About a hundred years ago, the area in Idaho to which we are moving was the second-largest sheep producer in the world; over a million of the wooly beasts used to graze the Pioneer Mountain foothills. To celebrate their rich heritage, area residents celebrate the Trailing of the Sheep Festival each year in early October, traditionally the time when sheep are moved to lower ground before winter snows come.
The weekend, which was founded by our Flattop Ranch neighbors, is activity-packed and attracts tens of thousands of visitors. The main event is a parade down Main Street in Ketchum, which includes ethnic dancers and musicians (area shepherds are often Basque or Peruvian), homemade floats, cowboys on horses, and school marching bands. Towards the end of the parade come 1500 sheep that are clearly freaked out because they have not seen more than two or three humans in the past year. When that many freaked-out sheep are herded through the middle of town, a street-sweeper is mandatory.
After a wonderful weekend - featuring sheep meals, sheep seminars, sheep movies, sheepdog championship trials, a sheep apparel and art fair, and perhaps even nights spent counting sheep – the reason for the frequent use of sheep/lambs as a biblical metaphor becomes all the more clear. I have heard more than a few sermons on sheep and have both preached and written about the little woollies myself many times. But a few truths took on a fresh meaning after the Trailing Of The Sheep Festival.
- Sheep need a shepherd. Early on (as in Genesis 1), the Bible makes a distinction in the original Hebrew between "wild animals" and "livestock". While livestock need human help to thrive and often even to survive, they are of great value to their helpers as a much more readily accessible source of food and clothing than the randomly hunted wild animal. Similarly, though we often live, metaphorically speaking, as "wild animals," we were created to need Divine help. As sheep find safety and provision in their shepherds, so also we will find safety and provision in our Shepherd.
- Sheep know their shepherd's voice. In his Trailing Of The Sheep seminar, Flattop Ranch owner John Peavey spoke of the ability of sheep to discern and respond to the voice of their shepherd above all other voices; their little sheep-ears become attuned to his voice. How does this take place? Repetition. The same is true with us (more on this below).
- Sheep fare best when they obey their shepherd. I'm not sure sheep are as stupid as they are often depicted, but they are no Mensas (society for those with a genius IQ), either. Like I said above, they, and we, do best when we follow, and obey, a Shepherd.
- Sheep have a childlike faith. I will repeat a recurring theme in my recent writing: contemporary western culture youth ministry has at its disposal more resources, more biblical philosophy of ministry, more understanding of culture and adolescent psychology, more books, more training opportunities, more blogs, more networking, and more stuff than at any time in the history of the ministry. So why do those who do polling and research about such things tell us that kids are leaving the church in unprecedented numbers, and the ones who stick around are not spiritually well-grounded? I'm painting a picture here with a very broad brush, but it's a picture that is not inaccurate.
Not long ago I heard what for me is a new phrase: "out-thinking the room." It means, more or less, an application of logic, reasoning, and intellect that that is excessive and/or beyond the scope of the conversation, discussion, or issue at hand.
Are we "out-thinking the room" when it comes to youth ministry, and perhaps when it comes to living out our faith in Christ as well?
I do not believe Jesus out-thought any room of disciples or Pharisees or curious onlookers. I believe He practiced the same simple, childlike faith that He preached. He listened to His Father and did what He said. Period.
I have known this for some time, but come on. I have a seminary degree. I taught college-level youth ministry philosophy. I have written books on youth ministry! I possess hundreds of books on youth ministry, prayer, spirituality and many other topics of Christian thinking and practice. And because God knows all this, He gave me a marriage partner with a childlike faith. Terri does not out-think the room. She spent 20 years in the cave with Jesus, dealing with her serious health issues and those of our kids, until He told her to quit trying to out-think the health issues. She obeyed Him. Then God healed all three of them. As a result of this and her many years in the cave, she knows the voice of her Shepherd, and she does whatever He says. Period. She does not over-analyze His voice to make sure it is theologically sound, or worry about hearing the "wrong" voice. She simply hears and obeys. In a newsletter from many years ago, I wrote about Paul Yonggi Cho, the pastor of one of the largest churches in the world. When asked about the secret of his success, his answer was in a similar vein: "I pray, and obey."
I do not believe that a seminary degree or shelves of books or computer access to a plethora of software and online resources are wrong. But if they distract me from childlike faith, they have become a hindrance, and Hebrews 12:1 is clear about what to do with hindrances: throw them off. So, in obedience, 40% of my library has been recently "thrown off" into the hands of the used book buyer at Powell's, or friends, or thrift stores.
And during this season of transition for the Higgs family, when most of my remaining books and other possession are packed in boxes and will likely stay there for some time, I have not (often) missed them all that much. I can still pray, read the Word of God, hear His voice, and obey. I can still do ministry, even without much of an office. Imagine. The Sheep on Main, and my wife, remind me of that.
Mike Higgs and his wife Terri are founding partners of sondance, a nonprofit with a focus on spiritual formation, family restoration, and community transformation. After 35 years of youth ministry and networking in the Portland, Oregon area, God is in the process of uprooting Mike and replanting him in Carey, Idaho. To receive his free monthly newsletter, contact him at: sondancemike@gmail.com.