1 Corinthians 4: 14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
Paul did not want his followers to think he was complaining about his suffering but rather that they might have to face some of the same suffering. He wanted these people to understand he had trained a lot of people and they might be good teachers but he was the one who cared for them the most. He counted himself as their father and therefore felt responsible for them. Paul was saying here that he had tried to live before them the Christian life, and if he would follow the pattern he had set they would be fine. He was not asking them to worship him. Spiritual leaders today should be bold in setting a Christlike example for us to follow today but not worship them.