Elder to Elder

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 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; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. — 1 Peter 5:1-3

Elder isn't a title given to people who run things. Instead, it should be the natural outcome of life with God over many years.

By Degree

North and south are directions. There are poles, but few of us wind up there. North-ness and south-ness are measured by degree. In politics and religion, degrees aren't allowed; we're pushed to poles: conservative or liberal. For Christianity, this relates to our approach to God's Word. How much authority does his Word carry in my actual lived life? So I ask myself, how many degrees am I from the North Pole of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Great Commandment, Great Commission, and his other teachings? Does the answer to this question make me more conservative? Or more liberal?

A Few

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. — Matthew 7:13-14

What if Broadway is a parade route to the arena? The way for combatants exploited by principalities and powers (and bots?) to join a flesh and blood brawl, a battle with no clear sides. A few call for shalom, but who can hear them over the din?