Day 2409 – Our Fiery Ordeal – A Job Description for Shepherds – 1 PETER 5:1-4

Welcome to Day 2409 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2409 – A Job Description for Shepherds – Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message – 06/23/2024 Our Fiery Ordeal – A Job Description for Shepherds. 1 Peter 5:1-4 Last week, Peter encouraged us to understand that trials and tests in life are God’s classroom for purifying and refining us to be more like Christ. We realize that God is faithful, and we need to rest in Him. Today’s passage is 1 Peter 5:1-6, on page 1892 of your Pew Bibles. We will focus on those with leadership positions within a local church, but it also applies to all of us as we partner to further God’s Kingdom on earth. I will read it from NLT today to give us a better perspective of this passage.  1 And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. Every worker knows the necessity of keeping their tools in a good state of repair... If the worker loses the edge, he knows there will be a more significant drain on his energies, or his work will be poorly done. It reminds me of Ecclesiastes 10:10: Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed. The shepherding of shepherds' hearts goes back to Jesus Himself, who invested three years preparing his disciples to carry on His work after His departure. The tried-and-tested Apostle Paul encouraged the young ministers Timothy and Titus to stay hard at the work of the ministry after he was gone. At this point in his letter, Peter turns from a general readership to those responsible for spiritual leadership in the churches. He now fine-tunes his words to the shepherds, or “elders," of those churches, lest they “neglect their responsibilities” or themselves. In many churches worldwide, the pastor's position is considered the local church's leader. While I understand how and why this has occurred in most local churches, the word pastor only appears once in the Bible. Pastor is one of the church’s speaking gifts from the Holy Spirit as found in Ephesians 4:11. Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. All other times church leaders are mentioned, Scripture refers to them as ‘Elders’ and ‘Deacons.’  In nearly every instance, it references a plurality of elders within a local congregation, no matter how small. One of the elders may have the gift of a pastor and/or teacher. Still, each of the elders will have an area of responsibility to assist the function of the local church. We have structured Putnam’s boards or teams to fit this Biblical example. It is not that the pastor’s gift is more...