A Shepherd's Role
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We are approaching the end of our series on 1 Peter. One more week after this one!
Throughout the summer, we have been looking at life as exiles. Those who are Christians, who have come into a relationship with Jesus, are a part of his kingdom.
While we live on earth, we are exiles. We don’t look at life the same way as those who don’t follow Jesus, and our role is to show how awesome Jesus is to those around us and encourage them to come into the kingdom as well.
He has been talking to a lot of different groups so far, but today, Peter’s attention shifts to a specific group of people within the church.
He has some specific words for those who serve as elders in the church.
As we will talk about, elders, pastors, and bishops are all words that the New Testament uses to describe the role I fulfill in the church.
We only have one of those right now, so why are we taking up time to look at this passage together?
I can think of at least four reasons:
So you can know – you need to know what God’s word teaches about elders/pastors/bishops because you will always be in churches that have them. You should know what the Bible teaches about how these men are to act and lead.
So you can pray – Peter sets an incredibly high standard for elders in this passage, and there is no pastor out there, including me, who can live up to this standard without God’s strength and guidance.
So you can evaluate – The only standard of success for an elder is to be faithful to fulfill the calling God sets out for him as outlined in Scripture.
Knowing what God says an elder is to be helps you see where you can encourage your pastors/elders/bishops to grow and where you can encourage them for allowing the Lord to work through them.
Measure my ministry and the ministry of other pastor/elder/bishops using the same standard God will.
So you can obey – These characteristics must apply to pastors, but that doesn’t mean we are the only ones they apply to. Every believer should want to live up to that same standard so you can be used of God however He sees fit.
In fact, Peter’s description here is a great model for anyone who leads, whether that is in the classroom, at work, on a sports team, at home, or at church in any role.
Let’s talk about this idea of “elder” for a minute.
The term “elder” is one of several used in the New Testament to describe the main positions of leadership within the church.
We typically use the term “pastor”, which is actually the least-used term in the New Testament for this office. The word “bishop” also refers to this same position.
Each title focuses on a slightly different aspect of this role. “Pastor” refers to shepherding and feeding the flock, like we will see this morning. “Bishop” points to the leadership and administration aspect of ministry, and “elder” highlights the spiritual maturity that should characterize men in ministry.
With all that background, let’s open our Bibles to 1 Peter 5:1-5.
Peter is going to lay out a very direct command for elders, and then he is going to flesh that out using a series of three different contrasts.
Finally, he finishes up with a general encouragement to us all.
Let’s dive in…
Peter knows that the standard God gives for pastors is tough, so before he says anything, he reminds them of his background.
Look at verse 1 – Peter gently reminds everyone that he has earned the right to say what he is about to say.
Peter is uniquely qualified to talk about shepherding God’s people. If you remember back to our study of John, you remember that when Jesus restored Peter back to his position of leadership, all the commands were to feed his lambs, feed his sheep, and shepherd his sheep. He had learned this kind of leadership from Jesus himself.
The command is actually given in verse 2.
Let’s break this command down.
Elders are called to shepherd. Most of us don’t own sheep and never have, but you probably still understand the role of a shepherd.
A shepherd is primarily in charge of feeding, caring for, and protecting the sheep in his care.
One of the main ways we do that is through teaching and preaching God’s Word. John MacArthur stated it this way:
“The shepherd’s task is not to tell people only what they want to hear, but to edify and strengthen them with the deep truths of solid spiritual food…No matter what New Testament terminology identifies the shepherd and his task, underneath it all is the primacy of biblical truth. He is to feed the sheep.”[1]
Peter reminds us as elders that this isn’t our flock. Even though I am the man God has called to pastor here, Christiansburg Baptist Church isn’t my church; it’s God’s!
Elders are also called to exercise oversight. Elders have to constantly be on guard, watching out over the flock God has placed into our care.
That’s the same idea hinted at by the writer of Hebrews:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
As a pastor, this is an incredibly weighty command: my job is to look out for the spiritual condition of the church God has put me over, because I will be called to give an account to God for the way I have shepherded this church.
Every pastor, elder, and bishop who stands up to lead a church will have to give an account to God for those placed in his care.
Having given us the “what”, Peter moves on to give us the “how” of how we are to shepherd the flock God has given us. He does so through three contrasts. Look with me at verses 2-3 again.
Before we dive into the contrasts, I want you to notice what Peter didn’t say.
Did you notice that God, through Peter, didn’t give us any specifics on exactly how to shepherd the flock?
He is much more concerned with the character of the elder than that content of his day.
He never says you need to visit this many people or make this many phone calls. He doesn’t say you need to have x number of meetings with these committees.
Instead, he says that you are to shepherd the flock and exercise oversight.
Why didn’t he give specifics? Because the way an elder led his flock in 1st century Asia Minor would be different than the way an elder would lead a church in Virginia in 2022 which is different than a way an elder would lead a church in Zimbabwe in 2022!
God here gives us a universal standard by which to evaluate ministers. Instead of using changing cultural preferences and requirements, we are to evaluate any pastor by the standards outlined here.
If a pastor is faithful to fulfill these directives with the heart attitude described, then he has fulfilled his calling, whether that matches what other people believe he should do or not.
So, then, what are these contrasts?
First, a pastor must lead…
1) Willingly, not out of duty.
1) Willingly, not out of duty.
What is Peter talking about here? We know that he wasn’t talking about a government forcing people to be ministers, so who is compelled to be a minister?
Can I be honest with you and let you know that ministry is tough?
I am not going to join with some who say that this is the hardest job on the planet, but I will say that the burden of a church can wear on a man.
Sunday comes every week, so there is always a sermon to write. Life is challenging for everyone, so there are always more needs to come alongside and help than there is time.
Motives are often misunderstood, people don’t always get along, and it can get tough.
Remember, though, that Peter is writing to people who were facing persecution for their faith, so as leaders, they are facing more weight than even normal ministry brings.
Leaders would be the first targets when the suffering starts, and they also bear the burden of watching those in the church suffer.
If a pastor isn’t careful, all this weight can burn him out, and he will get to the point where he is simply going through the motions.
At that point, to use Peter’s words, he is serving out of compulsion, not willingly.
That’s what Peter is warning us against.
It is extremely dangerous for a pastor to check out and just go through the motions. Why?
Think about the picture here: if a shepherd zones out, he may miss a feeding or two. He won’t notice a sheep that wanders off or is looking sickly, and he won’t be as quick to watch out for predators that would attack the flock. He may even lead the flock into a dangerous place because he is going through the motions and his heart isn’t in it.
The same can happen as a pastor, and the consequences are dire!
Remember that the pastor will be called to give an account for those whom God has put into his care.
If he isn’t fulfilling that duty well, he is going to have to answer for that.
Not only that, but it puts the entire church in a dangerous place because he isn’t leading the way he needs to lead.
As a pastor/elder/bishop, it can be easy to settle in and go through the motions, especially when you get tired.
So how do you fight it?
Look at the next phrase: “according to the will of God.”
One key to avoiding burnout in ministry, of not checking out, is to keep in mind that call of God on your life.
If a man is genuinely called to serve as an elder/pastor/bishop, then he needs to constantly go back to that.
It was God who designed him for this purpose and called him to serve at that church at that time.
Taking time to refocus and recapture the sense of the call of God on your life can greatly reinvigorate your ministry.
The call of God keeps you going when no one else seems to care what is going on. That is how pastors who are suffering and leading flocks that suffer can lead with a whole-hearted desire, not out of routine or duty.
That doesn’t mean that every day in ministry is going to be puppies and rainbows; but it does mean that you are willingly serving the Lord, actively engaged in shepherding his people.
There is more, however. Pastors are to lead…
2)To give, not to get.
2)To give, not to get.
Look with me again at verse 2…
From the very beginning of the church, ministry positions have sometimes unfortunately attracted the wrong kind of people.
For the most part, people trust ministers to some degree to be honest, reputable people, and unfortunately, some have betrayed that trust.
The New Testament often speaks of false teachers, and their primary motive was greed. Whether that greed was for money or for power or for approval, false teachers have been in it for what they can get, not what they can give.
That is why God clearly says in 1 Timothy 3:3 that an elder must be free from the love of money.
Later in that same message, Paul explains:
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
As an aside, don’t forget that you don’t have to be wealthy to have a love of money.
Just because you don’t have it doesn’t mean you don’t want it; the love of money is a heart issue.
Going back to 1 Peter, notice the contrast: those who are greedy desire positions of authority for what they can get, but godly shepherds are looking for what they can give!
Have you ever been around a child who is eager to tell you something? You can’t keep them quiet!
Do you remember Christmas morning? Do you remember the anticipation you felt about going out and opening your presents?
When ministry is filled with eagerness, it is a delight, not a drain!
Listen: if you know a pastor who is in it for the money, he needs to find another job!
True shepherds of God’s people are there to fulfill their calling and not there for a paycheck.
By the way, this is linked with what we just talked about. Guys that are in it for the money are just in it to check off boxes, not eagerly serving the Lord out of a sense of calling.
There is one other contrast for us to make this morning. Pastors are to lead…
3) As a servant, not a king.
3) As a servant, not a king.
Look at verse 3…
Yes, it is true that God has called a pastor to a specific area of service that is different than the one the rest of the church has.
As we have seen, though, that is a tremendous responsibility that you should never take on yourself without a clear sense of God’s call that has been affirmed by other godly men and women.
It should never, ever, ever, ever be a source of pride.
Unfortunately, many have fallen into this, demanding special places of honor, titles, and privileges.
That should not be the way pastor’s lead. Those called to this office are not spiritual giants to put on a pedestal.
Rather, they are men who still struggle but have been gifted and called to set an example for the flock God has called them to shepherd.
The standard for a pastor is to be able to say the same thing to their church that Paul said to the church at Corinth:
Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.
As a pastor, I need to be in a place to say, “Love your wife like I love mine. Share the gospel like I do. Give like I do. Lead like I do.”
That’s why Paul told Timothy that pastors and elders needed to be “above reproach.” Elders cannot and will not be perfect, but they need to be someone that a church can look to as an example.
If that puffs a pastor up, he has misunderstood the weight of this command.
It should humble him, recognizing that he will have to stand before God and give an account.
He can’t act like a king; rather, he must approach the calling to pastor like a humble servant.
All true biblical leadership is based on service, not on being served.
Why? Because that’s what Jesus modeled for us.
Look at verse 4…
Who is the Chief Shepherd? Jesus.
Here’s how Jesus described himself:
A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
You see that? Here, Jesus fulfilled all three of these contrasts.
No one forced Jesus to sacrifice himself for us; he willingly laid his own life down for us.
He laid his life down to give us abundant life that we never deserved, even though he was worthy of receiving honor.
Even though he is the King of Kings, he willingly surrendered himself for us and served us by dying the death we deserved.
Jesus is the ultimate Shepherd, and every elder, pastor, bishop, and ultimately every Christian needs to imitate him.
That’s why Peter wraps up this section in verse 5…
He has called leaders to be humble, and here he calls followers to humble themselves as well.
He concludes with the call for all of us to clothe ourselves with humility, just like Jesus did.
[1] MacArthur, John Jr. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1 Peter. 265.