This week on my journey towards eldership have been developing my knowledge of those of God’s flock. As according to 1 Peter 5:2 an elder needs to watch over the flock:

“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;” – ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV

Elders have the calling to their congregants to counsel them through their issues. The reason 1 Peter 5:2 is a Biblical mandate is because of the idea that the more knowledge you have, the more precise a counselor you can be. For example, If you know your counselee’s frequent sin issues, it allows you to spot red flags and kill any sin in its infancy.

This week I realized I hadn’t really been placing much intent into getting to know the flock. I have since changed that and starting to place emphasize on learning about people’s sin issues and what is happening in their lives. If I am to be an elder, I need to know the cancers I am dealing with. Even if I wasn’t headed towards eldership, I believe I should’ve placed more emphasis on relationship and getting to know people than I did. Getting to know people is essential to relationship all around.