Just A Herdsman—A Dresser of Sycamore Figs
- Rev. Daniel J. Bradley
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 24 hours ago
And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.
Amos 7:11-14
I promise you, I am no prophet nor a prophet’s son. I am just a guy trying to figure out this world as much as anyone. So was Amos. I had this idea in the middle of the night as I sat amongst the boxes in the parsonage—no biblical character had anything figured out. If they knew what they were getting into, they probably would have said: “Uh, no!”
Think about it for a moment. Abram and Sari left everything behind to go to a strange land flowing with milk and honey—an unknown land with only the stars to guide them. Moses, who would talk to a burning bush and spend forty years in the desert with God’s people, who, on more than one occasion, tried to kill him. Jeremiah, who was thirteen years old when he had some of the hardest prophecies to deliver… and the list goes on. None of them knew what to expect or what was coming next.
When I was called into ministry in 2001, at a small, then-United Methodist Camp called Camp Findley in the old Western New York Annual Conference, Mary and I had been engaged for about a month. I did not hear God audibly, but through a Bible conference preacher from the South. He was about twice my size, all decked out in a Stetson hat, cowboy boots, and the tackiest of wooden ties—the words as he preached filled my heart: “If you go, I will provide.” That night on the shores of Findley Lake, Mary and I prayed and committed ourselves to the work of the Lord—we had no idea what would happen.
A month before we were to be married a year later, I was contacted by a district superintendent and asked whether I would consider becoming a pastor. This was completely out of left field as I was working in the business world. I had not sought this vocational calling, but at the time, something told me the Lord was fulfilling that prophetic word.
We began ministry the week after we returned from our honeymoon, and I knew nothing. My first sermon lasted forty-five minutes, and every day I step into the pulpit, I am reminded of it, and I am thankful no one walked out that first Sunday. Also, on that first Sunday, I learned about the importance of collecting communal bacon drippings to season the green beans for the Swiss steak dinners! Who knew this was a thing?
What I have learned in my time of growing in faith and my vocational calling is this: God does not call the equipped but equips the called. It’s on-the-job training.
Amos received some on-the-job training, and that training was learning to ‘listen to the Lord.’ And then, and only then, speaking the words that the Lord gave him. He spoke those words to an evil King and Priest. Scripture records only three prophecies he spoke, and all were fulfilled. I have struggled to listen to the Lord at times in my life because I have an ego that is five miles wide and ten miles deep. It also requires me to close my mouth, which you will learn is at times impossible for me. You can ask Mary and Kiah, who have threatened to bring out duct tape.
The most important thing I can do as YOUR pastor is to listen to your needs and those of your CHURCH and COMMUNITY; I assure you, I will. The reason for listening is that throughout my whole career of questioning, doubting, and wondering if God could even use me, my friends and colleagues have listened to me, and those have been the most important moments of my life.
As your pastor, my role isn’t to lead from the front and pray that you follow me. Instead, I will walk alongside you, following Jesus wherever He leads. Together, we will celebrate and rejoice, remembering God's work. In times of grief, we will share our sorrow and praise God, because every death contains a promise of resurrection. If this weren’t true, none of us would be here today. The most comforting truth is that the God who called so many through the scriptures continues to speak and works in each of us. God equips us for a new season of ministry and faith.
The bacon drippings were to season the green beans; I never ate them. The only prophecy I am sure of is this, if you can even call it a prophecy, is: Don’t eat anything with communal bacon drippings! Please remember that if anyone —any pastor, any church — tells you they have all the answers, run for the hills. None of us has all the answers. However, God does, and that’s what really matters in this season of faith’s perfection.
At some point, I promise I will tell you about the ‘Idaho Potatoes.’
In Christ,
Rev. Daniel J. Bradley
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