Be a Close Friend to a Few!

Proverbs 18

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, October 26.

I was at a leadership conference years ago when I heard a pastor teach about congregational care in a way that lifted a heavy burden from my shoulders, “Do for one person what you wish you could do for everyone.” Pastors are taught to show no favoritism, so, in many ways, we are trained to do for everyone what we have already done or plan to do for another person. Often, that philosophy twists into a crushing weight of meeting people’s expectations, preventing pastors from responding in the Spirit. Proverbs 18:24 explains a better way forward, “A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

It is humanly impossible for one person to be a close friend to everyone, and to each of their families, but it’s not impossible for the people of the church to stick close to one another. Let the Spirit lead you to build loving relationships, which are closer than a brother. We are called to do life together as a church, but none of us has the bandwidth to be a friend to everyone in the church. Only Jesus can do this, so be a friend of God, listening to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and be willing to be friendly to all while sticking closer than a brother to a few. Love them like you wish you could love them all, and everyone will get great congregational care. Jesus commanded us in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

God bless you!

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