28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Paul is speaking to the leaders of the early church. They have two responsibilities that leaders still have today. Now before you check out and say, “I’m not a leader in the church” listen carefully to these words. Everyone leads someone. It might be your kids. It might be a person on your street to whom you are a living example. It might be someone at work with whom you have shared the Scriptures. Everyone is a leader. Some are called to be what we call “pastors.” But everyone is a leader to someone. Paul says leaders must watch themselves and watch the flock. We must be careful that we don’t drift away from the Lord. It does us no good if we get off the path while we are trying to lead others. Remember, you are leading someone. It is easy for a leader to get distracted along the way. Every allurement that is available to everyone is available to leaders. Remember, we are all leaders. So often we hear about the pastor who gets off the path and causes a scandal. We rarely hear about the Christian lawyers who get off the path, or bankers, or business leader. The media points out the pastors. But everyone must take heed to stay true to the truth. We must continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him. We must consciously stay on the path. But we also have a responsibility to look around at those who are following us, who are looking to us as an example of a Jesus-follower. When a leader stumbles (remember, we are all leaders) then those who follow us might follow us in our stumble. Those who follow might also get caught in their own stumble and we must be ready to catch them and help them up. We might be only a few steps ahead in this journey of faith, but we can help each other when we stumble. Leaders must care for themselves and for those they are leading. What a privilege to share in the life of another. When we lead we get to share all the victories and joys of Jesus working in their lives. Embrace your leadership. Don’t run from it. There are rich blessings when you are willing to lead.
The Arnold Journey 