The distinction between the terms elder and overseer (bishop) is described by Bruce in the fact that “the term elder has mainly Jewish antecedents, while bishop has mainly Greek antecedents.”[18]

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28 NIV).

The action to which both terms point and to which elders and overseers must be committed is “to shepherd the church of God.”

What is the next logical question? “How do you shepherd those members who are not in small groups?” This usually results in a blank stare or even a statement such as, “People who want to be shepherded come to small groups.” Doesn’t this put the burden in the wrong place?

“When do you receive personal contact from your elders?” the two most common answers are “when there is a financial need or crisis” or “when I have done something wrong.”

Imagine the benefit to our churches if dads were equipped to provide every aspect of shepherding care.

Examples of those wolves might be materialism, sensuality, pluralism, relativism, and the panoply of sins flowing from them. In a culture saturated with these destructive values, the sheep not only need to be warned about the dangers but equipped to stand against them.

In order to maximize the mutual knowledge of the shepherd-sheep relationship it is essential that the members of the church be delegated among the elders of the church in order that each elder will know which sheep he is responsible for and the sheep will know the identity of their shepherd.

“Well, the overwhelming majority of people (93 percent) said that they—and nobody else—determine what is and what isn’t moral in their lives.