To the Elders and the Flock: Growing Leaders (1 Peter 5:1-4)
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Do you remember at the Beijing Olympics, the
United States
The Christian life is like running a race… It is also a relay
race – there’s no use being
the fastest individual runner if we fail to pass the baton safely to the next
runner. The apostle Paul told his young disciple Timothy: “What you
have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust it, pass it on to
faithful men who will be able to
teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2) Here are at least four generations of
faithful hands passing the gospel baton entrusted to them: Paul, Timothy,
faithful men, others. This is the standard operating procedure, their church
planting strategy. They would preach the gospel in a city, made disciples, gather them in
community and
they would appoint elders for them in
every church. They knew that without trained
leaders, trustworthy shepherds to care for these new believers, they would have
no chance… they would be left to the mercy of predators and false teachers.
That’s why one of our CDPC Puchong priorities this year is to
encourage, to grow, and to develop servant-leaders in the church. Without a
team of godly leaders grounded in the word, the health and ministry of the
church suffers. The spiritual maturity of a church rarely goes higher that the
quality of its leadership. If we don’t intentionally ensure that the gospel is
entrusted into a new generation of faithful leaders who will in turn pass it
on, the church is always just one generation away from extinction.
The passage of Scripture today is taken from a letter written
by another apostle, Peter. And it has for us some important lessons about
Christian leadership. What sort of people should be leading our churches in
these challenging times? How should Christian leadership be exercised in our
community? It is applicable for all sorts of Christian service. If you are a
worship leader and musician, you are shepherding God’s people to adore and
praise God. The songs you choose and play can have the effect of feeding and
comforting people with truth. If you are a covenant group leader or Sunday
school teacher, you are pastor-ing the hearts of those under your care.
Here we see that Peter is specifically talking to the elders/leaders
in the church as a fellow elder. He’s saying: “I’m not appealing to you as
someone outside from you or on top of you. I am a fellow elder like you. We are
in this together. Not only have I witnessed the suffering of Christ on the
cross, I also bear witness to His sufferings in the midst of our present trials
and difficulties. With you, I will also share in the glory to be revealed when
He returns.” Peter speaks as someone who shares in their responsibilities,
challenges and future hope.
And he is calling them to watch over God’s sheep… He is
giving to them the same task that our Lord Jesus had given him. Do you remember
how Jesus commissioned Peter to be a pastor in John 21:15-17? Peter must have felt so undeserving and unworthy for
denying Jesus not once but 3 times. He deserted Jesus at his greatest moment of
need. So he went back fishing and caught nothing. But the resurrected Christ
restored him by asking him 3 times: “Simon Peter, do you love me?” You know
Lord that I love you. Jesus answers: “Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep.
Feed my sheep”. The fruit of love, the outcome of loving Christ is the
privilege to be a shepherd to care for God’s flock. In the same way, Peter now
passes the baton to others: “Elders, be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching
over them”…
So who are our elders/shepherds today? Pastor Wong, surely.
Pastor Chia Wen. Pastor Meng. Elder Phil Dehart. Elder Kee Huat. Today’s
message is especially relevant for us. But that does not mean that today’s text
is only limited to 3-5 people. Whether you realize it or not, you are already exercising
spiritual leadership as a parent, as a Sunday school teacher, as a ministry
leader, as a covenant group leader or simply as a more experienced believer who
has influence on a younger believer. So today’s message is loud and clear not
only all of us because it shows us what Christian maturity looks like.
A shepherd’s heart grows out of love for Jesus. When you love
Jesus, you will care for what the Chief Shepherd cares about. You will yearn to
seek and save lost sheep. You will look out for people who have yet to commit
to Christ and hope to guide them a step nearer to faith. Or you wonder: Who are
the newcomers in church that need follow-up? You carry a burden: How is the
spiritual growth of our people? Are they being grounded and growing in the
Word? You care for them and look out for them. In some ways, all of us need to
be pastoral caregivers. Our Lord asks us this morning: Do you love me? If you
do, feed my sheep. Do you love me? Take care of my people.
And as a church (as God’s flock), we need to seriously look
out for and identify servant-leaders. They don’t pop up out of nowhere. We need
to affirm/recognize them, pray for them, support them, challenge and equip them.
Surely we can elect them to be an elder at the next AGM meeting. Do you know to
be an elder; a candidate needs to secure 2/3 of the members’ votes? So every
vote counts. Conversations about finding a pastor in Puchong…
As you may know, the letter P is CDPC means that we are a
Presbyterian church. Our
church is structured in a way that we are not a one-man show. And we don’t
decide everything by a congregational vote. It means that each local congregation is governed by a team of elders
elected by its members. This team of elders is usually called the Session. Groups of local churches are governed
by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery
(ESP) and presbyteries can be grouped into a synod
(the highest decision making body).
Unfortunately, to be very frank, not many people want to be an elder in
the local church. We are too busy with career and family priorities. Or we
think that an elder must be elderly so we don’t qualify. Or we may believe that
we are not good enough to meet the biblical requirements for an elder. The
expectations we set may be too high. Whatever the reason, we do not have a
Session of (at least two) elders. So this is a timely message for us to
look into God’s word and consider what biblical leadership looks like.
So who are these elders? We can look at it in terms of their
roles and their characters. In the NT, the words translated as elders are presbuterious/presbyterians
or overseers/bishops (episkopous) are interchangeable. They refer to people who
do the work of pastoring (shepherding God’s flock). To be an elder is to be someone
who provides spiritual care and manages the church’s affairs. What do they do?
They feed God’s people on
the green pastures of God’s Word. They make sure there are both milk for the
newborn believers (1 Peter 2:2) and solid meat for the mature (Hebrew 5:11 -14).
Week in week out, they clarify the gospel for both believers and unbelievers.
Sheep need to be led, not
just fed. That means the shepherds must be out in front so that the sheep can see
and follow them. They need to model what discipleship looks like and guide and
equip believers for spiritual growth and service to others.
A faithful shepherd is
always on guard, always on the watch against wolves and put himself on the line
for the sake of the flock. These wolves can come in the form of false teachers
who twist the truth for selfish gains. That’s why one of the criteria for being
an elder is someone who “can encourage others in sound doctrine and refute
those who oppose it”.
Ok to feed, to lead and to protect are the roles of an elder…
but his relational character is also crucial. The Bible sets the bar high so
that the witness of the church in holiness and in doctrine is preserved. Texts:
1Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9: “An elder must be blameless, faithful to his
wife, a man whose children are faithful and are not open to the charge of being
wild and disobedient. Since an
overseer manages God’s household, he must be
blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not
violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must
be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is
self-controlled, upright, holy
and disciplined. He must hold
firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been
taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those
who oppose it.”
We don’t
have time to go in detail here, but you get the sense that the primary
characteristic of the elder/bishop/pastor/overseer is that his life constantly
reflects biblical values and integrity. Most of these virtues - to be faithful
to your wife, not violent or lose temper easily, to be self controlled and holy
– are expected of all Christians.
It’s nothing special, in one sense. You have to walk the talk, basically. You
may listen to these requirements and despair. If we take them to extreme, none
of us would qualify except Jesus. Who among us is blameless and above reproach?
But that’s not what it means. None of us is perfect so we should not expect our
leaders to walk on water. There will always be room for growth and times when
he may fall short. It just means that we can observe these qualities in the
elder to such a degree that they stand out as prominent and consistent patterns
of his life. It means that the elder’s lifestyle is such that, generally
speaking, no one can rightfully accuse him of conduct that is unbefitting a
mature believer.
So in a
nutshell, an elder is walking the talk, self-controlled and gentle in character
yet firm and rooted in doctrine and lifestyle to feed, lead and protect God’s
flock. Whoa, no joke man being an elder/pastor. Let’s be frank here. By now, some
of us may start to wonder, “OK. Who in their right mind will want this job? Why
would I want to take this responsibility upon my shoulders when I have the
option to just sit back, relax and mind my own business? No amount of pay or
pleading can force me to take on this role.” No wonder it’s hard to find a few
good men to be an elder.
Which
brings us back to our Scripture passage today… Look at verse 2: Be shepherds of
God’s flock that
is under your care, watching over them— not because you must, not because you
are forced to or grudgingly but voluntarily, gladly, out of your own choice,
because you are willing. Why? Because that is what God wants you to be. That’s point no 1. Shepherd God’s
flock not grudgingly but joyfully. It is not God’s will that we should be sluggish, feet
dragging or unconcerned about the well being of His people. This is not to say
we cannot take a break from ministry or prioritize our schedule. We can feel
comfortable to say no, when there is good reason to do so. But there is also a
kind of reluctant “Aiya… please don’t ask me. Ask someone else to do it!”
attitude towards ministry that reflects badly on the One we are serving. If we
do it out of coercion, as if being forced or pestered to do it, it is really a
denial that serving God and His people is a joy. That the Lord we love should
now invite us to be part of what He is doing in people’s lives. It is a
privilege that we don’t deserve. That’s why it’s not God’s will that we drag
our feet as if serving Him is the worst possible job in the world. Peter is
warning us against tidak-apathy… he is challenging our obsession with comfort,
ease and leisure when it comes to the Kingdom. Not everyone is called to be an
elder but all of us can be a spiritual care giver. And honestly, some of us
here are gifted and qualified to be an elder. This word is for you too this
morning: Take the initiative, come off the bench, step up and be
in the game not because you have to, but because you want to. Be willing.
Point No.2: Look at verse 2b “Be shepherds of God’s flock not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve.” Peter warns the elders/the servant-leaders/all
of us: Don’t do ministry out of greed. Don’t serve the King motivated by lust
for money. There was a movie called Leap of Faith in which Steve Martin played
the role of a fake faith healer who claimed to receive divine revelation about
who is having what kind of diseases during a healing rally. But it’s actually
all a trick. His colleagues would talk to the audience in advance, gather personal
details, ask about their health and then feed him the information through a
radio transmitter. The tragedy though is
this: The movie is actually based on a real case of fraud exposed with the help
of a radio scanner. They were caught communicating over the radio: “Way over to
the other side of the other balcony is Josephine Parino.” Then the so-called
healer asks the worshippers: “Who’s Josephine?” “Parino”. Then the lady
identifies herself. “She’s got cancer of the stomach”. It’s like a game show.
Sad but true, ‘godliness’
can often be turned into a means of shameful profit. When Christians are fooled
into supporting self-proclaimed TV prophets anointed and appointed to make us
healthy and wealthy, the only people getting millions of dollars to buy
mansions and drive private jets are the conmen themselves. There’s a word for
this: It’s called fleecing the sheep. Instead of caring for the sheep, they are
taking advantage of God’s flock for selfish gains. Peter says: Don’t do ministry
motivated by money, rather do it with enthusiasm. Love what you do in ministry.
Be eager to see God’s name lifted up. Do you find joy in your work/ministry in
seeing lives transformed by the gospel? Can you honestly say it is more blessed
to give than to receive? I thank God for all the leaders we have in CDPC. They
may not be the slick and flashy ones or the smooth talking ones. But in their sincere,
unassuming and quiet ways, they are eager to serve God’s flock.
Don Carson once said: “The worst situation in
the local church occurs when the church adopts the attitude, "Lord, you
keep (the pastor) humble and we’ll keep him poor," and the minister adopts
the attitude, "I’m going to get every cent I can out of this selfish
congregation; they have no idea how much I do for them." The best
situation occurs where the congregation sees itself in the privileged position
of supporting someone in the ministry generously so that he is free to get on
with the work of the ministry, and the minister for his part doesn’t give a rip
– in a sense, he is above all that.” Point 2: Don’t do ministry out of greed,
but out of eagerness to serve”.
Third point is this: Don’t lead
out of pride, lead by example. Look at verse 3: “Shepherd God’s flock… not lording it over those entrusted to you,
but being examples to
the flock.” Peter
warns the elders against the love for power and prestige. Don’t be a petty
tyrant, craving for command and control. Don’t boss around: “Do as I say not as
I do. Don’t ask questions. Listen, listen, listen. When I talk, you listen. How
dare you touch the Lord’s anointed?” For some of us, leadership gives us a high
when we call the shots and show our authority. We like to feel needed. We crave the praise, admiration and the dependence of others.
This craving for power may be expressed with domineering “My way of the
highway”. Or more subtly, we may manipulate others with disguised pain of a
wounded hero. Pride means we rely on our strength and feel the world stops
spinning when we are not around.
What’s the antidote
for pride? First and foremost, you lead by example. Whether you are an elder or
not modeling godliness for others is central to your discipleship as a
Christian. Like it or not, we will set a good example or a bad example. People
will look at their leaders’ example and that shapes their idea of what
spiritual maturity looks like. What will CDPC be known for in our community ten
years from now? Do we model holiness in lifestyle, gentleness in speech,
selflessness in relationship, soundness in doctrine? Will our young people and our
children be encouraged to imitate and think of godliness in this way? Or do we
model greed, quarrelsome speech or selfishness? If so, should we be surprised
when they turn out exactly like that one day?
Don’t exalt
yourself: “Do as I say, not as I do”. Rather, lead by example: Follow me as I
follow Christ. How we live will make a much bigger, more lasting impact than
anything we might say.
That’s a lot to
handle, I know. It’s a challenge for all of us. Where do we find help to serve
God’s people willingly, joyfully and humbly? We need hope. We need motivation.
This
is what Peter gives us in verse 4: "And when the Chief Shepherd appears,
you will receive the unfading crown of glory." Ministry is not an end in itself. We do ministry to prepare
the whole people of God for Christ’s return. We are not in this church business
to get praise for ourselves, but to bring praise, glory and pleasure to God. One
day, Jesus the chief shepherd shall return to reward all who serve Him and His
people.
The choices we make today depend on what we believe about the
future. Who invests more
money: the person who believes that share prices will go up or the person who doesn’t
care if it does? Who changes the world: the person who believes what he/she
does in life will echo through eternity or the person who thinks “you only go
around once, so why not enjoy it”? C. S. Lewis wrote: “If you read history you
will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just
those who thought most of the next… It is since Christians have largely ceased
to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim
at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get
neither.” Mere Christianity
If
you think leadership is too burdensome, think of the day when our Chief
Shepherd will crown us with His love. If you think giving pastoral care to
others is hard, think of the day when our Great Pastor will return and lead us
home. The wealth we gather in this world will fade but not the glory that we
will receive from our Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have
loved me and cared for those whom I love.” Only one life that soon will pass,
only what’s done for Christ will last. Therefore we long for His return. The
proper reward for faithfulness and fruitfulness in service is that He grants us
ability and authority to serve him in greater ways, in unimaginable ways in His
kingdom.
Being
a spiritual care giver is a high calling. It’s not easy. The only reason we do
it is because the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not be in want. We lay down
our pride because Jesus is our Chief Shepherd. We are just under shepherds. We
do it willingly because out of love, He risked his own life to seek us, His
lost sheep (Matthew 18:12 -14, Luke 15:4-7). We care for others
because our Lord is moved with compassion for the people for they were like
sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36 ). We lay down our greed in the
things that will perish because His reward will never fade away. Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when
he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and
scatters it. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me and I lay down my life
for the sheep.” (John 10). Because we have such a great Shepherd, we could
shepherd others. And He is calling us this morning: Do you love me? Feed my
sheep. Do you love me? Take care of my lambs.
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