The final part of Sunday's sermon asked the question, "What do the leaders do?" Second Peter 1:12 shows us that the role of the leader is to remind us of what has already been said, to help us to stay on the right track.
Pastor Sam shared two very important components of this aspect of reminding. He stated that leaders are not around forever. Some of you know that this is not the first time our pastor has alluded to his being apart from us. To be frank, it is not something I want to blog about- but here we are, and I sense we really should deal with this today.
The first component of why leaders "remind" has to do with the fact that we are often tempted when we are apart from the body of believers. Yes, there are times when the enemy of our souls confronts us in a church service. But I've found that, in my own life, the enemy battles me when my pastor and my friends are not around to help defend me. There are some situations where decisions have to be made in an instant, independent of any other counsel but the counsel of God as revealed to you.
The second component, which pains me to consider, is that Pastor Sam will not always be around. Contrary to what some people believe, Pastor Sam is human... and so are we. If you live your life banking on the pastor being available to keep you accountable, keep in mind that this is just a slice in time where we've been blessed with him. We need to be able to get through temptations and challenges without him, because one day we will be without him.
So, how do we do this? We listen when our leaders speak to us, and we make sure that we understand what we have been taught. If we have been good students of the word, then we will demonstrate our skills when we have to stand alone:
-We will be capable of our own reflection, which is grounded in the character of God (goodness, glory, love, and power).
-We will be stable on our own foundation, which is grounded in the word of God (not Pastor Sam, not our friends, but Jesus Himself).
As our church leaders prepare to return us "back to basics", let's continue to pray for them even as they pray for God's leading in their endeavor to equip us for the days ahead.
As was said on Sunday, the leaders remind us in order to reinforce us. Let's be ready to learn, to do, and to stand, so that when we are on our own we will make God proud in the way we represent and reflect Him in the world. Amen!
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