Hebrews 13:7, 17-217 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider their way of life, and imitate their faith.17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.19 I urg...
Hebrews 13:7, 17-21
7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider their way of life, and imitate their faith.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom by the glory forever and ever. Amen.
NOTES ON THE LESSON ON FOLLOWERSHIP
Three Questions of Followership:
1 Whose faith are you imitating?
2 Are you willing to submit to someone else?
3 Are you a joy to lead?
A Call to Imitate:
1 Corinthians 11:1 - "Be imitators of me, just as I imitate Christ."
It is beneficial to have people in our lives whose faith we can imitate.
Jesus Learned Obedience:
Hebrews 5:8 - “Although Jesus was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” Obedience and submission are learned behaviors.
The Whole of Christianity:
The whole of Christianity is about learning to surrender and yield every aspect of your life – every part of it – all of it – to the lordship of Jesus Christ. That’s what the Christian faith is all about.
The Followership Continuum:
The Hebrew writer makes a continuum for following leaders. On one side of the continuum is joy and on the other side of the continuum is burden.
NOTES FROM THE LESSON ON SOUL CARE
Book on Church Leadership:
The Care of Souls:Cultivating a Pastor's Heart by Harold L. Senkbeil
The task of the leader in the church is to maintain a constant watch over the souls who have been committed to his care.
The Role of the Watchman in the Old Testament:
Watchmen were individuals who were appointed to their role and given the responsibility to watch over a city. Typically, they would be posted on a high wall or a tower so that they could see either a messenger or the enemy coming from long distances.
The Primary Task of the Church Leader is to "Tend to the Soul"
Humans do not have souls, humans are uniquely souls. We are both physical and spiritual, mortal and immortal, ordinary and unique in all of creation. There is nothing else like us in all of God’s creation. We are souls.
The Shepherd and His Sheepdog:
The relationship of the shepherd and his sheepdog beautifully illustrates the work of the shepherd in the local church with his ears tuned attentively to the voice of the Great Shepherd and his eyes focused carefully on the Great Shepherd’s sheep.
The Because of Submission:
We submit to the shepherds of the local church because they are in a position of responsibility and accountability to the one who is in a position of authority – our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
Discussion Questions
1. Who are some people who you have imitated in your life (in any aspect of life)? Who are two or three people whose faith you imitate? What is it about their faith that you imitate?
2. Are you willing to submit to someone else? Can you think of a time when it was hard to submit to someone else? What made it so difficult? Can you think of a time when it was a good thing to submit to someone else? What made it good? Does knowing the "because" of submission in verse 17 help you to be someone who is more willing to submit to them?
3. Where might you place yourself on the followership continuum? Can you think of an example when you or another person was a joy to lead? Can you think of an example when you or another person was a burden to lead?
4. What aspect of the lesson on soul care helped you to better understand the role of the leader in the church?
5. Spend some time praying for the shepherd nomination process at Southside. The shepherd selection team has provided us with a great prayer guide. There is a link to the prayer guide on church center.
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