THE CARE: “UNDER YOUR CARE….ENTRUSTED TO YOU”

[PACE]

It’s the operational phase of the lay pastors ministry.

This is where the rubber meets the road, i.e. where lay pastors meet up with the members of their flocks. It’s the operational phase of the lay pastors ministry. Without this “C” the other seven C’s are only academic. God has “entrusted to you ”his people, so they are now also yourpeople“under yourcare.”And he expects action. Spell action P A C E.

THE CHIEF: “When the Chief Shepherd appears” :

“Chief” is a common word in the world’s vocabularies – American Indian tribes have chiefs; big industries have Chief Executive Officers, the United States Supreme Court has a Chief Justice, the thousands of African tribes have chiefs, and God’s flock, his Church, has a Chief Shepherd. A chief ranks the highest, and is the person of greatest importance and influence – that’s Jesus, the Chief Shepherd. Scripture knows him also as “The Good Shepherd,” and “The Great Shepherd.”

Since naming is the beginning of understanding, the many names of Jesus enable us to begin knowing who he is and what he does – Savior, Immanuel, Lord, Messiah, Master, Rabbi, King, Son of Man, Son of God, Word, Lamb of God, and many more – what a collage of love, power, sacrifice, and deity! His birth divides history into B.C. and A.D. The connection between our Chief and us is direct. His call to us was direct, to the ears of our spirits, though there may have been a human audible voice. Jesus passed off shepherding to Peter and Peter passed it off to the elders, but this did not create a hierarchy of successors. Our Lord uses a human intermediary to get our attention and articulate the call, but the compelling call came directly from Jesus to the ears of our spirits.

It is imperative that we know this so we understand to whom we are ultimately accountable. Since one-on-one shepherding is a low-profile ministry, most of us will do better for our Chief Shepherd whom we know is with us than for the under-shepherds who have little or no knowledge of what we are doing. Besides that, it is the Chief Shepherd who will be awarding the crowns of glory which we will lay before him at that future glorious event.

ACTION POINT: How do you see Melvin’s debating above about lay pastors ministry?

Short Paper