I’ve had some conversations with folks lately about 3ABC for the purpose of helping them understand where 3ABC would fit in the range of Gospel preaching churches here in Louisville. At times I tend to think of us as being very similar to other like-minded churches. The differences certainly are very narrow when compared to other denominations, etc. But, we are still distinct in many aspects of our corporate life and in how we shepherd our members.

One of our goals as a church is to mentor and train elders. We are small and don’t have a lot of formal mechanisms for this yet. One thing that we do is to invite non-elders to our elders’ meetings. Our elders’ meetings can be rather lengthy, and at times even downright exciting. Keith may start pontificating about the Trinity for example, or he may throw my kids toys around. (There is also usually lots of coffee and dessert prepared by my wife.) A few months ago we decided that inviting non-elders to selected portions of our meetings would be a simple way to mentor young men and to help train those who may be preparing for full-time ministry. We thought at first that it would only be Seminary students who were interested in coming. The reality is that we have had many U of L students come also. The conclusion for all those non-elders who’ve come is that this has been one of the most insightful and helpful things for them in understanding how elders practically lead and shepherd the church. It’s small, and it’s simple, but it helps us fulfill what we see as our responsibility to help train future leaders of the church.

Posted in 3ABC Life, Church Life |