My ex-husband was an amazing shepherd as an elder. He made visits on the members of our bookstudy group on a regular basis, and it was purely to encourage them, not to take them to task about their numbers. They loved the individual attention. As Blondie mentioned, he burned out. None of the other elders supported him and actually belittled his efforts. He's still a JW, but I don't know if he's ever "reached out" again.