The Feeding of the Sheep

     I was in the Navy and then I worked with American Telephone and Telegraph Company.  Then, in 1978, I was ordained into the ministry.  I don't have a lot of education as far as ministers are concerned.  There came a time when people began to ask, "What should we call you?"    I chose to be called, simply, Pastor Dan.  That was sufficient for me and described what I wanted to be doing in the ministry in the first place.  So, in 1999, I began signing the devotion as pastor dan.  I chose to use the small letters because I am insignificant and it is Christ who should be exalted.  It was just my personal preference.  Since I came to this stage of my life, especially the last two years, I have no one to pastor.  First Peter 5:2 says, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;"  
        The duties of the pastor, or bishop, or elder or "spiritual leader" is to do what Peter has instructed in the above verse.  They are to feed the flock of God and then he goes on to tack on some qualities or characteristics the should be present in the life of the pastor.  I have been through a lot of technical issues in my ministry as I began with an aluminum chalk holder and an eraser.  That soon gave way to the utilization of the OHP, which is the overhead projector with overlays, maps, pens, both permanent and non permanent.  Then, that gave way to the use the white board which only used the "white board pens."  Now, we use power point to make the message more enjoyable to the people.  Now, we can have wrap around sound, video, large screens, Jumbo Trons and a host of other technologies to present the gospel message.  We can become so wrapped up in the method that we lose the message.  Peter, almost 2,000 years ago wrote that we were to be feeding the flock of God, not with our thought, our ideas or what we should think important, but that we should be presenting the Word of God.  Peter advocated that we have a ready mind to present the material.  He didn't have an aluminum chalk holder, but did an excellent job anyway.  The lesson from Peter still needs to be heard.  Church leaders need to be "feeding the flock."  It is also the vital part of being the shepherd to the sheep.   May we all be in a place where we are being fed from the Word of God on a regular basis and not just now and then.  If anyone needs an aluminum chalk holder, I might be able to find an extra one in my top drawer.  Praise God today to His instructions to us through His Word.