Celebrate the Shepherd
Clergy leaders, like everyone else, need family, spiritual and physical support.
Every Sunday afternoon this Fall a scene will be repeated. A football team will play to a packed stadium. Everyone will watch a quarterback throw the ball to a receiver, who will score a touchdown, and the people will jump to their feet to celebrate.
And every Sunday morning in America a gifted pastor stands in a pulpit and preaches his heart out. Then he waits for a word of encouragement, a sign that he matters to those in the pews. Often, it never comes. With an ache in his heart he goes home, wondering why no one came to celebrate.
So why celebrate the shepherd?
Because pastors need physical support. I'm reminded of a shepherd named Moses, who stood atop a hill with the staff of God in his hands. We read in Exodus 17:10-13 that Moses' hands grew tired and became so heavy he couldn't hold them up without the help of two men named Aaron and Hur, who held his hands steady until sunset. He needed the physical support of others to win the battle.
So why celebrate the shepherd?
Because pastors need spiritual support. I read of another Shepherd, praying in a garden, whose burden was so heavy that an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him whose sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. I hear Him say to His friends, in Luke 22:46, "Why are you sleeping? . . . Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." He needed the spiritual support of his brethren, so He exhorted them to watch and pray.
Why celebrate the shepherd?
Because pastors need family support. I remember a shepherd who was called away from home and family at all hours of the day and night. He would faithfully go when called to minister to a person in a hospital bed, to a home in the midst of a family crisis. He visited those who were in chains. He fed the hungry. He helped the homeless. He practiced what he preached about the love and grace of Jesus by being a doer of the Word.
That shepherd seldom got the chance to go fishing, play ball or attend school events with his children. He would apologize to his family for all the unseen hours that pastoral ministry required. His family was supported by loving church members who recognized the importance of what one man can do when his family is nurtured and cared for.
That family was my family, and that shepherd was my father. He was and is my hero. And that's why I raise my hands to celebrate the Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ and His gifts, His heart, mind and Spirit in you, our pastors.