BuildingChurchLeaders.com recently spoke with one of our advisors, Margaret Feinberg (www.margaretfeinberg.com), to talk about her new book,Scouting the Divine: My Search for God in Wine, Wool, & Wild Honey, which explores the rural imagery of the Bible with the help of people who live and work in those contexts today.
How do you think the book will help our readers–many of whom are pastors?
I think it’s a great resource for anyone who preaches, teaches, or leads a Bible study. It’s hard to go very many pages in the Bible and not run into sheep, harvesting, planting, seasons, honey, or vines. Scouting the Divine takes readers on an adventure to sit in front of a shepherd and find out how they read John 10, to drive a John Deere tractor and discover the parallels between planting straight rows and keeping our eyes on Christ, to ask a beekeeper what it means to enter a land “overflowing with milk and honey,” as well as to stand in a vineyard and ask a vintner how they read John 15. Out of those kinds of experiences come rich spiritual insights and fresh sermon illustrations.
Can you share one of those spiritual insights with us?
I think every pastor in America would be encouraged by reading the portion of the book on shepherding. It speaks to what it means to care for a flock, nurture the lambs, and lead well. For me, one of the many spiritual takeaways from my time with the shepherdess is that the best possible place for a sheep to be is in a flock. If left to its own devices, a sheep will wander off and its fate is predictable. It will be devoured by predators, overindulge or starve to death, or be infected by parasites. The result is always the same: death.
Just as sheep are meant to be among the flock under the watchful eye of a good shepherd, so, too, we are meant to live and flourish in a flock under the watchful eye of our Good Shepherd. Among the flock, I was reminded of just how much I need to be among a community of believers. I need the local church. We all need the local church. And I think that’s a message that needs to resound at this moment in history.
What are one or two other church roles that could be informed by the imagery you explore?
I think anyone who leads small groups, Sunday school classes, or spend times with youth will grow not only spiritually but also in their capacity to lead. For example, I ask the shepherdess when it comes to taking care of sheep what makes a good leader? Her answer provided rich insights for the people who seek to lead and nurture others.
To learn more about Scouting the Divine and Margaret’s adventures among wine, wool, and wild honey, visit www.margaretfeinberg.com.
