“A Word to Church Leaders”
(1 Peter 5:1-4)
Series: Strength Through Adversity
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
Three years ago Doug and Barb Musgrave were commissioned here in a special service to go to South Africa to serve as missionaries with the International Mission Board. They are with us this morning and we’re delighted to have them here in worship. They’re going to come this morning and share with us an update of their ministry. Join me in welcoming home Doug and Barb Musgrave.
- Take your Bibles and join me in 1 Peter, chapter 5 (page 816; YouVersion).
If you’re visiting with us we’ve been making our way, verse-by-verse, through this short letter of the Apostle Peter. We begin this morning the fifth and final chapter of this letter that Peter wrote to churches around the year AD 63.
A quick word about the context. You’ll remember from last time Peter talked about the exceeding joy of fiery trials. He said in verse 17 of chapter 4, “The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.” He added, “And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
And we talked about God’s judgment being punitive for non-Christians, but purifying for Christians. God often allows trials and tribulations as a means by which He purifies the church body from worldliness. So with the church body fresh in his mind, Peter now turns to the topic of church leadership. And he writes at the beginning of chapter 5 about elders, or pastors. And the sense is, “In light of God’s judgment, here is how elders–or pastors–should lead the church.
Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
- Pray.
Introduction:
What does it mean to pastor a church? What are God’s expectations for pastors? I came across something this past week that shares some popular expectations or thoughts about pastors. Someone compiled these as representative of the expectations of some concerning pastors:
If the pastor is young, they say he lacks experience.
If his hair is gray, he’s too old for the young people.
If he has five or six children, he has too many.
If he has no children, he’s setting a bad example.
If he preaches from notes, he has canned sermons and is dry.
If his messages are extemporaneous, he’s not deep enough.
If he’s attentive to the poor people in the church, they claim he’s playing to the grandstand.
If he pays attention to the wealthy, he’s trying to be an aristocrat.
If he uses too many illustrations, he neglects the Bible.
If he doesn’t use enough stories, he isn’t clear.
If he condemns wrong, he’s cranky.
If he doesn’t preach against sin, they say he’s a compromiser.
If he preaches the truth, he’s offensive.
If he doesn’t preach the truth, he’s a hypocrite.
If he fails to please everybody, he’s hurting the church and ought to leave.
If he does please everybody, he has no convictions.
If he drives an old car, he shames his congregation.
If he drives a new car, he’s “setting his affection on earthly things.”
If he preaches all the time, the people get tired of hearing one man.
If he invites guest preachers, he’s shirking his responsibility.
If he receives a large salary, he’s greedy.
If he receives a small salary, well, that just proves that he’s not worth much, anyway.
Well, the question of course is, “What does the Bible teach about pastors?” Peter writes about pastors in verses 1-4 of chapter 5.
The first term he uses for pastors there in verse 1 is the term, “Elders.” And in these contexts, where the New Testament is talking about church leadership, this word, “Elder,” has less to do with age, and more to do with maturity, particularly spiritual maturity.
The word “Elder” in the original is the word, “Presbute÷rouß,” which sounds like, Presbyterian, right? That’s where the word comes from. It is a word to describe someone who has the responsibility for a local congregation, a local church. In fact, the New Testament terms, elder, overseer, and bishop are all synonyms for the office or role of pastor. They all are used interchangeably to describe the office of pastor of a local church.
We’ve looked at some of these terms before when we studied through 1 Timothy. It does seem that as we study the New Testament that the first churches had what we might call a “plurality of elders” a plurality of those who oversaw the ministry of the local church. A plurality of elders simply means that there was more than one elder or pastor in many of the churches. For that reason Baptist churches today may have one elder or several elders ruling or leading the local church depending on the size or context of that church. While we may not use the same exact language here at Henderson’s First Baptist, as senior pastor of the church, I serve as a primary elder who leads with the assistance of a great ministerial staff, a team which acts much like a plurality of elders.
So what are we to know about pastors in these opening four verses? First, consider:
I. Their Relationship in Christ [1]
In verse one, Peter reminds pastors of their relationship in Christ. He refers in verse 1 to, “the sufferings of Christ.” We know by now that the theme of suffering is one of the dominant themes in this short letter of Peter’s.
And Peter seems to be reminding us again that just as Christ suffered so will His followers. This has been a primary theme since chapter 3 and verse 18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust.” So Peter may be saying, “Since Christ suffered for you, you pastors be prepared to suffer, as well.” Be prepared to suffer hardships and difficulties for the sake of the people you serve in your churches.
And Peter also identifies himself with his fellow elders, or fellow pastors. He says in verse 1, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ.”
That phrase, “a witness of the sufferings of Christ” calls to mind Peter’s being there in the time of our Lord’s sufferings of arrest, trial, and crucifixion. During that time, Peter had denied the Lord Jesus Christ how many times? Three times. And Jesus later restored Peter to sweet fellowship with Himself. And so there’s a suggestion that Peter may be highlighting his relationship in Christ.
Peter refers to himself as, “a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed.” In other words, though Peter had sinned by denying His Master, he would still partake of the glory to be revealed. Why? Because God had forgiven Him through Christ and so Peter could count on the security of his salvation. He was, “a partaker of the glory that will be revealed.” That is, “Peter was guaranteed that his salvation was secure forever. He seems to be thinking about the future glory that is the Christian’s when Christ returns.
See, just as Peter was forgiven of his sins and restored to sweet fellowship with Christ, so may any of us be forgiven of sin and restored to Christ. Full restoration from sin is available through Christ Jesus.
So Peter begins by reminding pastors of their relationship in Christ. Secondly, let’s consider the pastor’s:
II. Their Responsibility before Christ [2-3]
That is, what does God expect the pastor to do? Verse 2:
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
Let’s break this down. Verse 2 begins, “Shepherd the flock of God.” See the metaphor there? The church is a flock of sheep that is led by a shepherd. The pastor is to care for his congregation the way a loving shepherd cares for his sheep.
And just as the primary responsibility for shepherds is to feed the sheep, so the primary responsibility of the pastor is to feed the congregation. The Young’s Literal Translation translated, “Shepherd the flock of God” as, “Feed the flock of God.” The Phillips translation has, “I urge you then to see that your “flock of God” is properly fed and cared for.”
Sheep need physical food to survive and thrive. Church members need spiritual food to survive and thrive. The pastor’s chief responsibility, then, is to feed the flock.
So the pastor must be able to teach and able to exhort the church in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict the truth (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:9).
It is often said that however the pastor treats the Bible will be reflected in how the congregation treats the Bible. Especially the longer a pastor is leading a congregation, others will be able to know how the pastor treats the Bible by how the church members reflect his Bible reading and teaching habits.
So if the pastor treats the Bible lightly, he can expect the majority of his church members to do the same. If, however, the pastor takes care to highlight the supremacy of Scripture and to preach and teach it carefully and contextually, this will be reflected among the church members under his care.
So it’s a weighty responsibility and it is the pastor’s chief responsibility. Feed the flock of God! Not by tickling, stroking, or entertaining. But by opening up the storehouse of spiritual food and carefully and lovingly feeding the Word.
The pastor’s primary responsibility is to preach and teach God’s Word. That’s why Paul says in 1 Timothy 5:17, “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” Not story tellers and joke tellers and entertainers, but Word-feeders.
Building on Peter’s metaphor of the shepherd and the sheep, the shepherd–the pastor–equips the sheep to ward off the wolves of false doctrine by feeding them the Word of God. So a pastor’s chief responsibility before the Lord is to preach the Word. Verse 2, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you.”
And Peter says in verse 2, “serving as overseers.” That means the pastor oversees the congregation. He is–under Christ–the leader of the church. He oversees all the church’s activity. He bears ultimate responsibility for what happens in the congregation.
He is not an autocrat, as though there were no one above himself. Church leadership is not an autocracy, nor is it even a democracy. In other words, it’s not as though every single member weighs-in on every single decision. Rather, church leadership is understood as theocracy. That is God rules over everything. God carries out His rule through godly leadership.
That’s why Peter refers later in verse 4 to the, “Chief Shepherd,” the Lord Jesus Christ. A pastor is a shepherd who is an “under-shepherd,” under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So church government is a theocracy. God rules over everything and He carries out his rule through godly leadership, through pastors. The pastor has overall responsibility for oversight and direction of the church.
See, Satan delights in churches where there is no clear leadership and where leadership is continually questioned with suspicion. If there is not a clear leader with authority in the church it’s like there being no clear leader on the battlefield. There’s just confusion and strife.
So the pastor has a weighty responsibility and that is why He will one day answer to God for his care of the sheep. One day the pastor will give an account before God of all the sheep under his care.
Hebrews 13:17, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”
The writer of the Hebrews is saying, “Obey these pastors who rule over you, be submissive to them, because they watch out for your souls.” They have a weighty job description. They watch out for the souls of the church. And they do so as, “those how must give an account.”
Pastors ultimately answer to God for every one of their sheep. Pastors will answer to God for every one of the sheep in a local church.
So the writer of Hebrews says, “So let them do so with joy and not with grief.” In other words, don’t let your behavior be a burden to them. They are already burdened enough with the notion of having to answer to God for you.
So Peter says in verse 2, “Serve as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly.”
In other words, pastors shouldn’t pastor because they have to, but because they want to. But they should want to for the right reasons. “Not for dishonest gain but eagerly.” So no one enters the ministry for the money, but because he loves God, and he loves to take the Word of God and feed the people of God. Verse 3:
3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
Pastors are not to be as “lords over those entrusted to them.” That is, they are not to see themselves as autocrats or dictators, remembering they are under authority themselves, under the Lord.
If a person is considering entering the pastoral ministry, a good question for him would be, “Why?” If we ask a young person, “Why do you want to be a teacher?” Imagine if he says, “So I can assign homework, and give tests and pop-quizzes!” We may wonder whether the motivation is right! If, on the other hand we ask, “Johnny, why do you want to be a teacher?” And Johnny says, “So I can help people learn,” now we’re where we need to be.
Consider the minister’s relationship in Christ, the minister’s responsibility before Christ, and thirdly, Consider the minister’s:
III. Their Reward from Christ [4]
4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
Jesus Christ is the “Chief Shepherd.” To whom is the pastor accountable? He is accountable to Jesus Christ.
And when Christ returns, it will all be worth it. However difficult it may be to pastor, to lead, to feed and care for the flock, because we are dealing with God’s people, we will receive a wonderful reward when Christ returns, a “crown of glory that does not fade away.”
Let me ask you, are you prepared for the time when the “Chief Shepherd” appears? Will you be ready to face Him?
- Stand for prayer.
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