Perhaps our readers who have been longing for the appearance of this Shepherdess Special should know how we in the Ministerial Association of the General Conference have enjoyed working on it. THE MINISTRY has attempted during the last few years to lift the position of the minister's wife by bringing her responsibilities to the attention of all our workers. Now we are delighted that we have succeeded, as some of our friends tell us, but humbly we claim that we have only made a good beginning. Neither has it been our desire as an editorial group to overemphasize the material side of her work, such as the entertaining gift, or only the importance of good mothering and other womanly virtues. We have tried to keep in mind the complete influence of the shepherdess, for she is not just a work of art but also a servant of the church.
To get the complete picture of the shepherdess work in Adventism we must remember that the ministry is one profession among many, and not all the shepherding is left to our ministers' wives. If we were to give that impression, we fear that we might be hearing from doctors' wives, teachers' wives, from noble, self-sacrificing women in the nursing profession, from efficient secretaries, and from Bible instructors! To the last mentioned I will address a few thoughts in this Shepherdess Special, largely because I am so well acquainted with their shepherding. You'll grant that this is a good reason.
The Bible Instructor a True Shepherdess
Shall we be realistic as we consider the life and the services of the Bible instructor? She is a busy, versatile worker who too often must manage her womanly mission without the shoulder of a husband to lean on. She is hardly the kitchen artist or the drawing-room entertainer, although most of these women have such domestic skills quietly tucked away, applying them less on the Joneses than on the humble truth seeker who is being taught practical healthful living.
Often the larger, more toilsome share of the pastoring load for new believers rests on the shoulders of the Bible instructor. Her counselor is Jesus! After the new believer is baptized, the instructor becomes a shepherdess. She deepens the faith of this new saint in the making, rounds out theological impressions, guards against narrowing fanaticism, and counsels wisely on home problems and comforts. And how frequently the buffeted one must be shielded from attacks within and without. The Bible instructor then is no longer only in the role of teacher; she must now be also a stabilizer and a mother in Israel.
Again, look at her responsibilities from another angle. After her interested pupils have become church members, other pressing visits and Bible studies must not too greatly curtail her visits to these clinging souls who still need her help. For let us impress the fact that right at this stage the Bible instructor-shepherdess is much needed! The enemy now does his utmost to upset the entire family of the new convert, harassing them with endless attacks. It is only the exceptional believer who at this stage escapes. If such attacks do not come now, they will in the future. At such a time the help of the Bible instructor is needed, and it is appreciated by new converts because of previous prayer victories gained in the days of deciding to stand for truth. There was power in the prayers of the teacher. There must be power now in the prayers of the shepherdess.
Once more observe this shepherdess in action. She is always using her shepherd's crook, reaching for those straying feet of a sheep that might dash itself down some ravine of theological confusion. Tactfully, gently, but thoroughly she draws it back onto a surer foundation.
That's true Bible work, dear shepherdess! Frequently she finds in her scrip the very ointment that will soothe a deep hurt that needs the balm of sympathetic understanding—yes, mothering! And how does she handle that obstreperous lamb? With the gentle stroke of understanding that soothes even as does a mother's love, and with the cup from which it may drink a sip of human kindness. Oh, yes, the Bible work is more than "peddling" proof texts from house to house in defense of a message. It is rather a demonstration in the life of what the Bible teaches. How we wish that we had more of these practical women in Adventism, shepherdesses who are willing to spend themselves in spirit and in body.
But one more view of this Bible instructor-shepherdess. It is eleven o'clock at night, and many of her gentle sex have been relaxing or sleeping before this. She arrives at her humble little domicile, often poorly heated and meagerly furnished, very weary, but also tense with the problems she is carrying vicariously. Sleep is not readily found, and so she does a little reading—for her own soul! Finally she endeavors to do just what she has been leading those in her charge to practice—to leave it all at the feet of the Master. Then the Chief Shepherd brings calm to her mind and assurance to her soul and she drops into slumber, dreaming about her flock. A tender, faithful shepherdess!
A true shepherdess will live with her sheep. Not just for a few weeks or months while studying with her readers, but always! No wonder such women in our churches become a tradition. But how few—how very few—we have in comparison with our great need for them. It requires more than Bible information to entertain the babies of the church, to encourage the children, to counsel adolescents, and to guide the ways of the mature. These willing servants might be spared breaking under their loads at times if their work were better understood. We need these strong shepherdesses, wind beaten by the storms of life and yet so beautiful in character. Their quiet testimony, we would have you know, is that they find unparalleled joy in working so closely with the Great Shepherd of the sheep!
