A Word from the Herd

1 Peter 5:2-3—“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve, not lording it over those entrusted to you , but being examples to the flock.”


I’m not a black sheep, like the typical meaning of the word, but I am easy to locate from among the herd at my church. Actually, it’s the opposite problem. I’m a white sheep in the middle of a beautiful, coffee-brown herd of sheep. To say that I stand out is an understatement and while I don’t think I’ll ever quite “fit in,” I am excited to share about a recent answer to prayer in the area of relationships.

God has blessed me with willing, serving pastors in my church. The pastor and his wife, who share the responsibility of teaching and preaching, both exemplify the loving, protecting heart of a shepherd looking after their sheep. They practice prayer, forgiveness, discipline, rejoicing, worship, and purity. I have learned so much by watching their lives and I am thankful God put them in my path.

Just a few weeks ago, they invited me to come to their home for breakfast. This had never happened before and I have to admit; I was a little nervous at first. I still struggle with Spanish when conversing, so I asked my missionary mentor, Ilona, to come with me, as a back up to help with translating. I also prayed that God would open my mind to understand and my mouth to speak the words that needed to be said.

Ilona and I arrived at the meeting point on time, which was silly because we both know that time is about a half an hour more relaxed here. And to prove that point, about a half an hour later, the pastor arrived and led us to his home where his wife was cooking a delicious Mexican breakfast. They warmly greeted us, with the traditional hug, kiss on the cheek, and “Dios le Bendiga.” (God bless you.)

We all sat down at the table and the pastor explained that they had invited me to their home because they wanted to get to know me. He said they had felt negligent in pastoring me because our communication has been awkward and they do not always understand why I do things differently than others in their church. He was not being rude by saying these things, he was simply pointing out that there are cultural differences between us and that we are all trying to figure each other out. They asked me what types of ministry I used to do in the States and how God called me to ministry in Mexico. They were interested in knowing my future plans and how they could pray for me. Basically, he was politely saying that they do not quite know what to do with me, but they want to learn because I am one of their sheep and they really do care.

Hilda, my pastor’s wife, also explained that she had a shepherd/mentor in her early days of ministry who was continually busy and was not available to help when she needed her. She spoke of how difficult that had been, but that she had not wanted to be a burden to her already busy shepherd. Then, she opened her heart to me and told me that she did not want me to experience that kind of situation with her. She expressed her desire that I come to her whenever I need and that she will be available. She gave me a precious gift, her friendship and confidence.

The four of us talked and ate for over an hour and it felt like walls of misunderstanding were coming down. Since our breakfast together, there has been a new openness between us. The love and kindness they showed me was personally encouraging and the conversation also revealed ways that I can better participate in the church and hopefully be a blessing to them in return. This was a specific answer to prayer and it is so beautiful to see God joining our hearts together. Though we may look and act differently, we are all the sheep of God’s pasture and He wants us to live together in one herd, in unity.

Psalm 133:1,3b—“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”