Follow me
21/09/12 05:31
OK, here is a job that may interest you. You get to set your own hours, but no one has succeeded in this job that hasn’t put in 60 to 80 hours per week. You get to work outdoors – in fact you have to work outdoors even when the temperatures are extreme and the weather is nasty. You have no control over the prices of the things you have to buy. You have no say in the price of the things you sell. If you do accumulate any assets, they all have to go towards the operation of the business – the amount of your income that you can use for your personal needs will be very close to the poverty line.
Does it sound appealing?
It may explain why the number of sheep ranchers has declined by 40% since the 1970’s.
I can, at times, get a little down over the simple fact that the span of my career has seen significant declines in mainline Protestantism. The family of denominations to which the United Church of Christ belongs has seen steady declines in membership, income, and programs. The path of a minister was a bit simpler and a bit easier a few decades before I was called to the profession. I don’t think it has ever been an easy vocation. There have always been challenges and the level of compensation has always been low. But there were times, during the baby boom of the 1950’s and into the 1960’s when church growth was easy and pastors could expect their careers to have an upward trajectory. Those times have passed.
But the decline in the church is nothing compared to the decline in the sheep business. The sheep business has always been a kind of boom and bust deal. Prices go up some years for reasons that no one explains. They go down other years. The ones who succeed learn not to get too excited when they are making money. They know that the money will be needed to survive when the market goes south. The last couple of years are a good example. Last year, ewes and lambs were bringing well over $2 per pound. There were some who got $2.50. This year, prices are staying below $1.00. That’s a huge variation. And the volatility in the market isn’t just in the prices at the sales barn. The cost of production is wild, too. Last year, most producers had plenty of hay for feed. This year, with the drought, there is a hay shortage and it is running around $300 per ton. The price of gas is hovering around $4 this year. Add it all up, and last year it was possible to make $90 to $100 on a fat lamb. This year an animal that is the same quality and weight represents a loss of $30 or $40.
If you used last year’s prices as a basis for a loan to expand your operation, you are broke this year. It is that simple. And the number of sheep ranchers will continue to decline – not by choice, but by the realities of the economy.
Maybe it has always been that way with sheepherding.
If you understand the realities of the hard life of trying to earn a living by raising sheep, you might read the Christmas story with a slightly different understanding. In that story, the angels go to the sheepherders with the news. They didn’t go to the palaces or places of power. They didn’t visit the homes of the wealthy merchants. They didn’t go to the tax collectors or moneylenders or others labeled by society as successful – at least there is no mention of such visits in the Gospels. The angels go to the sheepherders. I don’t think society valued sheepherders any more in that time than it does today. They were at the bottom of the heap.
But they got to see the angels. And the glory of the Lord shone round them. Frankly, it scared the _____ out of them. The bible says, “They were sore afraid.” They didn’t forget what happened. They told the story over and over again. We can still remember it because it has been told so many times.
The Gospels are filled with stories of the presence of God with those on the margins of society. Jesus touched lepers. People whose illnesses prevented them from earning a living became the centerpieces of stories of miracles. In a culture that didn’t value children, a child becomes the example of how to get into God’s realm. A rag tag band of former fishermen, tax collectors and political misfits become chosen disciples. And just when things are looking good and they enter Jerusalem with a sense of triumph, the leader is brought before the authorities on trumped-up charges of insubordination and treason. He is summarily executed in the most cruel and gruesome manner.
And now, thousands of years later, we are reminded again and again that our calling as Christians has almost nothing to do with what might be called success in the eyes of the world. Being faithful isn’t about having big numbers or large buildings or lots of dollars in the bank. Following Jesus doesn’t lead to a life of ease.
I like the image of Jesus as the good shepherd. But I grew up in sheep country among sheepherders and there is little romance associated with the profession in my mind. The good shepherd gets down in the dust and mire and muck with the flock. The good shepherd suffers in the blizzards and has his skin whipped raw by the wind. The good shepherd works outside in the blazing sun to bring in a marginal crop of hay. The good shepherd goes without fixing up his own house so there will be a few dollars to buy corn to feed his animals. I suspect that the good shepherd wakes up from time to time and wonders how he ever got himself in this mess.
And the good shepherd holds a newborn lamb in his arms and watches the sunrise over the hills and can’t imagine life being any different than this.
We were not born for luxury or power. We were born for service to others. We are the ones who heard the words, “If anyone wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” Knowing the cost, we chose to follow all the same.
Does it sound appealing?
It may explain why the number of sheep ranchers has declined by 40% since the 1970’s.
I can, at times, get a little down over the simple fact that the span of my career has seen significant declines in mainline Protestantism. The family of denominations to which the United Church of Christ belongs has seen steady declines in membership, income, and programs. The path of a minister was a bit simpler and a bit easier a few decades before I was called to the profession. I don’t think it has ever been an easy vocation. There have always been challenges and the level of compensation has always been low. But there were times, during the baby boom of the 1950’s and into the 1960’s when church growth was easy and pastors could expect their careers to have an upward trajectory. Those times have passed.
But the decline in the church is nothing compared to the decline in the sheep business. The sheep business has always been a kind of boom and bust deal. Prices go up some years for reasons that no one explains. They go down other years. The ones who succeed learn not to get too excited when they are making money. They know that the money will be needed to survive when the market goes south. The last couple of years are a good example. Last year, ewes and lambs were bringing well over $2 per pound. There were some who got $2.50. This year, prices are staying below $1.00. That’s a huge variation. And the volatility in the market isn’t just in the prices at the sales barn. The cost of production is wild, too. Last year, most producers had plenty of hay for feed. This year, with the drought, there is a hay shortage and it is running around $300 per ton. The price of gas is hovering around $4 this year. Add it all up, and last year it was possible to make $90 to $100 on a fat lamb. This year an animal that is the same quality and weight represents a loss of $30 or $40.
If you used last year’s prices as a basis for a loan to expand your operation, you are broke this year. It is that simple. And the number of sheep ranchers will continue to decline – not by choice, but by the realities of the economy.
Maybe it has always been that way with sheepherding.
If you understand the realities of the hard life of trying to earn a living by raising sheep, you might read the Christmas story with a slightly different understanding. In that story, the angels go to the sheepherders with the news. They didn’t go to the palaces or places of power. They didn’t visit the homes of the wealthy merchants. They didn’t go to the tax collectors or moneylenders or others labeled by society as successful – at least there is no mention of such visits in the Gospels. The angels go to the sheepherders. I don’t think society valued sheepherders any more in that time than it does today. They were at the bottom of the heap.
But they got to see the angels. And the glory of the Lord shone round them. Frankly, it scared the _____ out of them. The bible says, “They were sore afraid.” They didn’t forget what happened. They told the story over and over again. We can still remember it because it has been told so many times.
The Gospels are filled with stories of the presence of God with those on the margins of society. Jesus touched lepers. People whose illnesses prevented them from earning a living became the centerpieces of stories of miracles. In a culture that didn’t value children, a child becomes the example of how to get into God’s realm. A rag tag band of former fishermen, tax collectors and political misfits become chosen disciples. And just when things are looking good and they enter Jerusalem with a sense of triumph, the leader is brought before the authorities on trumped-up charges of insubordination and treason. He is summarily executed in the most cruel and gruesome manner.
And now, thousands of years later, we are reminded again and again that our calling as Christians has almost nothing to do with what might be called success in the eyes of the world. Being faithful isn’t about having big numbers or large buildings or lots of dollars in the bank. Following Jesus doesn’t lead to a life of ease.
I like the image of Jesus as the good shepherd. But I grew up in sheep country among sheepherders and there is little romance associated with the profession in my mind. The good shepherd gets down in the dust and mire and muck with the flock. The good shepherd suffers in the blizzards and has his skin whipped raw by the wind. The good shepherd works outside in the blazing sun to bring in a marginal crop of hay. The good shepherd goes without fixing up his own house so there will be a few dollars to buy corn to feed his animals. I suspect that the good shepherd wakes up from time to time and wonders how he ever got himself in this mess.
And the good shepherd holds a newborn lamb in his arms and watches the sunrise over the hills and can’t imagine life being any different than this.
We were not born for luxury or power. We were born for service to others. We are the ones who heard the words, “If anyone wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” Knowing the cost, we chose to follow all the same.