Thoughts from Richard Rardin
Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:03 pm
“Contact with individual animals gives perspective for managerial oversight of his large herd.� This sentence reminded me of Richard Rardin’s model of pastoral ministry: the pastor is a servant-shepherd. A servant who attends to the unique needs of the individual and a shepherd who oversees and makes decisions on behalf of the good of the entire flock. Both. A model that has inherent tension as some pastors are better servants than shepherds (like me) while others are better shepherds than servants. The unique challenge of the pastorate is to learn to do both well, to not neglect either side.
p. 93, last par: “The ‘church’ or ‘institution’ is something bigger than the aggregate collection of its individual members.� Again, Rardin: “The church is managed mystery.�
As Americans, I think most of us struggle to truly “think flock� because of our hyper-individualistic focus, which of course is strongly encouraged by almost everything in our culture. In other parts of the world I have visited (e.g., Asia, Latin America) where multi-generational family connections are stronger, there is a much more pronounced and organic understanding of “thinking flock.�
Great discussion on p. 94 about the inevitable managerial aspects of pastoral work, aspects I usually don’t particularly enjoy. In my own case, I made a decision to step down from the pastorate because the growing administrative responsibilities were simply not a good fit for my gift mix (teaching, counseling, encouragement). While I wholeheartedly affirm the need for good management, a ruthless self-assessment of my own gifts and passions (and current emotional energy level) meant taking a break for a while.
p. 93, last par: “The ‘church’ or ‘institution’ is something bigger than the aggregate collection of its individual members.� Again, Rardin: “The church is managed mystery.�
As Americans, I think most of us struggle to truly “think flock� because of our hyper-individualistic focus, which of course is strongly encouraged by almost everything in our culture. In other parts of the world I have visited (e.g., Asia, Latin America) where multi-generational family connections are stronger, there is a much more pronounced and organic understanding of “thinking flock.�
Great discussion on p. 94 about the inevitable managerial aspects of pastoral work, aspects I usually don’t particularly enjoy. In my own case, I made a decision to step down from the pastorate because the growing administrative responsibilities were simply not a good fit for my gift mix (teaching, counseling, encouragement). While I wholeheartedly affirm the need for good management, a ruthless self-assessment of my own gifts and passions (and current emotional energy level) meant taking a break for a while.