Loving Your Leadership

Today was a great day in the life of our church!  It was a great time of worship, giving, biblical community, and engaging with the Word as our services focused on:

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.  -1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Today’s services:

  • Baptism & Welcome
  • Amazed – North Side Worship
  • Love Come Down – North Point Worship
  • Day of Giving explanation and prayer time
  • Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus – The Alone Instrument
  • 10,000 Reasons – Rend Collective
  • Sermon – Loving Your Leadership [1 Thess. 5:12-13]

The band did a great job today!  They worked really hard on creating a lively, organic vibe today.  Loved the energy and commitment.

It was great to experience the baptisms and the time of giving in both services.  Very special times in the life of our church.

I loved the message today.  Jeff said that he wished “he could preach this message in any other church in the world.”  I understand his point but very glad he preached it among us today.  The topic of how a congregation should love their church leadership would sound very self-serving except for the point that we preach through books and this just so happens to be where we are in our time in 1 Thessalonians.

Here are some notes I walked away with:

  • We should show respect, offer esteem, and display peace to our pastors.
  • None of these elders had experience or training (Paul was in Thessaloniki for 6 weeks), and so Paul asked for them to show respect and lovingly encourage their pastors.
  • A congregation ought to seek to “respect” (“appreciate” or “know”) their pastors.
  • Respect that pastors are called by the Lord and called to correct by the Word of the Lord.
  • Different words jump out from Heb. 13:17 depending upon your position.  Some people have a hard time with the thought of “obeying and submitting to your leaders.”  Pastors get overwhelmed with the thought that we will “have to give an account.”
  • I pastor some people with joy and some with groaning (Heb. 13:17).

It was a special time together!  I also love the fact that our family conversations when we come home are so much richer due to the unity in our groups.  Our time discussing “made in the image of God” was a conversation that just naturally happened with everyone wanting to join in on the conversation.  This family ministry thing is happening!

Hmm...lunch or the Bible? Good call, Obadiah! He's wanting to teach me what he learned in Gospel Groups today. #church+home #familyministry #itsreallyhappening