Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am acting with great boldness towards you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

Although the Greek of verse 2 doesn’t have ‘’in your hearts’’, it is translated this way, I believe, because the context suggests this meaning.

Church leadership is not primarily about charts, graphs, metrics etc, carried out by remote figures. It is essentially shepherding. It involves close relationships. Matters of the heart lie at its heart. Ideally, there will be great love between pastor and people – and this will be expressed.

It is surely an impoverished marriage where words of affirmation are not spoken, the one to the other. As with Paul here, church leaders should be able to express their love to their congregations. It is also a blessing for a pastor to feel the open-hearted love of their people.

May God work in all of our hearts, to bind shepherds and sheep together.