Peter's designation for the local church under elder care. 1 Peter 5:2-3: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. The image is decisive in three ways: (1) the flock belongs to God, not to the elders — they are stewards, not owners; (2) the elder's job is to feed, not to fleece — pastoral provision rather than self-enrichment from the sheep; (3) leadership is by example, not by domination — the chief shepherd pattern of John 10 applies to every undershepherd. Acts 20:28-29 reinforces with Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders: 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. The flock-of-God metaphor grounds biblical pastoral ministry against every form of professional-clergy entrepreneurialism.