Shepherd of the Shepherds

You’ve been called to pastor a church in a small town. Maybe you’re trying to get acclimated to small-town life or you’re wondering how to navigate some of the challenges that come with your work.

Although one of the cliches of small-town life is that it remains rooted and unchanging, the fact is that the world around us is changing and even small towns are being affected and influenced by our electronically interconnected world. The questions for small-town pastors today are ones that lie at the heart of the gospel, and they sound something like this:

● How can I grow in my love and affection for Jesus?

● Will I endure through the challenges of a post-pandemic world?

● Is what I’m doing in the middle of nowhere even worth doing?

Though the answers aren’t simple, this devotional will help speak into the tension, and point you back to the help and hope that only come as we press deeper into the heart of Jesus, who is the true pastor and shepherd of every small town, and of every small-town soul He will save by His grace alone to the glory of God alone.

The question that is going to be most helpful to our frail pastoral hearts is: How did Jesus respond to those around Him who constantly threatened His margins and the moments He needed for personal rest and renewal?

In Mark 6, the disciples had just returned to Jesus, who had sent them out in pairs to preach the gospel and heal the sick. These brothers had been given power from on high to minister to powerless people existing in the low places of society. As you can well imagine, the disciples returned tired and depleted, desperately needing some time for rest, renewal, and recovery.

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. Undoubtedly, they were excited to tell Jesus about how people were responding to the gospel.

But let’s not miss how Jesus responds to them upon their return from the harvest fields. He didn’t say “good job fellas, now grab your laptops and click on the Google doc I just sent so we can walk through next steps.”

No, Jesus understood the physicality of His disciples. Jesus responded to His friends like a compassionate father treats his fatigued children. He knew their “frame,” He knew the “stuff” these men were made of which contained fragments of emotional, spiritual, and physical fragility that needed to be recovered.

Jesus responds to you this way too, pastor. Jesus doesn’t call machines to plow the fields of His small towns, He calls mankind; men and women who have limitations that were created for them back in Eden when God established Sabbath rest for Himself and all humanity.

Don’t forget that.