Find Your Herd

My family thought it would be fun to get one of those motion sensitive video cameras with night vision. We have a lot of deer that pass through our yard, and the idea was to capture some video of their majestic strolls. It turns out the deer are camera shy. We’ve never once caught one on our night vision camera. We have however caught coyotes, fox, possums, raccoon families, and my husband even saw a fisher cat. Needless to say, I am no longer pitching a tent to camp out in thebackyard. The most common animals to get caught on our camera are turkeys. At one time I counted thirty-three. I told my husband we could always start a career as free-range turkey farmers. This “rafter” of turkeys (Yes, that’s what they call a group of turkeys. I had to look it up. Thanks, Google!) roam around the neighborhood in their core group. They instinctively know there is safety in numbers.Other animals, like the Antelope, also understand there is protection in numbers. At the Church of the Highlands Grow Conference in Alabama, I got to sit in on their creative team’s informational session. Their team is incredibly talented. Often, they issue challenges and once someone got the idea to dare the team to do a video that included a stuffed deer head. Here’s what they came up with:[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://lorridudley.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Find-Your-Herd.mp4"][/video]It starts off with a group of antelopes and a single cheetah, who spies an antelope separated from the herd, then goes in for the kill. Just before the cheetah pounces, the video switches to a scene with a deer head sitting behind a computer. The deer quickly types in “How to join a small group,” and the voice-over begins to talk about how to “Find your herd” at Church of the Highlands.Throughout history, people have collected in the safety of groups. Settlers came to America and established communities. Pioneers traveled in groups called caravans. Churches started and gathered in congregations. Together they learned from each other, sharpened each other, and protected each other.It’s easy when separated from our group to get off track, stagnate, or become discouraged. Isolation is one of the devil’s best tactics. He roams the earth like a “roaring lion looking for those whom he can devour” especially those he can lure away from the pack. Recently, though, he seems to have enlisted another tactic. Get the herd to believe gatherings are unsafe and get the group scatter.The first time I got this impression was during the H1N1 or swine flu outbreak. As a church greeter, on any given Sunday I may hug or shake hands with over four hundred people. I’m not exactly a germaphobe, but I hate being ill (who doesn’t). I had to ignore the constant pricking in my mind telling me “You’re getting exposed. You’d be safer at home.”Now with the tragic shooting at the church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, I have the same impression that the devil is trying to scatter the flock. If he can get us to feel unsafe, then we’ll stay home. We’ll isolate ourselves, and without the safety of a group, he can pick us off one by one. I, however, do not want to allow the devil another victory. I will not succumb to fear. I will be at the front door this Sunday still welcoming people to church. My family and I will take shelter of the Most High, and under His wings, we will find refuge (Psalms 91). We will send the devil a message that we will not scatter.If you don’t have a church you call home, I invite you to find a local church, especially in an age so bent toward evil. You’re not comfortable in a church setting, then find a small group of Christian friends who will be there for you, lift you up in prayer, celebrate your triumphs, and cry with you during the hardships.Life’s better in a herd.P.S. My heart breaks for the families of Sutherland Springs. I pray that they will lean on their brothers and sisters in Christ and comfort one another. I hope you will join me in praying for them.Don't miss a post. Sign up for my e-newsletter by clicking here: Lorri's newsletter