Related to the previous post, what is the congregation’s relationship to the shepherds?
It is the same as with the current congregation’s current relationship to its current shepherd: working together in Christian unity and love in mutual cooperation.
They are to expect the shepherds to meet the biblical qualifications,
be able to exhort in sound teaching and rebuke error,
shepherd God’s flock against the wolves,
work not as a dictator but an undershepherd of the Chief Shepherd as an example with right motives,
come to the call of a seriously sick member to pray and anoint,
be an accountable steward over God’s flock in the office of overseer,
Keep watch over the souls of the sheep who they are responsible to see submit and obey to their care,
Be respected and honored in love and in peace as they labor over the flock in the Lord admonishing them,
Be shown double honor if they lead well especially in the labor of preaching and teaching,
Expect the congregation to be involved in the public examination of their qualifications,
Be protected from false accusations and slander,
Be brought an accusation of sin against a shepherd on the evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses to begin the investigation and church discipline process.
Biblical examples of the congregation and shepherds working together include:
Solving a crisis in the Body (Acts 6:1-7)
Solving a doctrinal dispute (Acts 15:1-29)
Exercising church discipline (Matthew 18:15-20)
Examining the qualifications of a candidate for shepherding (1 Timothy 3:10; 5:24-25)
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