what have I gotten myself into?

"I exhort the elders who are among you, I being also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God among you, taking the oversight, not by compulsion, but willingly; nor for base gain, but readily; nor as lording it over those allotted to you by God, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory” (
1 Peter 5:1-4

I love Google. I was looking for some guidance about Eldership. Of course, there has been good teaching, in the past, in our Church, about this topic. I needed a quick refresher and voila, there it was. Got Answers ministries has the following on its website:

http://www.gotquestions.org/duties-elder-church.html
"Simply put, the elders should be peacemakers, prayer warriors, teachers, leaders by example, and decision makers. They are the preaching and teaching leaders of the church. It is a position to be sought but not taken lightly—read this warning: "Let
Not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall
be judged with greater strictness" (
James 3:1"

Without trying to sound cliché or falsely humble, the office of Elder is an intimidating charge. If one thinks deeply about the above 5 items it is difficult to imagine being successful. There are at least 2 factors, however, that give me some hope. First, there are 11 other elders. My colleagues are loving, thoughtful and wise people whom I can depend on for insightful and inspired counsel on difficult matters and on some of those more obvious, to some, matters which sometimes confound us less experienced members.
Second, and most important, is the Holy Spirit who is within me to catch me before I fall. The holy Spirit is here within all of us to help us until the return of Christ. Then there is Grace, a gift from Jesus who died for our sins. Except for Grace, we all would be hopelessly lost. I would be at the head of that line.
There but for the grace of God go I, to misquote John Bradford who was burned at the stake in 1555 in England, for his Christian views. Being a Christian can be a rough business.

So, on this blog, I hope to write my impressions of what God is calling me and First Christian church to. I expect to consider some of the challenges and rewards of learning Christ’s will for me, the Elders and our Church and then working together with all of my brothers and sisters to continue to move in that direction. I want to clearly say that I believe our Church is within God’s will. Exactly what He wants of me and our Church is not entirely clear to me, but may be to others. I am open to hearing the Holy Spirit and moving with Him. I expect the Holy Spirit to work through my Elder Colleagues to help me grow and gain understanding of our mission.

A blog, as I understand, is a little less formal in terms of writing. It is more like a notebook that is open to the public. In any case, that is the way I intend to use it. I hope others will make comments and add to our collective understanding of our Church and what the Holy Spirit has for us. I do not intend for this to be minutes of Elders meetings or a commentary of church minutiae. I hope to ask questions and try to seek core concepts and how they work in our Church. If I mention a name it will be to raise that person up and acknowledge their leadership and contribution to God’s work.

Again, please feel free to make comments. Please encourage others to join in this conversation. Together, let’s continue on the strengths of the past and create an even better future.