Shepherd Leadership What Does It Take to Be a Shepherd? Welcome to Shepherd Leadership

Lesson 1, Activity 1

Welcome to Shepherd Leadership

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From Abraham to Moses to David, shepherds appear throughout the story of Scripture. But what does it take to be a shepherd? Join Dr. Tim Laniak as he shares what he learned about shepherding and leadership from Bedouin shepherds in the Middle East. Begin to understand what God actually says in Scripture about Himself as a Shepherd, and what He says about His people and those who lead them.

Learning outcomes

Throughout this course, you will learn to:

Identify the characteristics of a shepherd leader.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership.
Evaluate your own identity and practice as a shepherd leader.

What topics will the lessons cover?

The lessons in this course cover topics such as:

The identity and practices of Bedouin shepherds.
The shepherding environment.
The purpose and goals of shepherding.
Shepherd leadership as compassionate provision, courageous protection, and competent guidance.
What the Bible says about shepherds and leadership.
What it means that God is our Good Shepherd.

Select the headings of each lesson to read about the specific learning outcomes that you will achieve by working through the content of each lesson.

Lesson One: What Does It Take to Be a Shepherd?

Begin to explore the world of Middle Eastern shepherds—their culture, what they value, how they relate to their sheep—and what this can tell us about biblical leadership.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the central characteristic needed to be a shepherd.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership in Jeremiah 3:15 and Psalm 23.
Reflect on your own leadership identity.

Lesson Two: Compassionate Provision – Part I

Compare the work of actual shepherds to what the Bible reveals about how good shepherds, including the Good Shepherd, provide for their sheep.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the characteristic of compassionate provision needed to be a shepherd.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership in John 21 and Psalm 23.
Evaluate your own identity and practice as a compassionate provider.

Lesson Three: Compassionate Provision – Part II

Explore the biblical importance of knowing, finding, and restoring those you lead, following the ultimate example of the Good Shepherd.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the characteristics of intimacy and restoration needed to be a shepherd.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership in Luke 15 and Psalm 23.
Evaluate your own identity and practice as a restorative, compassionate provider.

Lesson Four: Courageous Protection – Part I

Examine what it means to be “stout of heart,” and why it’s so vital for shepherds to protect their vulnerable flock.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the characteristic of courageous protection needed to be a shepherd.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership in John 10:1–29, Acts 20:28–31 and Psalm 23.
Evaluate your own identity and practice as a courageous leader.

Lesson Five: Courageous Protection – Part II

Discover how the culture of abundance and security created by a good shepherd has the desired outcome of sustenance and security for the flock.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the characteristic of courageous protection needed to be a shepherd.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership in Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 23.
Evaluate your own identity and practice as both a compassionate and courageous leader.

Lesson Six: Competent Guidance – Part I

A good shepherd does not lead alone. Recognize the two ways a shepherd provides leadership even when not visibly present.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the characteristic of competent guidance needed to be a shepherd.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership in Proverbs 2 and Psalm 23.
Evaluate your own identity and practice as a competent guide.

Lesson Seven: Competent Guidance – Part II

Examine the intended outcome of provision, protection, and guidance, and how it involves the whole flock and family

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the main objectives of shepherding and how the characteristics of provision, protection, and guidance help achieve it.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership in 2 Peter 1 and Psalm 23.
Evaluate your own identity and practice as an under-shepherd.

Lesson Eight: A Final Look at Shepherding

Relate the goal of bringing the flock home to the identity of God’s people, the story of Scripture, and your own leadership.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the ultimate objective of and central characteristics needed to be a shepherd.
Recognize the biblical foundations of shepherd leadership in Revelation 7 and Psalm 23.
Align your own leadership identity as a shepherd with that of a sojourner.

How to Maximize Your Learning from This Course

In order to maximize your learning through this online course, you are encouraged to make use of all the learning opportunities presented to you. To take full advantage of the wealth of knowledge presented in the course content, we recommend that you:

Watch all of the videos (or read the transcripts).
Reflect on the content and questions in your journal.
Complete all learning activities.
Share your ideas with your fellow classmates in the discussion.
Enrich your learning by reading the bonus material.

Online learning is an excellent way to bring large numbers of participants together to learn and share about God’s word. Although this course is asynchronous and therefore other participants may not complete the course at the same time as you, there are interactive opportunities to share your learning and to gain valuable, unique insights from individuals with a diverse range of backgrounds and life experiences.

What online course engagement means

Full engagement in this course further means:

Working through the lessons in the suggested order—they’ve been arranged for a reason and each course has been designed with a logical sequence. Jumping ahead without completing the previous lesson may give you a disjointed learning experience.
Reading and listening across a variety of learning activities—some of which are text-based, some with video. (Transcripts are provided with audio-visual resources for those learners who require or prefer the written format.)
Sharing your learnings with other course participants in discussion opportunities.

Successful completion of this course will allow you to develop as a shepherd leader and deepen your understanding of God’s intentions for effective leadership.

When engaging in social learning activities, such as sharing ideas or commenting on other learners’ ideas in discussions, be mindful of how you express yourself in writing. In written communication, we do not have the advantages of interpersonal cues (e.g., facial expressions, voice tone, and gestures), so it can be difficult to express intended meaning. Remember that other course participants may have different perspectives, opinions, and life experiences than you. Therefore, when communicating online, it’s important to assume the best intentions of others and use polite and respectful language.

Have a question?

If you have a question about anything in this course, or need assistance, please email us at support@odbu.org.

What Activities to Expect

Each lesson will guide you through a series of activities. Select the headings below to read a brief description and instructions for completing each activity.

Overview and Objectives

This activity offers a brief introduction to the lesson and informs you of the lesson’s objectives.

Viewing this activity is required for course completion.

Video

This activity provides the main teaching content for the lesson. You may choose to read the transcript or watch the video. Closed captioning is also provided for any video segments. In each case the content is the same.

This activity is required for course completion.

Check Your Understanding

This quiz activity checks your understanding of the concepts learned so far. It is not a timed activity, and the quiz can be attempted as many times as needed.

Earning a quiz score of 70% or better is required for course completion.

Reflect

This activity asks you to reflect on your own experiences related to leading and being led.

Instructions for reflection

Get and use a hard copy journal or an e-note-taking tool such as Notion, OneNote, or Apple Notes.
Spend time reflecting on the questions provided in the activity. Make it a time of prayer by sharing your thoughts and reflections with God.
Write down your answers, thoughts, and other revelatory ideas in your journal that God reveals during your time of prayerful reflection.

For reflective journaling activities such as this one, find a quiet place in which you will not be disturbed by other people, noises, or other distractions. Silence e-devices and quiet your mind by reading Bible passages or praying before attempting the activity.

This ungraded activity is required for course completion.

Scripture Meditation

This activity connects what you’re learning about shepherding and leadership to what we find in the Bible. Spend some time carefully reading the Scripture passage provided in the activity, utilizing the simple three-step method of Receive, Reflect, and Respond.

Receive simply involves reading the text and asking, “What does the text say?”
Reflect challenges you to ask, “What does the text mean?”
Respond invites you to apply the meaning of the text to your life.

For each lesson, please take time to read the passage provided. After you’ve read the passages, use Receive, Reflect, Respond prompts to engage more deeply with the text. Write your answers in your personal reflection journal.

This ungraded activity is required for course completion.

Make a Plan

This discussion activity is designed to help you consider how to put your learning to use in your own context. It may also help you collect ideas from other course participants about their understanding of shepherd leadership. Since this course is asynchronous (i.e., other learners complete the course at different times), you may not see many discussion submissions or receive replies to your posts. Therefore, consider your submissions to this discussion forum as a way to share your insights about what you have learned to inspire or challenge others in their learning journey, and to enable others to do the same for you.

While other learners may not see or respond to your comments in the short term, encouraging others and engaging with others enhances your learning experience.

Bonus Reading

Shepherd Leadership is a companion course to the book The Good Shepherd: Forty Biblical Insights on Leading and Being Led by Tim Laniak. Each Bonus Reading activity features an excerpt from The Good Shepherd that enriches Dr. Laniak’s teaching in the lesson. Information about purchasing this book is provided below. Purchase of the book is not required for course completion.

Learn from the Good Shepherd how to lead in your home, church, or community. After spending months among Bedouin shepherds in the Middle East, Tim Laniak offers 40 short readings that explore every leader’s responsibility to provide, protect, and guide. Each chapter begins with observations from Tim’s travels, continues with insights into Bible stories about shepherding, and concludes with what this means for you in your own spheres of influence.

Shepherd Leadership students can purchase The Good Shepherd at a discounted price here.

This activity is not required for course completion.

Lesson Summary

This activity sums up the concepts learned in each lesson and looks ahead to what comes next.

This activity is not required for course completion.

Course Completion Requirements

To successfully acquire the knowledge, skills, and values this course aims to equip you with, you will need to:

Engage with all of the pages in every lesson.
Comprehensively complete all of the activities.
Read or use all of the essential resources.
Watch all of the videos.
Contribute towards the discussion boards.

Completing a Foundations for Biblical Ministry Self-Directed Certificate

Shepherd Leadership, as well as being a standalone course for ODBU users, is one of the 16 self-directed, asynchronous courses of ODBU that make up a more comprehensive training program for individuals who would like to equip themselves in foundational knowledge and skills for biblical ministry.
Learners can find out more about the Foundations for Biblical Ministry Self-Directed Certificate here. Should you be part of this program, you will need to get a certificate of completion for this course as evidence of your learning in the program.