I Peter 5: 2-2 “Shepherd (lead) the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”  I once heard a highly respected Christian leader make the statement, “No church will spiritually rise above the spiritual level of its pastor.”  Christian author John Maxwell wrote, “We cannot lead anyone else further than we have been ourselves.”  What does this mean to us?  It simply means that each man is called to be a leader of example in his own life first and then his family, followed by work, church and community.  We are not called to tell others how to live but to show them how to live.  None of us is perfect and we must be willing to be transparent and to share our mistakes, as well as our victories.

We cannot lead others where we have not been.  We must be intentional to mature in Christ and to build His character traits into our lives.  This is what real discipleship and Christian maturity involve.  We are to have mentors in our lives with Jesus being the foremost.  Older men are to teach younger men.  If you are an older man, you have a life story to share with younger men.  If you are a younger man, you should find an older man of Christian maturity and leadership to mentor you.  Remember this:  A mentor is someone whose hindsight can become our foresight.  The flock you lead are those whom you are responsible to lead in your family, work, church and community.  The bottom line is this, “Are you a living example of Christ to them as God would have you?”  Your goal should be to see them go even higher than you have been.  There could be no greater reward.