Stewardship of the Body of Christ
God places men to be stewards over his children. He calls them shepherds or pastors. These men are charged with the awesome responsibility of feeding, leading and protecting the flock God entrusts them with. God entrusts a man with a flock and instructs him to create disciples. Discipline is required by God of His children. However, God is not looking for a people who cower like abused dogs beaten with zealous, fundamentalist dogma exchanging the word of God for manmade rules giving an outward appearance of righteousness. God is looking for self-disciplined children who have been taught, exhorted, cajoled and coaxed into self-discipline. God’s children are not our children, and we must take great care in how we lead them to a disciplined life. The pastors are not their fathers but rather their teachers and guides. As one tries to instill self-discipline in other people’s children, one has two tools: the amount of time one spends with the child (more or less depending on the attitude and actions) and warnings as a form of attempted protection of the child and others. This is the frustration and this is the challenge of the pastor.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
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