Thoughts and Other Things

I’m getting ready for a funeral. The second this month of a beloved church member. As a pastor, it is both heart-wrenching and sobering. Heart-wrenching because of the loss; sobering because the death of a congregant is a stark reminder of the true work of a pastor.  I had the privilege of being in a room full of pastors yesterday. Pastors young and old; male and a few female. Pastors who are well-known and those no one has heard of. Those who lead crowds and those with only a handful of congregants. Pastors with state-of-the-art church buildings, multiple campuses, and the expensive lifestyle to show for it - and those with nothing to show. But none of this bears any significance when it comes to a pastor's work.  The image often used to describe a pastor's work is that of a shepherd. It is understandable because this image is littered throughout Scripture. But there is another image, another ancient occupation that God uses to paint a picture of pastoral ministry: a watchman...