You all have chosen to follow Jesus.
You have chosen His salvation and to be transformed from a goat to a sheep.
God has chosen me and the current elders in this season to be the shepherds over this flock.
Our role is to first and foremost have hearts after Jesus’ own.
Our role is to express Jesus’ heart toward you all.
Our role is to care for you spiritually.
We are responsible for feeding you the bread of God; His very word.
We are responsible for praying and interceding for you.
We are responsible for providing springs of living water to drink from; God’s very Presence through the Holy Spirit.
We are responsible for discipling and correcting and rebuking as all of us are learning to let go of our goatish, stubborn rebellion and to be transformed by the Spirit into the sheep we are called to be.
We do this not out of selfish ambition, not for vanity, not to get rich (Lord knows that won’t happen here), but out of a willing obedience to submit to Shepherd Jesus’ lead over us.
We acknowledge and accept that we will receive a harsher judgment on the day that we meet Jesus face-to-face as a result of this weighty responsibility, but count it worth it.
Please, come together in Jesus’ name.
Make this task a joy and not a burden.
Flock together as docile sheep.
Not rebelling and biting one another and bucking everyone like goats, but loving and supporting and serving one another as sheep.
Treat one another as Jesus treats us.
We all have strengths and weaknesses; that’s why we need each other.
Not to be one another’s judges in our weaknesses, but to be one another’s support.
Your strength compliments my weakness and vice-versa.
We need each other!