Who do you follow?

In the days before streaming (and it still happens today), you could click through all the channels (shows) and not find anything that caught your attention to stop and watch.  And today, to add to all our options, we have over 5 million podcasts to listen to about so many subjects.  Just a lot to choose from!  This doesn’t include all the influencers with their shows.  If you want to find someone to follow to do just about anything, they are out there somewhere. 

Someone to follow, that is the catch.  We were created for God’s glory (Isaiah 43:7) and that everything we do is to be for the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31).  But we need help to do this, we need to be taught how to do this, we need a model of what this looks like, and we need encouragement along the way.  This is the reason our church ordained and installed elders today in our service.  Elders are not to be rulers over anyone, but shepherds take care of the people.  What do they do?

Shepherds lead their flocks to good food and clean water.  They check them over for hurts and pests.  They walk in front of the sheep, leading them, not behind driving them.  They put themselves in between the dangers, wolves and others that stalk the flock, and the flock to protect them.  They see ahead the dangers and lead the sheep away from them to places of safety. 

Shepherds – elders – do all these things because they are following as close as they can to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ who does the same things in the lives of all the sheep, including the elders (under-shepherds of the flock). 

So today, our church has seven elders.  Pray for them as their job is important, sacrificial, difficult and demanding.  Follow them as they follow Jesus.  Listen to them as they instruct and model what it means to follow Jesus.  And when you are hurting and need prayer, call them, as James 5:13-14 tells us, and they will pray over you.  Let us be thankful for the men God has called out so that you don’t have to scroll through or listen to numerous podcasts to find what it means to know and follow Christ.  I highly recommend and encourage you to look to these men!

Pressing On…

Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor