The Shepherd – Muscle Recovery

Maria and I going for a big walk - The big pack

Sore feet

Role of a Pastor/shepherd

dealing with our shadow side

Stepping into the role of pastor

Role of a Pastor

People who score highest with a Pastoral position are Soul Healers* in the Kingdom of God. They are instrumental in guiding people through brokenness back to wholeness and healing their soul from wounds that keep them where they are. They create a safe atmosphere of family and belonging. They bring fun and enjoyment to God's ministry, allowing people to feel like they are part of a greater family.

1. The Stockman and the Mob

• Biblical Parallel: Like the shepherd who knows each sheep by name, the stockman understands the rhythms of the land and the needs of the mob.

• Australian Twist: The stockman rides out daily, scanning the horizon for strays, checking waterholes, and ensuring the mob is safe from predators or injury. Pastoral care becomes the steady, attentive presence—watching over the flock not from a pulpit, but from the saddle.

• Spiritual Insight: It’s not just about rounding up—it’s about knowing the terrain, anticipating danger, and guiding with quiet authority.

2. The Bush Nurse

• Biblical Parallel: Jesus as healer and comforter.

• Australian Twist: In remote communities, the bush nurse is often the first responder, counsellor, and companion. They offer care that’s practical, relational, and deeply embedded in the life of the community.

• Spiritual Insight: Pastoral care is not just theological—it’s incarnational. It shows up with bandages, a cuppa, and time to listen.

3. The Indigenous Elder

• Biblical Parallel: Wisdom and guidance passed through generations.

• Australian Twist: Elders carry stories, culture, and spiritual insight. They walk with others, not ahead of them. Their care is rooted in connection to land, people, and spirit.

• Spiritual Insight: Pastoral care is about presence, listening, and honouring the sacredness of each person’s journey.

4. The Volunteer Firefighter

• Biblical Parallel: The shepherd who risks his life for the sheep.

• Australian Twist: When bushfires rage, the volunteer firefighter steps into danger to protect life and property. They don’t ask who’s worthy—they go.

• Spiritual Insight: Pastoral care is sacrificial, courageous, and often unseen. It’s about showing up when others flee

All these examples are to say, one who shepherds God’s people and cares for others with a tender heart. For some, this is a gift, and for others, this is a discipline.

Pioneers - Apostles, prophets and evangelists

Developers - Pastors and teachers

How they need each other

That was not me last night - this week catching up with me.

Ruth Haley Barton Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry

Reflection on the pastors and families conference and relevant for pastors

Recently, I took a trip to Florida for a week by myself—to rest, walk the beach and swim in the ocean every day. I knew it was a bit risky to swim alone, and on occasion, it crossed my mind that if I didn’t come out of the ocean on any given day, no one would have known—at least not for a day or two. That thought didn’t bother me too much until one day when the danger became more real. On this day, I was swimming and floating in the surf when a fisherman came running down the beach yelling, “Get out of the water! Get out of the water!” I swam as hard as I could toward the shore, and when I found my footing, I ran—heart pounding—the rest of the way. As soon as I was safely on shore, I turned around and saw a long, black shadow about six to eight feet long gliding under the surface of the water right where I had just emerged. Breathlessly, I asked the fisherman, “Was it a shark?” He said, “No, it’s a saltwater crocodile!” Then he kept running down the beach yelling at people to get out of the water.

I had never heard of saltwater crocodiles, but the people gathered on the beach seemed to know something about these underwater creatures. That saltwater crocodiles are one of the most dangerous creatures in the ocean.

The moral of the story as it relates to leadership is this: what lies beneath the surface—of the ocean or our lives—really matters. Whether I know something is there or not is, in some ways, irrelevant. My awareness of it or lack of awareness doesn’t make it any less real. It doesn’t much matter whether I have ever heard of what is lurking beneath the surface or whether I believe that such things exist. The point is that things are lurking under the surface, and it could even be that others are seeing these things, though I am not. If, by God’s grace, we become aware of the dark creatures lurking below, the best thing we can do is to get out of the water—fast!

Dealing with our shadow sides

This shadow side is what Paul talks about in Romans 7:19

Romans 7:19 NIV

For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

This verse sits within a larger reflection (Romans 7:15–25) where Paul describes the inner conflict between the law of God and the law of sin. It's a raw and honest portrayal of the human condition—our longing to live rightly, yet our struggle with weakness and temptation.

The Old Testament is full of this struggle last series we looked at Abraham, Moses and the community of Israel wrestle with their shadow side.

Paul, in the next chapter, shifts from struggle to hope:

Romans 8:1 NIV

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

Jesus' teaching on this is our need to daily lay down our lives, die to our old self and live in the transformed new.

That has been my prayer as I prepare this message: to live and speak of the faithfulness of God.

Sometimes it is helpful to describe a good pastor by defining when they are not. Like an Apostle with big ideas but not able to bring anyone with them, a rogue prophet without community or an evangelist that doesn't connect with people and gives a bad impression of the kingdom. (interesting pioneers struggle to relate to people, not pastors). An immature pastor loves nothing more than being with people in the midst of their brokenness, pain and suffering. However, Pastors can have a really difficult time in moving people from that stage to one where they are seeking healing, transformation and redemption. Immature pastors sometimes don’t have the confidence to push or challenge people to move forward, to take a step forward into the kingdom, for fear that the person will be angry with them. The mature pastor can live in the tension, while the immature stays away from it and lets people sit in their brokenness far longer than they should.

like the fisherman who warned to get out of the water for the croc coming. The immature pastor just watches or even gets into the water to help, and neither comes out.

Jesus modelled this well in the

John 8:1–11

Setting: Jesus is teaching in the temple courts early in the morning.

Interruption: Religious leaders bring a woman caught in adultery, placing her before the crowd.

Trap: They ask Jesus whether she should be stoned, as the Law of Moses commands—hoping to trap Him between the law and compassionate grace.

Jesus’ Response

He says, in verse

John 8:7–11 NIV

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

We are never to judge, as we too know we are saved by grace.

Yet we must encourage one another to go and sin no more.

One final story from the bible that is central to the heart of a pastor because it is God’s heart for us.

Shepherds calling their Sheep

John 10:11–18 NIV

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Jesus contrasts Himself with hired hands—those who flee when danger comes. He is not a distant caretaker but a sacrificial protector, intimately committed to His flock. His love is not conditional or transactional; it’s covenantal, rooted in knowing and being known.

Our Partnership Pledge Covenant

Stepping into the role of pastor

Can I challenge us to be a church of mature pastors who are patient and loving, encourage and challenge one another to run out of the water of sin in our lives and listen to Jesus the Good Shepherd.

Can I encourage us to be sacrificial in our love for one another? Each Sunday, or even more so at a life group, come ready to share what life is really like for you and be willing to listen to others' stories and share your hope in Jesus.

Pastoral care meeting this week, Thursday, 1 pm

Prayer (invite those who see pastoring as a gift)

1 Peter 5:1–4 NIV

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Pastoral internship