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What would you think of a leader who says, “I don’t talk on the telephone. I get my wife to make a call if I need to get a message that way”? I heard a few men make those statements 50-60 years ago. I haven’t heard a man make a statement like that about telephones…
How do shepherds, their families, and friends encourage honest, open, and accurate communication? What happens when people want to “send messages” to the elders by someone else? Several years ago, a lady was upset about two issues in the church: she had definite opinions about who shouldn’t be considered as elders and her dislike of…
It was Sunday, December 19, 1976, 10:20 a.m. I had just taught a Sunday School Class. An elder gently asked me to step into the elders’ office. When the door was closed, he said, “Brother Jerrie, I think you ought to think about resigning today.” What a shock! That had never entered my mind. After…
Why can’t we get anything done?” “Who’s responsible for that?” “How long have we been talking about that?” In our elders-preachers meetings, we found we were letting things “fall through the cracks.” It was 1985. I bought my first computer. I read an idea in The Insight System for Planning Your Time and Your Life,…
Our deacons won’t do their work.” “The elders won’t let us do anything!” “They get started and then quit.” “They try to take over.” “We get started and then the elders come in and do it their way without explaining. I’m not going to waste my time anymore.” I hear these comments in congregation after…
As we were discussing prospective elders in one congregation, I suggested the names of two men. The present elders said, “Jerrie, why do you suggest them. Neither has any children.” My reply: “No. They don’t have children but they are both professional firemen. If they were appointed to put out the fires in this church,…
Some questions I like to ask a church when I begin are, “How long has it been since you’ve had an Elders Appreciation Party? How do you show gratitude to your shepherds?”. I have received some interesting answers. “We don’t do things like that around here.” “We haven’t had one because we don’t appreciate our…
When working with a church in conflict, one of the most frequently asked questions is, “How can we get rid of a bad elder” (that usually means an elder that doesn’t see things as I do)? My answer is, “Have a lot of elder appreciation parties!” I think that will work — and here is…
“I don’t want to hear another preacher telling elders what to do. He hasn’t been an elder. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” I understand someone tiring of being instructed by a person who seems to have no reason to understand. However, most male doctors have never had a baby and yet they help…
Welcome to New Shepherds Orientation, a blog and website dedicated to providing information, inspiration, and appreciation for those men and their families who serve as shepherds (elders, bishops, overseers) of the Lord’s church. I have served with 64 shepherds in full-time and interim ministry in addition to scores of others in workshops, consultations, and gospel…