FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1,2

1 Peter 5:1,2 says, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;…” The word translated “Shepherd” in verse 2 is poy-mah-ee-no. Peter commanded leaders, which includes all those who are called into five-fold ministry because they carry a specific shepherding function. How has the enemy robbed pastors of their authority and power? Peter lists some temptations that are culprits in this theft. Attitude is critical. Pastoring is one of the toughest jobs in the world because of the words and actions of the saints. Most congregations kill their pastors with criticism and judgment. The natural response to unwarranted criticism is self-pity. When self-pity enters, compulsion follows and power departs. We are talking about the loss of divine authority that equates with the warrior side of Christ in each dimension of the five-fold ministry. An equally dangerous threat to authority is the motivation “…for dishonest gain…” How did we deteriorate into the passivity of the five-fold ministry that we have right now? Failing the mammon test guarantees power loss. Every single one of the five-fold has a pastoring-with-a-rod-of-iron application to impart to the Body of Christ. Because without it, we cannot rise to a place of fullness. How did we get here? The pastorate has been under assault for years. The loss of authority and passivity that reigns in the church today will change. One way to get to this level of passivity is to pursue a crowd-pleasing, mammon-driven biblical model for growth by dumbing down the Word and refusing to speak the truth that is offensive. One burst of Holy Spirit boldness cures that. Pray Holy Spirit boldness for every pastor! Truth offends. The Bible is full of offense. Political correctness is antichrist pimping and it needs to be pastored with a rod of iron!