The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 1 Peter 5:1-4

As many of you know, I currently have the privilege of being a “Pastor” for a local Church in my area, I believe I was called by God to fulfill this calling and I take this with full seriousness and responsibility. The word “Pastor” actually derives from Latin meaning “Shepherd” So when your calling someone a Pastor , you are calling them a Shepherd of a Church, which is totally Biblical. As mentioned in my previous commentaries, God has designed order and structure to the Body of Christ, when we gather as Christians there is an order to the service

Peter begins this message with who his intended audience is, “The elders which are among You” these are the spiritual leaders of your Church community. So these instructions Peter is about to give under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is not just limited to your Pastor or Pastors for larger congregations. These instructions are instructed for everyone in your Church Body that is taking on a roll of leadership in some form. Which as mature Christians , we should all be stepping up as “elders” in some form, whether leading a Sunday School class, or Youth group, ect. 

As a leader in your Church community, this is a great calling and responsibility. View yourself as a Spiritual Shepherd. What duties does a Shepherd perform? They protect the flock from wolves, they feed the flock, they oversee the flock, and they guide and gather the flock. This is a very high calling by God, as with a Shepherd, you may have to lay down your physical life for the flock, this is the love you should have for your Church. A strong Church usually has strong elders, because they are overseeing the flock from danger or heresies.

I find verse 2 very interesting because alot of English translations say “Shepherd the flock of God” while others say “Feed the flock of God” The original Greek word there is “poimanate” which means many things Shepherd, Feed, Tend, rule, govern, if you want to know what the duties of a Pastor are, just look at this one Greek word and it will give you the details. The Pastor and the Elders are the Spiritual Shepherds of the Church. This is essential for any healthy Church. When a Church has no Pastor or mature elder group, they typically fall away because there is no one leading the flock

Peter makes a great point next “neither being lords over Gods heritage” Don’t abuse your position of authority as a Pastor or elder. There are some people who can’t handle any power or authority, once its given to them, they try to be a dictator and rule over the people. This is not your calling, a Shepherd is not to persecute its flock, the Shepherd is to guide and nurture the flock. This is another place where Church communities go wrong, a Pastor who wants to lord over their people, will end up scattering the flock

Finally I just want to end with a reminder from Peter “And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear” remember we are all under the authority and subjection to the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ. There is a chain of command, and you are not on the top, in order to be true Spiritual Shepherds for the Church, we need to be in total obedience and submission to the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ, ,Amen!