Foundations of Christian Leadership, Mentor's Guide, MG07

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F O U N D A T I O N S O F C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

hours from the attack of wild beasts, or the wily attempts of the prowling thief (see 1 Sam. 17.34).

~ David M. Easton. Easton’s Bible Dictionary . (electronic ed. of 1897 printing). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996.

What is important to understand is that the call to pastor is simultaneously a call to be like the Lord Jesus, the one who epitomizes the kind of self-sacrificing care that we must have for his little ones. This call to rigorous and challenging oversight and guardianship presents a perfect picture of what it means to care for the sheep of the Lord. Only when we understand the rigor of this task can we appreciate the kind of connection our Lord made for himself, and the kind of challenge involved for those of us called to care for the people of God. One of the difficulties at this point in our module is the issue of overlap in terms of the categories for “elder,” “pastor,” and “bishop.” Craig Keener comments on the use of the interchangeability of these terms at the time of the Apostles and early Church Fathers: Although overseers and elders (bishops and presbyters) are distinct as early as the early second century (Ign. Trall. 3), the local churches of the first century in Acts (Acts 20.17, 28), 1 Peter (1 Pet. 5.1–2), the Pastoral Epistles (Titus 1.5–7) and apparently Philippians (Phil 1.1) still used them interchangeably. Because Acts (Acts 20.28) and 1 Peter (1 Pet. 5.1–2) also employ “shepherd” (“pastor”) interchangeably with “overseer” and “elder,” we may assume that early Christians particularly employed “shepherds” for this local church office (Eph. 4.11). Early second-century writers portrayed overseers as shepherds (Ign. Phld. 2.1) and recognized that if necessary God could function as shepherd in their place (Ign. Rom. 9.1; cf. Ezek. 34.11). Ignatius believes that the flock should follow their shepherds (Ign. Phld. 2.1), although he claims less than apostolic authority for the bishops (Ign. Rom. 4.3; cf. Mart. Pol. 16.2 . . . ). ~ Craig Keener. “Shepherds.” Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments . R. P. Martin, ed. (electronic ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

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