He Calls Them by Name

Pastors are undershepherds of the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:1-4). As such, they should look to Jesus as their example of what it means to be a pastor. One famous characteristic of the Good Shepherd is that he knows his sheep by name (John 10:3). I don’t think it’s far-reaching to infer from these things that you ought not be called the pastor of someone whose name you don’t know. Granted, pastors are only human. They can’t measure up to the Chief Shepherd in every respect. But in my mind, this only means that they’ll be limited in the number of sheep they can shepherd, not that they shouldn’t be expected to know their sheep by name. The Good Shepherd is known as such not because of the number of sheep he has, but because of the closeness of his relationship with them. This relational aspect is what pastors should prioritize and strive to emulate.