MI \ ISTR - Adventist Archives

The Shepherd's CallStrengthening Our Stakes While Advancing Our LinesBy ROY ALLAN ANDERSON, SecretaryMinisterial Association of the General ConferenceFEW years ago I stepped into the homeof one of our ministers in New Zealand.Twenty years earlier I had baptized hiswife, then just a girl in her teens. Now, as thewife and mother of the home she was sharingthe joys and cares of the work with her husband.As I sat down to a very welcome meal Iglanced up at the wall, and there was a picture—one I have always admired, and I know youhave too. It is well known. The scene is away upin the mountains. The lamb, too sick to walk,has fallen in the heavy snow. The dog, sensinghis responsibility, dares not leave his littlecharge, for fear some peril may befall it. Hecannot go back to get help, and there he is, cryingfrantically, as only a dog who senses dangercan.As I saw that picture I said to my friends,"That's a wonderful scene." "Yes it is," repliedmy host. Then he added, "Brother, we alwayskeep that right here where we can see it everyday, lest we forget our responsibility to theflock of God and especially to the sick lambs."He was in charge of the young people's work inthe conference.ShepherdingI have thought of that many times. When wesee the Saviour and He asks us, "Where is thyflock?" what shall we answer Him? This morningI want to talk to you a little about shepherding.With your permission I want to unburdenmy heart to you. We have been a busyand a happy group of workers during these intensivedays. We have been thinking aboutlarger plans, about lengthening our cords. Butif we would do that, we must also strengthenour stakes. If we are going to have a more farreachingwork, it must be a stronger work inour churches.I am talking to you as a group of shepherdsand shepherdesses today, because after all, thatis the true picture of the Christian minister. Weface a world that is in grave peril, and men inevery land live in a sense of danger. Man todayis homeless and hopeless amid a jungle of machinesand untamed forces. He needs a guide.In the work of God we need wise executives, weneed keen organizers, we need strong preachers,but if we can discern the need of God's churchat all (and during this quadrennium it hasJANUARY, 1951—SUPPLEMENTbeen my privilege to visit seven of our divisions),if we can sense anything of our needs asa people, perhaps our greatest need is for true,sympathetic shepherds of the flock. There is nogreater work in the world than the work of ashepherd. In these days when modern civilizationtends more and more to lose sight of theindividual, we need men and women who cansense that all around us—yes, and even in ourown churches and in our homes—people areburdened with cares. They suffer from strangeconflicts in their personalities, and they faceproblems that they know absolutely no way toencounter; nor can they find a solution to them.Our churches need more than someone whois merely interested in facts and figures. In thesebig cities of earth we rub shoulders with somany, and yet we seem to know so few. Sciencehas taught us how to measure and evaluateeverything, but in a column of figures or in acomparative graph, an individual, a lonely soul,is just another digit—a meaningless dot on thepaper. A true leader is interested in more thana balance sheet or a tithe-per-capita report orsomething of that kind.Don't ScoldWe need to realize that these sheep in thechurch of God are the most precious things inthe universe to our Father. One of our unionconference presidents, talking to a group ofworkers some time ago said, "Do not scold ourpeople, brethren; they are the best people inthe world." And I believe that, don't you?These words are familiar to us: "The churchof God with all her faults and failings is neverthelessthe object of His supreme regard." If itis the object of God's supreme regard, surely itshould be ours, for we are doing His work.Of course we need to keep records, and yetit is possible to develop a mania for statistics.I am not talking against statistics. These tooare important, but I am talking about shepherdingthe flock, because lonely souls areeverywhere to be found. Kipling stated it wellwhen he said, "We are like islands, and weshout to each other across the seas of misunderstanding."What tragic mistakes are made whenmen do not understand? That is often why theywander away. But these are the things that callfor kind, sympathetic shepherds.Page 3