A Word-centered church is a congregation gathered for the receiving of God’s Word. Rightly understood, a Word-centered church must agree about the teaching, leading, adding, and gathering of God’s people. We’ve set out in this series of blog posts to address this using the headings expositional preaching, shepherding leadership, meaningful membership, and healthy gatherings. In this article, we will consider the shepherding leadership of the church.

Church leaders in the Bible are referred to as overseers, elders, and pastors. All three titles synonymously refer to the same group yet emphasize unique leadership functions. How do we know the titles refer to the same office? Well, twice in the New Testament all three appear in the same passage referring to the same office. Try to identify overseer, elder, and pastor in 1 Peter 5:

1 Peter 5:1-3
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

Peter addresses the leaders as ‘elders’ in verse one. These elders are then instructed to ‘shepherd the flock’ and ‘exercise oversight’ as pastoral and overseeing work. Acts 20:17-35 give a similar combination of church leadership terminology. Elder refers to the spirituality to lead, overseer refers to the competency to lead, and shepherding shows the heart to lead.

Shepherds smell like sheep
There is no substitute for time and longevity. In the church, shepherding leaders are present—always present and faithfully present. Shepherds show up to teach the Word, and they show up to receive the Word. When the flock gathers, the shepherds gather. They show up to celebrate and to comfort; to listen and to pray; to fight wolves and to make peace. Shepherds never abandon the flock (Read John 10). The point is shepherds smell like their sheep because they live their lives among the flock.

Shepherds lead as sheep
You drive cattle, but you lead sheep. That’s why 1 Peter 5:3 qualifies, “not domineering over those in your charge.” Love and trust are essential between the shepherd and the sheep. Pastors lead sheep well as they follow and submit to the leading of Jesus Christ, the good and chief shepherd (John 10:11 & 1 Peter 5:4). Pastors lead as under-shepherds serving with Christ’s authority.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael Wilburn

Previously, I described what it means for Immanuel to be a Word-centered church. You can find that post HERE. A Word-centered church is a congregation gathered for the receiving of God’s Word. But how should we express Word-centered convictions? What is it about our attendance, order of service, and demeanor that validates it?

In upcoming blog posts, I will describe and apply what it means to be a Word-centered church in four areas: (1) expositional preaching, (2) shepherding leadership, (3) meaningful membership, and (4) healthy gatherings.

To begin, a Word-centered church gathers for the preaching of God’s Word. At Immanuel, we practice expositional preaching. We preach through books of the Bible—verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and book by book, and the point of the passage is the point of the sermon. That is what expositional means. Preaching exposes the meaning. It brings the Bible to light. It makes clear what to believe and how to obey. It informs the mind. It reveals truth and calls for a natural response to the truth.

A Word-centered commitment to expositional preaching means that we set our attention on God’s Word when we gather as the church. Consider Jensen and Grimmond’s appeal, “The purest preaching happens in the context where God’s servant is preaching God’s word to God’s people. This makes both church going and church preaching critical. In our gatherings, we must be careful not to allow other elements to crowd out the hearing of God’s word.”¹ We meet for 75 minutes on Sunday morning and 60 minutes on Sunday night. Our goal is to focus that sacred time on God’s Word from prelude to benediction.

So how do we apply this? As a listener, expositional preaching requires your time, attention, and application.
First, it requires your time. Presence means everything. A television is no substitute for the church. Second, pay attention, absorb, focus, and assimilate what the Bible means. It is hard and necessary to focus. Third, make personal applications beyond those suggested by the pastor and make them stick. To help, four application questions are published along with every sermon on Immanuel’s Church App.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

¹Jensen, Phillip D. and Paul Grimmond. The Archer and the Arrow: Preaching the Very Words of God
(Australia: Matthias Media), 2010. p. 44.

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As a pastor, I frequently get caught in a conversation describing the church. People expect a pastor to give a sales pitch with a church invite. Often my answer doesn’t satisfy the expectation. I can see it on their faces. They expected to hear about a church identified by location (Monument and Thompson), history (128 years), or denomination (Baptist). Their ears are trained to receive a quip mission’s statement, so hearing “Immanuel is a gospel-preaching church” is met with a pause waiting for the added value that makes the church special. I resist filling the gap with a program or special event.

Here is the reason: The church must be word-centered. Because Scripture transforms people, the Bible should gather the congregation as the people of God.

By word-centered, I mean that the Bible must be preached and received. The Word of God searches the heart, and the people of God surrender the will. A Word-centered church is a congregation gathered for the preaching and receiving of God’s Word. That is why the center of the platform, the focus of the service, and the description of the church ought to be word-centered.

Consider the power of God’s Word to change us. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” God’s Word instructs us about what is right (teaching), what is wrong (reproof), how to get right (correction), and how to stay right (training in righteousness). Over time the Bible trains an army engaged in the work of the ministry.

So when guests are given sermon cards, the bulletin cover follows the sermon series, and the worship services are called gatherings, these are more than marketing choices. They show the church’s commitment to the Word to do the work.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

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This year in Word of Life Kids Clubs we will present many goals and award prizes as they accomplish them:

Develop consistent daily time in God’s Word.

Study key doctrines of Scripture as well as character studies, apologetics, Bible book studies, and Christian basics.

Memorize 24 verses that come from the Bible studies so they can articulate their faith to others.

Discover, develop, and deploy their gifts by serving in the local church and community.

Read through 3 or more Christian books, building a biblical worldview and personalizing their faith.

Earn college scholarships & money towards camp.

Develop personal evangelism by learning how to share their faith and invite others to church activities; or participating in evangelistic activities.

These are great goals for anyone! You are welcome to learn along with us. Word of Life offers a Quiet Time Devotional and Memory Verse Packs for adults as well: https://wolstore.org/collections/student-ministries/products/quiet-time-with-commentary-2018-19

Word of Life Kids starts September 12! What fun we have, church family. We hope you will pray about serving along with us as a Bible teacher, small group leader, or check-in-coach at the pre-school or elementary age levels.

Our true focus

The Word of Life Olympian motto is Philippians 3:14 (Ask an IBC elementary ager to show you the motions – Go on! 😁): I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Even as believers, none of us “have it all together” but we press on toward eternity in heaven as we daily follow Jesus. No turning back.

Word of Life Olympians Theme Song:

A blast from the past. Excited for the new year!

Pastor Michael’s topic for Sunday is entitled Health and Wellness as he shares from Proverbs 17: 22, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”  I remember back to our days as missionaries in South America when God orchestrated a corrective surgery to save the life of a 12-year-old girl in our church.

The phone rang one night and it was a friend of ours from Florida.  He owned an orange grove near Orlando which had been for sale for some time. Being strategically located near the interstate he finally sold the property to Walmart for one of their distribution centers.  As we talked he told us that the Lord had laid it on his heart to donate the tithe from the sale for a medical need and he was calling us to see if we knew of one.  We thanked him and said at this time we didn’t know of anyone he could help, at least not yet.

As was our custom several times a month, our family would travel further out on Saturdays to several smaller communities to hold Bible studies.  The day after the call from our friend, we were finishing one of the studies when the father, knowing Becky was a nurse, asked if she could listen to his daughter Dolly’s heart.  Pulling out her stethoscope, Becky listened and said to me in English, “It sounds like a freight train.”

Because of rheumatic fever years earlier one of her heart valves was not working properly.   We called our friends and told them what was happening.  That week we took Dolly and her dad into the Baptist Hospital’s heart center.  After a number of tests they found Dolly’s problem and began prepping her for surgery.  While talking to the social services department about the cost of Dolly’s, it hit us that we didn’t know how much our friends wanted to donate.  We immediately called and in the providence of God, his gift covered Dolly’s surgery almost to the dollar.  Isn’t the Lord good?  Dolly had a successful surgery and 3 years later after the death of her parents, she and her husband became the guardians of her younger siblings. Here she is pictured with her “family.”

Paul Dreiling

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Let’s hear a “Hip, hip, hoorah” all you football fans. The 2018 fall season is just around the corner and it’s time to cheer for your favorite team. I heard a news story the other day about a high school that cancelled their varsity football team since only 18 players showed up for pre-season practice. When I mentioned this in a business yesterday, the salesman, who was about my age, said, “That sounds like enough players to me. When I played most of the players played both ways (offense and defense) anyway.

Last year the Philadelphia Eagles were crowned Super Bowl champions. After the game when the head coach, Doug Peterson, was interviewed, he gave credit to the Lord for their victory on national television.

In addition to the coach, there is a core group of Christians on the Eagles team who are serious about their faith.

Plenty of NFL players attend weekly chapel services, but rarely does their excitement for God’s Word equal the Eagles group. They have immersed themselves in a deeper understanding of the Scriptures which includes the Hebrew and Greek texts.

Josh Cooley (a Liberty University graduate) just released a book, The Biggest Win, which provides a unique, insider look into the lives and faith of six Christian players on the Eagles 2017 Super Bowl champion team. “The book explores how these famous athletes remained committed to God’s Word, genuine Christian discipleship, accountability and sharing their faith at the highest level of sports. Whether you’re a male or female athlete, The Biggest Win will encourage you to find your ultimate identity in Christ, not your athletic achievements, and to pursue the greatest prize—eternal life through Jesus Christ.” (Bible Study Magazine).

Paul Dreiling