Shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

Jude 12b-13

I don’t know much about what it takes to be a shepherd, but Scripture provides examples of both good and bad shepherds as it relates to faith. Jude used the same kind of language as the prophet Ezekiel –

“Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them”

Ezekiel 34: 2b-4

The shepherds described by Ezekiel ailed to fulfill their purpose and their sheep suffered. The same can be said for the shepherds Jude says only “feed themselves.” They are waterless clouds speaking empty words.

But the sheep are not forgotten as God promises to “be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak…” (Ezekiel 34:15b-16a).

There are good intentioned, capable leaders in churches today, but there are also bad “shepherds” who craft a message with smooth words that sell to ears that are all too often longing for a positive word of affirmation and ignoring the truth of God’s word.