As you likely know by now, I have been inside the local church bubble my entire life. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly; and that is only talking about the events in youth group. But seriously, as I have journeyed through the various maturing phases and life stages, I have been an insider, and a good deal of the time, part of the team leading the narrative. If pastoring your family is a test of readiness, the expression of local church ministry finds no greater gut-busting fitness test than being called as an Elder, and experiencing the immensity of this responsibility. I thank God for this opportunity. There are more dramas than you may conceive, and this period required a good deal of pruning, before a season of new growth. This underscores what I believe are the key elements to Eldership, which are not really the fun-best-bits. Every Tom, Richard, or Harold should be able to handle these, but dealing with the obvious requirements to guard the sheep in a world where the battle is real, and the consequences, likewise, requires the depth of years; digging out, and for, His gold. To paraphrase John Murray, truth and error are not separated by a chasm, but a razor’s edge. And it will cut both ways. Moving through this primary-care-to-healthy-church-life leadership phase adds another layer of intimacy when conceiving what is not only biblical, but what can be practically reasonable, at the local church level. Writing can be more architect. But I have also been Robert the Builder.
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One of life’s great joys as an Elder involved the honour of baptising one out of your own quiver; and with your pink tiger-skin shorts on, because. I warned you about the fashion sense. Jesse-Israel was sharing his testimony, and appreciated some Fatherly encouragement by his side. The art in the background is the Queen’s creative encapsulation of this journey.
The moment after. And I am told it was for some watching. It was certainly for me and J-I. As you can see, the location was economical. It was more Air Jordan, than River Jordan. It remains a special marker. We all still remain very thankful for this community who remain close.
And it was cold.