The Land of 12,000 Guides

It may surprise you but one of the most obvious things about the Holy Land are the busses. Tourists spill out of these bug-eyed monstrosities by the tens of hundreds, even tens of thousands. As a pilgrimage leader, one of the first things I do when I get to a site is count the number of busses. This tells me whether the site will be crowded or not. Given the All-American pastime of always trying to be in the shortest line, arriving at a holy place with only a handful of busses can be a delight.

Along with all those busses come tour guides. They are everywhere – well at least everywhere where I seem to be. With their groups, large and small, they explain, protect, and herd their people from one destination to another. These modern day shepherds can winsomely and efficiently coax even the most leisurely and picture-taking tourist to keep up.

To be an effective tour guide, you have to have an outgoing personality, one who likes people and can make a connection quickly. The best guides immediately size up their groups and modify and manage expectations and programs on the spot. In many ways, they know how to give the people what they want but the great ones also want to give them something more. The “more” depends on the guide. For religious tours like mine, the guides bring alive the ancient biblical text and culture. For other groups, the agenda may be more political. Putting a fair and human face to this conflict is no small feat. Very rarely do people leave this place unchanged. And this rebirth is often because of these tourist midwives.

This got me thinking about my role as a pastor. I could learn a lot from these tour guides. Although much of what they do is provide information, the essence of their work is relational. They are with their people daily, face to face. They know each person by name and, by the end of the journey, they know their sensibilities and shortcomings. And even though the guides lead the trip, the agenda is not theirs. They take a group of ruthless individuals and shape an experience of the sacred into a life changing experience.

Sounds like good pastoring to me.