[Link] (https://goo.gl/images/vz7gsE)

A Mighty Shout out

With a sense of humility and esteemed reverence, I acknowledge, salute all repertoires and contributors of knowledge on this great steemit community, @sirknight, @iksilva and others, you all are touching lives and making ground breaking impacts on humanity.
Who is a Shepherd? I do not intend to offer you any complex philosophical or theological definition, but simply in a simple term; A shepherd is someone that looks after his sheeps. A typical analogy is that we will observe that herdsmen, cattle rearers, those into animal husbandry mostly smell like their sheeps, the same way is with fish sellers or someone that works in fish cold rooms,they smell like the fish they sell, this is exactly what a shepherd should look like and smell like.

The Disheartening Reversal

It is true that a shepherd is supposed to smell like his sheep, maybe those were the norms that have and are becoming ancient and archaic now; humans living and existence, leadership styles, practises and decision revealed especially by so many leaders today reveals that many shepherds are never willing and not ready to draw close to their sheeps, speak less of smelling like them.
Let us look deep into the realities that has,unfolded,and that is unfolding.

Where is the Sacrifice?

Shepherds are known to be care givers, a sacrosanct sacrifice giver, even the scripture reveals the story of the shepherd that abanoned and kept safe 99 sheeps on the mountain and went in search of the lost one sheep. It has shown so well that many people without attaching sentiments most times, apart of been a christian,a believer or a free thinker, an atheist or whatever you believe in, people oftentimes preach what they do not practise.

The Slanderous dagger in the Heart

Many adults who are supposed to be exemplary to young people; youths, adolescents and children have not only become attackers but also they attack the young people hiding their failures hence, using young people: the youths has correction buttons,some parents use their children as correction pendulum, they use them to correct their mistakes, or even use them to make the decisions they were not bold to take or make when they were young e.g they couldn't become a medical doctor,so their son or daughter must become a medical doctor, they couldn't study to become an engineer,so their children must become an engineer, a lawyer, a pharmacist, a psychiatrist etc.

The Bane: Remedy to avoid destruction

I am speaking to leaders across all levels: in government establishment; civil service and ministries, in church organisations and associations who have overtime neglected their duties, dudged their responsibilities as leaders, hence have failed to deliver, they have failed to pass on, they complain thatyoung people of this age are lovers of money,that they are lazy,that they are not willing to work but indict them that they want to reap where they had not sown.
Speaking now in particular about pastors of churches, church council heads, committee heads, heads of community volunteer group etc.
We see today how young people are working, have worked and are ready to walk tirelessly to bring the glory of God to humanity, but manytimes many men of God have become a stumbling block to that.
They tell volunteers(young people) who serve as instrumentalists in churches that they are working for their heavenly Father,hence all should be done in sacrifice to God and for the salvation of souls, yet, these pastors, heads of ministries have their needs met by the same church, the people pay tithes, they give offerings, they sow seeds. All these helps the pastor to meet his personal and family needs which is not bad,it is worth it, they gave their life to work in the vineyard, so their life should be comfortable.

The Roaring Lamb of Greed and Selfishness

Different groups in the church submitted their annual or biannual budgets for the year or for different periods covered as stipulated therein. Many pastors become irresponsible and unresponsive to the plights, the needs, the necessities of these groups, suddenly; they begin to talk and finalise about budget cuts even without consulting with the leaders of the groups, pastors,priests, vicars, etc suddenly become uncomfortable, they suddenly begin to feel their authorities are challenged by leaders in these groups, so they bring in fire brigade autocratic approach in the name of forestalling discipline and setting standard precedence that will someday become the template.
They start getting hedgy over, shouting at the drummers for not using their personal funds/finances to replace the bad drum toms or snare or the bass drums, they get mad at the head of technical for not replacing VGA cables with their own money,they begin another lengthy teaching on sacrifice, working for God with our time,treasures and money but remember these ministers,servants of God have their needs met by the church; their members. It is so annoying, so funny and disdainful how men of God shy away from their responsibilities and blame other people for their own inadequacies.

Spitting blood and fire

They are always ready to raise the roof over the technical, choir/music directors when there are glitches during services, they condemn them and even blame them for canalities, oh! It's so funny, they attach canality to lack of technical knowledge and improper planning, failure for not executing the already submitted budgets from the beginning of the year, pastors begin to express their unhappiness, the thwarting of flows during service.
Let shepherds of souls know that every young man or woman have personal responsibilities which they must meet themselves without little or no help coming from the church or the association or the group which they most time spend their time, talent and use their treasure for.

Greed and Selfishness: A Cankerworm to Humanity

Whenever it comes to issues of financial commitments, aiding and supporting your financial needs, men of God seem to teach without physically empowering the young people but yet condemn them, chastise them against canality: they tell the young men not go into advanced free fraud and to the ladies not to sell their bodies to make money, yet pastors of souls are willing always at the beck and call of making and meeting political calibres, they have become the best friends of the rich in the church and in the larger society as against the standard Christ set for us.
Jesus Christ ate with sinners, tax collectors, he allowed the adulterous woman to rob his feet's with a jar of alabaster oil even his own disciple complained that the perfume is expensive and should have been sold and the money to be given to the poor. Greed and selfishness is perilous and are imminent dangers to the work of evangelisation. We all must heed to the wakeup call of Christ and truly live out our lives as true shepherds as Christ pointed out that true shepherds is the one that is willing and is able to lay down his lives for his sheeps.

Creating the Balance
We all must strive in whatever positions we find ourselve to stand out,we must play our parts to the best of our knowledg and abilities. We must be believers, Christians of conscience, we must exhibit our Christlike behaviours, we must never forget that even rank and file officers in organisations, pastors of churches,heads of ministries, government establishments, and leaders of social groups; no matter what you do, we all will be asked to give accounts of our stewardship here on earth, there is no sitting on the fence.
God knows the commitment you had, you have and are putting in his house to ensure that you bring glory to His name, he sees and he will reward every man for his good deeds,don't stop doing your best, don't stop believing and don't stop hoping in God, but let's continue to be responsible, if those who are supposed to help refuse to help, continue to play your part and allow God to play his part in and at his own time and pace.

Final Charge
Do not be idle, do not be the source of downfall to a brother, a sister or a neighbour, I wish you all well. Be responsible, be selfless and patient,above all persevere and wait for your time,life is turn by turn.