Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 2 | FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP: THE CHRISTIAN LEADER AS PASTOR / 299

b. Christ’s pastoral sacrifice for us is the standard by which we measure all other forms of caring for the flock, Heb. 13.20.

4. As guardians of the flock, our responsibility is to pay careful attention to their needs and guard them against those things that would seek to harm or destroy them.

a. Jesus warned that wolves would in fact come within his flock.

(1) Matt. 7.15 (2) Matt. 10.16

b. Fierce wolves will arise among the flock, Acts 20.28-31.

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c. Destructive heresies are certain to abound, 2 Pet. 2.1-3.

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5. The nature of our guardianship as pastors

a. Extreme: not willing to lose a single lamb, Luke 15.4

b. Critical : no flock will survive if the shepherd is destroyed or abandons his flock, Mark 14.27.

c. Radical : we may have to give up our very lives for the survival and abundance of our flocks, John 10.11.

d. Rallying cry: a shepherd guards by leading the sheep in the right direction, away from those things which may cause them to stray or be destroyed, 1 Pet. 2.25.