Last week I sneaked into the Elder meeting for a short time. It was good to be with the brotherhood of leaders at NewSong. This is a remarkable group of men who are particularly concerned about the people of the church much more then programs and facilities, finances and administrata. We have from the beginning said that the most important aspect of the Eldering is shepherding the flock. A matter of fact, after I left, Pastor Jerry took time and work through the list of our constituency and highlighted those who we have not seen in a few weeks. Those names were divided up and the elders are now making phone calls over the next few weeks to find out what is happening with these families.
It might be that they have been away on vacation. They might be visiting family. They might be home sick. I have experienced all of those things in the recent weeks. But sometimes people are struggling spiritually and not coming to church because they are spiritually depressed. It is the job of the elder to shepherd, follow up, pursue and reach out to the struggling sheep.
For my birthday this year, i received the classic book, "The Reformed Pastor" by Richard Baxter. Baxter was a pastor in England in the 1600's and he wrote a series of lectures to be read to a group of ministers on how they were to execute their office as pastors. He wrote this: "We spent Monday and Tuesday, from morning to evening, in THE WORK (added emphasis), taking about fifteen or sixteen families a week, that we may go through the parish, in which there are upwards of eight hundred families, in a year..." The work he was talking about was shepherding, meeting with, visiting and talking with them. One of the things Baxter did was ask each person in the home to openly confess Christ and openly confess any known sin -- that would be some pastoral visit. Baxter wrote, "I think it is a healthy encounter for any believer to meet regularly with their pastor so that a spiritual course can be discuss." He believed that sheep need a shepherd and need to regualrly interact with a shepherd!
When a church's leadership is so consumed in administrata -- they are on a downward slide of losing the razor edge of ministry -- "smelling like sheep!!" I am so thankful and "proud" (in the Lord) that our men see the value and importance for shepherding the flock. I also hope that the sheep appreciate the work being do on behalf of them!