8.3.14 Faithful Church Leadership

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Faithful Church Leadership 1 Peter 5:1-4 Please take your Bibles and turn with me to 1 Peter 5. Today we are going to take a one-week break from our series in Matthew to talk about the issue of faithful church leadership. I want to give you two reasons why we are going to do so. One, 1 Timothy 5:17 says that elders who serve well are to be considered worthy of double honor. Therefore, I think we have a special responsibility to honor a man who has served this church for the last thirty-five years. And, listen, I hope we understand how significant it is that Leonard has served here for that long. I am not sure we really understand how big of a deal this is when the average pastoral tenure is only 3.6 years. This means that Leonard has been here 10x the national average. It also means that few, if any of us will ever again have the experience of honoring a man who has served in one church during five different decades. Of course more important than the length of Leonard’s tenure is how he has served during this time. The word well in 1 Timothy 5:17 means good or to a high standard, and that has certainly been the case with Leonard. He has served faithfully and with exceptional skill, particularly in the areas of corporate worship and shepherding, and therefore there is no doubt the Lord would have us take time today to give him a double dose of honor. Second, the New Testament is clear that the matter of church leadership is of utmost significance. And while there are many passages that bare this out, I just want to point you to one, Acts 20:28. For those who serve as elders this is one of the most important verses in the New Testament. Our current elders and those who desire to be one need to listen carefully: Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. (Acts 20:28 ESV) Here in Acts 20 Paul is speaking to the Ephesian Elders for the last time, and

he is literally begging them to take good care of the people that God has entrusted to them. And why is Paul so urgent? Why is he so passionate about church leadership? Well, it’s because the church is precious to God. It’s invaluable to him. And it’s invaluable to him because he obtained, or bought it with his own blood. Are you getting what I’m trying to say here? The church is precious because of what it cost God to obtain it, nothing less than his one and only son. Another way to say this is that the church is precious because Jesus is precious. Now, what does this have to do with church leadership? Well, God has chosen to give the care of his precious church to a group of men called elders. And therefore who these men are and how they carry out their role are of utmost importance. Let me use an illustration. Those of us who are parents are very careful about who we allow to watch our children when we aren’t around. I’m right on this, yes? You don’t just leave your kids with any Joe Smo. When you leave them with someone you make sure that person is reliable and trustworthy. You make sure they know what they are supposed to do and what they aren’t supposed to do. Why? Because your children are precious, and so their care is of utmost importance. Well, the same thing is true for God. His children are precious, and so their care is of utmost importance to him. In fact, God cares about his children more than you care about yours. Much more. It’s hard to imagine, but its true. So, these are the reasons we are going to talk about church leadership today. Now, with that said, let’s go ahead and read our passage. It’s just five short verses. Follow along as I read 1 Peter 5:1-5: So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: [2] shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but  

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eagerly; [3] not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. [4] And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:1-5 ESV) Two Observations Ok, let me make two initial observations from this passage that will help us understand some important things about church leadership and prepare us for the main thing Peter is trying to get across here. 1. Churches are to be lead by Elders. One, churches are to be lead by elders. If we were to go back to chapter 1 verse 1, we would see that Peter is writing this letter to a bunch of different churches scattered throughout what is the modern-day country of Turkey. It was a huge area that probably included hundreds of churches. And here in v. 1-5 Peter is giving instructions to the elders of these churches on how they are to lead their churches. We can take from this that the normal way in which churches were lead in the New Testament, and the normal way they are to be lead today is by a plurality of qualified men who have been selected to serve as elders.1 2. Elders shepherd/pastor the flock. Two, elders shepherd/pastor the flock. Now, this is going to be a little technical but I think it’s important to clarify some common misunderstandings about church leadership. In the New Testament, the terms shepherd and pastor are synonymous and do not describe a position but rather a function. Therefore, being a pastor is not something that someone is, but rather is something that an elder does. Elders pastor, or shepherd the flock. We can see this clearly in v. 1-2 where Peter tells the elders to shepherd the flock. The word shepherd is a verb, not a noun. The                                                                                                                 1

 

http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/how-elder-shepherds-prepare-to-meet-the-chief-shepherd

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key point here is that elder is the position or office, and shepherding or pastoring is the function. Now, I’ll admit this is somewhat confusing because today we have taken a function and given it a title. So, Leonard is our Pastor of Corporate Worship. This designation has lead us at times to think there is a difference between elders and pastors. But the truth is that all elders are pastors, and all pastors are elders. The only difference is that the church pays elders who have the title pastor, and those elders who do not have the title are volunteers. Once again the key point is that church leaders are elders and their role is to shepherd or pastor the flock. Ok, so with those two observations, I want to look at three primary things in our text today. First, I want to look at what elders are called to do, second, I want to look at how elders are called to do it, and then third, I want to look at what the reward will be for elders who do it well. Elders are to oversee the flock. So, let’s begin by talking about what elders are called to do. Take a look at the first part of v. 2: elders, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight. In this part of the verse Peter is giving the job description of elders. Elders are to shepherd by exercising oversight. To exercise oversight means to watch over, direct, care and be accountable for. To be more specific, a study of the New Testament shows that this oversight is to be carried out in two primary ways, through leading and feeding. So, when you think about what elders are supposed to be doing, remember two words: leading and feeding. So, in the area of leading, elders are called to direct, to administrate and manage the affairs of the church, to protect the church from false teaching, and to administer church discipline. In the area of feeding, elders are called to make disciples by teaching and equipping, to care for the members of the church through prayer and  

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counsel, and to develop leaders so that the church will continue to grow in depth and breadth. Leading Directing, administrating, governing, managing (1 Tim. 5:17; Titus 1:7) Protecting from false teaching (Acts 20:17, 28-31; Titus 1:5, 6, 9)

Feeding Making disciples by teaching and equipping (Matthew 28:20, 1 Timothy 3:2; 2 Timothy 4:2) Caring through prayer and counsel (Acts 6:4; 20:35; Hebrews 13:7, 17; James 5:14) Developing leaders (2 Timothy 2:2)

Administering church discipline (Matthew 18:15-19; 1 Corinthians 5) So, that’s what the elders are called to do. They are called to shepherd by leading and feeding. Elders are called to lead and feed in three ways.

Let’s now talk about how elders are called to lead and feed. Our text tells us they are to do so in three ways. 1. Willingly One, they are to do so willingly. Verse 2 again: exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you Elders are not to serve because they feel pressured to, or because no one else will, but rather because God has called them to do so. Therefore, elders are to deliberately and purposefully strive to lead and feed the flock. An elder should be intentional about what God has called him to do. 2. Eagerly Two, elders are to serve eagerly. Verse 2 one more time:  

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not for shameful gain but eagerly. To serve eagerly means to do so with intense desire. The idea here is that elders will want to serve and will do so not for financial gain or for recognition, but rather because it gives them joy. R.C. Sproul explains it like this: Ministers are not to shepherd from a sense of duty but from delight.2 Let me summarize these first two. At the bottom line, elders should serve not because they have to, but because they want to. Of course, I need to clarify that they need to want to do so for the right reason. And what is the right reason? Well, the right reason is a love for God that spills over into a love for his people. So, listen church. This is crucial. When we are looking for men to serve as elders, we want to look for men who love God and as a result are willing and eager to love his people. We want to look for men who have an intense desire to follow Jesus and to help others follow him as well. Here, by the way, is where churches get sideways many times. Too many churches prioritize leadership ability and influence over love for God and love for people. Don’t get me wrong, leadership ability and influence are great and can be very helpful on an Elder Team, but when they are substituted for love things are going to go bad really, really quick. Some of us have been in churches where the leaders were successful in the business world but terrible failures in leading the church. Leadership in the world does not necessarily translate into leadership in the church. If a man doesn’t love God and doesn’t love people, he has no business being in church leadership, no matter how successful he might be in the world. Now let me point out that this is where Leonard is such an excellent model for us. As you know I am not very musical at all, but even I know that                                                                                                                 2

   

Sproul, R. C. (2011-03-08). 1-2 Peter (St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary) (p. 184). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

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Leonard is an exceptionally gifted musician. Even though he would never claim this, he is an expert. In fact, I can tell you it will be very hard to find someone as skilled as he is. But that said, the thing we appreciate most about Leonard isn’t how much skill he has, but rather how much he loves the Lord and how much he loves the people of this church. So, I guess my big point here is that when we are looking for elders, let’s look for men who love like Leonard loves. Let’s look for men who love the Lord and as a result love his people. 3. As Examples Ok, the third way in which elders are to lead and feed is as examples. Verse 3: not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. Peter’s point here is that elders are to be servants, not masters. Elders are to lead and feed the way that Jesus does, and that is by giving themselves sacrificially to meet the needs of the flock. We just saw this in Matthew 20 when Jesus told his disciples this: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. [26] It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, [27] and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, [28] even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:2528 ESV) I think the key in this in what Peter goes on to say in v. 5. Look at it: Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” In this verse Peter is telling elders that the primary way in which they are to be examples to the flock is by practicing humility And Leonard, let me speak directly to you on this point. In fact, the rest of  

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the message is mostly going to be directed to you, and everyone else can just kind of listen in. Leonard, its my opinion that humility has been the secret to your success at Harmony Bible Church. I have told you this before, but I am amazed at how you have navigated your way through thirty-five years of ministry, with some of those years being somewhat to incredibly difficult. As I have considered the challenges you have faced and the roller coaster you have been on, I’ve wondered how you have hung in there, and not only survived, but thrived. But as I studied for this message, I think I may have figured it out. I could be wrong, but I think that the key has been humility. You are probably the humblest pastor I have ever met. Maybe the humblest person I have ever met. And as a result God has blessed you with the grace to shepherd, encourage, and love on thousands of people over these last thirty-five years. You are a great example of the fact that God gives grace to the humble. In fact, if I could have a gift from you as you head to New Mexico, I’d like you to leave me some of your humility. Your not going to need all of it down there, right? Anyway, it’s obvious that you are deeply admired by many people, and I believe the primary reason is that you have the humility of Jesus. Simply put, when people see you they see Jesus. And there is nothing better that can be said about a man than that. Elders will receive the unfading crown of glory. Ok, there is one more thing we need to look at in the text, and that is the reward elders are promised for serving well. Look at v. 4: And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Elders who serve well are promised that when Jesus returns – he of course is the chief Shepherd in view here – that they are going to be richly compensated for their service. Now, we don’t know exactly what this crown is, but we do know it represents a glorious, unfading recognition from Jesus himself. Elders who serve well will one day receive a special, glorious recognition from Jesus, a recognition that will never, ever go away. Elders will enjoy their reward  

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forever. And so in conclusion, Leonard, I want to say that I am confident you are going to receive this unfading crown of glory. I’m not a prophet and I’m not the son of prophet, although I guess I do work for a non-profit organization; regardless, there are a few things I know to be absolutely true. One is that Jesus died for my sins, rose again, and is coming back for me and everyone else who is his. The other is that Leonard Schantz has served well and one day Jesus will recognize you for doing so. There is no question about that. So, thank you brother for your love, for your humility, and most of all for your faithful example to the flock here at Harmony Bible Church.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. © 2014 by Chris Carr. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include Harmony Bible Church’s website address (www.harmonybiblechurch.org) on the copied resource.

 

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