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.
Note that there is a two-fold order of leadership here; there are shepherds and then there’s the Chief Shepherd. Peter alerts us to the fact that Christ is the true leader. Any leading which we do is done under the authority and leadership of another: the divine Son of God. Given this revelation, we can formulate a Christ-centred understanding of what we are doing when we lead:
Christian leadership is the act of helping others find their place under Christ’s leadership.
I take it that Paul had something similar in mind when he exhorted the Corinthians to follow his example, as he followed the example of Christ (1 Cor 11.1)
Of course, this view of leadership influences our understanding of those activities more commonly associated with leading, such as vision-casting and the provision of a Godly example…
10 points if you can tell me the name of the leader who wore this Harlequin cricket cap. 10 more points if you can tell me the reason why he wore it. Points are still on offer from the previous post.
11 comments:
Douglas JArdine. He wore it to annoy the Australians in the Bodyline series. And to keep the sun off.
I thought you'd come through on this one Mike. The cap acted as a sign of Jardine's 'breeding'; that he was a member of the ruling elite. The Australian crowds HATED it, so Jardine loved to wear it.
One day at Sydney, Jardine was being bothered by a fly, so he brushed it away from his face with his hand.
Yabba boomed out from the hill: 'Hey Jardine, leave our flies alone!'
do you reckon we should drop 'senior pastor' considering its a little presumptous to call ourselves Jesus?
Perhaps "Co-ordinating Pastor"?That doesn't sound so snappy."Leading Pastor"?
What do you call yourself?
pastor or lead elder - though the second sounds a little like Mormonese - they always ahve a batman and a robin when they come to the door, so I suppose I could be batman elder amongst the robin elders.
just been thinking a little more Marty. 1 Peter 5:1 = to the elders
- I take it this is the role - and shepherd pastor is the operating metaphor - caring for the flock and overseeing it like a shepherd -under the shepherd.
Only one other place where the shepherd metaphor is applied and its to the Ephesian elders!!!
I also noticed that in Peter's own commissioning in John 21, the prerequiatie is love for Jesus, then he says feed, tend, feed - then he says follow me.
Whilst feeding may involve teaching - would i be right in suggesting that Chirstian leadership, as exercised by elders, is always spoken of in examplary terms - so that X'n leadership is (fiddling with your definition a bit) the examplary act of helping others find their place under Christ's leadership.
found this
leadership is .."The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose, and the character which inspires confidence"
i thought the answer was
a) Admiral Horatio Nelson
b) Napoleon B lent it to him
A really interesting question, for me at least, is: to what extent does Christian leadership differ in character from leadership in the secular world. When Jesus draws the distinction he does in Mark 10:41-45, is he making a statement about how authority is to be used, or is it a more radical statement about the nature of authority within the Christian community?
I hope Michael wasn't as devious as me and actually read the answer to the question on the label visible in the photo!
Anyway, I saw or heard something on the weekend talking about the importance in discipling of encouraging other to follow Jesus' example, not our own. This is the sort of thing that seems obviously right to someone with my sort of background at least, but how does it fit with Paul's comments, etc.?
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