“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:1-5
I want to ask you this week to be in prayer for the session as we wrestle with how to get back into public worship. Pray for us as we consider options, consult with the civil magistrates, consult with sister churches, and seek to do the best that we can do to shepherd the flock that is under our care and to also be a witness to the surrounding community.
It is never easy to figure out how to balance the mandates in Scripture to gather for corporate worship and to honor those in authority, to love God and love our neighbor. So, I ask for your prayers and for your patience as we navigate uncharted waters. We want to be good examples to those around us of the love of Christ and a compassion for others.
When we are able to meet in person again (and I hope we are all longing for and praying for that day) remember that initially we will have to be patient with one another as well. People have different levels of comfortability. Not everyone may feel like it is wise to return right away. We understand that and we will do all that we can to accommodate the livestreams and other media as we overlap.
We all miss one another and the longing for our corporate assembly is growing. That is good. We need one another in the Church. Know that we will be doing all we can to make gathering again as soon as possible. Ask God to give us wisdom and direction as He alone is able to do.
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and the members of the body though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13