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Counting Sheep and Taking Care of the Flock

By Greg Asimakoupoulos

When a pastor friend announced his retirement, his congregation held a banquet in his honor. My wife and I were invited. We were impressed with the unique centerpieces on each table. An artisan within the church had handcrafted wooden sheep to stand guard over the baked ham, scalloped potatoes, and cheesecake. Considering the fact a flock was honoring their shepherd, I was impressed with their clever and most appropriate idea. As we left the dinner, Wendy and I were given one of the sheep.

That was many years ago, but that little painted pine ram continues to have a prominent place to graze among my books. From time to time, I gaze at that little wooden animal and thank God for my friend, Larry, who is now with the Lord.

Not long after Larry’s retirement, I bought a small olive wood lamb from a street vendor while leading a tour in the Holy Land. Although crudely carved, it reminded me of a church member back home whose value was not in that person’s physical beauty, but godly heart. It was a great companion to the Larry lamb back home.

Before I knew it, I was collecting sheep. Although my wife thinks my sheep-hunting expeditions are just an accommodation of my inner child who still likes to play with toys, my hobby is anything but child’s play.

The lambs and sheep I collect represent certain unforgettable individuals I’ve been privileged to shepherd in two decades of ministry. Each represents God’s grace in parishoners’ lives.

One of my favorites came from a thrift store. It is dingy and dirty, just like Kori, the little girl who attended the first church I pastored. Her parents were addicts. She dressed herself and walked to church each week because she sensed a love she’d never known at home.

Another one of my favorite sheep stands for Bob, a middle-age insurance underwriter whose wife left him after 38 years of marriage.

Still another one reminds me of Marty, a school janitor I led to the Lord and baptized in a water hazard on a golf course.

Then there’s my Mae lamb. She is legally blind, has lost two husbands to death, and was forced to bear the unbearable burden of having a daycare provider beat her grandchild to death. As I look at the woolen miniature that reminds me of her, I am inspired by her godly perseverance.

For some, counting sheep is a desperate means to fall asleep. For me, counting the sheep in my collection is a deliberate attempt to remain awake to the rewards of being a small-church pastor. My fuzzy little flock is a tangible means of counting my blessings. It is a reminder of the unique privilege that comes with being a pastor of a smaller congregation. Pastors of larger churches are more like ranchers than shepherds. They’d be hard pressed to call each one of their flock by name, let alone celebrate their idiosyncrasies or personal stories.

Sunday School and the Small-Church Pastor

Such joys that come with being a small-church shepherd are also shared by those who tend Sunday school flocks in congregations where pews are few. Teachers in such churches have the privilege of getting to know their students, much like the pastor does. When there are but a handful of kids, teachers have the freedom to be more than just an instructor. They have reason to see themselves as shepherds, too.

From what I have experienced and observed, here are four considerations the pastor of the smaller church should take to heart when helping to recruit and train those who provide Christian education for our children.

Recruit teachers who have a genuine love for God and kids.

Since your pool of potential teachers may be shallow, don’t be overly concerned with their experience or ability. You want those who will teach children the Bible, not just merely teach the Bible. Young people will respond to those who they detect have a sincere interest in what interests them. And those who love Jesus will radiate a joy and authenticity that will more than compensate for their lack of polish or memory recall.

Martha Clarkson was like that. I never knew a woman who cared for kids the way she did. She was not all that attractive. In fact, she was noticeably overweight. But her smile and hugs drew boys and girls to her class. Martha had never been to college, and her knowledge of the Scriptures was not all that far ahead of the children, but the pastor affirmed her desire to teach. Her students affirmed her anointing.

Encourage lifetime assignments.

Teachers who view themselves as shepherds want to teach, year in and year out. The challenge motivates them. Because they are using a spiritual gift, the investment of that gift yields a return of fulfillment, and their interest is compounded. In contrast, those who respond to the need to fill a classroom vacancy out of guilt or in response to arm-twisting tactics will likely burn out before long.

Elna Hagen epitomized the gift of teaching. Her calling in life was to teach first grade boys. And boy, did she ever. Being the mother of three sons no doubt helped, but Elna felt called by God to a lifetime of service. Sister Hagen taught me at First Assembly of God in Marysville, Washington. That was over 40 years ago, but I will never forget her. Because she was in it for the long haul, she made a personal investment in what she did. Each Sunday she brought something from home to share with her boys. I can still recall those delicious loaves of bread she baked in miniature pans. She sewed construction aprons for us complete with our names stitched on them. For every Bible verse we memorized or neighbor we brought to church, we’d receive a small hammer or a tape measure to go in the apron slots. And because Elna was a "lifer," little boys in preschool knew what they had to look forward to when they were promoted to Sister Hagen’s class.

If you encourage teachers to view their call as an ongoing ministry, offer regular breaks.

Find a way to let your regular teachers have the summer quarter off. You can do this by combining classes for June, July, and August for an intergeneration experience (i.e. using vacation Bible school curriculum on a weekly basis, even though it’s designed to be daily). Another approach would be to allow those to teach whose work or travel schedules are so unpredictable they can’t teach during the school year, but could for several weeks in the summer.

Cap and Adele Harper have taught second graders at Crossroads Church in Concord for 15 years. They can’t imagine themselves doing anything else. But, don’t ask them to teach 12 months in a row. They know they need a break to replenish their creative reservoir once summer hits. Some might think them too demanding or less than sold out. I know differently. They know their limits. I took pride in their performance for nearly a dozen years as their pastor.

Encourage your teachers to think like a shepherd.

When you pastor a church of less than 200 people, your perspective is, of necessity, that of a shepherd. You recognize that the nurture and care you provide is not limited to Sunday morning. You seize opportunities during the week to go after strays (you know who they are), carry the wounded, and individually feed the hungry. Teachers in smaller churches have that same mandate. They are most effective when they resist the temptation to define their task by the 45-minute class Sunday mornings. They take the time Monday through Saturday to send cards, plan field trips, and call people on the phone to just check in.

Believe it or not, the best way to teach your teachers to adopt this approach is to model that kind of shepherding with them. Even if you have a designated Sunday school teacher, you are still the master shepherd of those who shepherd the kids of your church. Spend time individually with them. Get to know their individual stories. Incorporate some of those stories into your sermons (with their permission, of course). Plan outings to Sunday school conventions when you all go together as a group. Communicate on a regular basis with them. Affirm them often. Remind them that you are praying for them. Find your own creative way to tangibly keep each Sunday school teacher in your line of sight and thinking. You probably won’t be starting a miniature sheep collection, but it’s not that ba-a-a-a-d of an idea.

Greg Asimakoupoulos is a former pastor and is currently director of creative communications for Mainstay Ministries, Naperville, Illinois.