1 Peter 5:2, commentary and pictures

The flock belongs to God and lies among its shepherds as His blood-bought heritage, and to take the oversight is to give personal, watchful care under Christ the Chief Shepherd rather than merely hold office. That care is to be given willingly from love and burden for souls and with eager readiness, not under pressure or for money or selfish gain. To feed means to nourish people with God's pure Word presented simply and in season, kept free from error, fable and strife and from empty eloquence that leaves needs unmet. It is done by personal visiting, seeking the lost, guarding the young and erring, and training all to work, gently and without lording, harshness, or ruling conscience. Shepherds must themselves live converted, loving Christ and souls, called and proven in character, for they answer to God for their work and the faithful will receive an unfading crown when the Chief Shepherd appears.

Flock and Its Oversight

The flock is God's own, located among its shepherds where they live and labor, entrusted to them as a heritage to be cared for and guided. It is a blood-bought heritage, a beautiful flock given to them and purchased with Christ's own blood, and each member is of priceless worth because the church was bought at that price. Taking the oversight therefore means more than holding office or exercising authority; it means personal, watchful, diligent care and responsibility for the people entrusted. It requires exercising watchful diligence over them, caring personally for them, preaching the Word, giving personal labor, and setting a right example.

Those who oversee stand as undershepherds under Christ as Chief Shepherd, who looks on to see how His flock is treated. Their authority is derived from Him and their vigilance is delegated ministry continuing His work on earth, leading sinners away from sin toward higher life and reflecting in measure Christ's own relation to them. The charge itself is addressed to elders when churches are organized and deacons and elders are appointed after earnestly seeking God's counsel in the selection of men. It was spoken by Peter as a fellow elder, a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, and it is kept in view of reward when the Chief Shepherd appears. Faithful ministers who heed this earnest exhortation will partake of the glory to be revealed and receive a crown of glory that does not fade away.

Oversight requires united, decisive leadership and organization that can maintain order, for without it churches will break into fragments. Ministers who stand together in this work help unite the flock, break down divisions, and strengthen God's people. The conference president is an overseer of God's flock in this same sense. Yet members must look to God and depend on heavenly wisdom rather than leave the condition of the churches solely to him, and they can help supply what is lacking in the overseer's work.

Willing Ready Motive

The charge is to take oversight willingly and not by constraint, and with a ready, eager, cheerful and unselfish mind and not for filthy lucre, dishonest gain, money or personal advantage. It is addressed to elders and to church and conference officers as those entrusted with the care of God's people. Willing oversight is service to the flock rather than a means of forcing obedience, and it encourages, strengthens and uplifts instead of ruling dictatorially. It honors the office by conduct, avoids lording authority over the people, and makes the overseer an example to the flock who has first learned from Christ so that spirit, words and actions represent Him. Feeding in this willing spirit is more than preaching, requiring patient personal effort to train and guide people for faithful service, giving them the bread of life with unselfish love while living daily under the converting power of the Holy Spirit, with the appearing of the Chief Shepherd and the unfading crown of glory in view.

Willingness means loving the work as part of one's existence and serving from devotion, burden for the people and deep concern for the salvation of souls for whom Christ died, with selfish interests swallowed up, rather than from pressure, compulsion, wages or selfish interest. The willing shepherd feeds diligently, strengthens the weak, nourishes the fainting, protects from spiritual danger and follows self-sacrificing care, while one who seeks his own ease or profit acts as a hireling and not as a faithful under-shepherd. Those sustained by the means given by the churches are in return to give meat in due season to those perishing for it, working to convert souls to the truth and to make members more spiritual and fervent in love to God and His truth, not displaying self and not laboring month after month with so little accomplished that the churches are disheartened. This requires whole consecration to the sacred work, unselfish interest in it and fervent love for perishing souls, without listless indifference, without remaining only among the established churches instead of entering new fields, and without lulling the people to carnal security while living on their means; without that consecration and love one has mistaken the mission, does more harm than good, and should cease teaching others and not be held to the work merely by wages.

Not serving for gain does not remove support for the work, for God appoints ministers as shepherds to care for and feed His people, to speak words of life and to carry the flock's burden, and sets apart the tithe to provide for their maintenance. A minister receiving pay from the conference remains a shepherd who must labor faithfully and humbly for the spiritual welfare of the church, discerning what is essential truth and feeding it to the people willingly and with a ready mind rather than seeking extra money beyond salary. Added payments not ordered by God bring perplexity and questioning, and credentials and support from tithes neither excuse dishonest conduct nor permit lending authority to it, since the influence exercised among the flock remains a matter of accountability.

Church office gives no reason for self-exaltation, and holding position does not qualify anyone to rule as worldly rulers do over faith and consciences. Leadership is service through the grace of Christ as a kind-hearted, humble person, not seeking praise, authority, dictation or rule, for office and position do not confer greatness but character alone and true goodness are true greatness. This includes presidents of conferences as overseers and shepherds, whose faithful charge calls for integrity, unselfish and devoted Christian living, holy example, burden for souls, sensitivity when the cause is wounded, bearing the cross, and knowing fervent love, in contrast to serving God and mammon, lack of self-denial, dull conscience, doubting the Testimonies, and a record that will condemn. Domineering and self-exalting leadership harms teachers and shepherds and leaves the flock in danger.

Shepherds are to serve willingly without serving for personal gain, following the example of serving others by teaching and guiding in the truth, visiting the sick, instructing children, correcting those who go astray, and working to restore peace and love. They may be supported by the freewill offerings of the people in peaceful times, and like Paul should also learn trades so they can support themselves by their own labor when necessary.

Feeding With Pure Truth

Feeding the flock is giving God's Word, preaching it, giving personal care and labor, and setting a right example, presenting truth simply, line upon line and precept upon precept, suited to need and time so that hearers are nourished, convicted, converted, and trained for faithful service. It is more than preaching, requiring patient personal effort to guide and train those who need help to serve faithfully, giving sound teaching that nourishes faith rather than novelty that leaves souls unfed, for the prosperity and well-being of the flock depends greatly on the quality of this food. The food must be the bread of life and the Word of life held forth in ministering in word and doctrine, with capabilities used as God appointed and required, not crowded out by business details and many board and council meetings.

True food is pure provender thoroughly winnowed from chaff, clean and healthful, presented in its purity yet with simplicity and clarity like clean winnowed grain. It is not to be mixed with error, fables, human tradition, discordant views, wild excitable feelings, strange manifestations, fanaticism, wild excitement, unintelligible sounds, or infidel theories, and those who so mix and excite disgust intelligent unbelievers, hinder reception of truth, become stumbling blocks, and increase the labor of true servants. Poison that kills the sheep is evil surmising, suspicion, criticism, faultfinding, and manufacturing dissension and strife, which poisons to death, brings evil attributes into character building, destroys peace and hope of prosperity, and makes the work much harder afterward. Healthful food instead hunts up and binds up those spiritually diseased as a physician of souls, building them up with clean, uplifting, thorough work rather than leaving them poisoned to death.

A man who harms instead of helps, who weakens the church by a critical faultfinding spirit, works against fellow ministers, creates anxiety, worry and burdens, and is easily worked by the enemy, is unfit to take charge of a church, cannot be trusted in places of duty, fails to perfect Christian character, endangers even his wife's labor by drawing her sympathy, and must be released, separated to other business or labor with the hands rather than be paid from conference funds, while there is much more peace when men of that temperament have nothing to do with the sheep. Feeding is not high poetical descriptions, fanciful presentations pleasing the senses, beautiful themes stirring a glow of emotion over God's greatness, debate with sarcastic coarse dry stereotyped arguments, novelty, minor disputes, or long dry sermons that leave common life experience and daily necessities untouched. Such eloquence may seem to feed but traced from cause to effect does not touch daily need, and love of debate makes ministers self-sufficient, rough, unable to labor without excitement, bringing darkness to flock and soul instead of food.

True feeding brings home truths of vital interest to the heart, meeting immediate requirements and present trials with present help and strength, drawn from Christ's sermons and simple lessons, reaching and melting hearts, comforting the sorrowing, bringing light, fortifying for daily battles, and producing practical Christianity, practical godliness, and faith working by love and purifying the soul. It requires tender sympathy and interest coming down to meet hearts where help is most needed, teaching practical religion from a heart where it is lived, strengthening believers rather than promoting one's own ideas by extreme or unguarded words, with eyes anointed to see clearly what meat in due season is greatly needed. Feeding is giving meat in due season to those perishing for it, presenting subjects of truth essential for this time and speaking the word on the heart, converting souls and making members more spiritual and fervent in love to God and His truth, not displaying self nor laboring month after month with so little accomplished that churches are disheartened.

It requires whole consecration, unselfish interest, and fervent love for perishing souls, without which a minister has mistaken his mission, does more harm than good, lulls people to carnal security by listless repetition of theory among established churches instead of entering new fields, and should cease teaching others. Giving each one fitting food at the right time requires wisdom received by feeding on Christ and having Christ formed within, with fitness through subjection of powers to God's will, renewal of mind, reliance on grace, self-government, humility, meekness, elevation of mind, purification of heart, noble generosity, courage, fortitude, love and tenderness, forbearance, patience, gentleness, kindness and true courteousness. The shepherd must know how to make a difference between those needing compassion and those needing urgent rescue from danger, for harshness, severity, denunciation, roughness, indiscretion, lack of self-control, self-sufficiency, impulsiveness, and a warlike faultfinding spirit tear down more than they build and wound souls others must bind up. Doing this work of preaching in season and out of season improves talent, increases organizing ability, benefits health, blesses churches and feeder alike for in imparting he receives increase of heavenly food, while neglect for sedentary administrative work injures health, leaves talent unimproved, almost loses God's approval, and is unprepared for stormy times ahead, with no excuse in lack of self-confidence or encouragement.

No one minister alone can feed the flock, for it requires ministers with varied capabilities and gifts working together under the Holy Spirit, each trading according to entrusted responsibility, giving food suited to hearers and revealing truth on points a fellow laborer did not regard as essential, where one is strong another may be weak. No minister is to think his method sufficient to mold souls after his ideas or to keep others from mingling talents with his work, for leaving the flock to one man brings deficiency, and to mistreat a fellow laborer is to be in danger of refusing Jesus in the messenger He sends. Those who care for the flock are to work in harmony, counseling with fellow laborers, individually asking wisdom and being instructed of God, then following best judgment in fear of God according to circumstances, shaping work to meet exigency without imperiling the cause by waiting to write the conference president who is but human, and work so done must not be criticized, depreciated and censured by another fallible human agent. They serve as teachers educating members for every branch of work rather than doing all labor themselves, giving opportunities to lead meetings and share Bible readings, kindly guiding through mistakes so workers gain experience, use talents, and learn to bear responsibility.

Personal Pastoral Labor

Feeding the flock is more than preaching, requiring patient personal effort to train people for faithful service rather than dominating them with dictatorial oversight but encouraging, strengthening and uplifting them. The minister's work is not finished when leaving the pulpit but requires thorough personal dealing in churches and schools, visiting people, learning their spiritual condition, and giving each fitting truth at the right time with watchful, tender, persevering attention. This means entering different families house to house and carrying Christ there in actions and words, talking with parents to learn their standing and with children to learn theirs, inquiring into the condition and health of their souls. No visit should pass without gathering the household together and praying with them before leaving, and like a skillful physician who inquires into particulars before administering remedies, the physician of souls must inquire into spiritual maladies, administer proper remedies, ask the great Physician for aid, and give needed help. Remaining at home to study to the neglect of this commissioned work is wrong, while drawing strength from God to impart strength to others keeps the minister's own soul alive and brings due respect and honor. Such personal care also leads to Scripture nourishment and practical service, including visiting the sick, teaching children, correcting the erring, promoting harmony, and following Christ's example rather than seeking status or luxury, being supported by willing gifts yet ready to support oneself by a trade when needed.

Shepherds must seek the lost and help the backslider by presenting truth so as to bring conviction, searching faithfully until the straying are brought back to the fold. Faithful shepherding is willing, loving care and protection marked by compassion rather than coldness or harshness, patiently helping the weak and strayed. Lost sheep are brought into the church fold where they can be cared for and find pasture, with pastors and teachers provided to carry on Christ's work and members bound to advance its interests by unselfish devoted labor. Caring for the flock means more than providing daily food, requiring the under-shepherd to protect lambs, guard them with tender care, and search for any that stray. Christ's love in the shepherd's heart flows out to the flock, moving him to guard and protect as well as provide, to search faithfully until restoration, and to care for the helpless as a mother guards her child.

Special care belongs to children, youth, and new believers who lack understanding, teaching them from Scripture and preparing them for service, since love for Christ is essential and cannot be replaced by knowledge, kindness, eloquence, gratitude, or zeal. Teachers should lead children entrusted to them with wisdom, love, gentleness, and sanctified affection, helping them yield to the faithful Shepherd's guidance. Taking oversight of students means more than imparting book knowledge, requiring watching over souls as those who must give account, molding mind and character, and being in manner, habits, and Christian courtesy what students should become. Leading children to accept guidance calls for tact, wisdom, human love, and sanctified affection, reflecting Christ who regards those in His care as His own, loves them deeply, and gives His righteousness to believers. A shepherd's patience and gentleness toward the church is linked to faithfully caring for children at home, where neglect and harshness undermine the work but patient persevering care prepares one to serve others. Those in charge of churches must watch over sheep and lambs by guarding youth from efforts to draw them from home churches to wait upon worldlings or to go to Battle Creek for education in endangering ways, while not binding them so they cannot develop but giving highest motives to advance, having them attend church schools where teachers work and pray with them, training them to leave as true medical missionaries bound to gospel ministry, with places ready for them to begin missionary work essential for this time.

Faithful shepherding includes training believers for active service, as shown by godly example and tireless work that encouraged promising young men to enter ministry. Those who oversee must awaken to their duty and set many souls to work. Every minister must take interest that each one be directed to his proper work so hands do not grow weary and heavy, uniting with others by golden links of love, with unfeigned love that abhors evil and cleaves to good. This requires special attention to those in need through tender words, kind consideration, tangible help, and counsel that does not extinguish the last spark of courage. Overseers serve as teachers educating members for every branch of work rather than doing all labor themselves, giving others opportunity to lead meetings and share Bible readings, helping them use God-given talents and learn to bear responsibility, kindly guiding them through mistakes to gain experience.

The charge is fulfilled when Christ's aged, most experienced ministers explain the Word and bear messages of truth to the people. These are grey-headed pioneers who for many years preached truth, carried the burden of the work, and can show where people stand in earth's history. They are the ones to preach and lead at large gatherings, conferences, camp meetings, and business meetings. Putting inexperienced young men to the front to carry heavy preaching responsibilities while experienced ministers sit and listen dishonors God and causes people to lose the message the Lord wishes them to hear.

The same shepherd work extends to preaching the warning message through ordained means, where the faithful teacher as shepherd is to be respected and his work appreciated, with genuine medical missionary work bound to ministry and canvassing as part of both. Canvassers as gospel evangelists do shepherd work by visiting people, declaring love for the Lord, staying in private homes rather than hotels, becoming acquainted with families, sowing truth everywhere as Christ did, laboring at the fireside, finding the sick and discouraged, pressing close to Christ to learn to carry peace and comfort to the sorrowing and brokenhearted, pointing them to the Word, and praying with the sick. The faithful teacher as shepherd whose work is to be respected applies also to gospel workers caring for and serving people. The worker as under-shepherd serves under Christ the Chief Physician, with the medical missionary or physician watching for souls as well as treating bodies, working unselfishly from knowledge of Christ's atonement and salvation to bring hope, saving faith, peace, new life, and healing of sin's harm to soul and body. The call to care willingly and not for gain applies to guarding sanitarium employees and medical students from temptation and danger like watchmen protecting sheep and lambs from being led astray, and to a physician caring for people whose souls belong to God and were bought at a price by giving sound spiritual nourishment and building them up in most holy faith.

Oversight includes representing God's benevolence toward the poor and needy by those entrusted with His gifts. Those having Christ's Spirit show it by helpfulness to others, faithful discharge of duty, and tender, kind action toward God's heritage. When God sees His children manifesting compassion toward the poor and needy, He blesses them as faithful stewards.

Gentle Non-Domineering Rule

Oversight of the flock forbids acting as lords over God's heritage, and vigilance must never become dictatorial, severe, critical, overbearing, harsh, or domineering with uplifted whip. Instead of severity, oversight is to encourage, strengthen, and uplift by patient leading and example, with kindly persuasion rather than compulsion. Church office gives no license for self-exaltation or severity, but calls for honoring the office by conduct and serving as an example to the flock.

No leader is given arbitrary power to forbid or permit as he chooses, to make his word yea and amen as if set as god, to become a law unto the church, or to rule faith and conscience. He is not to decide for workers their course of action and their portion of meat for the children of God, nor to lay a hand upon them to hinder them, for each person is to be guided by God's plain Word under the rulership of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even a conference president has no infallibility from position, but is human and fallible and needs counsel from brethren, and his sharp traits of character are more dangerous because his responsibilities are greater. True Bible religion leads people to govern themselves under Christ, not to control one another or restrict their freedom in serving Him.

True oversight leaves fellow workers free to act upon their own judgment under God's moving influence when a special work is assigned them, trusting God to lead, guide, bless, and give light as to what the people need. Each worker in the field is a shepherd under Christ the great Shepherd, to preach the Word and do the required work where he is, asking wisdom of God, being instructed of God, counseling with fellow laborers, then following his best judgment in the fear of God according to circumstances as they arise. Where exigency requires individual decision on the spot, he is to shape the work to meet the case, moving prayerfully and conscientiously to best serve the cause his soul loves, without imperiling the cause by waiting to write or seek an interview with the conference president, who is but human like other men. Work so done according to best light must not be criticized, depreciated, pronounced upon, or censured by a fellow human agent also liable to err, and oversight forbids standing apart coldly to criticize and censure, especially when ministers have exercised their best judgment under trying circumstances or emergency. It likewise forbids moving to condemn or criticize on a story heard from others until seeing or communicating with the one thought to be in error, forbids driving by human tests since God's Word is the test, and forbids trampling and harnessing and driving people as dumb animals with prescribed labors of Go here or Go there that make organization a galling yoke.

Shepherds must neither flatter people nor treat them harshly, but feed them the bread of life with meekness, tenderness, courtesy, sympathy, compassion, unselfish love, lowliness of mind, gentleness and long forbearance. Their manner is to be courteous and compassionate to all, especially to the tempted, afflicted, desponding, and erring, exhorting, reproving and rebuking with all long-suffering and doctrine after the pattern of Christ who came to minister and give His life. Those placed as directors are stewards of Christ to oversee willingly and gently, speaking with affection, tenderness, and love, with no authoritative, harsh, dictatorial word, making the work of those under them pleasant and cheerful, setting an example of respect and good manners, and winning confidence and love through companionship. They are to be God-fearing, truthful, respectful, courteous, amiable, and polite, recognizing God as present in all business and looking on every person as purchased by Christ's blood, so that strife, harshness, and an accusing spirit have no place.

The people are God's heritage, not the minister's possession or personal property to be owned, controlled by commands and prohibitions, judged in heart and motive, or used as a sin-bearer. A shepherd must not demand obedience as a condition of love and care, nor take God's place to act as conscience, ruler, or sin-bearer, nor demand a church that obeys his personal wishes or wisdom. Those who accept the truth belong to Christ, and their dependence must be on God as source of wisdom and strength so they can grow in grace, with Jesus holding the reins and assigning to every man his work. Christian oversight must therefore follow Christ's example of meekness and humility, not the rule of an officer over soldiers.

A commanding, self-sufficient, oppressive spirit injures the Lord's cause, brings harmful experience into churches, damages prosperity and success, and becomes a cause of weakness and spiritual decadence. Great mischief has resulted from men setting themselves as lords over God's heritage, and God will have nothing to do with methods where finite men bear rule over fellow men. One who has exercised that ruling spirit has mistaken his duty and is out of place until converted in heart, soul, and mind, and should change his field of labor even after reforming his course. Such a man, ruling by self, following his own infallible mind, opposing God's instruction, exalting favorites, hindering and thwarting fellow workers, dictating to churches, and taking God's place over brethren, must not be entrusted with presidency or any responsibility giving power to dictate. What is required instead is a decided change away from authoritarian leadership, so the voice of command is no longer heard and those conducting the work are men of humility and discretion laboring in the fear of God.

Shepherd Character and Fitness

Shepherds must first learn from Christ so that spirit, words, and actions represent Him, living daily under the converting power of the Holy Spirit with genuine religion founded on God's Word and practiced at home and in the church. Living connection with Christ makes the minister a channel of light, fitting him by grace to feed by example and to call others to follow him as he follows Christ and rightly divide truth. That daily learning produces a growing religious life and unselfish love for those in care, without which one is unfit for the solemn responsibility, for wages must not be the chief concern. Then shepherds can labor together with God, showing in daily conduct that God is with them.

Love for Christ is essential to faithful shepherding and must be a living, abiding power in the heart appearing in character and conduct. Knowledge, ability, kindness, eloquence, benevolence, gratitude, and zeal cannot replace it. Feeding requires whole consecration to the sacred work, unselfish interest in it, fervent love for perishing souls, a heart filled with the love of Jesus, and living faith in Christ as personal Saviour, giving meat in due season to those perishing for it and making members more spiritual and fervent. Mere theoretical understanding, listless repetition of theory, displaying self, lingering among established churches instead of entering new fields, and laboring month after month with little accomplished dishearten the churches and lull people to carnal security. Without that consecration and love a minister has mistaken his mission, labors in vain without felt influence to draw sinners from danger, does more harm than good, and should cease teaching others.

The work is entrusted only to those God calls and the church acknowledges, for God knows the heart and knows whom to select. Those called are men of deep experience, tried and proved, sound judgment, who dare to reprove sin in meekness and understand how to feed the flock. Fitness is decided by God's chosen ministers in union with the church with manifest tokens of the Holy Spirit, not by a few private individuals, and not by ability to pray and talk well, by thrusting oneself forward, or by education alone. Guardians over churches must therefore be chosen with great care and never blindly, as men of prayer and humility guided by God's Spirit, giving example of righteousness and sacredly guarding the reputation of God's workers, since a wrong choice teaches the flock to tear and devour and unqualified rule brings confusion and reproach. Such service is joined with humility rather than seeking the highest place, belonging to one God has taught and continues to teach.

Overseers must be men of good repute and thorough integrity, not novices, but intelligent students of the Word with knowledge of Scripture, experience in faith and patience, and growing ability to teach others from the treasure-house things new and old. In meekness they instruct opposers, and in character, words, and deportment they honor Christ, teaching truth and living truth and growing to full stature by exercising every faculty to bear larger responsibilities as the work increases. Faithful oversight means unselfish devoted living, holy example, burden for souls, sensitivity when the cause is wounded, bearing Christ's cross, and knowing His fervent love through grace as kind-hearted humble men; office does not confer greatness, character and true goodness alone do. Neglect of Scripture and lack of its knowledge fails the duty to feed, for its treasures unfold only by diligent searching. Fitness requires subjection of all powers to God's will, renewal of mind, reliance wholly on grace, self-government, humility, meekness, elevation of mind, purification of heart, noble generosity, courage, fortitude, love and tenderness, forbearance, patience, gentleness, kindness, true courteousness, and great wisdom to give each one fitting food at the right time and to distinguish those needing compassion from those needing urgent rescue. Harshness, severity, denunciation, roughness, indiscretion, lack of self-control, self-sufficiency, impulsiveness, and a warlike faultfinding spirit disqualify, tearing down more than is built up and wounding souls others must bind up.

Fitness is shown at home and in personal life, for one who cannot govern and discipline his own children, whose obedience and training should demonstrate his teaching, is not prepared to shepherd the church or protect it from conflict and insubordination. Neglect of dependents and leaving family to rely on others for support lacks the qualities needed to care for the church. A man whose conduct is frantic and uncontrolled by God's Spirit must not be given influence as overseer or placed in the pulpit, but must be changed, love and fear God, and become fit for God to use before receiving full confidence. Preserving health for best service, avoiding impurity and licentious betrayal, and caring tenderly for family belong to the same fitness. Toward students and children, sharp severe exacting denunciation and punishment for slight heedless deviations from rules that should bend, treating them as grievous sin while loose toward God, violates willing oversight with ready mind, brings the Chief Shepherd's displeasure and inquiry where the beautiful blood-bought flock is, puts overseers in controversy with God under rebuke, and leaves them guilty of blood; instead they must take heed to themselves and the flock, declare all counsel, and make straight paths lest the lame be turned out of the way.

Shepherds must be humble, self-denying, and self-controlled, not seeking praise, authority, dictation, rule, ease, or a more rewarding life than Christ's, but willing to endure hardship and sacrifice and bear the cross. Heavy responsibility requires lowliness, for the overseer remains a servant who must represent the Master in patience, kindness, long-suffering love, honesty, and self-denial, remembering he is a servant; without self-control a commander places himself below the servant, and one lifted up, oppressive in any degree, or forgetful that he is a steward should be discharged. The call to shepherd rules out dictatorial conduct and oppression, requiring leaders to examine and correct their own spirit, speech, and use of authority before correcting others, for without the Holy Spirit's guidance they do great harm and their work must be marked by meekness and holiness. A contentious, unsanctified, unhappy spirit of insubordination breaks the charge to set a worthy example in spirit, word, and action; if cherished, it is for present and eternal good to step out, since harmony with truth is shown by sanctification, partaking the divine nature, and beholding Christ unto His likeness.

Teachers in God's schools and colleges are overseers set by the Holy Spirit over students purchased by Christ's blood, a beautiful flock given them with Christ as Chief Shepherd looking on, accountable to Him. Taking oversight willingly with ready mind means feeding the church, not serving by constraint or for wages as the main thing, but with daily progressive experience in Christ's school and growing religious life. It is more than imparting book knowledge; it is watching for souls as those who must give account, molding mind and character, and being in manner, habits, and Christian courtesy what students should become. They must guide faithfully under Christ without harshness or neglect, leading children with wisdom, love, gentleness, and sanctified affection to yield to the faithful Shepherd, declaring all God's counsel and making straight paths for the lame.

Parents act as shepherds of the lambs, bearing responsibility with the Saviour's tender care, especially for children at home, where patience and gentleness prepare one to serve the church while neglect and harshness undermine it. When satisfied children understand conversion, are converted, and consent to baptism, parents must act as faithful shepherds guiding inexperienced feet in the strait narrow way of obedience. That oversight means right example in words, unity, acts of love, courtesy, Christian humility, entire surrender to Christ, tender spiritual food, careful education and training for service and eternal life, and special burden to keep feet in the straight path, without dominating or tyrannizing, remembering children belong to God and account must be given; consenting to baptism then leaving them to do as they choose leaves parents responsible if they lose faith, courage, and interest in truth.

Neglect, unfaithfulness, carelessness, defective traits, and lack of conversion disqualify shepherds. Knowing and explaining reasons of faith is not enough; the heart must be cleansed, changed and strengthened by truth, growing in grace and knowledge of Christ with genuine faith in God's Word to lead to living waters, and receiving salary does not fulfill duty when unconverted. The shepherd must feed with healthful food, not poison, for poison is evil surmising, suspicion, criticism, faultfinding, and manufacturing dissension and strife, which leaves spiritually diseased souls poisoned to death instead of building them up and binding them as a physician of souls with clean uplifting thorough work. One who feeds poison wearies brethren, is easily worked by the enemy, endangers even a wife's valuable labor by drawing sympathy to his spirit, fails to perfect character, cannot be trusted in duty, destroys peace and hope of prosperity, makes later work harder, and must be released and kept from the sheep; men in responsibility are themselves responsible not to set such over the flock. A careless example and unconverted character can lead the entrusted flock to ruin, so until converted and sensing the sacredness none is fit to take charge, but should step aside or labor with the hands.

Shepherds need to know the truth they teach, devoting themselves to searching Scripture diligently as Zwingle did to understand and teach it and as Luther did in feeding hungering people with the Bible rather than human sayings. Those explaining Scripture fail when neglecting it and lacking its knowledge, for its treasures unfold through diligent search. This duty includes teaching sound principles of eating, drinking, and dressing, warning against practices and appetites endangering health and life, for a teacher is not fully prepared until understanding health laws and how right practice affects spiritual life, teaching intelligently and exemplifying words. It also includes faithfully doing unpleasant duty rather than leaving it to others, such as teaching and warning to pay honest tithe.

Ministers must not let duties, details, business lines, and many board and council meetings occupy time and energies to crowd out holding forth the Word of life and ministering in word and doctrine. They are to present subjects essential for this time, speak the Lord's word on the heart without waiting for brethren to give place, preach the gospel, direct to the heavenly inheritance, warn the endangered by worldliness, nourish with wholesome sustaining truth, and be instant in season and out of season. Neglect leaves talent for presenting truth unimproved and leaves the flock hungry when organizing crowds out teaching and devotional care, while practicing speaking improves talent, increases rather than lessens organizing ability, and benefits health; sedentary administrative absorption injures health and nearly loses divine approval. Lack of self-confidence and lack of encouragement or opportunity from brethren do not excuse neglect, so details must be laid off and meetings reduced to free time and energy, for stormy times ahead require familiarity with feeding, which blesses churches and returns increase of heavenly food to the giver. Entering ministry carries this shepherd responsibility and requires willingness to educate and train oneself to serve as shepherd to the flock.

Value Accountability and Reward

Each soul in the flock carries priceless worth because the church was bought with Christ's own blood, and for that reason shepherds must labor continually, perseveringly and tenderly for the welfare and spiritual health of those entrusted to them. That labor means diligent, persevering care to keep the flock healthy, strengthening the weak, nourishing the fainting, reviving those ready to fail, and protecting the sheep from danger, devouring wolves and false paths. It is to be done willingly and with a ready mind, not as a burdensome task or merely for wages, and the one who seeks his own ease or profit instead of the flock's welfare acts as a hireling rather than a faithful under-shepherd.

Shepherds will answer for their ministry and be brought to judgment for their actions and motives, so the charge must be taken seriously. Accountability reaches neglect as well as wrongdoing, for merely preaching occasionally is not enough, and ministers must also visit and pray with families, watch over souls and serve wholeheartedly rather than neglecting the flock for their own business, since unfaithful service harms the people and leaves lasting effects. Unfaithful shepherds who wound and scatter the flock will be called to account, while faithful labor seeks to save and restore those who have been harmed.

Faithful overseers who feed the flock among them and take the oversight willingly and not by constraint, not for money but with a ready mind, will receive a crown of glory that does not fade when the Chief Shepherd appears. That reward is a partaking of the glory to be revealed, the glory given by divine power with all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called to glory and virtue, and all faithful ministers must heed the exhortation in order to share it. The charge stands connected with Peter as fellow elder, witness of Christ's sufferings and partaker of that coming glory, requiring shepherds to encourage, strengthen and uplift rather than dominate, to be examples and not lords over the heritage, and to do thorough personal work beyond the pulpit in churches and schools.

The pattern for such care is Christ's self-denying, self-sacrificing love and willingness to give His life for the sheep, which under-shepherds must share and imitate as a sacred responsibility. In contrast stands the hireling, who works for gain rather than the flock's welfare, has no true interest in it, and flees when danger comes. Shepherds must therefore serve willingly and cheerfully, not for gain or under compulsion, preaching the Word, giving personal labor and exercising personal oversight, with God's Word as the test rather than tyrannizing the flock by imposing human tests.

Peter himself illustrates the lesson, for remembering his own weakness and failure he was to treat the sheep and lambs entrusted to him tenderly. That tenderness is patient, sympathetic, forgiving love such as Christ showed Peter after his denial, extended especially to the tempted and erring, and no amount of knowledge, ability, eloquence, benevolence, gratitude or zeal can make a minister faithful without a living, abiding love for Christ appearing in character and conduct. Out of that love Peter faithfully cared for the believers entrusted to him, accepted the responsibility of leading them, trained them for active service, and by godly example and tireless work encouraged promising young men to enter the ministry.

Caring for the flock calls for increasing skill, aptness, sound judgment and watchfulness as Satan's power and devices increase. That watchfulness includes working to awaken others to seek eternal life and taking special care to protect the members from deception. Human agents must faithfully do their part while depending on God rather than acting in their own strength, remembering that the flock belongs to the Lord, its people were purchased by His blood, and He loves and cares for them more than human caretakers do.