Consequence #1 of cowboy pastoring; spiritual immaturity in the flock

As my wife and I contemplated the results of driving the sheep instead of leading them, using a corporate approach instead of the Biblical, it seems that the "scattering of the sheep" as they are driven instead of led will lead to lower spiritual maturity.

How so?  Aren't the cowboy pastors telling people to evangelize, pray, and read the Scriptures for themselves?

Well, absolutely, but consider the two guys we all knew in college; one was smart and did his homework because he had to, and the other lived for his major.  Which one did you want to hire when you got done?

OK, maybe the "geek" had some other issues, but if you really wanted to get somewhere with his subject, you'd be talking to him, wouldn't you?  The same thing goes for study of the Scriptures; if you want to know who is going to really know and apply them, you're going to look for the person with internal motivation.

And so we find that if we should desire to have congregants read and apply the Scripture for themselves, it would seem that the pastor who excites the desire of his flock to enjoy the Word by leading them to that green pasture would have a much better chance than the cowboy who tries to drive his flock through the desolate areas to that same pasture.

It's like the example I drew yesterday; those who knew the glories of the Gospel from interaction with the apostles evangelized almost without being told to do so.  They made disciples without that admonition, and their prayers ascended up to Heaven as a sweet smelling savor.  We've got something to learn from them.

An example of people learning from the first century; I once visited a church in Kiel, Germany, which had been bombed out and renovated in a singular way.  I talked with the pastor--who had lost some fingers in the Battle of the Bulge--about why the historic vaulted ceilings had not been restored, but rather steel columns now supported a light roof.

He mentioned that reading of ancient church history had suggested that the early church did not in general sit theater-style in parallel rows, but rather sat in a circle.  Hence the pews were arranged in that manner so the congregation could respond not only to the pastor, but also to each other.

Perhaps his understanding of history is correct, and perhaps not.  I haven't read the Church Fathers.  However, I know fully that he led me to an understanding of how church members ought to interact with one another.  He was in this way fully a pastor.