We really should figure this out.
Ho poimen ho kalos! This is not Christmas cheer. Nor a line from a rap song. It demonstrates the definite article in the original text of Scripture. So, Jesus is THE shepherd. THE good shepherd. Emphasis on the THE, you see.
Hold that thought and consider the eldership in 1 Peter 5. There is no definite article there and should be none in the English translations either. It's become another subtle way in which the translators attempted to insert a two-tiered clerical caste upon the church of Christ. Here below is a better translation:
Notice also that the elders are already there - not imported from elsewhere or from a seminary. As the word elder is - so it means: older ones. Contrasted in this very passage with younger ones.
A good summary for your perusal from a commentary entitled: Reading 1 Peter, Jude, and 2 Peter, A Literary and Theological Commentary by Earl J. Richard:
Age indeed is what governs this church leadership passage! It would not completely rule out, however, younger ones who would naturally seek to develop their shepherding skills in view of their own future role as guides, friends, overseers, and examples. The only exception to this rule would be unconverted seniors or recent converts to the faith.
It does not require a mysterious, magical "call to the ministry." Oversight was to be so all-inclusive among the saints that it had become a faithful saying: "If ANY desire to be an overseer he desires a good work." 1 Timothy 3:1.
This is a big deal, people. Every day - every hour - every minute, good people are assigned to sit it out on the bench who should be out there - fully empowered in service of His Majesty - leading others onto the field in the game of life, ever moving into the Light.
Not to mentions the vast amounts of money which could be spent on better things. I'm talking 10's of billions per year spent on THE "pastor's salary".
-
It's interesting that you should mention 1 Tim 3:1. Last week as I was looking over elder qualifications, I was reading through the ESV when I saw this verse translated this way, "The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task." (emphasis mine) Yet the Interlinear Bible translates the Greek as such, "Trustworthy [is] the saying if anyone overseership aspires to of good a work he is desirous". So even then these translations, in attempting to make the translation "more easily understood", treat the word of God in a way that introduces error.
As my last church (OPC) was pushing me away from their fellowship a few years back (more the leadership than the members), there came a time when the elders were asserting their authority because they were ordained to their position. For a time, I considered making a similar claim since I had also been ordained as an elder in the Christian Reformed Church in the 1990s. Why, if their authority stemmed from their ordination, would I not have equal authority under Christ? I decided, however, not to play the game. Authority under the Gospel does not come from some magical incantation said at a special installation service of elders. It comes directly from Christ Himself through Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit. Consider this... let's say I had a gambling addiction (which I don't) which was destroying my life and the lives of those around me. Would the lowliest of my Christian friends have any less of a right to speak with me about my problem than the pastor of my church? I think not! In all likelihood, I am more likely to listen to my fellow believer who I see as struggling with their own sin in their lives than to hear some high-and-mighty preacher who tells me how I should be living as a "good" boy for an hour each Sunday. The Bible is abundantly clear that there is only one Lord, and even then Jesus came as a servant, not a dictator as He has every right to be.