The Tent: A safe place for shepherds to reflect together
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nschatz
Joined: 15 Oct 2020 Posts: 5
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 1:12 pm Post subject: "We are shepherds" |
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“When I inquired among the Bedouin about the herder hierarchy, they always answered simply, ‘We are shepherds.’†(232)
It never occurred to me that herds have a hierarchy. But that must be true. I always envisioned shepherds being small-town people who manage herds of 50-150 sheep. That’s the equivalent to assuming that everyone who goes by the title “pastor†is a small-town pastor of a 50-150 person parish. This is far from the truth, as a “pastor†could be a denominational leader, have a role specifically with youth or groups ministry, or a hundred other focuses.
But what I appreciated the most was reading that everyone Taniak interviewed preferred to be called a shepherd, and that they spent time every day with the animals no matter how high up the org chart they went. The lesson is that a shepherd has to be around sheep, otherwise he isn’t a shepherd; he is something else.
Reflecting on my own pastoral experience, I started out as a solo pastor of a very small church. Then after moving to attend seminary a church of 250 hired me as a Family Pastor. Now I work as an Executive Pastor in a church of over 1,000 weekly attenders. Although my daily responsibilities and large roles have drastically changed with each move, my favorite part of pastoring is being with people. I hope that never changed. It’s the bread and butter of doing ministry and building a healthy church. |
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