Shepherding
Description:
The gift of Shepherding is the divine enablement to nurture, care for, and guide people toward on-going spiritual maturity and becoming like Christ.
Distinctives:
People with this gift...
- Take responsibility to nurture the whole person in their walk with God
- Provide guidance and oversight to a group of God's people
- Model with their life what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus
- Establish trust and confidence through long-term relationships
- Lead and protect those within their span of care
Traits:
- Influencing
- Nurturing
- Guiding
- Discipling
- Protective
- Supportive
- Relational
Cautions:
People with this gift...
- Should remember that God judges those who neglect or abuse their oversight responsibilities
- Need to be aware that the desire to feed and support others can make it difficult to say "no"
- Should realize that some of those being nurtured will grow beyond the shepherd's own ability and need to be freed to do so
References:
Definition taken from Network: Participants Manual, p. 92.