Shepherding God’s Flock – My Thoughts

Shepherding God’s Flock by Jay Adams is a combination of three books together in one volume: Pastoral Life, Pastoral Counseling, and Pastoral Leadership.  After reading through some of the sections in this book I am encouraged primarily for one reason, its practicality.  Because of this, I am bound to use it in many ways throughout the rest of my years here on earth.

In seminary you learn a great deal of information and a great deal of theology.  While these things are great and beneficial to clergy in countless ways, one of the things seminary lacks is the practical side of ministry.  Now I am not saying that theology is not practical, it is!  Theology is enormously practical, because by it, you know God more and come to treasure the gospel in ways you never dreamed of., and as a consequence of that you can show your people the God in whom all your joy and delight is found!  When I say that seminary is lacking the practical side of ministry, I mean that in seminary you will not learn what to do upon entering a house for visitation.  When should you sit down?  Where should you sit down?  Should you even sit down?  How do you lead a wedding?  A funeral?  A baptism?  What is the right way to go about candidating for a ministry job?  How do you deal with parents of children?  How do you lead a staff meeting?  How do you lead the elders?  The deacons?  In what ways should you delegate work between staff, elders, deacons, and volunteers?  How do you set up a church program?  Should you make a church library?  What do you do with church finances?  Should you even be involved in church finances?  How do you lead a congregational meeting?  How long should you stay in a hospital room with a sick member?  What do you do if their dying, or die while your present in the room?  How do you begin a building campaign?

As you can see, there are many practical issues seminary never deals with.  Sure your theology will play a large part in how you go about these things, but there are things never mentioned in theology that you, as a pastor, will have to deal with many times.  All the above questions and more are dealt with and answered in Jay Adams book.  It is a gold mine of information.  I am sure that this book will stay on my closest bookshelf for easy flipping and reading, because when I find myself in a new or foreign situation I’ll be reaching for this book for the know-how to get me through in the proper manner.  I recommend this book to all seminarians and all pastors.  It will of great benefit to them in their ministries, and they will be glad they have it at their side.  Why?  Because they hold a handbook of proper pastoral etiquette at their fingertips.