A Charge to Church Officers

Introduction

I want share just for a moment from the topic of “A Charge to Church Officers.”

“A Charge to Church Officers.”

One of the most important things that church members and visitors are looking for is effective and engaging leadership in a church.

Leadership in churches is about far more than just a title. It’s about how leaders engage with the church community.

It’s the leaders that inspire members to keep coming back and help grow the church. Without the right leaders, it’s difficult for a church to continue to thrive for generations.

One of the most important jobs of church leaders is to encourage and motivate members and visitors.

Leaders keep everyone focused, encourage conversation, explain why things happen and build excitement.

When a member is feeling lost, leaders are able to understand their concerns and inspire them. It’s not always an easy task, but it’s one of the traits of a highly effective church leader.

Some people are leaving the church because they don’t feel it meets their spiritual needs.

Leadership in churches means paying close attention to church members and noticing when they don’t seem engaged.

It’s up to leaders to question what’s wrong and talk to members, other leaders, and first-time visitors to see where they can improve.

Church isn’t just a weekend activity.

Church isn’t just a weekend activity. It’s the job of church leaders to continue with ministry throughout the week. This keeps the church family focused and engaged. From visiting the sick to posting messages on social media, it’s important for leaders to show their members that church doesn’t have to be just something that happens on Sundays.

It’s the job of church leaders to continue with ministry throughout the week. This keeps the church family focused and engaged. From visiting the sick to posting messages on social media, it’s important for leaders to show their members that church doesn’t have to be just something that happens on Sundays.

By far, the most important reason for leadership in churches is to bring the entire church family together as one.

When members and visitors aren’t all on the same page, it’s nearly impossible to keep everyone engaged and active.

Instead, you notice membership becoming more random, members unable to get along and more members questioning their own faith. It takes strong leadership to bring so many different people together.

When the apostle Paul considered the words which he would leave with the elders of the church in Ephesus (), he first of all

rehearsed his own activity in the city.

Then he said to them, "Guard yourselves..." ().

Every officer in this church should know these words very well.

We know that Paul goes on to say to some of the leaders that they are to shepherd the flock of God.

But the hardest thing of all is that first command: guard yourselves [prosecete —present active imperative], or attend to yourselves, or take heed to yourselves.

In other words, the apostle tells us, don't only consider others but first of all have a regard to ourselves, our own spiritual state.

That is what I would like to charge each of you with: guard your own spiritual state.

When we turn to the judgment of Christ of this congregation in , we find that the elders at Ephesus

did shepherd the flock,

they did root out false teachers,

they did encourage the believers to persevere.

But they failed as leaders in a devastating way. You remember Christ's words: "You have forsaken your first love..." (2:4).

What love? Surely it is their love for Christ!

This is a prime danger for those who lead the church, to forsake our first love, our own devotion to Christ.

We are so often urging that on others, we are so eager to see people grow in their Christian lives that we neglect to take heed to ourselves.

And when the leaders of a congregation fail to guard their own spiritual state, when they neglect their own devotion and love for Christ, the congregation will surely follow into a dead formalism.

So take heed to yourselves.

The apostle Paul was aware of this danger of spiritual neglect and spoke of it in

1 Corinthians 9:25–27 KJV 1900

25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

. He called for others to pray for his ministry in . Toward the end of his life he came back again to the centrality of his own hope in Christ in . This is why Paul is so bold to call others to imitate him, because he was intent on imitating Christ (, , , , , ). In , the opening section, beginning at verse 18, stresses the reality and sincerity of Paul's own faith. Paul wanted to guard himself.

He called for others to pray for his ministry in

Ephesians 6:19–20 KJV 1900

19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

. Toward the end of his life he came back again to the centrality of his own hope in Christ in . This is why Paul is so bold to call others to imitate him, because he was intent on imitating Christ (, , , , , ). In , the opening section, beginning at verse 18, stresses the reality and sincerity of Paul's own faith. Paul wanted to guard himself.

Toward the end of his life he came back again to the centrality of his own hope in Christ in

1 Timothy 1:15 KJV 1900

15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

. This is why Paul is so bold to call others to imitate him, because he was intent on imitating Christ (, , , , , ). In , the opening section, beginning at verse 18, stresses the reality and sincerity of Paul's own faith. Paul wanted to guard himself.

This is why Paul is so bold to call others to imitate him, because he was intent on imitating Christ (, , , , , ).

In , the opening section, beginning at verse 18, stresses the reality and sincerity of Paul's own faith. Paul wanted to guard himself.

Acts 20:18 KJV 1900

18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,

Acts 20:

How do you take heed to yourself? Let me urge on you several things. Guard yourselves when it comes to the worship of God. Sundays are always busy for the ordained officers of a church. We have responsibilities. We want things to go smoothly, for visitors to be welcomed. Yet we can fail to worship ourselves. Guard yourselves by pleading with God to give you hearts hungry to worship Him, to long for the courts of the Lord. See that you are the most eager of all God's people to be in worship on the Lord's Day, for here is where you will meet your God. Take heed to the sermons, listen to them so as to apply them to your own hearts. Elders mustn't just be attentive to the preaching of the Word in order to be examples and guardians of the preaching, but must look forward to it as the Word we need. Ask the Lord to plant that Word in your own heart first of all.

Acts 20:28 KJV 1900

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

How do you take heed to yourself?

Let me urge on you several things.

Take Heed of Yourselves When it Comes to the Worship of God.

Sundays are always busy for the officers of a church.

We have responsibilities. We want things to go smoothly, for visitors to be welcomed.

Yet we can fail to worship ourselves.

Guard yourselves by pleading with God to give you hearts hungry to worship Him, to long for the courts of the Lord.

See that you are the most eager of all God's people to be in worship on the Lord's Day, for here is where you will meet your God.

Take heed to the sermons, listen to them so as to apply them to your own hearts.

You shouldnt just be attentive to the preaching of the Word in order to be examples and guardians of the preaching, but must look forward to it as the Word we need.

Ask the Lord to plant that Word in your own heart first of all.

Take Heed to Yourselves at the Lord's Table.

Do not simply take care in your Aux. or Ministry, but come to the Table because you must have Christ.

Do you see yourself as needing Christ and dying if Jesus Christ is not your bread and drink?

Is the Cross of Christ like honey to your own hungry soul?

Take Heed and Guard yourselves when you come to the Table of the Lord.

Take Heed that You Don’t See This Church as a Burden which God has Loaded onto Your Shoulders.

Every church officer struggles with those feelings at some time or other.

But this is not your church; take heed that you do not see yourself as the saviors of the church.

Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the body.

Do not beat the sheep to make them what you want them to be. They are Christ's flock, so take heed that you do not forget that.

Do not think that God is seeking to crush you by placing the burden of this congregation on you.

Take heed to yourselves, that you beg Christ to rule His church and to give you the grace to simply obey His Word.

Guard yourselves that you do not subtly, without thinking, become lords of the flock. Take heed that you do not forget whose church it is. Keep these things uppermost in session meetings, in diaconal meetings, in private prayers for the flock.

Guard yourselves that you do not subtly, without thinking, become lords of the flock.

Take heed that you do not forget whose church it is.

Take Heed that You Don’t Forsake Your First Love

The love that counts most of all.

You cannot love the flock well, unless you love Christ better.

For if you forsake your first love, then your congregation will follow you, into formalism, externally good and religouse, but inwardly dying.

Know your own need of Christ.

Let your love for Christ be a mark of your service to this church that you belong to.

See that each of you desires to know Christ better and to be filled with all the fulness of Christ (). Guard yourselves.

1 John 4:19 KJV 1900

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Romans 5:18 KJV 1900

18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Ephesians 1:4 KJV 1900

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 1:4

Ephesians 1:4 KJV 1900

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: