Why is the image of a shepherd used for leaders in the Bible?

Tim Laniak’s pursued a Bible and culture focus at Wheaton College, Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Jerusalem University College, and Harvard University while serving with his wife in short-term missions in numerous countries and ministering to international students and immigrants in the US. For 25 years prior to joining ODB Ministries, he served at Gordon-Conwell Seminary as Bible professor and Dean. During these years he wrote six books on Esther, Exegesis, and Spiritual Shepherding (ShepherdLeader.com), and created a 45-course multi-media curriculum for Bible study. In 2022 Tim become the SVP of Global Content at Our Daily Bread Ministries where he oversees an online non-formal university with about 65,000 learners (ODBU.org). Here, Tim answers questions from the talk "Shepherds After My Own Heart: Cultivating Compassion, Courage and Competence", given at the 2024 European Leadership Forum.
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