Many times we see people within the church body that build a strong confidence in their pastors or leadership. This is not necessarily a bad thing until it gets to the point that they become dependent upon the person and not the ministry of the Lord the person stands for. I love the respect and honor our church family show us as their pastors at MHC. I also recognize that in both locations of MHC, we have people who show their love to us and our leadership by following us in the ministry and our calling. But what I don’t want any of them to do is to put us on a pedestal where they begin to follow after us in place of following after our Lord. Ultimately, Pastor Shonda and I will make mistakes and disappoint some… Probably her more so than me… Just kidding Baby! We are shepherds, but we a not “the Chief Shepherd.” Jesus is our ultimate leader!
“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Hebrews 12:2) Everyone of us, regardless of titles or status in the kingdom must keep our eyes on Him as our leader and teacher of how it is to be done! When we need an example of how to love people including those that are against us, we look to Him. When we need an example of how not to judge others, we look to and learn from Him. When we need to become better at trusting the Father and not worrying about what we have or don’t have, we learn from Him!
I was reading today in the book of Psalm and came upon one of the most familiar segments of the book… Chapter 23! A lesson we all need to learn and remember… The Lord is the Shepherd of His People!
Psalm 23 reminds us of what God alone can control and what’s out of our control. It defines God as our Possession, our Provision, our Peace, our Rest, our Pardon, our Restoration, our Leader, our Partner, our Protector, our Security, our Partner, our Guardian, our Comforter, our Power, our Lover, our Caregiver and our Shelter!
The a problems in this life that we ourselves can do something about to change. However, we would do well not to worry about the things that only the real Shepherd (not our pastor or ministry director) can and will provide as we lean to and trust in Him! Just sayin’
