"I stole your sheep"

My friend St. Blondie, in a blog post about an R-rated slogan on a T-shirt (Blondie pictured here in a less offensive T), wondered aloud about the motives behind such a slogan . (Read it here)

But I fear we pastor types somtimes wear a similar slogan (OK, now you've got to grit your teeth and read the R-rated slogan for context...or make an educated guess):

"I stole your sheep (parishoner)."

We can be obsexxed with "Mine is bigger than yours" (church, I meant!); and resort to seducing stray and vulnerable sheep.

Local pastor Doug Lanier shared how when someone attends his church for the first time, and it is clear they are leaving another church, he makes sure they have had a closure meeting with their previous pastor.

!

But Doug... he's so fanatical as to actually obey Jesus' commands to visit the
one in prison..

If any of "my" sheep ever feel called to "switch shepherds," I hope they find one like Doug..

But oh, dear, that might make his church bigger than mine!!(:

Phillipians 2:1-11