Given that, as a friend says, it's not hard for us to picture Jesus as the Good Shepherd, however, not many of us want to be likened to sheep.
Jeremiah is writing during the exile in Babylon. He is accusing the rulers of Israel and Judah of leading the people astray and therefore causing the exile and dispersion of Jews throughout northern Africa and southern Europe.

Jeremiah calls down woe and the wrath of God on the "shepherds" who have destroyed and scattered God's flock. God, he says, will deal accordingly to those false shepherds and will raise up new, faithful shepherds.

Jesus, when he traveled to Gennesaret, had pity on the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Sheep without a shepherd can be a dangerous thing. They don't know where to go, and they will tend to follow whoever seems to be out front, blindly loping after the sheep butt in front of them, right off a cliff or into the arms of wolves and poachers.

Sheep need a faithful shepherd, and we need faithful leaders, in all aspects of our lives. Sometimes leadership is a formalized relationship, boss/worker, child/parent, husband/wife (just kidding), Lord/servant. Sometimes, leadership is less formal and more organic. In a card game, one person seems to float to the top, keeping score and remembering who gets to deal. In any group of friends, there seems to be what I call an Alpha friend - just a little more equal than the others, exercising a subtle form of leadership.

However it evolves, human systems seem to need leadership. But, we all know that leadership can be positive or negative, very negative. In terms of leadership, Adolph Hitler and Idi Amin could both be called effective. They got the job done and they engendered loyalty in their people. There were incredibly bad leaders because of the road they chose to walk their flock. But they led.

The forces of good have also seen some incredible leaders, Martin Luther King, Colin Powell, and countless others. The world is better off because of their accepting the mantle of leadership.
In reality, I think that most leaders fall somewhere in the middle between Idi Amin and MLK. Folks that have risen up through their respective structure to emerge as leaders. Well meaning people of varying level of skill in leadership, doing their best to lead in the direction in which they feel called. And therein lies the rub. The direction our leaders take us.

I think we're in a leadership crisis in the world today. Shepherds leading their sheep down paths the shepherd wants to take without regard for the safety of the sheep. The pending war in the middle-east, the continuing internecine fighting in Iraq seem, to me, to be about leaders prosecuting their agenda while the people suffer.

Ok, I know that some of you are sitting there waiting for the other shoe to drop and for me to start talking about General Convention and the Anglican Communion. And, yes, I believe that the problems in the Episcopal Church have much to do with leadership: lay, clergy and bishop.

Starting in the 60's religion in America found itself on a new path. Being a good Christian and a good American had been just about the same thing in the 40's and 50's. The anti-war and civil rights movements as well as shifting immigration patterns have taken us into a post Christian America. I think the leadership of the church failed to lead us to the greenest pastures and may have traded off losing some sheep for an easier pathway.

The Church needs leaders. We Christians need leaders. We need people who will help us navigate the complexities of scriptural interpretation. We need leaders who will help us see the full scope of the Gospel. We need leaders who will help us explore the varied and rich tapestry of spirituality.

Sometimes I feel like a sheep without a shepherd. Now please hear me. I appreciate the leadership our bishop has brought to the table. He knows that I'm not always comfortable with the path he leads us on, but he is my shepherd, or pastor as would be said in Spanish. But, other leaders have emerged or assumed leadership roles in the church that seems to overwhelm the leadership of most bishops and certainly most of us parish priests.

It is that leadership, the leaders on the far left that see the church as a gathering of autonomous diocese and provinces, and the leaders on the far right that see the church as a monochromatic pyramid based on a single interpretation of scripture.

I don't know how much of this debate you have followed. It is incredibly complex and to explain all that I know about it would take hours. If you find yourself thinking, "what in the world is he talking about?", watch for an upcoming adult forum on this very topic.
Jeremiah complained that an unfaithful leadership group had allowed Israel to be scattered to the winds, an exile that is still incomplete. Jesus speaks of a people devoid of leaders of any kind. Leadership is a spiritual calling. A spiritual gift, as a matter of fact. We're not all called to be leaders in all settings. That's fine.

We do know that God calls leaders up to pastor his flock, lay and ordained. And I believe that God will judge us on how well we care for his sheep. One of my favorite stories in the bible is Jesus talking to Peter after the resurrection. Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Jesus. 3 times Peter says that he does. And, 3 times, using slightly different words, tells Peter to tend Jesus' sheep.

I have to tell you, I've been in a real slump since Convention. Neither the extreme left nor the extreme and not so extreme right feel that we did what we should have. Some people are already starting to divvy up the furniture convinced of a split. I feel let down by the Church. I think an excellent opportunity to show leadership on our part by accepting responsibility for much of the disruption was lost in favor of a milquetoast easy path that satisfied no-one.

All this talk of leadership, good and bad, applies to me as the chosen leader of this congregation. I have been asked what I will do if a split comes. I honestly cannot answer that yet. It depends on how the chips fall. I vowed my allegiance, first to Christ, then to the Episcopal Church. I don't, for sure, know what that will mean.

But this I know, you called me to be your pastor and I will be faithful to that call. I have thought it wise to not really dwell on the problems in the broader church, and that has allowed us to concentrate on the Gospel with little real conflict. I think it's time to start naming the elephant in our living room.

On the day of my judgment, I don't want Jesus to put the 23rd Chapter of Jeremiah in my hands and ask "so, what do you make of this?"

Folks, we've got to start talking to each other. There are a lot of stressors on our plate right now - a capital campaign, repair and renovation of the worship space, Fr. Richard and Ella leaving, the desire for more modern music. All these things can help to tear a community apart. Or, they can make us stronger. The difference will be how we talk about these things with each other.

You'll be hearing about several small house meetings to bring conversation to the fore.

While not all of us are called by God to be leaders in God's church, some of us are. I ask each of you to examine your heart and ask God if God has a leadership role for you. And if so, accept it gladly. Shepherding can't all come from one spot. Leadership opportunities come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Together, we can help each other to be faithful shepherds of God's flock, so that when we come to that great judgment seat in heaven, instead of Jeremiah 23, we hear Matthew 25:21 "Well done, good and faithful servant."