Because followers are beloved human beings to be stewarded, not human resources to be managed. They are people to be nurtured, not cogs to be systematized.
Since leadership is a people business, it matters greatly the way in which a leader views people: How is it that they come under one’s purview? What is the nature of that relationship? What is the purpose of that relationship? What are the appropriate means of achieving that purpose? What are the warning signs that things are getting off track or unhealthy?
I’m not averse to the Church learning from the business world. There is much in the Bible and in Christian tradition that doesn’t necessarily equip leaders for the rapidly changing world we live in today. We must constantly learn and adapt.
But the business world is not the spiritual world, so at some point the correlations will break down. Christian leaders are overseers, not owners. It can be quite tempting to begin looking at people through the wrong lenses.
It’s important that Jesus used the metaphor of a shepherd and sheep. It’s important that he viewed his own followers as having been given to him—entrusted to him—by his Father, out of whose hand no one will ever snatch them. No one. Ever. Not thieves. Not predators. Not the devil.
Not even well-meaning Christian leaders.
Beware of inadvertently attempting to snatch the sheep out of the Father’s hand.
