Just So

Today’s poem was written in response to sentence I heard at a pastor’s denominational meeting about ten years ago. Community life is not always easy. Church community life is no exception. It is not without reason that God’s people are referred to as a flock of sheep — sheep being dependent upon care and may seem unappreciative of that care. For those in ministry being a shepherd can feel like thankless work. But then again, shepherds (at least in the Bible) were not counted among the social elite of the day so there’s not much leverage in trying to assert any elevation among others. The sentence I heard was, “We like our leaders just so.” As I reflected on the sentence, I got a little miffed. It sounded a little “goldilocks” for me. You know, “This chair is too high,” or “This porridge is too cold.” As I worked out the poem, it worked on me. We do much better when we all see ourselves as the sheep of the flock of the Good Shepherd. So in honor of pastor appreciation month. Here’s a poem for a “leader who is just so…” We’ll I’ll let you decide. Just So We like our leaders just so-- Not too brash, not too bold. We like them humble (but not so much so). We like our leaders just so. We like them selfless, Who serve without putting on a show. Not pretentious, ostentatious, Modest and humble, Not too high but not too low. That's how we like our leaders. Just so, You know from the start, From the get go, we have no issue With receiving, following, heeding, We hope you got the memo. And we like you too, (We thought you'd like to know), We like our leaders. Just so We're clear (and although No one's perfect) we'd like you To be the closest to perfect Of anyone we know— Who'll play their part In our well-imagined dreams, Lead us in fulfilling all our schemes, Who is authentic down to their bones, Who really is, not merely seems, Someone we can trust more than anything. We like our leaders. We like our leaders just. So You'll need to measure up, Exude perfection, Reflect our fronting, our righteous reflection, Our confident, prosperous, self-projection. We like our leaders just. So, why are you wearing that towel? Why disrobed? Down on your knee? Why touch my feet as a slave? Why wash me? Why don't you speak, live up to the hype? Do the deeds which brought you fame? Are we to follow one so derided, disdained? Defend yourself, why scorn the shame? Why bear the cursing, take all the blame? We like our leaders just. So, you'll have to do better; You'll have rise higher; You'll have to break out Of this lamb of God game. You’ll need to make a better name If we're to follow you into your dominion; You may not like it, but that's our opinion. There's just no glory for a lion laid low Because we like our leaders just so. Get full access to Backward Mutters at backwardmutters.substack.com/subscribe