Shepherd one another!

Church as the body of Christ shares and participates in the Holiness of God (1Peter 2:9). It is a distinctive possibility to grow unto the stature of Christ. So it demands growing. Priesthood is understood in two ways: ‘representative priesthood’ and ‘mediatory priesthood”. The former means priest as the representative of the people of God. In this understanding, neither priestly function nor priesthood is exclusively confined to an ordained person. Priestly responsibilities are distributed among members of the ‘body of Christ’ (1Peter 2:9. Cf. I cor. 12). Priest represents the pattern of shepherding and giving leadership to the priestly function of the Church. Hence, the hierarchical distinction between clergy and laity is functional rather than theological.
But the latter considers priest as the mediator between God and people. It is to be understood that all members of the church are called to exercise the priestly function in diverse spheres of life. It would certainly make the body of Christ more dynamic. In other words, it means that we are called to shepherd each other. Unless we show ‘love and grace of a shepherd’ (John 10:10-15) in our relationships, we cease to become an authentic community of genuine shepherds.
Apostle Peter writes extensively in one of his letters to counterfeits who operate within the Church: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction”(2 Peter 2:1). In fact the fake shepherds camouflage themselves as agents of righteousness. They may entice us into their deceptive slogans: “And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled” (1Peter 2:2). We “follow their sensuality”, when we promote performance and appearance over against integrity, transparency and simplicity. The biblical criteria for validating the life of a shepherd are truth and righteousness. The counterfeits malign both.
Peter goes on to reveal two ways by which we can make out intruders (cf. Galatians 1:7) and false/pseudo shepherds who operate within the Church. First, they will sooner or later reveal their decadence, indulging “the flesh in its corrupt desires” (1Peter 2:10).Their immorality may not be easy to spot, but it will ultimately surface in their lives (2Corinthians 11:13-15). Second, they “despise authority” and are “daring, self-willed” (1Peter 2:10). They won’t submit themselves to the ecclesiastical authority. Instead, they will pick up their people who will simply rubber-stamp anything they want to do.
There are three Old Testament leadership roles which have functional equivalents in the Church: Prophets (preaching and teaching), Priests (shepherding) and Kings (administration). But functional counterparts in the Church cannot be clinically separated. Only in Jesus we find the perfection of occupying three roles in chorus. I strongly believe that all of us have got the responsibility of engaging these three roles. We are a community of shepherds. Display the mind and spirit of a shepherd. Shepherd one another!