Leadership in the Church: Not Taking, but Tending

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0:00So, three weeks on leadership in the church. Last week, I introduced this idea that a lot of things that we learn, that we believe about leadership, we've learned from our culture. We've learned from the world around us. Or we have taught them to ourselves with inventions of our own mind and heart. What we would like to believe about leadership. Who leaders are. What they do. And so, because of these things that are in our minds and our hearts, we have got to unlearn some things.

0:29We've got to unlearn some things about leadership. Biblical leadership, especially leadership in the church. And we've got to replace them with biblical truths about what leaders are and what they do. So, that's what we're doing. We're unlearning and we're relearning. So, take a moment. Take a moment to reflect on the leaders that you've had in your life.

0:55Teachers. Bosses. Parents. Pastors. As you think, as you rattle through them in your mind, pull up their faces, remember stories. I hope that, I hope some of them have been good. I really do. Hope that some of them in your life have been good. But, I bet that for at least one leader that you've brought up in your mind, at least one of them has been awful. Like, really awful.

1:34There's a lot of ways that a leader can be terrible. A lot of different varieties. Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavors. There's more than 31 ways for a leader to be terrible. But, I think so many of them come down to this. It's how they use their authority.

1:56How they use their authority. Abraham Lincoln is attributed to have said, nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. If you lead, you have some measure of authority, some measure of power. And so, leaders are faced with an ongoing question every day, every time they step in that role. What is this power for? Who is this power for?

2:33Is it for me? Or is it for the people that I'm here to lead and serve? That question assaults leaders every day, whether they know it or not. If they're a good leader, you've got to at least be thinking about that question. That's step one. If you're not even aware of that, you're probably one of the bad leaders already. But listen, I've been thinking about this as I've been preparing this sermon, looking at this text. This is Redemption Sunday. And I'll tell you why.

3:06Because I know that so many of you if you're double digit in age or beyond, you can think of one or more terrible leaders in your life, right? But this is Redemption Sunday. Because God redeems leadership, okay? He is here. He is always ready to inject spiritual life and restore and renew the very roles that we have said, that role is permanently tainted in my mind. That's what He's doing in this passage. That's what He's doing in His Word. You can always bring to Him the experiences you've been through with terrible leaders and say, Lord, will you help me?

3:50I am struggling with the core idea of leadership, maybe even leadership in the church, and I need you to redeem it for me. To restore it for me. So, that's what we're here for today. To have the Lord redeem and restore what we think of as leaders and put it back in the way that He says it should be. And be led into treating each other in ways that He says we should treat each other. Last week we heard how Jesus washed the disciples' feet. And then He told them to do likewise.

4:25And today's passage is written by one of those men who had His feet washed. Years and years later, after that night, when so confusingly and unexpectedly, the Lord of the universe, the Savior, the Messiah, got down on His knees, put on a towel and washed His feet, and now He's writing a letter. Now He's a senior leader in the early church. And He's writing a letter to new and emerging leaders. And He wants to give them guiding principles that sank deep into Him starting on that night when His feet were washed.

5:08So let's go to 1 Peter. Chapter 5. No matter what you have been through, church, and I know many of you have been through bad experiences with leaders, let's go to the Word of God. And let's have Him restore what we think of as leadership into the right way, into His way. This is 1 Peter 5, 1-7. This is the Word of the Lord for us.

5:41Our God's a Redeemer. Let's come to Him and let's have Him redeem what we think of when we think about leaders in the church. So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker and the glory that is going to be revealed. 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 eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

6:27And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourself, all of you, all of you, with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you. So glad. Pray with me.

7:06Lord, we are so glad that You care for us. So teach us. Bind up our wounds. Push out the bad ideas of leadership, maybe because of the experiences we've had. Lord, push them out and, Lord, replace them with Your truth, Your vision for Your people, for Your church, Your dear ones, Your flock that You love. Give us that vision, Lord. Stir our hearts. Make us humble to receive Your Word today. In Your name, Jesus, we pray.

7:50Okay, leadership in the church. Last week, it was not rank, but role. This week, not taking, but tending. Not taking, but tending. Last week, we learned that leadership in the church is not about rank, but about role. That was what we unlearned and replaced. Today, we see that what a leader should be doing with the authority given to them is not taking from the flock, but tending them. This passage is also a very important passage for us to understand a specific leadership role, and that's the role of elder.

8:30I've printed off about 20 copies of the chapter in the BCO on the role of the elder. Chapter 8 of our denomination's book of church order. They're on the back table. Pick up a copy. Read it. Read what our book of church order says an elder ought to be doing.

8:50But this is the big picture that Peter brings us. An elder is a shepherd. An elder is a shepherd. Here in chapter 5 of this letter, Peter writes, I exhort the elders among you. He's not addressing people with an AARP card. People drawing Social Security. He's addressing those in a specific role. In all the churches across the Roman Empire. Jesus had sent out His people on a mission from Jerusalem to the vast reaches of the Roman Empire and even beyond that.

9:26And the mission was to tell people of every nation, tribe, and tongue about Him. The good news of reconciliation with the living God through faith in Jesus. It is available to everyone. It is not ethnically bound. It goes to everyone. And His people believed they were gathered together in churches just like we are sitting here today. They're gathered together in the churches for fellowship, for growth, to follow the Lord together where they lived.

10:02And an essential element of these churches was elders. In Acts 14, we read this. And when they, that's Paul and his group of missionaries and church planters, when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. And then later, Paul has given this work of raising up elders to someone that had been with them. He's passed on this role. He says this to Titus. This is why I left you in Crete that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.

10:42So you can see how important it was in the early church that these new groups of believers that came together into churches for worship, that they had leadership and one of those leaders was the role of elder. But listen, the role of elder wasn't invented by Christians. It wasn't even invented by the apostles. They already knew of elders because Jewish communities and synagogues had elders. They're mentioned many times in the Gospels. Usually it's grouped together with the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

11:18Now, if you've read the Gospels, when I say that group there, you know what this group collectively did. What they're most often cited for. They opposed Jesus instead of accepting Him and worshiping Him. Elders were part of the planning to arrest Jesus, the Scriptures say. Elders were part of the tribunal that condemned Him. Elders were even part of the group that paid off the soldiers that had been stationed at Jesus' tomb. Paid them off. Told them, spread this false story.

11:58So in the time of Jesus and the apostles, the office of elder was full of corruption. Spiritual deadness. Spiritual abuse. And yet, this role is not discarded on account of its misuse.

12:18Instead, it is redeemed. That's part one of why this is Redemption Sunday as we're talking about leadership. Even though there have been so many problems with the role of elder among God's people, it's not discarded and in something new invented. It's redeemed and restored. New Christian churches were not considered established until elders were in place. Our God is a Redeemer and He redeemed the role of elder. Why? Because He came up with it. He came up with it.

12:56We heard earlier from Numbers 11 when Moses was burdened to the point of despair. In fact, in that passage, He's like, just kill me now, God. He was burdened to the point of despair because He was the chief leader of thousands upon tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people out in the wilderness. They had needs, a lot of them. They had complaints, a lot of them. They had demands.

13:30And Moses had very little help. So when Moses cried out, God stepped in. He asked Moses to bring 70 men who were already respected leaders. They were already elders. They were settling matters of dispute. But something new happens. God brings 70 of them forward and He gives them a measure of the same spirit that was in Moses, the great prophet. He gives these 70 men the same measure of the same spirit so that they could lead the people spiritually.

14:08And what does the passage say? So that you may not bear the burden of the people alone. They are there. That's why the elders are in these churches, to bear the burden of the people. Last week, I talked about the gift of leadership, how when you have a good leader, they carry weight on your behalf, the weight of decision making, the weight of provision, the weight of care. And that's what you see that so clearly here in this passage and all the way back to Numbers 11.

14:41That's the core job of an elder to carry weight on behalf of the people, to carry the weight of caregiving. That is what elders are for. And so Peter writes to the elders, calling himself a fellow elder. He's also an apostle, of course, a witness of the sufferings of Christ, but see how he focuses first on the essential nature of his calling. He says, at my core, I'm an elder. I'm just another ordinary man given the spirit for the purposes of caring for the people.

15:24He gives them an exhortation from the Lord. Because he is, after all, an apostle. Sent by God to do a lot of things but something unique and that is to give special revelation from the Lord. And so this elder opens up his mouth and he says, elders, shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Peter could have used so many other verbs here. Instruct the flock of God. Teach. Govern. Direct. Yet under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he says, shepherd.

16:02Shepherd. It conveys all of those and more. Everyone who heard this and read this knows what a shepherd does. You probably do too. even though maybe you're several relationships removed from an actual shepherd, unlike the people reading this letter, you know that a shepherd looks after a flock of sheep, leads them to pasture and water, steps in the way of predators, binds up their injuries, and goes after those who wander away. Shepherding was not a noble job back in the ancient Near East.

16:47It was dangerous, it was dirty, it was disrespectful. And yet God had so often referred to his leaders and his kings as shepherds. He didn't care that it was a disreputable profession. Maybe he was keeping them humble, calling them shepherds. It should have reminded them when a king heard from the Lord, your job is to shepherd my people, it should have reminded him, the people around me, they're not here to build me palaces and monuments. In fact, they're not here for me at all.

17:29I am here for them to look after and protect. But very often kings and leaders in the Old Testament forgot this. And that's why one of the longest Old Testament passages that describes God's leaders as shepherds is one of judgment.

17:52In Ezekiel 34, God is angry at the wicked shepherds. They've abused their authority. They've literally fed themselves on the people of God instead of feeding them. They've abused them. And God intervenes and he promises to rescue. Look at this. First he says, I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep.

18:22I want you to understand this is an amazing moment in Ezekiel 34 when God says this. Before this, in the rest of Scripture, other people had described God as a shepherd. But here, for the first time, God describes himself as a shepherd. shepherd. I will do the job, the Lord says.

18:52And also he promises to send another shepherd. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. Two significant promises about God's care for people in terms of shepherding. And later we know, right, that Jesus calls himself the good shepherd. Promise fulfilled, right? But it might make us wonder, has the analogy of shepherding been completely applied to Jesus? Have the wicked shepherds in Israel's history ruined the whole metaphor?

19:30Will no human leader be called a shepherd again? It might seem that way until after the resurrection by the seaside when Jesus restores Peter in relationship and in leadership. And what does he say? Do you remember what he says? He says, Peter, tend my sheep.

19:58Once again, despite the failures of leaders past, despite Peter's failure, a human leader of God's people is called a shepherd. Redemption. Redemption from all of the failures of the past. God's brought it back.

20:20The abusive elders didn't abolish the office of elder and wicked shepherds have not taken away the human calling to shepherd. Both are redeemed by God and both are connected together.

20:38That we don't have to carry our own burdens all the time. That God is more strong and powerful and mighty than the failures of leaders in the past. the failures of the leaders in your past. God is stronger and mightier than that.

20:58I hope that's good news for you today. So let's talk about how elders should lead. An elder has authority. There's no sense denying that or disguising that. I know authority is a dirty word for all of us people that want to be mostly by ourselves, mostly responsible for ourselves. We all want to be small business owners of our own lives, right? We don't want to work for somebody else.

21:38Peter says the elders are to shepherd by exercising oversight, okay? It's right there in the text. But this comes after shepherd the flock. And order matters, okay? Shepherd is the big goal. Exercising oversight is the way of accomplishing it. You see how important that is? Shepherd the flock of God. One way that you do that, exercising oversight. But the big goal is to shepherd. Authority is not for the sake of the shepherd, but for the sake of the flock.

22:14Always, always, always. Not taking, but tending. But Peter has a few specifics about how elders should do their job. So first he says this, they should do it willingly. No one wants to follow a leader that doesn't want to be doing the job. Anybody ever have a boss that you could tell he or she just hated their job? I mean, that is demoralizing. And it doesn't end well for anyone. If they hate their job and they're your manager, they hate managing you.

22:54When God called Saul to be king of Israel, Saul kept it hidden from his family. And then when the time came for his coronation, his presentation to the nation, they couldn't find him. He was hiding among the baggage. He didn't want to do the job.

23:15Leaders cannot serve well out of sheer obligation. Especially elders. If an elder is doing it under compulsion, it is an absence of love. Either love for God or love for the people or both. And that's going to mean bad leadership 100% of the time. It will mean neglecting a sheep that wanders off.

23:40Instead, an elder and really any leader in the kingdom of God should serve as God would have you. This means a will that has been submitted to God's will. At first, there might be uncertainty, there might be resistance, but in faith, we must ask God, what would you have me do? What would you have me do? How do you want me to serve in your kingdom, God? God can move you beyond love of self, beyond people pleasing, beyond a love of comfort, so that you can answer his call.

24:19These are the kinds of elders that the church needs, who out of love for the master of the sheep, take up the shepherd's staff. It's so good to follow a leader like that, who wants to care for you because they love the Lord, and they obey the Lord, and they say, Lord, I trust you.

24:44Next, elders must serve eagerly. They must examine their motives and not do it for shameful gain, not for self-indulgence. There's so many ways the authority of leadership can be used selfishly to get money, fame, special treatment, to avoid something, to avoid hard work, to avoid inconvenience, discomfort. once long ago, Israel's army was out at war with other nations. Kings were on the battlefield, but there was one king that was missing, King David.

25:23He was at home. Instead of fighting for his people, he was enjoying the privileges of power, lounging in his palace, avoiding responsibility, avoiding war. And then he was strolling on the roof and he sees another man's wife and he decides, well, I'm already indulging myself, taking a break from war, I might as well indulge myself again. I want her and I want her now.

26:02Authority for shameful gain, avoiding the responsibility, looking out for self. God calls us out of this worldliness. He wants to change our motives so that we want what he wants. That's why Peter says to the elders, shepherd eagerly, the church needs elders who are eager to bless instead of benefit. The solution is not no motivation, it's the right motivation.

26:33Elders who want to give instead of gain, who are filled with zeal for people to be spiritually alive and vital and bearing fruit. Elders who love what God loves. These are elders that the church needs. These are elders that this church needs. Hebrews 13 17 says that church leaders are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. The responsibility is great, the accountability is real, and those who are called to be elders are still eager to take it on and to see the Lord work among them.

27:16Finally, elders are called to shepherd by being examples. And Peter contrasts this with domineering, being domineering. being domineering means to put someone in their place, to show someone who's boss.

27:33At the end of his life, King Solomon had put many Israelites into forced labor to build him this, that, and the other. When his son Rehoboam became king, the people pleaded for him. They thought, ah, here's a new king. Let's take our case before him. They pleaded with Rehoboam to relieve their burden. What does he do? He chose to demonstrate his power and his rule by making things even more harsh. I'll show you who's the king. You don't boss me around.

28:10Rehoboam chose foolishly. Sometimes leaders exercise authority just to emphasize their authority. This is perhaps even worse than leading to enrich yourself. I mean, if a leader wants money, he might still treat other people well if those other people are bringing in the profit, right? If someone gets high on power itself, then they will abuse anyone in their path no matter what. Because that's the drug.

28:46Anyone who is attracted to power must be kept away from the reins of the church and the office of elder. The core function of an elder is not to control things but to care for people.

29:00Any authority they have comes from God for the sake of the sheep. It's on loan and it can be taken away at any moment. Instead, an elder is to be an example. This injects humility into leadership immediately. To be an example means you're thinking, I too am a sheep. I can't ask others to do something that I'm not willing to do myself. One author says it this way, a shepherd is not a cowboy. A cowboy drives his cattle from behind, but a shepherd leads his sheep from the front.

29:44He goes before. He's scouting for the best way to water, to pasture. If there's a cliff ahead, the shepherd comes to it first. If there are obstacles, he clears them away. If there's a predator, he is in harm's way and he gets out his weapon.

30:06The sheep tread on a path he finds for them and makes for them, not the other way around. Not the other way around. Shepherds are not behind, but before.

30:19Elders exercise oversight, but they must be examples in obedience, in worship, in humility, in repentance, and in faith. They should never ask people to go someplace they're not already going. not cracking the whip to drive forward, but hacking the underbrush to forge the way ahead.

30:42Listen, in all of these ways, elders are to try their best to resemble our humble shepherd. When Peter wrote all this, he was surely thinking of his Lord and Savior because everything Peter says is epitomized and fulfilled and perfected in Jesus, right? Jesus the Father called upon him to go after, to come to earth for lost sinners, for lost sheep, and he answered. He came eagerly to this world not to climb atop an earthly kingdom, but to bring in a heavenly one.

31:24He went eagerly even to the trial, eagerly to the cross, and he went before us into death, into judgment, in our place. We're brought into his flock by repentance and faith in him. And this new birth, this spiritual transformation, it brings into our hearts and minds something new, and that's humility. That's what Peter calls everyone to at the end of this passage. Everyone. The younger should be subject to the elders, but the call goes further. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another.

32:06See, humility is the key ingredient. It's the way that sinners like us, like you and me, can receive leadership and give leadership as he intends. Humility. When elders lead humbly, when others follow humbly, we are all submitting to the Lord. We are humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God. This is how it's meant to work. This is what author Edward Clowney is talking about when he writes this. I found this to be really helpful. Christian exercise of authority is never authoritarian.

32:52Our awareness of the Lord gives dignity to our obedience and humility to our rule. In both we serve him. Now, when he says Christian, he's talking about this is how it ought to be, right? This is what we're striving for.

33:12And it only works as we rest upon the Lord and Savior in our hearts and we allow the Spirit to transform him in humility. Walking in humility, following Jesus' example. He called himself the good shepherd. The author of Hebrews called him the great shepherd. And here in this letter, Peter calls him the chief shepherd.

33:38And they're all right. They're all correct. Jesus laid down his life for the sheep. John 10 says, he says this, he's talking about himself. He says when he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. No matter your role in the kingdom of God, remember that leaders are called not for taking but for tending. And we all ought to follow the Lord with humility.