From Bishop Jemmott’s Shepherd to Shepherd article for July 2014 entitled: “Lead My People”

When The Lord appeared to Moses in the wilderness in the form of a burning bush, He commanded Moses to go to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to release His people. Once the children of Israel were released, Moses was to lead them out of Egypt. Moses had no prior experience leading such a vast amount of people and all Moses had was the Word of God, a staff and his brother.

“Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.“ Exodus 3:9-10 (NLT)

Pastors, God has called us to lead His people into the purpose and destiny He has for them. We are not called to abuse or dictate our desires on His flock. We are called to lead them, to walk before them and not drive them. Sheep are led – cattle are driven. God has given us the innate capacity to fulfill His directives in our lives. We are not to follow or mimic what someone else is doing, but we are to lead by our own capability. When we feel insecure or have shortcomings for the task, God will send us an Aaron or a Jethro when the need arises.

Yes, we can learn from successful leaders or make use of the tools these leaders have developed. Just like the woman with the jar of oil, we can borrow other people’s vessel but we have to fill them with our own anointing.

To lead is defined as: to go before or with; to show the way; to conduct or to escort. Like Moses, we are called to lead. But what we see today is not necessarily good leadership. We see insecure persons attempting to hold on to kingdoms they have built in their honor. The following is a quote from Psychology Today:

Peter Drucker famously stated “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Great leaders possess dazzling social intelligence, a zest for change, and above all, vision that allows them to set their sights on the “things” that truly merit attention.

If you have become preoccupied with keeping the sheep in line, then you are not leading them. The Word of God is able and will maintain the sheep in line. Our role is to do the right thing by living right according to the scriptures. Our role is to embrace change and not cling to past failures. We provide vision, the kind of vision that allows our sheep to set their sights on what is ahead and what is important, and remind them of the command to expand the kingdom of God. We are to encourage and empower them to become the persons who God created them to “BE” and finally lead them into their destiny.

Lead My People!