Dear Cornerstone Family,
At our Cornerstone Family Meeting on Palm Sunday, I gave a brief update on our officer candidates and the officer training. We shared about the three phases of the officer training process:
1. The gospel phase where we explore the central message of the Scripture and its application to all of life.
2. The doctrinal phase where we study the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms as well as the Book of Church Order.
3. The officer phase where we consider the Bible’s teaching on the role and work of elders and deacons as well as how these roles function at Cornerstone.
In the final phase, the officer phase, candidates read a wonderful book by Dr. Timothy Witmer entitled, The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church. This volume is foundational to our vision for officers in caring for the flock of God at Cornerstone.
In the book, Witmer explores Scripture’s teaching on shepherd leadership, showing how the whole of the Bible is pointing to Jesus Christ, the true Shepherd Leader (John 10:14-15). Then, as shepherds under the Good Shepherd, he sets forward Christ as the model for officers to follow. In a word, we are to shepherd like the Good Shepherd (I Peter 5:1-4).
From there, Witmer outlines the work of a shepherd in four ways—knowing, feeding, leading, and protecting the sheep.
1. Knowing the sheep includes having accurate membership rolls and as well as a sense of the congregation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, obstacles, etc. Further, knowing the sheep includes a strategy for officers to know the individual stories, needs, and gifts of each member, so they can be cared for, discipled, and deployed for ministry in Christ’s church (Ephesians 4:11-16).
2. Feeding the sheep includes the pulpit ministry and educational programs of the church. It also includes small group ministry, individual pastor care, and other “house to house” or person-to-person teaching and discipleship (Acts 2:46, 5:42).
3. Leading the sheep includes vision casting, ministry strategy, and committee leadership. It also includes leading the sheep by example in godliness and in decisions/priorities as well as individual counseling (Acts 20:28).
4. Protecting includes exposing false teaching, identifying spiritual dangers, and issuing warnings. It also includes the process of church discipline for members living unrepentantly (Matthew 18:15-16)
When your elders and deacons contact you, meet with you, pray for you, and seek to encourage you in various ways, they are attempting to shepherd like the Good Shepherd. They aren’t perfect—far from it! In fact, your shepherds are always sheep first. They need Christ as much as you do! At the same time, the Lord has set these men apart to shepherd the flock—to know, feed, lead, and protect His people (Acts 6:6, 2 Timothy 4:14).
Knowing that, we should honor his servants and pray for them. Your elders and deacons have a big job that’s often overwhelming. They need your prayers, your patience, and your encouragement.
Finally, pray for the men in officer training. They are pressing toward the final examination. Pray for the Lord’s will to be done through this process, and, in the end, for the church’s health and ministry to be bettered through the Spirit’s work in and through these brothers.
Your servant,
