The Good Shepherd Will Deal With The Wicked Shepherds.

1 Peter 5:2-4

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly (2nd Corinthians 1:23/24), not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

• Pastors are called to shepherd a flock, and elders are called to hold a pastor accountable and responsible to that calling. The unfortunate reality is that many elders do not hold them accountable, and worse, take part in corruption and abuse of the flock. This has become more obvious in the past few years alone with the many scandals and corruptions seen in many big and small names in the church world.

• What we see a growing trend in that should be alarming is people believing that 'church life' will last forever. We believe that the pastor and elder will always be 'in charge', forgetting so quickly that God will hold the leaders accountable for how they lead or mislead the flock. Judgement starts first at the house of God.

• The Day is coming where multitudes of pastors and elders will stand before the Good Shepherd to give an account as to why they abused His flock, and they will be exposed as wolves and hirelings. So rest assured that whatever abuse you have faced from church settings (many of us have), they will give an account to God for what they did 'in His name'.