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| Trail marker symbol for the Camino de Santiago |
Last
month, I had the privilege of walking the first 50 miles of a 500 mile
pilgrimage route known as the Camino de
Santiago, or translated into English, the Way of St. James. Having felt the footsteps of pilgrims for over a thousand
years, the Camino (as it is known), courses its way west from a small town in
southern France, over the Pyrenees, to the shrine of the apostle St. James,
located in the city of Santiago de Compostela. It has long served as a path for
people seeking spiritual growth and renewal. Unsurprisingly, I would be no
different. What was surprising is the manner in which it happened. I'll get to
that in a bit.
By
calling, I am a lead pastor for a church located just outside of Indianapolis. It
is a second career for me, God having brought me into the pastoring gig at the ripe
old age of 47. In the ten years I've been doing it, I discovered the learning
curve is steep. Having served in a smaller church setting, as a pastor I had to
be both a minister and administer. After
a decade of doing it, I admit I was feeling uncomfortably stretched between two
different, competing skill sets. When I received the invitation to walk the Camino, I felt adequately prepared from a physical standpoint, but mentally, I was dragging. How could I walk 50 miles in 5 days when I
couldn't summon energy to tackle many of the tasks church ministry requires? So
I was hoping the Camino would inject me with some inspiration. It was not long
in coming.
On
the first full day of hiking, we were crossing over a pass in the Pyrenees
Mountains
when I encountered a flock of sheep grazing on the mountain side. The Holy Spirit beckoned me to leave the trail and walk toward
them. As I got closer, the sheep became aware of my presence and started to
amble away so that I never got within 50 yards of them. However, as I was doing
this, it triggered a dim memory on what I had once read about sheepdogs. So I
started scanning the flock for the presence of one. I never saw a dog, but God
used the moment to formulate an analogy that helped me immensely with my
pastoral identity. It has to do with shepherds and sheepdogs.
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| Actual picture of the flock of sheep. |
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| Moving the flock! |
The
other type, known as "livestock guardian dogs" are among the oldest
known to humanity, tracing their lineage more than 2,500 years. They were bred
for protecting the flocks from large predators. Dohner points out that they
have different traits and temperament from herding dogs. She writes that guardian
dogs do not herd sheep. Their behaviors,
developed over centuries, include being responsive and friendly to his owners
as
well as nurturing and protective to his charges, even the smallest lamb. Unlike
herding dogs, they are highly bonded to their flocks and appear to have lower
energy. However, they become especially active at nighttime when they patrol for,
and bark at, threats in the darkness. Guardian dogs are independent thinkers,
which Dohner says "is a nice way of saying they are not always going to
listen to your commands if they think the situation demands otherwise,"
but must have three essential characteristics: being attentive, protective and
trustworthy.
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| Guardians and sheep drink from the same trough. |
The
analogy comes together in the context of John 10, where Jesus identifies
himself as the shepherd, and we are the sheep. But when we are in a role of ministry
leadership, perhaps it is helpful to see ourselves as a kind of sheepdog. Our
primary task is to help the shepherd with the sheep. Make no mistake, the shepherd needs BOTH
types of sheepdogs, guardians who bark into darkness to deter predators, and herders
who (if necessary) bark at the sheep to keep the flock moving toward new
pastures. The question for ministry leaders then, is what kind of sheepdog are we more like?
This
is not to say we are completely one way or another. Our behavioral traits are
far more complex than dogs, and as leaders, we have traits of both. We are
guardians and herders. However, it
can be helpful to ask if we lean toward one attribute and away from the other in
our leadership style? This is important to know for two reasons: 1) Opportunity
to press into our natural style, and 2) partner with other leaders who have essentials traits that we lack. Working in tandem, we serve our
Shepherd in protecting and moving sheep in the direction they need to go. As
Hebrews 10:25 makes clear, we called to spur one another on toward love and good deeds...guarding and herding.
In
the hopes of helping other ministry leaders, God has invited me to explore this
analogy in more detail, so I am working with some fellow workers in the field
(to mix biblical metaphors) to expand it. Therefore, I would welcome comments, suggestions
and stories from you, the reader. Some topics I hope to explore are the
strengths and limitations of being either a herder or guardian, especially when
the Spirit is moving and opportunity beckons, and at the same time, protecting
the sheep. The reality is that sheep don't like moving and/or tend to wander
off. (Luke 15) Likewise, there are joys
and struggles to being a sheepdog, from watching the flock grow and mature, to
being resented for bring the discomfort of change. But at the end of the day, the
most important fact to remember is that both herders and guardians are loved by,
and live to serve, our Shepherd Jesus.
Keep
the Faith! ~ Pastor Art
