Last week Amy received a group text message alerting us to a rogue sheep wandering through our community. In the cultivated lawns of suburbia we see squirrels, rabbits, and on occasion, even deer. What I’ve never seen apart from the fair, the petting zoo, or the ranch, is a fluffy white sheep just milling about. Yesterday, while driving, I spotted this mysterious sheep walking around the dam just down the street from our house. It’s like a little shock to the system-this critter is out of place. He obviously belongs on a farm somewhere along with at least a few others of his kind. I don’t know how he ended up here. Did he escape his enclosure or was he intentionally released “into the wild?” How is he going to survive?
It reminds me of one of passage in the Bible where Jesus uses sees a crowd of people and has compassion because they were like “sheep without a shepherd.” Like the little guy wandering around my neighborhood, there are many who are wandering through life without any direction. As a pastor this passage points me in three directions.
First, Jesus saw the crowd. As pastors we must be out there with our spiritual eyes open. It is easy to get in our holy huddles. It is easy to entrench ourselves “in the study.” This isn’t to say that networking with other believers, pastors, or ministry leaders is not important, it is. It’s not to say that we shouldn’t be spending ample time preparing the message(s) for the upcoming week. Those are good things that shouldn’t distract us from the mission: seeking to reach those that are far from God and bring the ultimate message of healing and hope.
Second, Jesus had compassion. The reality is that we are going to face rejection, criticism, and opposition. We must, however, resist the temptation to allow our hearts to grow cold and our minds to grow cynical, even after repeated attacks. I recently read a post by Pastor Kurt Bubna who wrote on this topic and encourages pastors to
“Guard your heart. Don’t be cynical. Don’t live in fear of rejection. Remember, Jesus too went from awesome to awful in the minds of many. He understands, so take your pain to Him when you are rejected.”
Kurt Bubna “5 THINGS EVERY LEADER SHOULD REMEMBER WHEN REJECTED”
Third, Jesus took action. Compassion short of action is simply an emotion. Jesus didn’t just look at the crowd and feel bad. He did what he was called to do and “began to teach them many things.” As pastors we are called to teach. We are called to teach the Gospel. We are called to equip our generation with the truth of the Bible as it relates to our world.
Points to Ponder:
-If you are stuck in a “holy huddle” ask yourself the question, “How can I break out of this and break into the world around me?”
-If you’ve found your heart has grown cold, ask the Lord to eyes and heart to the needs around you.
-What are you doing to stay on mission, to stay on target, and to advance the gospel in your home, workplace, school, and community?