The Beautiful Job

Bishop Edwin Morgan Ogoe taught the teeming crowds of Church workers on the beautiful job during the morning session of the second day of the Art of Shepherding Conference.

He emphasized that the work of a pastor is a very honourable and beautiful job. He noted that the work of a shepherd towers above every other work because it is the only work you do standing in the Presence of God to minister.

He said, "It is the work of God and anything connected to God is glorious, mighty and powerful. Serving God is an unparalleled endeavour of life...How you do the work will determine your level of fulfilment."

He urged, "Your sheep should desire to become pastors. Make the work attractive."

Reading from Ecclesiastes 10:15 again, the man of God reiterated that it is knowledge that makes the ministry a beautiful job.

Bishop Ogoe turned to Isaiah 40:11, which says, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."

From the text, he identified the four pillars that make ministry a beautiful job. The pillars are to;

# Feed

# Gather

# Carry

# Lead

The man of God emphasized that each of these four must be done and that one cannot work without the other.

He began to teach on the feeding ministry by saying, "You must be great in the feeding ministry. If you are a shepherd, your sheep must be satisfied. We should be able to tell what type of shepherd you are by your type of sheep. Your members must feel okay just as a baby is okay with the mother's breast."

"You must have supernumerary breasts," he continued.

He went further to discuss the type of food that we should feed the flock with. "The first food to feed the sheep with is not the Bible," he began. Then he said, "The first diet the shepherd gives the sheep is himself. You are the food!"

Reading from John 10:15, the man of God emphasized that we are the food for the flock, for we must lay down our lives for the sheep.

He said, "Don't be a detached pastor. The sheep that flourish are those that have their shepherd as their food. The reason why the sheep are malnourished is because you have not given your life to them despite your good messages. You must give your sheep your life as the first thing."

Bishop Ogoe challenged participants to be known by their sheep and to give their lives for the sheep.

"Sacrifice in order for the sheep to have a better life. Give up your Sunday afternoon. Do something to bring you pain. A sacrifice becomes a sacrifice when you give up something that is legally yours."

Bishop Ogoe quoted Bishop Dag as saying, "It is more complex and difficult to relate with human beings than to do heart surgery."

He further taught, "You cannot give your life if your heart is not in it. Give up your time for them. Put away your tiredness and respond to their needs"

He explained that we need to relate to the sheep. He urged that we need to discover the art of relating with other humans. He said, "Learn to overcome yourself and your temperamental barriers. In the art of shepherding, you must relate. You must have a list of members you call up, visit and relate to. Everybody responds to love."

Bishop Ogoe hinted that the sheep should not be with you out of sympathy.

He further disclosed that real ministry is not done with employees; it is done with sons and daughters.

He encouraged, "Be a strong leader but a lover at heart...a pastor who preaches well is one who uses practical stories. These stories are derived from relating with the sheep. Preaching with examples and stories makes it insightful. To speak with sense and substance you must know what is happening around you."

Feeding the sheep with yourself also means calling your sheep by name. This is so important. Names are not just learnt; you know names by a certain level of relationship.

Bishop Ogoe announced, "A Church growing is a result of people staying and people staying is a result of knowing the sheep."

The man of God disclosed that good shepherds' Churches grow naturally. You must determine to know the names of people by relating more closely with them. Remember that you are the first thing the sheep need for their satisfaction.

Bishop Ogoe taught that the second ingredient to feed the flock with is knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15 says, "And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."

He shared that the heart of God is the heart of a shepherd. He said, "Feed them with the knowledge of God and spiritual understanding that will greatly transform their lives."

He went to teach that for you as a Shepherd to feed people, you yourself must be fed. You must acquire and gather knowledge deliberately and intentionally.

Bishop Ogoe thus zoomed into five areas of knowledge every pastor must have viz.

# The knowledge of God's will for the sheeps' lives.

# The knowledge of the Word of God.

# The knowledge of solutions to their problems.

# The knowledge of the five-fold ministry gifts.

# The knowledge of other secular subjects.

He cautioned pastors to beware of not studying. Reading from Hosea 4:6, he noted that something you don't know is destroying the people. As the priest is, so are the people.

He said, "When you reject knowledge, it's worse than homosexuality."

The message left participants earnestly longing to give themselves to their sheep and desiring to know more!