Feeding the Sheep vs. Feeding the Sheep to the Wolves
by Christopher Hendrix
It’s rare when I call out a specific person or church, but based on a current event and in light of our sermon from Sunday, it’s necessary. As we saw yesterday from 1 Peter 5:1–5, a Pastor’s role is to shepherd the flock. We see part of this shepherding involves feeding the sheep. Of course, what the flock of God needs only comes from the Scriptures. The Bible is not optional for the Christian. It’s as vital as oxygen! The command to shepherd also involves not feeding the sheep to the wolves, but protecting the flock. Recently, a well-known pastor has demonstrated what it looks like to feed the sheep to the wolves. Andy Stanley recently hosted a conference at his church entitled “The Unconditional Conference.”
This conference promoted a purpose to help parents and ministers of LGBTQ+ children from a ‘quieter middle space.’
Watch Pastor Chris Hendrix’s sermon on 1 Peter 5:1-5.
However, instead of reaching for the Scriptures to teach on the holiness of God, repentance, and salvation in Christ, he reached for the hands of popular speakers who are gay, well-known to be involved in the gay mirage labeled gay marriage, and very active in promoting homosexuality. Instead of feeding his sheep the Word of God, he fed them to the wolves. How can I say these speakers are wolves when I don’t know them? Jesus said in Matthew 7:15–23:
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Their words, positions, and rhetoric are their fruits. Their fruits simply do not align with the Scriptures. Take one quote by one of the speakers, Brian Nietzel, from his website, “Many of us have spent our energy determining and defending positions on the moral and biblical standards of sexuality. Because we thought that is what mattered most. Yet, what if all of that has been at the expense of something more important?” In other words, he creates a false separation between God’s truths and relationships. He pits the Word of God against people. He forces you to have to choose between holding to Scripture, or loving people. Yet, this logical fallacy, this false argument, completely misses what the Scriptures show us.
“The Scriptures don’t oppose relationships, but provide the very foundation for them.”
The Scriptures don’t oppose relationships, but in reality, relationships are founded upon them. Our relationship with God and our relationship with one another are defined by Scripture. A Pastor feeds the flock of God when he brings these truths out and guides people to understanding them. A Pastor feeds the flock when people understand the holiness of God and the wickedness of humanity. A Pastor feeds the flock when people understand what God Incarnate did to achieve salvation for us, so that we can be in relationship and fellowship with God. Not only that, but so we can be in relationship with one another. The Scriptures don’t oppose relationships, but provide the very foundation for them.
The Scriptures do oppose sin. Our church affirms the Nashville Statement, and this statement takes the truths the Bible teaches on sexuality and places them succinctly in one place. This statement helps any person to understand in a simplistic and clear way that the LGBTQ+ agenda is in clear violation of the Word of God. Anyone who promotes this agenda opposes not just Scripture, but God Himself. Any person who attempts to persuade God’s people to accept this sin fulfills Jesus’ given qualifications in the passage above of being a wolf. A Pastor must guard God’s church against these heretical teachings that stem from the pit of hell. I pray Stanley repents of his sin. I pray he repents for failing to protect his sheep, but instead fed them to the wolves. I pray upon his repentance, that the church forgives him. Until then, let us remember that when a Pastor does not feed his sheep, then he runs the risks of feeding the sheep to the wolves.