The patriarchs in Genesis, Moses before his call by God and David before he became a warrior were shepherds. Herding sheep is truly one of the world's oldest professions, going back 6000 years. Sheep are the most frequently mentioned animals in the Bible and there are about 100 references to shepherds. Many of them are not literal. Shepherding is all about leading, protecting, providing for and caring for a group. Naturally it became a favorite metaphor for the king of Israel and even more so for God's relationship to his people. Jesus called himself the “good shepherd,” indicating that, unlike the hired help, he was willing to give his life to save the flock. (John 10:11-12) The word “pastor” comes to English via the Latin for “shepherd.” So we who are in the ordained ministry and who have accepted responsibility for leading a parish are called pastors, shepherds of souls.
The metaphor says a lot. A shepherd must lead his flock to good pastures so they can feed. (Psalm 23:2) A pastor leads a church in such a way that his parish finds spiritual sustenance.
A shepherd has to protect his flock from predators. (Psalm 23:4) The analogy is muddier here because of the identity of the spiritual predators of the parish. Wolves may eat sheep, but I don't think we should classify as a predator another legitimate church that may be attracting parishioners to change churches. After all, every church should be part of Jesus's flock.
But certainly a pastor should protect his people from things that seek to separate folks from Christ. This includes, of course, those cults that use unethical influence and coercive control to exploit their followers for the personal benefit of the narcissistic leader. And there are those philosophies and religions whose primary feature seems to be making people feel good about themselves without actually demanding moral reform. These are belief systems that make people feel spiritual but which never bring up ideas like personal sin or personal restraint from doing whatever one desires. The only morality they espouse is some vaguely defined idea of karma.
But there are a multitude of less obvious things that are pulling people away from Christ's body. For instance, time-wise, this can include leisure activities and even work. People are working harder and longer and often working more than one job. When they are not working, people are staring at their screens to get enough dopamine hits that they will feel better. Excessive work and leisure are eating up time that should be devoted to sleep, not to mention time spent with God. It's a sad state of affairs when people must choose between satisfying their physical needs and their spiritual needs.
Shepherds also care for their sheep. In Biblical times, at night the shepherd would lead them into the fold, a kind of corral. The shepherd would put his rod across the entrance so he could stop and examine each sheep for cuts and scratches and then apply first aid. The ministerial equivalent is pastoral care, which is the topic of this SWEEPS sermon.
Pastoral care encompasses a whole range of activities, from counseling to visiting the sick to preparing people for marriage to conducting baptisms and funerals to listening to confessions. In large congregations with a full-time clergyperson, pastoral care can take up a lot of his or her schedule. If the budget allows it, an assistant pastor will be hired to deal with many of these duties. That way the senior pastor can devote himself to the extra tasks expected by modern churches: chairing numerous meetings, managing a staff, marketing the church, raising funds, overseeing building plans, creating new ministries, maybe running a parochial school and otherwise acting like the CEO of a company. Being able to do all these things is a gift, specifically the gift of administration or governing, as Paul called it. (1 Corinthians 12:28) Only a few churches recognize that administration is not exactly the same as being a pastor. Ministerial programs in seminaries train students in Bible, theology, and pastoral care but not really in administration. As I found out, you learn that when you get a church.
Why am I, a pastor, preaching to you, the flock, about pastoral care? For 2 reasons. First, because it is also a gift and it isn't confined to ordained ministers. In recognition of this fact, Dr. Kenneth Haugk, a Lutheran pastor and clinical psychologist, developed the Stephen Ministries. When he found the need for pastoral care in his large St. Louis church was too much for him to meet alone, he trained 9 lay people to help. Today thousands of congregations, not just big ones, have Stephen ministers. Folks who have not been called to ordained ministry can exercise their gift of helping others.
But, secondly, I am teaching you about pastoral care for the same reason the Red Cross teaches first aid to people who are not healthcare professionals—because you might be there when it's needed and a professional might not be. All Christians should know the basics of helping another person in the throes of a spiritual crisis.
Crises are usually about loss: loss of either a person in your life, or a relationship, or a job, or status, or self-image, or health, or a loss of purpose or meaning or faith or hope. The loss might be actual or potential. It might have already happened or else there might be a threat of it happening. The person facing the loss could react just as you'd expect someone in that situation to do. Or they might seem to be overreacting or under-reacting, in your eyes at least. What do you do?
A comedian once said that 90% of life is just showing up. The most important thing to do when someone is suffering is just to be there. Though some people might wish to face such things alone, the overwhelming majority of folks do not. They want support. They want someone by their side.
The question that tends to come up when trying to help in such cases is “What do I say?” The answer is “As little as possible.” Tell the person in crisis how sorry you are that this happened or is happening to them. Give them a hug if appropriate. But mostly, listen. Pay attention to the ratio of ears to mouth that God gave us and listen twice as much as you talk.
If the person suffering needs to talk, let them. Tragedies tend to overturn our images of ourselves as the heroes of our life stories. These things happen to other people, we think. We are too smart or too strong or careful or healthy or prepared or Christian to have this befall us. Talking is a way to make sense of what has happened, to make it fit into the narrative of our lives. The Red Cross has found that a disaster victim needs to tell their story an average of 17 times before they can accept that it is now part of their story. Let them talk.
At times you might need to ask a question for practical reasons or to clarify exactly what happened. But do not grill the person. Gently prompt them to answer. Do not try to unearth details just to satisfy your curiosity. Be prepared to tolerate a good deal of repetition and a fair amount of rambling. Take note of what seems to have had the biggest emotional impact on the person and what aspects they seem to have the hardest time wrestling with. Please realize that a lot of the questions they ask might be rhetorical. When they ask things like “What will I do?” or “What will I say?” they are probably not really asking for advice but for support. They aren't really asking for a list of practical steps at that point but expressing how overwhelmed they are. Let them know that you're here and will help them.
The same is probably true if they ask questions about God. They don't really want a coldly logical or even a scriptural reason why the bad thing happened to them or a loved one. Never—I repeat—never tell them the tragedy is God's plan or God's will. Never presume to know why God let this happen. You don't know. Be honest and tell them that: “I don't know.” Resist the temptation to defend God. Remember that Job asked God a lot of hard questions in his suffering, while his so-called “comforters” kept giving reasons why God let the loss of his children, wealth and health happen. But in the end, God commends Job and condemns his “comforters” for trying to defend God with faulty reasoning. (Job 42:7-8) God prefers honesty over well-meaning lies on his behalf.
Do not deny or dismiss the person's experience. Do not tell them what they are or are not feeling. At that moment all they have to cling to may be what they are experiencing. Don't tell them they are nuts or wrong to feel what they are feeling. It's human to feel all kinds of ways when things fall apart. Tell them, “I can understand why you feel that way.” If you have truly felt that way and have undergone the same or an extremely similar experience, then you can say, “I felt the same way when so-and-so died or such-and-such happened.” But if you haven't, don't lie. Just listen and empathize and assure them that they are not crazy or evil to feel as they do. After all, the Bible includes expressions of all human feelings including the darkest ones. If you don't believe me, check out Psalm 88.
Do not try to impose a meaning on what happened or is happening to the person. For it to make any sense to them, for it to have any comfort, they must discover the meaning themselves. Of course, you don't want them to conclude that they are worthless or hopeless. Let them know that it is normal to question or doubt themselves. We all play the “coulda, woulda, shoulda” game when something goes wrong. Now is not the time to draw conclusions on whose fault something is or what it says about anyone.
When you say, “If there's anything I can do, just ask,” realize what you are committing yourself to. Don't make promises you can't keep. If you realize that you are in over your head, the best thing to do is to refer the person to a professional. If it is mostly a crisis of faith, refer them to a pastor, preferably their own. If it requires medical or psychological attention, assist them in getting help. And take seriously any talk of suicide or violence. The idea that those who talk about such things never do them is just plain wrong.
Tell the person you will pray for them and all involved and mean it. Ask if they'd like you to pray for them now. Ask what specifically they would like you to pray for. Then just be honest as you pray. Acknowledge the problem. Acknowledge the feelings. Ask for healing, strength, comfort and whatever is needed. Remind yourselves that Jesus knows what it is like to be human and helpless and hurting. Make the prayer plain, simple and to the point.
If, and only if, the person wants to know where God is in all their suffering, what you can tell them is that God knows what suffering is firsthand. Jesus, God incarnate, suffered. Jesus knew what it was like to have your family think you are nuts, to have a loved one (Joseph, Lazarus) die, to be betrayed by a friend, to be abandoned by your friends, to be unjustly accused, to have your words twisted, to be hurt, to be tormented, to be helpless. Jesus wept. God knows what it is like to suffer. We are not alone in that.
And remind them that God heals. It may not seem like that at the time, but even if it doesn't help them right now, tell them to tuck that fact in the back of their mind. God heals. But just as a child doesn't always understand exactly why a doctor does certain things to them, like giving them painful shots, we may not always be able to see why God is working as he does. As hard as it may be at times, we need to trust in his love for us. And we need to realize that nothing can separate us from that love.
There are great books on helping others in this way. There's Christian Counseling by Dr. Gary Collins and Christian Caregiving: a Way of Life by Kenneth Haugk. I recommend that everyone learn more about this, just like I think everyone should know basic first aid. You never know when you are going to need it but someday you probably will.
All metaphors break down. In real life, sheep never become shepherds. They cannot give each other first aid. But we are not sheep. We are meant to grow into the image of our shepherd, Jesus. To switch metaphors, we are members of the body of Christ. Whenever a part of your body is injured, other elements of your body, like your immune system, are dispatched to limit the damage and begin the healing. Though our strengths and gifts may differ, they are all given so that we may minister to and build up each other in the body of Christ. And in many cases, we are simply called upon to listen and say little. But often that's the best way to let people know how much you love them.
Originally preached on March 10, 2010. It has been revised and updated.