As Pastor Chris Simmons is installed at Grace Lutheran Church today, we celebrate that God provides "under-shepherds" to serve His people. From the prophets of Isaiah and Ezekiel, to the psalms of David, to Christ's words in John, and Paul's counsel to Timothy and Titus, we see that the idea of "shepherding" is vital to the care and nurture of the Church. Yet every pastor (which means "shepherd") serves only under the Lordship of the Great Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. At the same time, the pastor serves at the call of God's people to come in their midst and proclaim God's Word and administer God's gifts through the Sacraments according to Christ's institution. Today we celebrate that we may join as "partners in the Gospel" under the Lordship of Christ to be fed by the means of grace so that we may feed and care for others with that same Good News in Jesus Christ. To God alone be glory!