The High Calling

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness, nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock." I Peter 5:1-3

Pastor Dave shared this quote with us Sunday: "Ministry is a great place for mediocrity to hide." This truly is a sad commentary on the church. But over the years, we've seen it lived out time and time again. Instead of going into the ministry because they have been called and equipped by God, many men aspire to various forms of ministry for other reasons. Maybe they are people-persons, maybe they are motivated by selfish desires, or maybe they are fulfilling family expectations. Oftentimes, when the motivations are wrong, their ministries fall into mediocrity. They do not aspire to the high calling of Scripture, and therefore fail to equip the saints to grow toward maturity in Christ. Kim Riddlebarger recently shared about a sermon subscription service that offers sermons for a low price of $5.95 per month. He cited one of these sermons on his blog as an example of inaccurate exegesis, but apparently these sermons are in demand.

As an introduction to his song "The Shepherd" (from the Abandoned to God CD), Steve Camp made this charge: "'Like people, like priest' the prophet Hosea said. He meant that no one ultimately lives greater than the depth of commitment that they perceive and see in the leadership of the church. The pastor/elder has an awesome and solemn duty before the Lord to preach the Word and shepherd the Lord's people. There are too many weak churches today, pastored by weak men, who have weak ministries, out of weak convictions, week after week. Oh men of God, return to your duty, honor the Lord, preach His Word, and watch over His people, and if you won't...repent - redeeming the time or get out of the ministry!" But, on the other hand, blessed are the congregations that have faithful pastors. From Camp's song...notice the use of virgules ;)..."We will honor the shepherd who cares for the sheep/Who loves us and feeds us and who's faithful to keep/The charge and the duty they swore at first/Honor the shepherd, honor the shepherd/Who lays down his life for the church."