The third pillar of the Lausanne Movement is embodied in the "Good Shepherd" sitting among his sheep. Vignettes surround the central figure suggesting the varied roles these shepherds play throughout the globe, from an iconic image of founder Billy Graham preaching, to young biblical David with his sheep, to a female chaplain in the army and asian pastor serving communion. While wolves hover in the background and allusions to darkness and danger surround the flock, the Good Shepherd sits at the center of his charges with calm strength as a spiritual refuge and friend. May our church leaders throughout the world derive their compassion, wisdom, leadership, and the sacrificial love to lay down their lives for their sheep and wash the feet of their disciples from the true source of these qualities, Jesus Christ.
Charlotte Christian Student Andrew Knotts and I collaborating on the opening layers of the painting in my classroom studio together.
I wanted to embed the very DNA of what it means to shepherd, impart, and empower into the painting itself, so I invited one of my students, Andrew Knotts, to join me in the early stages of this painting. He and I worked together to pray over the design and sketch the imagery, we built the canvas together, and painted the abstract foundational layers side by side. Andrew painted several of the wolves that can still be seen in the image, and am so grateful for Andrew's generous collaboration.
Leighton Ford got the very first print of the 24 print limited first edition of this series. Billy Graham had just past away, and is featured in the upper left hand corner, and I was so honored to be able to share with his family my own small piece of tribute to the Graham legacy.