In his book, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Alexander Solzhenitzn’s insight into leadership conveys a huge truth that is applicable in leading God’s people. Speaking of life in a Russian hard-labor camp, he writes:
"A guard can’t get people to budge even in working hours, but a squad leader can tell his men to get on with the job even duing the break, and they’ll do it. Because he’s the one who feeds them. And he’d never make them work for nothing." (Peguin Books, 1998, pg. 71).
This is speaking of a prison guard versus a squad leader who was one of the prisoners himself. A shepherd’s ability to effectively lead God’s people is proportional to his ability to feed them. As he teaches them the meat of God’s Word–not as an exalted preacher, but as one among them–they are much more willing to follow his lead.