Servant Leaders, Part 2

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. What images come to your mind when you think of the position of leader? The world's leader seeks power and renown and is lifted up based on talent, appearance, and cunning. But 1 Peter 5, 1-4 portrays the biblical image of the leader as a servant. Today, Rich unpacks the text to show how a leader must think and function within the church. God's Word presents church leadership as a weighty responsibility that requires a constant view toward the cross and eternity.

Let's listen in. This is the second part of a message titled Servant Leaders. It was first preached on February 26, 2023. Here's a very, very important point I want you to remember when we're talking about church leadership. He refers to them here as elders. They are part of the flock, too.

There is a glut of celebrity pastors who are being venerated by their people. That's not the biblical, because a pastor, I am a part of the flock just like you. I'm a smelly, stupid lamb.

I'm not calling you smelly and stupid, okay? David Helm says elders are to emulate Jesus who came to serve and not to be served. Humility and sacrificial service are the hallmarks of godly leadership. That's a high calling, folks. That's a high bar. It's a very high bar.

So let's talk about it. As Peter began with authoritative humility, let's talk about what elders do. Two main points to the job description of church leadership.

Number one, shepherd. Look what he says, verse two, shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you. The Latin word for shepherd is, tell me, pastor, pastor, pastor. So many people get the idea that a pastor is just somebody who gets up and talks nice, right? So there's a whole lot more to being a pastor than just getting up in front of a bunch of people and talking a good sermon. Pastor, shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Notice he did not use the metaphor of a cowboy.

Aren't you glad for that? Because what do cowboys do? They drive cattle. It's not what a pastor does. A shepherd leads as the shepherd walks the sheep follow. And we are following the chief shepherd, all of us following Christ. But the idea here of the shepherd is that he is the one out front. He's the point person of the flock. Following Christ, the chief shepherd. Following Christ, the chief shepherd. And the shepherd leads the flock to pasture, to feed, to graze on the treasures and the riches of God's self-disclosure. And to live the gospel as we follow Christ walking in his steps. But he also leads them to safety. But that safety doesn't come from himself, it comes from what God has made known to us.

It's the truth that sets you free. Notice what Paul said, 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 1. He said, be imitators of me as I am of Christ.

In other words, at any moment if the pastor is not imitating Christ, you should not be following him. I'm just one of the flock. Dwight's just one of the flock.

Bobby's just one of the flock. But our first priority is to be passionately pursuing Christ. And you all can hold me accountable for that. To be passionately pursuing Christ.

That's first priority. When he says, now again in verse 2, shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising oversight. Exercising oversight.

The word oversight is episcopao. The word means to minister unto being responsible for. To minister, to serve being responsive, take care of being responsible for them.

So you hear the nuance of a trust in this. Look back at chapter 2, the last verse of chapter 2. For you are straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. That's Christ. That's your status in Christ as a follower of Christ. He's your shepherd and overseer of your soul.

Same words. But it is a trust. Look at verse 3, chapter 5 verse 3. Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples. Not domineering over those in your charge.

It is a trust. To the three of us in this church, the Lord has entrusted to us the responsibility, the weighty responsibility of watching out for your souls. That's scary.

That's what the writer of Hebrews says, chapter 13 verse 17. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. That's a very weighty responsibility.

That is something that cannot be taken lightly. Let me make a very important point here, because some people get stuck on the first line there. Obey your leaders and submit to them. That is a very un-American thought, isn't it? It's a very un-Western thought.

We're all about freedom. You can't tell me what to do. And the authority, the overseer's authority, the pastor's authority is not in himself.

It's not even in his position, per se. You have to follow me because I am the overseer. If you ever hear that from a church leader, run. What is the pastor's authority? It is God's self-disclosure. That's why I constantly say here, the Word of God sets the agenda for ministry at Grace Bible Church. And we are called, we are all called to live the gospel, and therefore it is important for us to know God's self-disclosure and teach and lead us all as we walk together so that we are living the gospel, not just in the confines of this room, but 24-7 as we leave this place, as you work through... ...home, we're living the gospel. That's what we're called to. And the pastor, the shepherd, the under-shepherd, the overseer equips you to that end, using the Word of God in its authority. It is the Word of God that has authority, not the man. And we see this, what Paul writes in Ephesians 4, verse 13, this is the goal, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That's our goal for you. It's a biblical goal, therefore everything we do as shepherds is to this end. At least it ought to be.

That's God's design. Ed Clowney says, any undermining of the authority of Scripture turns church government into spiritual tyranny. If church leaders add to or subtract from the Word of God, they make themselves lords over the conscience of others. I am not the authority. The Word of God is the authority. I am called to know and study the authority and to equip and lead the flock of God through that.

And thank God we have his Holy Spirit to aid us in that. I want you to notice something because there's three words throughout all of this. The first one, of course, is shepherd, or pastor, which is the Latin transliteration. Poimino is the word, and it speaks of the function of this office, tender care, to provide tender care and to protect.

That's what a shepherd does. But then overseer, exercising oversight, episcopale, or sometimes that's translated bishop, but Scripture never uses that term as a high functioning status within the church. It speaks of the function. The word is always speaking to the function. Paul writes to you, he desires the function of a bishop, the function.

That's what's so key. And that function is the responsibility and the accountability that comes with it. And then the word elder, of course, presbuteros, wise leadership and guidance.

All three of those wrapped up in the same position in the church. Now what he comes into here in verses two, three, and four are some dos and don'ts of this weighty responsibility. And it's mostly that we've talked about what an elder does, what a shepherd does. And now he's talking about the disposition with which this role is approached.

Three dos and three don'ts. Number one, this weighty responsibility must be approached willingly. He says, verse two, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you, willingly.

In other words, there's an inner, there's an actual desire. A desire not necessarily to rise up to position, but a desire to lead, a desire to serve. And by leading I mean being a point person out front, passionately pursuing Christ.

That's leading. But willingly also has the nuance of doing so purposefully. And the purpose therein is to please God, to glorify him and to magnify Christ. That's the function, the mission of the church. So to willingly step up to and equip, to willingly step up to the role, because the Bible talks so much more about the role than it does about the actual position. It is a position. It's a recognized position by the church. But what's so important about it is, what is the function of that position? It's not just holding a position.

There's no authority in just holding the position. But willingly to step up, to equip, to lead, to serve the flock of God. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, 7 Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's Word the very purpose for which you were designed. 7 Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace, weekdays at 10 a.m.