Shepherding the Shepherd – Volume 2

Devotions for a Pastor’s Soul

In Shepherding the Shepherd – Volume 2. Building upon the letters found in his first volume in the series, retired pastor Lee Eclov continues to offer encouragement for pastors in this unique devotion written by a shepherd, for shepherds.

Shepherding the Shepherd

Letters of Encouragement for God’s Good Shepherds

In Shepherding the Shepherd, retired pastor Lee Eclov offers 52 weekly letters from the perspective of a friend and fellow shepherd to encourage and inspire you. He knows that while shepherds are frequently pictured as calm, their work is hard. Seldom do outsiders see a shepherd fend off sheep who’ve turned on him, or care for one bloodied by wolves. Or even share some smiles with other shepherds about the antics and foibles of the sheep in their care.

Pastor Eclov comes along side as a trusted confidant who understands the joy pastors experience in loving and feeding their flocks. His letters read like a friend-to-friend chat—refreshingly not glib about the realities of pastoring, nor another lecture on what to do.

Feels Like Home

When Christians look for a church they are looking for a home. They don’t just need a place where they like the music or preaching, or where their kids are happy. They need a home because Christian discovery and growth can’t happen without one. The Bible knows nothing of Christians disconnected from other believers and that connection is best described as “the household of God,” God’s family.

You might think a church that feels like home would be easy but actually it is a miracle. Christian love and Christlike service don’t come naturally at all. Neither does praying together or welcoming those who don’t seem to be like us. In fact, life with our Christian family is counterintuitive at every turn.

Pastor Lee Eclov wrote Feels Like Home to help fellow pastors and leaders think about the environment of their church as well as the mission, to be home-makers and not just administrators.

Pastoral Graces

Through striking word pictures and stories that resonate with every pastor, Pastoral Graces will reinvigorate pastors’ instincts for bringing grace to the congregations they shepherd. Author and pastor Lee Eclov prepares readers to understand their calling, equipping, ministering in difficult circumstances and relationships, the mutual benefits for congregation and the pastor, and how to finish well.

Whether you are training to be a pastor and wondering if you are called, a seasoned shepherd needing encouragement and affirmation, or simply someone who wants to encourage your pastor, you will appreciate the sage wisdom and confirmation poured out in the pages of Pastoral Graces.

Leadership Journal awarded Pastoral Graces its 2012 “Best of the Best” award in the category, “The Leader’s Inner Life.” 

Mark Galli
Senior Managing Editor, Christianity Today
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Oh, my: A book on the pastorate that is about, well, pastoring, shepherding! It’s a rare breed in our ambitious and managerial age. But it’s a biblical breed who know that the minister is, from first to last, a minister of God’s grace. I have said this about few books in my long life, but it clearly applies to this one. Required reading for every pastor, a book destined to become a classic.
Craig L. Blomberg
Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary
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Plenty of books teach ministers how to be CEOs. Some texts teach them how to be good preachers. Only a few inculcate valid principles for pastoring, and rarer still are those that do it well. Pastoral Graces is a gem of a book that does it superbly. Plus, Lee Eclov has practiced what he preaches for over thirty years. The stories he tells are all true and eminently replicable, at least when one’s heart is so filled with God’s grace as his is. I know; he married my wife and me!
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Pastor's Service Manual

This manual helps evangelical pastors give shape and language to the many kinds of services they’re called upon to officiate, such as:

  • General worship service resources (from Calls to Worship to Benedictions)
  • Baptism
  • Communion
  • The Liturgical Year
  • Commissioning of a missionary
  • Installation of a pastor or lay leaders
  • Reception of new members
  • Dedication of a church building or ministry tools
  • Celebration of a church anniversary
  • The wedding service
  • Renewal of wedding vows
  • Dedication of children
  • Dedication of a home
  • The funeral service
  • Anointing the sick
  • Ministering to the bereaved
  • and many others

For each service, pastors are given both traditional and contemporary language, as well as simple bullet point ideas for prayers, Scripture texts, appropriate comments, and other ideas.

The manual is a half-inch thick, 6×9 inch, three-ring binder so you can add and remove pages with your own edited material. It also comes with an access code to a digital copy which you can easily download in order to customize services for your own purposes.

Available in both NIV and ESV.

ADDED BONUS: Access code to a downloadable digital copy included for personal customization.