What has been your experience with those who have been "over you in the Lord"? Has it been a positve experience? Have they been like guides leading you in the mountains, taking you to majestic peaks where they've been before? Or have they been more like managers from the accounting department who can always be counted on to tell you what not to do?
The reason I ask is Sunday's sermon was from 1 Thess. 5:12-13.
Many of us have had negative experiences with unhealthy spiritual leadership. We tend to have very negative preconceived notions about spiritual authority in general and elders in particular.
We've seen pretenders given power and watched them do great damage to churches. But does that we've seen failure mean we should give up on God's design?
And so I ask, what has been your experience with those who have been "over you in the Lord"? Has it been a positve experience? If not, how can we overcome the damage done by the Enemy?
The reason I ask is Sunday's sermon was from 1 Thess. 5:12-13.
We ask you brothers to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
Paul refers in this passage, I believe, to the team of elders who are charged by God to lead and teach the church. A team of elders--also called pastors or shepherds, also called overseers or bishops (see Titus 1:5-7 and 1 Peter 5:1-2 for examples of the linking of these titles under the banner of the same office)--is to labor among us, be over us, and lead us.
At Southwest we do not have such a team. I pray that God will raise up men who are qualified to fill this role, but in the meantime we might need to overcome some prejudices.
Many of us have had negative experiences with unhealthy spiritual leadership. We tend to have very negative preconceived notions about spiritual authority in general and elders in particular.
We've seen pretenders given power and watched them do great damage to churches. But does that we've seen failure mean we should give up on God's design?
And so I ask, what has been your experience with those who have been "over you in the Lord"? Has it been a positve experience? If not, how can we overcome the damage done by the Enemy?
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