"I am the Good Shepherd:
the Good Shepherd giveth
His life for the sheep."
- John 10:11

NOTE:  I wrote this especially to encourage my own pastor and thought you might want to forward it on to YOUR pastor or anyone who might want to share it with their minister.  The call of a pastor is a difficult and challenging one, and we should do our best to edify and support the shepherds God places in our lives.

Written for my own Pastor, Charles Stoddard, July 2001.

A pastor isn’t the head of a church as many people think, but rather is the shepherd of a flock.  While there were many religious leaders, prophets, priests and judges in the Old Testament, the first real shepherd of a flock of believers was the Great Shepherd Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the First Pastor.  His congregation?  The disciples - both The Twelve and others who followed Him as He taught.

And what a congregation He had... 

* They sometimes doubted Him. (Matthew 14:31) 

* They sometimes denied Him.  (Matthew 26:75) 

* They oftentimes didn’t understand His teaching.  (Matthew 16:9) 

* They oftentimes didn’t APPLY His teaching.  (John 18:10) 

* They argued among themselves.  (Mark 10:41) 

* They fell asleep at important times.  (Matthew 26:43) 

* They expected the wrong things out of Him.  (Luke 24:21) 

* They blamed Him when bad things happened. (John 11:21) 

* They stopped listening to Him when He preached the “hard” stuff.
(John 6:66) 

* They made false promises to Him. (Mark 14:31) 

* They sometimes betrayed Him. (Matthew 26:48) 

* They were reluctant to show appreciation to Him. (Matthew 26:7,8) 

* They kept Him busy at all hours of the day. (Mark 1:32) 

And despite all of this, the First Pastor did five things for His flock... 

* He loved them in spite of themselves. (John 15:12) 

* He obeyed the Father regardless of what THEY did.  (John 17:4) 

* He prayed for them. (John 17:1) 

* He continued to teach them - encouragement, correction, guidance. (Acts 1:3) 

* He gave everything He had for them, even His very life. (John 10:11) 

Pastor, you will often find that the Great Pastor is your model in many ways.  Firstly, simply because of the flock that you both have in common.  And, hopefully, also because you both did five things despite the physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally draining things that flock may do. 

And so, I encourage you, despite the flaws and imperfections and problems among your flock... 

* Love them in spite of themselves. 

* Obey the Father regardless of what they do. 

* Pray for them. 

* Continue to teach them - encourage, correct, guide. 

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!