>“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”Acts 20:28
“These words were addressed by Paul at Miletus to the elders of the church at Ephesus. He wanted them to be clear in their minds that although they had been made overseers of the whole flock by the apostles, yet more important was the fact that they had been made overseers by the Holy Spirit. Paul gave them this reminder so that they might recognize the weight of their responsibility and the importance of their commission. Therefore they had to be watchful for themselves and watchful for the whole flock. It is obvious from this that if those who shepherd the church have only a human appointment, and are not appointed by the Holy Spirit, then they are basically unqualified to oversee the flock. In all organizations you can have officials appointed by men, but without the guidance and seal of the Holy Spirit you cannot have true leaders in the church. In the churches today there are bishops, elders, pastors, and deacons in large numbers. But how many are appointed by the Holy Spirit? And how many are appointed by men? The Holy Spirit cannot appoint those who have not believed as overseers of the flock. Even less can He appoint those who ‘regard piety as a pass to profit’ as overseers of the flock.
Obviously we cannot say how many church leaders today are appointed by the Holy Spirit and how many are not appointed by the Holy Spirit. But it is quite clear that many occupy offices in the church without being appointed by the Spirit. Why is the [professing] church today so corrupt? Naturally there are many reasons for this, but the absence of Spirit-appointed leaders is one of the outstanding reasons… One of the most important prayers that we can ever pray for the Church is that the Spirit of God will raise up overseers.”~Wong Ming-Dao from A Stone Made Smooth.