Joy in Leadership

As we continue our series on Philippians, we need to be reminded that this is a letter from a Christian leader, Paul, to a church that is made up of people whom he deeply loved. Paul wanted to encourage their joy, but because he was in prison, he was unable to come to them. So, Paul sent the church a letter and told them of plans to send two people who could love them, lead them, and stand as excellent models of the faith. Timothy was a young pastor and leader who was discipled by Paul. Epaphroditus was a church member from Philippi who brought a gift from that church to Paul, but the trip almost killed him. Paul's plan was to send both back to the church so they could have models and leaders in their fellowship. This passage is a wonderful reminder that we need these types of people in our Christian journey, people who are faithfully following Jesus to serve as models. But we can also be reminded that it should be our goal to grow in our own faith, so that we can some day be a model for others.