Shepherding the Capable

What is Love?
It’s so much easier to offer encouraging words for the weak in heart, or meals to the weary, or tend the sick, or give a helping hand to the struggling, their needs are obvious. But how do we care for the ones amongst us that are “doing well”?

Josh McDowell asked a group of young people what was the definition of love. They all started to to quote 1 Corinthians 13 and said: “love is kind, love doesn’t take account a wrong suffered, love is not jealous, love is not rude…” Josh replied that that was what love does, but what IS love? 

Finally he gave them the answer from Ephesians 5:14-25

Christ also loved the church... so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, ...no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church...

"Love" creates an environment. It makes a space to have freedom and to develop who you were born to be.

How do you nourish a flower? If have a rose you give it what it needs - not what a cactus would need. As much as you might prefer having cactus, you'll never get one by giving your rose cactus food!

Let's look at these two words nourishing and cherishing that is so vitally important to God that He tells us that's how HE GROWS HIS church.

To Nourish
One time I mentioned to my late husband that I wanted to buy a Bible illustrated dictionary. The next day he arrived home with five - all five had about 7 centimetre spines! I looked through them all that evening and picked one. The next day he took the other four back to the shop. Now, he wasn't interested in reading them himself, nor was he particularly interested in me telling him all the amazing information I was finding out! The point is that he was nourishing me. He was giving me what I needed to grow. He helped me have the right environment.

To Cherish
If you have an expensive statue you don't put it on the ground where any child can knock it. So to cherish it you put up high and perhaps blue-tacked!

Years ago we were renovating a house. One of our workers who was unmarried and had no children, thought it was a good idea to often tell me how to guide my three young children! Finally I had had enough. So my husband came to the fore again and said to him; "When you come, just come and do your work and don't tell Olivia how to raise the children". He was coming in between me and the worker and taking on the protecting role, I was so relieved.

Our Part
God gives gifts to His church to be shared with others. Jesus told a parable about a man who gave some money to his slaves for them to enterprise:

To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability... The one who had received the five talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents. “In the same way the one who had received the two talents earned two more. “But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. “

...the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them... "Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents..." Also the one who had received the two ... said... "See, I have earned two more talents." His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful slave..."

Now the one who had received the one talent also came up and said... "I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours." But his master answered and said to him, "You worthless, lazy slave! ...you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest... (Matt 25:14-30)

He affirms the first two - but not the third.

What was the bare minimum the third slave could have done? Well, according to Jesus he could have at least "put it in the bank" - put it somewhere where he could at least get interest.

How does that work in modern church? Who among you has a ministry that is a "two or five talents worth"? Not you? Well then, what can you do to help OTHERS' work along? All of us with our small or large gifts are co-workers with Christ! Think on that for a minute. Flawed as we are, God Almighty wants us to work with Him with our meagre offerings!

This is the pattern laid down for us on how to work with each other. Find a ministry, give your time or money. Someone once said years ago: "Have you got a tongue? Well go and lick a stamp - help get those newsletters out!" Do you do anything for anyone else rather than yourself? Jesus said in the parable that the third slave buried his talent, he put it to no good use, and the master called him "worthless" and "lazy". That's an insight into how God feels about doing nothing with your life for the kingdom.

It's not enough to be a good Christian (see: What is  Good?).  If you are struggling in your life and can't cope, that's a completely different. I'm not including a situation of a sick spouse, parent or child, working two jobs because of need,  a disability. I'm talking about the average person. You need to find a "stamp"!

Here are some examples of good nourishing and cherishing examples by church leadership. Some sacrificially and some  not, but all were seeking to help a functioning ministry.

Graeme has been in ministry for fifty years as a Bible teacher and evangelist. While he was living in Auckland, Western Suburbs Christian Fellowship in Wellington, financed him for a day a week for a year so as to devote himself to writing and he went down to there to teach quarterly. Other churches invited him to speak on a current book he had written and made their venues available for him to hold book launches after the service. Another man gave him a full salary for a year to write as well. Another friend found out that we were doing podcasts with AI and sent us platforms with information to link them up to, others have gone to book shops promoting his books to get them on the shelves. Others have supported seminars that Graeme has run by doing information flyers, morning teas and hosting. The trustees of Emmaus Road Ministries give of their time regularly to know what and how Graeme is doing, give advice on new initiatives and supporting in the hard moments of life. All these people in their own way, supporting the work, each with their own ability.

The Bible is clear when it teaches us to:

...encourage one another and build up one another, ...But we request of you... that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you... give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. (1 Thess 5:11-13)

As we get to know each other we will find out what we are all doing, and in those moments have your antennae up and ask yourself: "Is this something that I could help in?". Sometimes though, if you are in leadership you need to put in some hard yards by "creating the environment for others' work to succeed" as did Western Suburbs Christian Fellowship.

As a leader it is good to really ask these questions about those you have in you church:

1. What are the gifts of this person?
2. What have they been involved with in their Christian life?
3. What have they devoted themselves to do in recent years?
4. Are they affirmed by others?
5. How can you have them contribute in your church?

Rather than being nervously cautious of newcomers in the church look at King David's attitude to the saints:

As for the saints who are on the earth, They are the majestic ones; all my delight is in them.
(Psalm 16:3)

Here's a really ridiculous story. Makes me feel like this:

🤦🏻‍♀️

Friends of mine are highly gifted musicians and song writers. They had devoted themselves to praise and worship leading for about thirty years at the time. They went to a new church but before they could use their gifts, they had to do the job of putting the words up on the screen for three years first!!! Then they were allowed to play. After a while at doing that, one of them was allowed to lead but he was told not to speak, not to give any word of encouragement - nothing, zip.

What a stifling time. Sad, sad for that church to have such a closed attitude to the "delightful saints". We are very transient these days, perhaps it's time for "letters of commendation" to come into vogue again. It might save "running in time"! It's always risky to trust people, but the benefits are enormous!

The Bible says that Jesus trusted no man, but He did entrust His message to a small group of people who had no standing or great education - except Paul and a few other teachers of the Law. But there was something very special about this bunch of people.

Acts 4:13 tells us:

Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

Sometimes so few people in the church get to give a short or long message "from the front".  The restrictions coming from leadership are not necessarily from control, but perhaps from over protectiveness. What if someone says or does something out of order! If so, as a leader, speak to them and give them a couple of chances if you see potential. Nerves can be quite crippling for a beginner!

I'm trying to stress the need to be bold and open your life to others, open yourself to try something new, open the "pulpit"!

Look how Paul and Barnabas were received when they went on their first missionary journey:

Now Paul and his companions...  went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials said to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”  Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said...  (Acts 13:13-16)

They arrived and sat through the service. Then at the end, the synagogue official who had noticed them, invited them to speak. They were unknowns off the street. Can you imagine if the officials had not been open to new comers who they would have missed out on? Paul!

The effect was wonderful:

...and as Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.  Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God. ...The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord (v. 42-44).

Risk taking can be uncertain  - ask Moses, Deborah, David, Jael, Daniel, or the wise woman of Abel!

Conclusion
So how do we shepherd the capable? Be open to the people in your church. Talk to them, find out what they are doing and see if you can help and by the will of God...

the body will build itself in love... [for] we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,  from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

As individuals and leaders, put your hand to their plough.

Paul had many who worked with him that we are told really nothing about, but he was so grateful for their contributions!

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers... who risked their own necks for my life...
Greet Andronicus and Junia, ...my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding... apostles,
Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved...
Greet Rufus, a choice man ... also his mother and mine
Aristarchus ...my fellow prisoner
Justus ...my fellow worker an encouragement to me
Luke and Tertius - his scribes...
Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker...
Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier...
Philemon, our beloved co-worker...
Epaphras, our beloved co-worker...
Phoebe... a servant of the church... and a helper of mine...
Titus, he is my partner and co-worker 

Look for the "two" and "five" gifted  people - what is in your sphere of influence to be a co-worker them?

Paul wrote to to his beloved worker and friend Titus (3:12-15) saying:

When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me. Send Zenas ...and Apollos on their journey.

And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.
All who are with me greet you.