by A.W. Tozer
Cattle are driven; sheep are led; and our Lord compares His people to sheep, not to cattle.
It is especially important that Christian ministers know the law of the leader-that he can lead others only as far as he himself has gone. It is of course physically impossible for a shepherd to lead sheep unless he is ahead of them. To attempt to get them into pastures where he has not first gone he could only try to drive them, which would be to confuse them with cattle and to lose his own character as a true shepherd.
The minister must experience what he would teach or he will find himself in the impossible position of trying to drive sheep. For this reason he should seek to cultivate his own heart before he attempts to preach to the hearts of others. If his idea of the green pastures is a lush knowledge of Bible doctrine, he can by hard study and careful teaching lead others as far as he has gone, viz., into a knowledge of doctrine. If he tries to bring them into a heart knowledge of truth which he has not actually experienced he will surely fail. In his frustration he may attempt to drive them; and scarcely anything is so disheartening as the sight of a vexed and confused shepherd using the lash on his bewildered flock in a vain attempt to persuade them to go on beyond the point to which he himself has attained.
There is of course a body of truth that cannot be experienced. By its very nature it can only be received and believed. Such, for instance, is the history recorded in the Bible and all prophetic Scripture yet unfulfilled. There is no way for these truths to be entered into except as we believe them as part of the total redemptive revelations. There is another vast body of truth which can have no final meaning for us except as we experience it. Grace, mercy, forgiveness, cleansing, personal faith in Christ, obedience, cross-carrying, death of the self-life, the infilling with the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of Christ and the walk in the Spirit: these are not doctrines to be believed merely, but spiritual experiences which a given man or woman may or may not enter into personally. These are the truths into which men cannot be driven, but only led by someone who has been there himself.
This law of the leader is demonstrated first in the life of our Lord. He did not and does not drive His people; rather He leads the way Himself and enables His followers to come after Him. He suffered at the hands of men and can therefore fairly ask His people to suffer as He did. While He lived on earth He went about doing good, walking in dignified poverty, and it is no injustice when He calls His followers to lives of frugality and simplicity. He lived in the bosom of the Father even while here below (John 1:18), and led the way for us so we may do the same. He bore His cross and died upon it, so the New Testament requirement of personal crucifixion for all believers is morally logical. Finally, He arose and ascended to sit in heavenly places and thus give foundation to Paul's words in Colossians: "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (3:1-3).
The law of the leader tells us who are preachers that it is better to cultivate our souls than our voices. It is better to polish our hearts than our pulpit manners, though if the first has been done well and successfully it may be profitable for us to do the second. We cannot take our people beyond where we ourselves have been, and it thus becomes vitally important that we be men of God in the last and highest sense of that term.
What is true for preachers holds true for every Christian witness. Every writer, editor, Sunday school worker, singer, board member and deacon is bound by the law of the leader. He cannot lead where he has not been. Failure in his own life can only mean loss for those who look to him for leadership. Is that why James wrote, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly" (3:1)? It could be.
( Article taken from The Price of Neglect, Chapter 41 )
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