1 Peter
5:1-5
The Pastor
as Shepherd
5:1 To the
elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a
witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also
will share in the glory to be revealed:
2 Be shepherds of God's
flock that is under your care, serving as
overseers—not because you must, but because
you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy
for money, but eager to serve;
3 not lording it over
those entrusted to you, but being examples to the
flock.
4 And when the Chief
Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of
glory that will never fade away.
5 Young men, in the same
way be submissive to those who are older. All of
you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one
another, because,
"God opposes the proud but
gives grace to the humble."
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way that we think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
The Pastor as
Shepherd
Authority comes from
service, not power.
What does this mean? Well,
one way to state it is that, just because a person
has a title of "boss" does not absolutely mean she
is in charge.
Sometimes it is a worker who
has power through service, the one all others come
to in order to get tough questions answered about
the job at hand. A supervisor does not always know
the answer.
Peter appealed to the elders
of the church as "fellow elders" showing that he
was not above them. He asked them to be leaders by
giving service to the church.
He also talked to the younger
men of the church and charged them to be humble and
give respect to the leaders.
In today's church, the pastor
is many times the subject of complaints and even
threats. He or she has a great responsibility of
presenting God's Word to us so let us be more
understanding and pray for our
ministers.
I recently viewed a sign in
front of a church which simply stated:
"If you want a
better pastor, pray for the one you've
got."
But, Peter does not let the
ministers off the hook either. They must realize
they are leading a "flock" to God and must lead by
example more than just "preaching a good
sermon."
We all can learn a lesson
from this because, as Christians we are being
watched by all the believers and nonbelievers out
there so we need to "walk the walk".
I am preaching this to myself
as much as to you because my behavior is not always
"Christlike". I need to ask myself if what I am
doing and the way I am acting at a given time will
bring someone else closer to Jesus Christ, or push
them away. - Amen!
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Another passage for study
Sin
and Redemption of Christians
Verses about the pastor leading the
Christian church are from Life Application Study
Bible: New International Version
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