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Pastor to Pastor

Strong Heads

Keep growing, brethren!

Pastoral Vision (27)

The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4.9

It is often the case that the health of a local church reflects the health of its leaders. If our pastors and shepherds are not spiritual people, gifted with vision and devoted to following Christ at all costs; if they are not truly people of prayer and the Word, despising sin and loving righteousness, then how can they expect the people they serve to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?

John Chrysostom (344-407) reflected on the importance of having strong shepherds as heads of the churches in his book, On the Priesthood: “For tell me, whence do you think such great troubles are generated in the Churches? I, for my part, believe the only source of them to be the inconsiderate and random way in which prelates [pastors and shepherds] are chosen and appointed. For the head ought to be the strongest part, that it may be able to regulate and control the evil exhalations which arise from the rest of the body below; but when it happens to be weak in itself, and unable to repel those pestiferous attacks, it becomes feebler itself than it really is, and ruins the rest of the body as well.”

One of a shepherd’s most important tools for watching over the flocks of the Lord is personal example. If we are people of vision, deeply spiritual and delighting in the Lord, doing the work of evangelists, loving our neighbors, growing and bearing spiritual fruit, and pointing our churches to greater growth in the Lord, then we may expect those we serve to be more than “weak” and “feeble” in their discipleship.

Christ is the only true Head of the Church. Chrysostom certainly knew that. Yet he insisted that for churches to be strong bodies in the Lord, they need strong heads—shepherds who are growing in the Lord and fulfilling their calling.

What’s our vision for what Jesus wants to do in and through us? How are we seeking to become stronger in Him? Growth in the Lord and in our calling is an ongoing, lifelong challenge. If we pursue it gladly and fruitfully, the people we serve will know more of the grace of the Lord.

Resources for Shepherds: Growth in the Lord and our calling
False winds of doctrine seek constantly to fill the winds of our souls and churches. Do we recognize them? Do we understand how they affect our course in the Lord? The next in our series of “Kingdom Conversations” will be held Thursday night, October 24, at 8:00 pm Eastern via Zoom. This will be the first of four conversations on “Winds of Doctrine.” In October we will examine various worldly winds that threaten to distract us from our true calling and mission. Men, if you’d like to join us, simply send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I’ll put your name on the list and send you the preparatory materials.

Sometimes, when we’re laying out a plan for growing in the Lord and in our calling, it can help to have something of a framework. Our self-study course, “One in Twelve”, provides an overview of the Christian worldview in twelve concise diagrams. Register with The Ailbe Seminary (that will get you to the course), then sign-up for this course. The twelve brief videos in this course can give you an organizing framework for ongoing growth and development.

Finally, our book, To Know Him, provides encouragement in seeking the Lord and growing in love for Him. Learn more about this book and order your copy by clicking here.

From the Celtic Revival
From last Thursday’s issue of Crosfigell, our twice-weekly teaching letter featuring excerpts from the Celtic Revival:

Let the monks bear in mind that noble God is their Father and holy Church their mother. Let their humility be not merely verbal, but let each one provide for his brother. When, through obedience, they go to carry out their duties, let their spirit be, “This is a heavy task, brother, let me do it.”

  - Anonymous, The Rule of Ailbe, Irish, 8th century[1]

Those old monks really lived that way, seeking the Lord together, deferring to one another, and always ready with a word of witness or encouragement. It wasn’t an idyllic life, but the Lord used those ancient communities to bring many souls to Himself and to renew their culture in Him.

You can subscribe to Crosfigell and all our other teaching letters by clicking here.

More about Celtic Christianity
Thomas Cahill wrote that the Irish monks of the Celtic Revival “saved civilization”. That’s not an exaggeration. To learn more about this period and the people who shone so brightly in it, visit our bookstore, where you will find several titles referring to the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800) that you can download for free.

T. M. Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Pastor to Pastor comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

[1] Ó Maidín, p.23.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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