to the one who heals

“…people brought anybody with an ailment…”

One of the temptations of an elder/pastor in the local church is to see themselves as the one who heals those he serves, people coming to him looking to be made well. This expectation of healing is also a temptation of those who make up his church family.

Rather, the elder/pastor is more akin to the intake person in an emergency room who directs people where they need to go for healing when they arrive at the hospital. In the same way, an elder/pastor carefully listens to the listing of someone’s symptoms — what is ailing them, plaguing them, hurting them, wether bad behaviors or wrong thoughts, wether it is spiritual, mental, or physical — and then with compassion and wisdom the elder/pastor takes them to the only one who can truly help them.

The Great Physician himself, Jesus, who is the only Messiah.

Understanding this is part of the healthy functioning of a church family. I should maybe say it’s critical: the intake person (elder/pastor) understanding his role, and the patient (church member) not strangling the intake person because they’re not getting what they want.

Word got around…People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all.

Matthew 4:24