Paying Attention: A Pastoral Analogy
Over a period of weeks you observe the ways that the sheep move across the terrain. You take note of where they congregate ... Only then are you in a position put the fences in their appropriate places.
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Over a period of weeks you observe the ways that the sheep move across the terrain. You take note of where they congregate ... Only then are you in a position put the fences in their appropriate places.
Most people we now think of as ‘real writers’ got there simply by deciding to be writers and then sticking at it ... You need to back yourself, seek out feedback and support, fight the imposter syndrome, and just keep going.
As I reflect on what I have observed, read and lived through in that more than fifty years, this is what I am convinced of: the church is always looking for better methods, but God is looking for deeper people.
The more time I spend with Christian and non-Christian teenagers, the more I’m head over heels convinced by a simple realisation: these kids aren’t bored. They’re hungry. And the questions they face every day are heavy ones. As a result, they’re not wanting me to balance the scales between fun and faith. They genuinely find the weightiest stuff we have to offer the most engaging.
In many (but not all) contexts singing-and-sermon makes for a better overall evening than singing-and-more-singing. If we are going to set aside the time and call together God’s people (especially the emerging generation), why wouldn’t we give significant time to instruct and exhort them from the Scriptures, as well as unite them in song?
