PROJECT OVERVIEW

Some churches don't fail their pastor with malice.
They don't reject him. They just stop noticing.

Not all at once—but slowly, quietly, by a thousand tiny cuts:
unspoken expectations, sideways criticism, chronic disengagement, and the spiritual hobby of "sharing concerns" with no conversation attached.

And when a shepherd is left to carry everything alone, the flock doesn't get safer.
It gets scattered.

Support Your Local Shepherd is part pastor's-kid memoir, part portrait of a faithful man (my dad), part honest look at how church life lands on the shepherd's home—and part field guide for believers who want to help faithfully, practically, and without turning it into a performance.

Inside are fence-line stories, wolf-sign diagnostics, and field-tested ways to help:

• how to give feedback without fog,
• how to disagree without dividing,
• how to protect rest without guilt,
• how to turn "we should support our pastor" into repeatable action.

Because the issue isn't whether your church has challenges.
The issue is whether your church will become the kind of flock a shepherd can lead for the long haul.

Planned Project Sections

• Introduction to the project.

Part I – The Shepherd (and the family behind him)

Humanizes the man behind the pulpit without pedestal or pity—showing the weight he carries, the limits he faces, and the cost his family absorbs.

• 3 Not Just a Sermon — Because the shepherd is a person before a preacher.
• 4 Dusty Shoes, Real Limits — Because faithful men still get tired, lonely, and discouraged.
• When the Flock Sleeps, He Still Serves — So the unseen labor doesn't stay invisible.
• All Those Hats, All That Weight — And role confusion turns calling into overload.
• You Can’t Shepherd Without Boundaries — So rest, family, and limits protect the flock—not betray it.
• Sheep Bite, and It Hurts — And criticism doesn't stop at the office; it follows him home.

Part II – Wolves, Weather, and Weird Fences

Reveals the hidden dynamics, dysfunctional patterns, and quiet church politics that slowly exhaust pastors—not through villains, but through systems.

• Together, We Share the Burden — Because ministry was never meant to be a one-man show.
• On Purpose, Not by Accident — Because support doesn’t “just happen”; it’s practiced and repeated.
• Hands to the Work, Not the Keyboard — So shoulder-to-shoulder serving replaces distance critique.

Part III – The Field Guide

Turns insight into action with concrete, repeatable ways to make support more than sentiment—and shepherding sustainable.

• Encouragement Is Fuel — And specific gratitude keeps the right fire burning.
• Lift His Arms, Don’t Add Weight — By building rhythms of help that outlast a holiday.
• Practical Help, Week After Week — Until your church becomes the kind of flock a shepherd can lead.