A Pastor’s Home
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:10 am
I am grateful to read this 40 days of devotional on pastor and pastoral ministry. Especially after more than ten years of practice, it is time to make some sort of conclusion for the first period in my ministerial life--if God’s will I may continue in the future. The author helps me to figure out the overall view of what a pastor and ministry could mean. If someone asks what pastor is and what pastors do, I will recommend this book for introduction, a down-to-earth guideline unfolding the real life as pastor. As for myself, I will re-read the book especially in my perplexed middle age, when a search for meaning and calling inaugurates the second phase of life.
Like shepherd leading sheep to home, I think pastor needs home, too. We know we may have home with the family members, or a place called home. And we also understand our destination as pastor is to lead the Lord’s sheep back to the heavenly home. But I do feel that pastor needs a home only belonging to our pastoral self. It is a spiritual home understanding our needs and struggle, failures and victories, fears and worries, and providing restoration. We need such a home, maybe with other pastors in a pastoral prayer meeting or retreat camp, namely support groups,which let us feel like home. It could be a quiet afternoon we have some solitude moments with a good book and coffee, or in a restful prayer like sheep lying down in the green pastures.
Pastoral life is a blessing. It should be rich. It should be colorful. It should center a home in the heats of the pastors. There should be green pastures in our soul, where the Chief Shepherd dwells with us and leads us... a home he is always "be-there", like a Shepherd watching over me....
Like shepherd leading sheep to home, I think pastor needs home, too. We know we may have home with the family members, or a place called home. And we also understand our destination as pastor is to lead the Lord’s sheep back to the heavenly home. But I do feel that pastor needs a home only belonging to our pastoral self. It is a spiritual home understanding our needs and struggle, failures and victories, fears and worries, and providing restoration. We need such a home, maybe with other pastors in a pastoral prayer meeting or retreat camp, namely support groups,which let us feel like home. It could be a quiet afternoon we have some solitude moments with a good book and coffee, or in a restful prayer like sheep lying down in the green pastures.
Pastoral life is a blessing. It should be rich. It should be colorful. It should center a home in the heats of the pastors. There should be green pastures in our soul, where the Chief Shepherd dwells with us and leads us... a home he is always "be-there", like a Shepherd watching over me....