By Invitation Only

The burden for shepherding has been going on despite the ongoing pandemic. The same burden has been trumpeted time and again for the saints to pick up. A good number of saints have picked up the burden, and many saints are actually functioning now in shepherding. I am also still bearing this burden. 

These days, the way I carry out shepherding has been by invitation only. Meaning, I go to the saints' and new ones' homes whenever they invited me. With many other responsibilities at hand, I cannot keep going to different homes on a regular basis. I give more priority to a time with the Lord and with the family, and my official work. I still give time to visit people and shepherd the new ones. I do them now with the ones whom I discerned that the Holy Spirit has led me to. I no longer randomly pick up people for the sake of visiting and shepherding. I have to priorities my time spent, and accordingly, visit people by invitation.

Since the lockdown opened up bit by bit, my visiting of the families has been restricted to those who invited. I prefer it this way. When the Lord leads me, He will burden me and the families. With such a mutual burden, the shepherding visit is most fruitful. It should not be a mundane regular monotonous visit. I am willing and definitely will pay the price to visit whoever invited me. On the one hand, I restrict myself to not visit if not invited or if the Holy Spirit has not led us at all, and on the other hand, I would do my best to pay the price and visit the saints if there was indeed the move of the Lord and the saints' hearts are open for fellowship. In this way, our times are best utilized and the fellowship was very solid and worth it.

Still, I have been maintaining a regular phone call shepherding with a couple of brothers. Daily once in the morning, then post-lunch, and then in the night. This has been going on in a very intensive way since the pandemic struck last year. Whereas I move by invitation only for physical visitation and shepherding, I am still regularly engaged in phone fellowship and shepherding.

Praise the Lord for His move, even though my move in the Lord's move has been restricted to by invitation only!