Alan Pollock

I am no theologian. I am simply a man who loves Jesus and loves serving Him. For over a decade I served as an Elder in a local church — a season I am grateful for, and one that shaped me deeply. I have since stepped away from that role, but my love for Christ's people has not diminished.

What stays with me from those years is a simple longing: that those who lead God's people would lead like shepherds — present, humble, and devoted to the flock itself. That longing is part of what draws me back to Scripture each morning, and part of what these devotionals come from.

I want to be clear — I am not discounting the local church. I believe it is an integral part of God's plan to reach and minister to communities across the world. But I hold a simple conviction: the local church should be led by Elders and taught by a Pastor and teacher.

A Pastor is a shepherd. And a shepherd, first and foremost, follows The Shepherd — living humbly and in submission to Him.

He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. Isaiah 40:11

A shepherd smells like the sheep because he is with them. He does not manage them from a distance. When one strays, he leaves the ninety-nine and goes after that one — not out of obligation, but out of love — and brings them back to the safety of the flock.

A shepherd is most at home when the sheep are fed, cared for, and kept close. The sheep are the mission. They always were.

What you will find here are random thoughts — things that rise in me, usually in the quiet of the morning, as I sit with Scripture. I am not a writer by training. I am simply someone who cannot keep these things to himself.

They are not a replacement for your own personal devotion to God. Please do not read them as a substitute for time in His Word yourself. They are simply what is in me, and I want to share them.