The Ecology of Ministry:Beyond Shepherds and ShepherdingbyShirley K. Morgenthaler

Lutheran Education Association

Monograph Series ~~Spring 1991 . Volume 16 . Number 3

Introduction

As we consider what it is we do in ministry among andwithin our parishes, we almost always turn to the shepherdmetaphor to illuminate our understanding and guide ourthinJdng. Jesus spoke of shepherds many times as he taughthis followers. While this is certainly helpful, it is not theonly metaphor available and applicable to help us under-stand ministry. Jesus used other metaphors which mayinform and illumine our concepts of ministry and leader-ship in the church as well. Two of these metaphors areparticularly helpful.

Many of the parables of Jesus involve farmers andfarming. Pictures of sowers and sowing, seeds and plant-ing, tending and harvesting are found in these parables.Other parables and teachings of Jesus include the idea offishers and fishing. Pictures of nets and casting off, ofsearching for and finding the catch, of patiently seekingagain and again until the catch is successful.

This monograph comes as the result of several years ofthinking about and being somewhat uncomfortable wi~hthe metaphor of shepherding as the primary picture ofministry and leadership in the church and the community.We have said and thought - and even written - muchabout the need to emulate the Good Shepherd in our workas His spokespersons and servants. We have a commonunderstanding about the need to serve, not to dominate.About the need to lead, not to dictate. About the need tocare about the well-being of others, often above ourselves.We have a ready concept of Jesus as the Good Shepherdand our need to follow His example.

But that's not the only example Jesus gave us. He gaveus more parables about farming than about shepherding.He talked of hunting and seeking as much as of comfort-ing. These parables and metaphors are equally helpful aswe consider who we are as leaders and how we are todevelop the' appropriate strategies for leadership andministry.

If we think about ministry as leadership as well as serv-ice, we begin to realize that the metaphor of shepherdingmay not be enough to inform our approach to that minis-try. The two additional metaphors, also found in Scripture,are helpful as we look at our ministry role with God's

people. These metaphors are farming and hunting, bothalso agrarian activities. Both are also found in themetaphors that Jesus used in His parables and teachings.

These metaphors may be thought of as descriptors ofeach of us in our work with God's people. Maybe we aren'tsimply shepherds after all. Maybe some of us are morefarmer-like, or hunter-like than we have assumed. Maybethere are different qualities needed in different ministries- or at different times in the same ministry.

One additional issue needs to be examined at this point.This issue is that of gifts, talents and interests. Whatbrought you into full-time or public ministry? Was it thedesire to serve? The desire to nurture? The desire to helpothers feel the joy of God's love and forgiveness? Was it thedesire to nurture and to shepherd? Do you have a nurtur-ant personality? 10 be able to answer this question, onemust identify the qualities of a nurturant personality. Thelist presented for your consideration may be far from com-plete, but it does give an overview of the key traits of a nur-turant personality:

. One who wants to help others to feel good, to feelbetter.

. One who is self-sacrificing, putting the good ofothers above the good of oneself.

. One who has a concern for the psychological ecologyof the group or the situation.

. Interest in a happiness index.How does this personality support your ministry? Does

it ever create stumbling blocks for effective ministry? Doesthe nurturant personality serve well for a teacher of youngchildren? A teacher in the elementary grades? A highschool teacher? A principal? A director of Christian educa-tion? A pastor? Are there ever any times when shepherdingis not the best approach to ministry? Are there other meta-phors that have helpful concepts as we think about effec-tive ministry?

In order to answer these questions we need to take acloser look at the nature and role of the shepherds amongus and at those in Scripture. It would also be helpful to referback to the excellent monograph written in 1988 by ErvHenkelmann on the shepherding role of the classroomteacher.

After we have reviewed our roles as shepherds, we willexamine the possibilities of farmer and/or hunter roles asadditional helpful metaphors for a deepened understand-ing of ministry.

Shepherds and Shepherding

Our understanding of shepherding as service to othersis foundational for our understanding of ministry. JesusChrist is referred to in both Old and New Testaments asshepherd - a model shepherd for us to emulate. He is theGood Shepherd, one who cares for the flock of God'speople. We, too, are exhorted to be shepherds of the flock.Jesus told the disciples, and especially Peter, to beshepherds of the flock - the Church - of God.

The analogy of shepherding may have been more help-ful to the people of Jesus' day than to us, however. They

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had real and everyday experiences with sheep and withshepherds. They knew in real, not abstract, ways that Jesuswas telling them to be consumingly concerned with thewelfare of those in their care.

They knew that He was telling them to lead gently andlovingly, never harshly. They knew that He was telling themto protect their' 'flocks" from danger, especially fromdangers of which they were not aware. They knew that Hewas telling them to find wholesome and nourishing food,and to feed their flocks in safe and protected environ-ments. They knew that they were to walk with their flocks,supporting them in their life journeys much as a shepherdstays with and walks with his sheep.

Let's review for a moment some of the key passages ofScripture where our concepts of shepherds and shepherd-ing are built. One of the major passages is Psalm 23. The en-tire psalm uses the shepherd metaphor of the Lord as themodel for caring. This metaphor is made considerablystronger by the fact that Jesus refers to Himself in John 10as the Good Shepherd. Isaiah, too refers to Christ as onewho tends His flock like a shepherd, who carriers the lambsin His arms.

Both Peter and Paul, then, take the metaphor to thenext step. They specifically exhort the other disciples andchurch leaders to model their ministries after that of the

Good Shepherd. Paul encourages us to "be shepherds of theChurch of God" (Acts 20:28). Peter more specifically en-

treats us to "be shepherds of God's flock that is under yourcare" (1 Peter 5:2).

The picture in each of these passages is one of peace,care, compliance, safety, and concern. The concept in-cludes quiet, time for reflection, with calm and competentleadership.

Shepherds protect. They are ecological preserva-tionists. They resist and protect from change in the land-scape, for change in the landscape could mean danger tothe sheep. Shepherds look for calm... for peacefulmeadQws, for refreshing and quiet streams.

But this is not always possible! Life isn't always peace-ful. The human flock isn't always as compliant as the wool-bearing variety. Busy-ness replaces time for reflection.Keeping the sheep safe is sometimes a thankless, hopelesstask!

There are problems and pitfalls in the shepherdingmindset. There are situations and opportunities whereshepherding is not the answer. Sometimes we challengerather than protect. Sometimes we run ahead rather thanwalk beside. Sometimes we prick and stir up rather thanpreserve and calm. Simply put, there are times when adifferent analogy might be useful.

Farmers and Farming

Jesus spoke also about planting, sowing seeds, pullingweeds, pruning vines, about harvesting crops and produce. .He spoke about farming. He used the analogy of farmersand farming in several of the parables and word picturesthat we find in His teaching.

In each of the gospels, there are several parables andlessons in which Jesus uses the metaphor of the sower. Hespeaks of casting the seed on to the ground. He refers tosowing and reaping. He tells the parable of the sower as aclear analogy of farming and planting. In fact, there aremore references in the gospels to sowing and planting thanto shepherding.

In addition, Jesus teaches about the mustard seed, thefig tree, and the vine and the branches. He tells the para-ble of working in the vineyard, He .speaks of pruning andpulling weeds. He refers to plowing and planting. He speaksof fruit and fruitfulness.

Farmers damage the environment, the status quo. Theymust plow in order to plant. They must spade up the earthbefore they can plant the garden. The larger the garden orfield they are planting, the more they may need the helpof tools, of machinery, of additional hands to get the jobdone.

Farmers plant seeds and wait for them to sprout, togrow and to produce. Yet while they are waiting, they tendand water, watch and protect. They guard againt frost,against wind damge. They pull out or hoe out or plowout the weeds that grow alongside. They water, fertilizeand feed.

Farmers are willing to wait for the harvest. They arepatient and vigilant. They understand the cycle and sea-sons of growth. They invest for the future.

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Farmers invest in planting so that many can be fed.Jesus gives a powerful example in the mustard seed. Thisvery tiny seed is planted and grows into a tree that feedsand houses many birds. It isn't the planter that is fed, butothers that come to the harvest and are in turn nourishedby that harvest. The seed the farmer sows is returned ten-fold and one hundred-fold and even more. This is truly aninvestment.

Now this analogy has some definite possibilities! We DOplant, tend, water and often wait. Maybe this planting isn'tas benign an activity as we usually assume. What kind of"damage" do we do - or need to do - in order to plant?How much plowing is needed before the ground is ready toreceive the seed? How often does this plowing need to bedone before the ground is truly fertile?

Interesting thoughts to think? Is this an apt analogywith which to illuminate your concept of ministry...ministry in the classroom... ministry among youngpeople. . .ministry among parents. . .ministry in the parish?

But wait. There is yet other analogy to explore thatmay further enrich our understanding of what it is we doin ministry.

Hunters and Hunting/Fishers and Fishing

While there are fewer parables or teachings of Jesusthat have to do with hunting and/ or fishing, Jesus did buildon the understanding of the people of His day with thismetaphor or analogy as well. Several of those He called todiscipleship were fishermen by trade. Jesus even specifi-cally told them that they were simply to change the targetof their activity, not the fishing activity itself.

Jesus used the understanding of the disciples to teacha lesson about their ministry. When He appeared to themafter His resurrection, He directed them to throw the neton the other side of the boat. And when they threw thenets at the proper target, they caught more fish than theycould handle in one boat.

Fishers do go after a target, don't they? That target isthe fish they catch in the net or on the lure. That targetmoves. It does not stay put. It does not always even appearin the most predictable place from one time to the next.

Hunters go after a target or a goal, too. That target, too,is a moving target. That target or goal must be kept in sightin order for the hunting to be successful. Both hunters andfishers have to leave their group in order to go after and getthe target that is their goal.

Hunters and fishers bring back their catch for othersto dress and tend. Theirs is a task of going out and comingback with enough for the entire group. Theirs is the taskof catching, baiting and luring the reluctant target for thefeeding of many.

Jesus used the parable of the net to illustrate the factthat not all of the catch is to be considered a good catch.Similar to the tasks of the farmer, the hunter/fisher mustbe discerning, get rid of the bad fish, the bad spoils, andkeep only that which is good.

Here is an anology that has possibilities, right? We DOhave a target or a goal in mind. We do enlist the help ofothers after one goal or another is attained. We do attempt

to "catch" people into Christianity. More interestingthoughts to think. . .Does this analogy fit?

Tools and Resources

By now you are beginning to see that not all of youractivities and responsibilities can be supported by the shep-herding metaphor. All of us farm, some more than others.All of us also hunt or fish at least some of the time as well.

Each of these types of workers uses specific tools tocarry out their trade. Thking a look at those tools may fur-ther help to illumine our concepts of ministry.

The shepherd's staff is first. It's a rather benign itemthat is used primarily to guide and to protect. It can warnof impending danger. It can also support, resting and wait-ing... waiting for the sheep to eat, to drink, to rest... wait-ing and resting to regain energy and strength after aparticularly strenuous trip up the mountain or along thetrail. What is the shepherd's staff in your ministry?

Now take a look at the farmer's tools. We'll select onlytwo or three out of many possibilities here: the spade, theplow, and the hoe. The spade turns the earth, breaks up soiland loosens it so that plants can put down sturdy roots. Theplow, too, breaks up the earth to get it ready for newgrowth. It is used for the more difficult, more extensivetasks. It clearly "damages" the existing conditions to getthings ready for new growth. It actually creates upheaval.The hoe, on the other hand, creates a more selected up-heaval. It attacks only the weeds, the unwanted and

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unwelcome growth. It digs down and uproots this weedygrowth as a means to protect and encourage the growth ofthe healthy and harvest-producing plants. In what ways doyou spade. . .plow. . .hoe in your ministry?

Consider, too, the tools of the fisher or hunter. The fish-er uses a net to capture a group of fish or even a single fish.The fisher uses lures that attract and catch the target (fish).The hunter uses less benign tools such as arrows and evenrifles to strike and capture the target (game). In both cases,the tools are designed to capture the moving target that isthe goal. In both cases, the goal, after it is captured, isbrought back to the base of operations to be made readyfor distribution, instruction and/or consumption. What isthe net, the lure, the arrow in your ministry?

The Ecology of Ministry

"What does all of this have to do with me?" you maybe asking by now. This is an important question. Whilethere are certainly flaws and holes in the analogies I havebeen attempting to develop, there are some relationshipsthat can be drawn between the activities described aboveand our activities in ministry in the Church of God.

A key question you need to ask yourself right now hasto do with your own motivation for ministry. Did you comeas a shepherd, a fisher, a planter? Are you most comfort-able wielding a staff, a hoe, a net or an arrow? How do yousee yourself in your ministry?

The Shepherd. The shepherd is the person who preferscomfortable work places and spaces. This person prefers tobe able to make and to keep the other persons in the work-place happy and contented. The shepherd may preferteaching in a classroom.. .especially a classroom whereconflict is unnecessary and absent. This teacher will be-come extremely distressed when parents challange class-room procedures, and will change those practices ratherthan confront the challenge.

But not all teaching is or can be shepherding. Differ-ences of opinion occur. Even children at times challengethe status quo. And a happiness quotient is not always thebest indicator of learning.

Sometimes we need to look more to the future than totoday's comfort quotient. Sometimes ideas and practicesneed to be challenged and changed. Sometimes the weedsof complacency endanger current and new growth. Some-times a shepherd is not the best person for the job.

The Planter. The farmer or planter is the person whois willing to ask questions, to challenge the status quo, tofind a more effective way of doing things. The planter iswilling to cultivate new ideas, to "damage" the ecology inorder to produce growth.

The planter is willing to pull out and damage poor prac-tices and harmful ideas. The planter is willing to pruneback to encourage a more full growth. The planter is will-ing to plant seeds - in children, in parents, in staff mem-bers, in parishioners - and to wait for the harvest.

But not all of us are comfortable pulling weeds andpruning back. At times all of us look for the comfort quo-tient which the shepherd keeps measuring. Being a planteris often a strain on the patience of even the most avid

gardener! To make matters worse, the very assumptions ofthe ministry mindset tell us that shepherding and serving,not challenging and culling, are the mainstays of ourcalling.

The Fisher/Hunter. The fisher/hunter is the personwho looks for new ways of doing things. . .who goes out intothe community to look for ways to reach the reluctant, tonet the newcomer, to hook the hold-backs into faith andChristian commitment. This is the person who developsnew programs, hooks on to new ideas, and expects othersin the parish to come alongside and help to serve up thestrategies that stream into the net.

The fisher /hunter is the person who is out in the lead,sometimes looking back to make sure that others are fol-lowing, sometimes getting so wrapped up in the new targetthat the group is left temporarily behind. The fisher/hunteris the person who may get impatient with the inability ofothers to see and to attack the' 'catch" provided for their"dressing.' '

Being a hunter - or even having a hunter in the lead- can sometimes be a challenge and a frustration. The hun-ter may not always communicate the nature and sig-nificance of the next target to the group that will beexpected to take the "trophy" and "make it happen." Thehunter may not always help the group understand thenature of the challenge set before them. This person ex-pects the group to KNOW!

Being a fisher - and working with a fisher - is also achallenge. The fisher may be so good at fishing that thecatch is too big for the group to handle without some realorganization and cooperation. The fisher may move loca-tions and fishing waters without telling the group that thechange has been made. The fisher may not even under-stand that the group needs to know about the change,thinking instead that the fact of the catch is more impor-tant than the type of the catch involved!

The Marks of Ministry

Maybe you're starting to feel just a little self-consciousor even guilty because you discover that you are usingstrategies for ministry that aren't shepherding at all. Maybeyour structures for ministry are that of the planter. . .or thefisher. . .or the hunter! Maybe your systems for ministry in-clude tools and tasks that leave the comfort quotient of theshepherd far behind.

Maybe you have discovered by now that you are alter-nately shepherd and planter and fisher and hunter. Maybeyou are beginning to wonder whether you SHOULD be allof these, or whether you're the right mix of all of thesetypes of people.

Your mix of strategies and structures, and systems areall a part of your ministry. Those strategies, structures andsystems are themselves a part of the ministry into whichGod has called you.

The talents, tools, and tasks with which God hasequipped you are the very reasons He has called you intoHis service! I suspect that it may not be whether we AREthe right mix, but whether we USE the right mix of strate-gies, activities and ministry tools in our work and service

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for God and His church, that should be the focus of ourprayer and commitment.

One additional perspective is that, in the gospels, Je-sus appears to use the shepherding metaphor to describehow we are to BE with the people of God. He is describingrelationships more than activities. When He refers to seedsand sowing, to planting and pruning, He is describing theactivities of our ministries. Likewise, the hunting, seekingand fishing describe activities and actions rather than rela-tionships. Maybe Jesus was telling us that each of thesemetaphors can inform and elaborate our understandings ofour tasks and callings.

For all of us, the ministry before us is a challenge thatwe cannot do by ourselves. We depend on the daily em-powerment which God gives us to provide the tools, thewisdom, and the focus for our ministry.

Gatherers and Gathering

We all know the Scripture references and hymn versesthat have the harvest metaphor. That metaphor at firstglance appears to be most closely related to the plantinganalogy, but a closer look at Scripture reveals anotherpicture.

Jesus spoke about gathering in many things: sheep intothe fold, food into the storehouse, fish into the net. Eachof these things were gathered for a purpose. They were tobe put into a certain place, into a place specifically for thatitem, harvest, or treasure. They were to be stored up forlater use.

Is it possible that even here, Jesus was speaking to theplanter and to the fisher/hunter as well as to the shepherd?Is it possible that Jesus was aware that our ministry needsto have the possibilities of complexity contained in thesevarious pictures of activity? Is it possible that Jesus was giv-ing us a framework for thinking about ministry that we arejust beginning to understand?!

Could Jesus have been giving us a way to think aboutand understand what it is that we do? Could He have beenproviding these metaphors and analogies to help us notonly understand the task, but also to appreciate our in-dividual and collective roles in that task?

It is possible that not all of us are called to be fishersor hunters. Maybe not all of us are successful farmers, atleast not all the time. But understanding the different rolesand tasks can also help us to understand the activity andperspective of those called to each role and task. And un-derstanding the roles and tasks can be the first step towardtruly collaborative and supportive ministries among us.

The task before us is immense. The enormity of thattask, that ministry, can be so discouraging as to tempt usto give up before the work is barely begun. The task is toolarge and the workers too few, we cry. We all are aware thatJesus spoke not only about the harvest, but about the wor-ker shortage. We know that we are to continuously pray formore laborers to get the job done.

While the worker shortage is always our concern, it isthe shortage of energy and understanding that is our

primary concern here. As we und~rstand our tasks, ourtools, and our talents, it is possible that we will be able toapproach our ministries with renewed vigor, with renewedenthusiasm and with a renewed sense of mission andcommitment.

The Harvest and the Ministry

Jesus speaks very clearly about the gathering we areto do for our faith. Here, too, there is a specific place wherethe storing is to be done. In Matthew 6, Jesus encouragesus to find the best possible place to store our eternal values,to invest them. He urges us to store our treasures inheaven, to put our trust in Him, to value those things oflasting value.

We know that Jesus was talking to a large crowd inMatthew 6, the sermon on the mount. And we know thatthey were amazed at the authority of his teaching. But wealso know that the disciples, the leaders and teachers-in-training, were also there, listening and learning.

And later, shortly before He was crucified, Jesus ex-horted and encouraged these same disciples to rememberall that He had taught them and to go and teach it to others,That's our task, isn't it?

Our task is to remember and to understand ALL thatJesus has taught. Our charge is to value those things witheternal value. Our assignment is to understand Scriptureand to make it come alive for those we teach. Our duty isto listen and learn, to study the Word. Our job is to helpothers to know and understand that Word.

Our joy is to store our eternal treasures in heaven andto encourage others to do so, too. Our responsibility is touse the pictures, analogies and metaphors of Scripture toenrich our understanding not only of Scripture itself, butalso of our role as leaders and ministers in God's church.

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Lutheran Education Association I E~-7400AugustaStreet.RiverForest,IL60305-1499 : II "

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Bibliography

DR. SHIRLEY K. MORGENTHALER is Associate Professor ofEducation, Director of Early Childhood Education at ConcordiaUniversity, River Forest, 11. Associate Editor of Lutheran Educationjournal, she serves as an Advisory Board Member of LEA's Departmentof Early Childhood Educators. A graduate of Concordia ThachersCollege, River Forest, she earned an M.S.Ed. from National College ofEducation and a Ph.D. from Erickson Institute for Early Education andLoyola University of Chicago. Shirley is married to a CTC-RF graduate,pharmacist Robert C. Morgenthaler (Bob). The Morgenthaler's havebeen blessed with three children, all grown. Shirley writes: "My familyhas been the source and resource for many of my concepts and ideason faith development. Their support has provided the roots from whichthe ideas and applications could take wing."

Photo Credits: Cover, pages 3 and 4, by Richard Hook @, and courtesyof Concordia Publishing House. Page 6-RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICEPHOTO. Page 8-COMMUNICO, INC.

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