Shepherd Sharing the Night Watch

[PastorApril]

I am in a well-organized denomination with a sophisticated hierarchical structure. The structure was meant to be setup to help facilitate the work of pastors and congregations alike.

When I first came into this denomination, the head shepherd in my locale who shepherded the pastors took his night watch seriously. When there was a wolf, one could call on him and he was there with coffee, a listening ear, and prayer – lots of prayer. One felt you were never alone on the night watch and that if a wolf showed up, then you had someone who would share the burden by offering support and wisdom.

But before long, this good shepherd was replaced with a different kind of sherpherd. If a wolf showed up and you let this Head Shepherd know, they had neither the patience or willingness to work through problems. In fact, they seemed to like watching things get stirred up.

I have watched congregations with realtively small wolves go through huge heartache because no one was willing to share the night watch. And the burden became too much for pastor or congregation to bare. I think pastors need to share the night watch with other pastors. And this forum is a good place to do that!