39 times Jesus felt and moved with emotions; the most common one was “compassion.” When He saw the crowds, He was “moved with compassion because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). The Gospels are full of accounts of Jesus’ personal, incarnational interactions—whether with Matthew, Nicodemus, the blind man, or the Samaritan woman. Because of His compassion, Jesus always took the time to listen, care deeply, and connect.
“Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation” – Henry Ward Beecher.
When Jesus encountered the rich young ruler, He “looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21). Though He issued a challenging prophetic call, His love shaped the conversation. Likewise, before Jesus delivered stern judgment and cleansed the temple, He first wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-46). GOD’S TEARS OF COMPASSION SHOULD ALWAYS PRECEDE HIS PROPHETIC WORD OF CORRECTION!
If we are to call out sin and lead people into freedom, we must do so with God’s shepherding love and empathy. Otherwise, we risk becoming like careless surgeons who cut without considering the entire healing process. People need to hear God’s tears in our voices before they can hear His thunder.
Restoring Compassionate Leadership
To see the church become a place where the good news is demonstrated and people are freed from sin’s bondage, we must follow Jesus’ shepherding example of empathy and compassion. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus remains a perfect High Priest because He “sympathizes with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).
- Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Scripture gives us clear instructions about the heart we are to have toward others:
- “Love your enemies, do good…for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35).
- “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other” (Ephesians 4:32).
- “The Lord’s servant must be kind to everyone” (2 Timothy 2:24).
- “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility” (Colossians 3:12).
- “Do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).
One of the most important prayers a leader can pray daily is that God would fill them with His heart of compassion and empathy in all they do. David’s prayer in Psalm 51:10 should be ours: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” This will help leaders have a compassionate heart towards God’s people, like the apostle Paul had, as they labor for and pray over them.
- Philippians 1:8-9 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. (9) And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment
May God restore His shepherding heart of compassion in the leaders of His church!