I used to work summers at a camp that had a working farm. We raised goats, cattle, chickens, pigs, and yes, sheep. I loved barn chores, milking the docile cows, fighting with the ornery goats who tried to kick over the milk bucket, often successfully, and taking my life in my hands by bringing the pig its bucket of slop. Inevitably the pig would hear the slop and charge the bucket and the person holding it. Then there were the sheep. I thought sheep were, well, boring. All you had to do was change their water. Feeding them was simple. Put them in a pasture. Done. They spent the entirety of their days eating or sleeping. But, one night a counselor ran into the lodge shouting, “The sheep escaped!” We ran down the road and started herding them back in. The thing was they never run in the direction you want them to. So in a moment of inspiration, I started barking. Ruff! Between barks, another counselor asked, “WHAT are you doing?” I answered “Sheep dog.” The sheep moved from me and towards the pasture until they were all back safely inside the fence. Sheep are actually quite intelligent- they stay together in close-knit groups where they feel they belong. Too often as people, we drive out sheep from our groups, making them feel isolated and alone. I interpret the Gospel’s message as a charge for us to keep all people in the fold, safe and with a sense of belonging.

Justin Aaberg was just fifteen when he killed himself in the summer of 2010. He came out as gay at thirteen and endured years of bullying at the hands of his classmates in a suburbanMinnesotahigh school. Justin hanged himself in his bedroom; his mother found his body.

To our south, aPrincetongraduate student that my husband Nick knew, a funny, intelligent guy with a bright future ahead of him hanged himself last year. In his suicide note, he wrote that he had struggled for years with his sexuality, increasing his sense of isolation. To our north aRutgersUniversityfreshman jumped off theGeorgeWashingtonBridgeafter his roommate discovered he was gay and maliciously spread the news.

In the school where I taught inTrenton, a fifth grade girl is mockingly called “Rainbow” by her classmates. She acts out and is angry all the time. What will become of her?

I grew up in a Quaker family. I was taught, and still believe that the light of God is in everyone. Not just the people we like, or look like us, or agree with… everyone. Every single time a person kills him or herself, not believing that people will accept who they love, or thinking that the endless assault of bullying will never end, a light is extinguished. My sister is gay and thankfully she did not have to endure what Justin did in high school. But when she worked in a rural school she could never tell her students about her wife. She would have gotten fired, or worse.

When Nick told me about the It Gets Better Project, I was immediately excited. It is a collection of videos submitted online, with a simple message to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth: It Gets Better. It started in response to a rash of teen suicides by gay, lesbian, and questioning youth last fall. For those who are being bullied or who don’t believe it will get better, the message is that there is hope. There thousands of videos on the site, including one from President Obama, telling teens to hold on, everyone has future full of joy, love, and opportunity, but you don’t get to see it if you’re dead.

So I took the pledge to spread the message, speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, and to provide hope. In November 2012 voters inMinnesota, my new home state, will have the the power to decide on constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. What message does it send to the Justins out there that people do not see a place for them in society? It’s not one of hope. Marriage equity is not an abstract moral question, it is also question of life and death for young people desperate to feel accepted for who they are and that there is a place for them now and in the future. So how do I feed more sheep? So I feed more sheep by speaking up against this amendment and for marriage equity, I feed more sheep by working to eradicate all kinds of bullying I hear as a teacher and support kids who feel isolated, and I feed more sheep by responding any time I hear someone speaking against the light of God in another person. Because the mission of our church asks that we help keep all of God’s sheep safe and part of our fold.

July 17, 2026

 

 

 

How am I feeding more sheep? To tell you the truth, I often feel like I fail at this call. This may sound strange given my profession: I am after all a teacher of New Testament at a seminary. I sit around reading the Bible all day with people who are future ministers. And although at the end of the day, I do feel that I am called by God to teach the New Testament, sometimes I still have this nagging question: am I truly being faithful to God’s call to feed more sheep? Am I doing enough to answer this call?

And then this past week I went to the annual conference of theUnitedMethodistChurchasKingston’s lay representative. After sitting through days of seemingly endless meetings, this question came up yet again. How can never-ending debates and sound-bite speeches possibly be feeding more sheep? How can committee reports and budget discussions be feeding more sheep? Yet even when reports became tedious or discussions became difficult, I was constantly reminded that annual conference is ultimately about coming together as the body of Christ so that we can do the work to which Christ has called us. I was reminded that we don’t feed sheep alone. At this gathering there were over a thousand United Methodists from the Greater New Jersey conference comprised of different ages, ethnicities, and theological backgrounds. And at this gathering we chose ten delegates to attend General Conference, an even bigger gathering of United Methodists across theUnited Statesand the Globe. The one thing that brings us all together is in effect our calling to feed more sheep. And this is exactly the business of theMethodistChurch. For example, UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief) continues to be a huge presence in disaster areas around the world, such asAlabama,Haiti, andJapan. Churches are increasing their membership, and exciting new initiatives are being proposed both by and for youths and young adults. Because we are a connectional church, we are able to serve Christ in innovative and wide-reaching ways.

So how am I feeding more sheep? In a nutshell, I am living out my call to help the church feed more sheep, whether that be as a lay rep or as a teacher of Scripture or whatever the case may be. And when it comes to answering this call, I have learned two things this past week. First, I know that I am not alone. As someone who attends Kingston, I am automatically connected with thousands of other Christians who are also working towards feeding more sheep. The question is not only about how I am feeding more sheep, but about how we are feeding more sheep. And second, I know that God is working through us, even in our imperfections. The Church may not be perfect, just as I am certainly not perfect, but God still works through us to feed more sheep. There is still much to be done, but I know that God will continue to be with us in both the exciting times and the difficult times as we, the body of Christ, continue to feed more sheep.

June 5, 2026

Scott Sheldon did the Mission Moment on Sunday, May 15, 2011. It was his last Sunday before taking a new job in San Francisco. He used the opportunity to share with the congregation his thanks for its hospitality as well as to announce a new initiative called the Feed More Sheep Fund. Here is a link to the video of his sharing:

The theme feed more sheep has been running through my mind for the past few weeks. I thought of all the Bible verses about what would Jesus want me to do. I thought about what I don’t do to feed more sheep, like door to door or very open evangelism.

Then it occurred to me that it is in my every-day activities…my every contact with people.

As an example I work part-time at the local hardware store. It is there that I have the chance to serve people, no matter how they look, no matter what their attitude is or the question they ask. I am there to treat them as Jesus would have treated them.

So, it is my everyday interchanges with people, at ACE as I greet someone in the center aisle, at the gasoline station, at ShopRite or even going through TSA full body scan security.

With each contact I am trying to behave as Jesus would in his daily activities trying to feed more sheep. It is the way I feel most comfortable and capable of feeding more sheep.

April 10, 2026

How will I feed more sheep? The short answer is that I am a student at Princeton Theological Seminary, and I am responding to God’s call to feed more sheep by training for ministry and eventually serving as a leader in a church, probably a youth leader.

But the truth is, if I look back at the past few years of my life, I shouldn’t be in any position to serve at a church. Just seven years ago, as a Rutgers College student, I didn’t even believe in God at all. I was an atheist. Like a hardcore, Christian people are delusional, atheist.

So if you told me seven years ago, “You’re going to seminary!” I would have probably laughed in your face. But it’s funny how things work out. At my time in college, I became really close friends with a devout Christian. He was open about his faith, and we would talk about it – not drilling it down my throat, but also not trying to hide it.

Maybe even more importantly, he was a good friend when I needed it; during my third year, I struggled through relationship problems and other issues, and he, and other Christian friends I had, listened to me and supported me. Though I had done everything I could to reject serving God, these children of God served me.

Eventually, I started attending my friend’s church, Outreach Red Bank, and I came to faith and grew as a Christian. And as time went on, my life continued to follow this pattern: I became able to serve only because people served me first.

- At the church, I spend three years as a leader at the high school group, and I had leadership roles during worship and in the service ministry, but only because of the church leaders who went through the Bible and theology with me, who discipled me, and took time out to help me.

- At my previous job at a newspaper, I was able to move up in the company and contribute my skills in editing and writing stories, but only because I had a great boss who believed in my work and testified to his bosses on my behalf.

- And then there’s my wife; any serving, any feeding of sheep I can do, is only because she has supported me: in encouraging me, in teaching me, and in so many other ways I can’t even count.

When I think about all the people that have served me first in my life, I am convinced that they are true witnesses to the God who served us first, who, while we were enemies of God, humbled himself as a servant and died in our place, taking on our sin and brokenness on Himself so that we could serve and love others.

So, to the mission question: I will feed more sheep by training at seminary and going into ministry. But I know I can only do that because God fed me first.

April 3, 2026

The Gospel of John, Chapter one, verse one says:
“In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.”

My interpretation is that God appeared with words which are messages we learn today through the Bible. And therefore, words have power. In addition, the words we speak were originally created holy, just as God created Adam and Eve sinless in the beginning.

The serpent, however, used words to cause Adam and Eve to disobey God. Since then, we human beings must face temptation every day according to the Bible. Consequently, the evil spirit, or Satan, causes us to utter unholy words with our mouths where we should only speak God’s holy words.

One minister said that we can help one another in three ways:

1. We can help others financially when they are poor or need of money, like the U.S. Government has been giving aid to poor countries and like we donate for earthquakes and Tsunami victims.
2. We can help others physically like Mother Theresa.
3. We can help other people by not saying any words to hurt them.

I thought that the third one is the most difficult. Several years ago, when we were getting inundated with calls from advertising people, I used to say to them “ Can’t you get a better job rather than bothering people” and bang, I would hang up the phone- irritated. That was me.

Today, when I get similar calls, I usually say “Thank you for calling. God Bless you!

One day, I read a little story about President Lincoln. He wrote a letter to General Robert Lee after the civil had ended saying you should have done this and that…. then he threw the letter in his waste basket. He did not see the purpose of sending that letter even if that was his advice to General Lee. President Lincoln thought that it would only make him feel worse.

Likewise, I don’t say anything to my husband or to my children if I think it will hurt their feelings and keep peace. The choice of words can build up a relationship rather than breaking it. Good words can create hope in a desperate situation. Good words create love where there is hatred and so forth. Our maturity comes from the way we use our words.

So, how do I feed more sheep?

My way of feeding more sheep will be not to hurt other people’s feelings by what I say.

March 27, 2026

Good morning!

How am I answering God’s call to feed more sheep? Before I go any further with the question, let me tell a little about this God that I have learned to lean on and trust in. Church, this God is real. Yes! And worthy of our praise. It is because of God’s grace and mercy that we have come thus far on our journey, and traveling this journey I have learned that GOD LOVES US!

God, the Creator of heavens and Earth and all that is within – Yes, the creator of you and me – this God has given each of us some kind of talent. Some more than others. Why? Now, hold it, Jim; that is God’s business.

What I do know is that I am held responsible for what God has given me. Luke 21:1-4 tells us about the widow who gave only two small copper coins, which were worth very little, to the temple treasury, while the others were putting in large amounts. Jesus, seeing this, said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth; this poor widow has put in more than all the others.” Little things mean a lot.

So, when you see me smile, embrace God’s grace and mercy, feeding more sheep.

When I give you a hug, embrace God’s grace and mercy, feeding more sheep.

When you hear me sing or play my horn, embrace God’s grace and mercy, feeding more sheep.

Church, we serve a good God! PRAISE BE TO GOD!

March 13, 2026

In the late fall of 1992, I was talking with Byron Leasure, pastor of this church, about how nice it would be if we had some type of daily devotional booklet for Advent. Thus was born the first of a long line of booklets for Advent and Lent. The first ones were collections of favorite readings, poetry, and original writings submitted by the congregation. Eventually, the contributions dwindled out, and something told me that each booklet should have a central theme, and in 1998 the Lenten booklet was entitled “Follow Me” and talked of the various ways Jesus calls us.

I hope that, over the years, these booklets have been helping to feed more sheep. I know that they have traveled as far away as Texas and Arizona and that one Lenten booklet was used in Pennsylvania in a discussion group for prisoners convicted of violent crimes. I know that at least one member of this congregation has told me that she has kept every one of them and rereads them.

This year, right after Christmas, I mentally asked the usual question: “Okay, what are we going to do for Lent?” The phrase I heard in my head was: “Spiritual gifts.” Hmmm. Forty-seven entries on spiritual gifts? That sounded hard. Knowing that Easter was late this year, I decided to revisit the topic at a later date. Then, at our January Council meeting, we adopted the goal of 52 voices in these Mission Moments… people telling how they are using their “spiritual gifts” to feed more sheep. I knew then why I had been given that topic. So, here is this year’s booklet: “Many Gifts, One Spirit.” Through Lent, we will look at how we recognize our gifts, how we are using them now, how we might use them differently, and how we can recognize and acknowledge the gifts in others.

The booklets are free. If you are able to donate $1 to defray the copying costs, that’s fine. But please take one as our gift to you to help you feed more sheep.

March 6, 2026