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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:
Ephesians 4:11-12
1 Peter 5:1-4
John 10:1-18
Definition taken from Network: Participants Manual, p. 92.
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