What kind of horse?

The pastoral ministry has always included a variety of horses in its stable.  A few of them are the stars, the race horses whose names are know by all.  Hopefully, most of them are the draft horses who do the work but are largely invisible.  You see what they have done but they seem to fade away, neither sleek nor handsome but solid.  Hopefully, a very few of them are wild and  unbroken, lazy and unproductive, and eat more than they work.  Of course, this is true of most professions.  It is not up to the seminary alone to discern which is which but those who commend someone to the seminary.

Nearly everyone focuses on the race horses.  They are sleek, fast, and impressive and command the attention of the eye and the mind.  We think we want every pastor to be a race horse.  The problem is that the rest of us cannot keep up with the race horse.  We end up being left behind in the dust or forgotten around the next bend in the road.  In reality the Church cannot stand too many race horses.  A few are okay and offer inspiration to the rest as well as their gifts to the whole but we would be in terrible shape if all our pastors were race horses.  

Most of us, me included, are draft horses.  We pull wagons and plow fields and carry riders and do whatever is needed to get the work done.  We know the route and do not need much attention to the reins but we have someone watching over us and our work just in case.  We eat a lot but we produce more than we consume – energy and effort given to the work we are here to do.  We can be a bit ornery sometimes but are mostly easy going.  We are probably rather ordinary in everything including appearance but strong, with faith enough to loan to those struggling.  We know the field and do not look behind us to count where we have been but plod along the path in the present, looking to the future, sure that the work we are doing will bring forth the fruit appointed.  We are solid and sturdy and look alike under the blanket and harness of clerical clothing and vestments.  We are not meant to stand out and shine but to labor where the Lord puts us for the work the Lord has given.  It is enough to be faithful.  Occasionally, we might shine.  The older ones who know the path and the field well train up the younger and the younger who are strong and impatient carry the weight while us older ones carry part of the burden and help to keep things in check.  

Of course, we all know about those who refuse to be tamed or ridden or wear a yoke.  They buck and snort, complaining about the work they never do.  They tend to be loaners or insist upon being at the head of everything, long enough to be noticed but not there to carry any weight.  They eat but do not produce and they are lazy and reluctant to be part of the stable or share the yoke.  We know about them also.  They are in the headlines for their screw ups are newsworthy and the leave blood and tears in their wake.  They break wagons and axles and turn them over spilling the fruit they were given on the side of the road as if it were less important than their own happiness or pleasure.  They dominate, sort of like wannabe racehorses, but their attention does nothing for the Church and makes every other horse in the stable look bad.  Yes, we have a few of those kind of pastors.  If God is gracious, not too many.  If we are faithful in our task of recruiting and nurturing young men for the ministry, we will not commend to many to the seminary to tame.  They will consume too many resources and will likely never be there to do the work the pastor is called to do.

For a long time now, we have not been doing the job we should in identifying, attracting, and retaining strong, stable, solid, and faithful men.  The fault lies with many – from pastors to lay folk to seminaries to bishops.  We have lately been doing better at the task of finding and commending men for the pastoral office.  But it is good to remember that we do not need to find the race horse or stallion in every pack.  We need draft horses to do the work without drawing undo attention to themselves  Think about this.  Good, solid, faithful, Lutheran men are exactly what we ought to be looking for to recruit for the pastoral ministry and sending to the seminary.  Bright, solid, attentive, teachable men with a deep and abiding faith are the prime candidates for the pastoral office.  This is who we ought to be focusing on instead of trying to find the next Kentucky Derby winner.  Someone who is in it for the long haul and who can carry the weight and do the work – that is our kind of guy.  You know some of them.  Find them.  Encourage them.  Pray for them.  Commend them to the Church.  And then welcome them back with open arms when they take up the yoke in your own field.  God help us, we need just these kind of men.

St. Augustine reminds us that a priest’s holy life can itself become an eloquent sermon.  I refer you to Book 4 of De doctrina christiana.  Augustine talks about the fruits of preachers of different levels.  Some wind up being celebrities and others saintly though less flashy.  Right now we need saints not celebrities, draft horses not race horses.  We need a deep bench and cannot afford to send the older ones out to pasture or fail to yoke them with the younger.  This is a team, a stable, and not a competition for greatness.  The battle in every pastor is inside himself, to be the best man God can make him to be for the sake of the Lord and the people given over to his care.