Guard the Flock

I've heard some church leaders say that it's okay and even beneficial to learn church leadership skills from unbelievers. In other words, some people (including some pastors) think that pastors can benefit and learn leadership skills that they can use in church and can benefit their ministry from taking advice and guidance from non-Christians. One church that seems to apply this philosophy is Willow Creek. At their leadership summits, they invite speakers who are successful business men, but not necessarily Christians to share leadership advice. Check out an 8 minute clip from Bill Hybels speaking at the leadership summit about "expanding your learning bandwidth".

Once again, I want to be clear that I am not judging his heart; I am simply asking you to examine his teaching about the importance of learning as much as you can from as wide a variety of leaders as possible. I think this is important to examine because I personally know people who believe he is right about this and that we can and should learn church leadership skills from unbelievers. Here are a few of the comments Bill Hybels makes during the clip:

...claims he has learned “Invaluable leadership lessons from…"...“a Hindu Harvard prof”, “an Agnostic leadership researcher”

"who can you learn from?"

“is your learning bandwidth getting wider or narrower as you mature as a leader”

He then talks about, and in my opinion wrongly criticizes, a pastor who refuses to come to the summit and “protests” it due to Hybels bringing in a faculty member to the leadership summit that the pastor did not agree with.

“it’s my fiercest determination to keep putting faculty lineups together that make a portion of you get your underwear in a bundle” (laughter and applause)

“there are no accidents here friends, this is absolutely intentional” (referring to the speakers chosen to speak)

“we think you can separate wheat from chaff”

“take the good and leave the bad”

“at the end of the day, it’s all about learning leaders”

“I better expand my learning bandwidth so I can learn and grow and do the best job I can”

So, my question is...is this biblical? Can a pastor benefit and learn how to be a better leader by learning from a Hindu prof? I checked out my Bible about this. I didn't find any verse that encouraged pastors or shepherds of the flock to take advice from people who believe in a false god or in no god at all.

But, I did find a few verses about what shepherds (or pastors) should be like.

"For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. "
Acts 20:27-31

I think this verse is saying that pastors (shepherds) have the responsibility to protect the congregation (the flock) and themselves (be on guard for yourselves) from people who speak things that are not of God (perverse things) that could draw people away from God to false teachers (wolves). It seems pastors should be careful who they take guidance from and also who they allow their flock to take guidance from. I think encouraging yourself and your flock to take advice from a Hindu professor is probably not protecting the flock. How can one be sure of his motives in sharing in a church? He may see it as the prime opportunity to attract people to Hinduism. Hybels says that he trusts those at the conference to "take the good and leave the bad". But this passage in Acts suggests that trying to protect the flock is part of the pastor's responsibility. He's not supposed to just pass that off and trust his flock to take care of themselves. Should the shepherd welcome potential wolves to come and "speak" to the sheep and leave the sheep to fend for themselves? I don't really think so.

Now, back to this whole "learning" thing. Increasing one's knowledge of God is talked about in the Bible as a good thing, yes.

"Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,
Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. " Proverbs 9:8-10

But what about increasing your knowledge of leadership to become a better church leader by taking advice from unbelievers...How can we possibly learn about the spiritual gift of leadership from someone who does not have the Holy Spirit? What useful advice could an unbeliever possibly have that a believer is missing out on? I argue that taking advice from these people actually does harm because they do not know the Spirit, therefore, they cannot understand God's ways and will teach things contrary to the Bible.

The gift of leadership is just that--a spiritual gift from God.

"Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness." Romans 12:6-8

" But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

The Man of God and the Word of God

10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3

The Bible has given us all we need to know so that we can be equipped for the work God has for us. ("that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work"). We don' t need to, and in fact are warned not to, go to unbelievers for spiritual advice (which includes leadership since it is a spiritual gift). Pastors, along with the rest of us, should look to the Bible and to the Good Shepherd's example to see how a shepherd is supposed to lead and protect the flock.