Learning from 1 Peter – How to Shepherd the Flock

1 Peter 5:1-4 - “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

This passage provides guidelines for pastors and ministers.

…BE SHEPHERDS – This first injunction may seem confusing, because in modern Christianity many church leaders use the title of “pastor” (which originally meant “shepherd” or “sheep herder,” and still does in some languages, like Portuguese).  Some even have their members address them as “Pastor ___,” which is a little confusing in light of Jesus’ explicit warnings in Matthew 23:8-12.  In any case, people whose title is already “pastor” or “shepherd” might think they are automatically being a shepherd.  Titles, however, are not the same as behavior.  This passage enjoins us to act like shepherds taking care of flocks in the way we treat the members in our churches – with care, self-sacrificing love, and genuine concern for their well-being.  This is the opposite of thinking of members as sources of tithes, subordinates to order around, or the numerical measure of one’s greatness as a religious leader.  Rather than seeing ourselves as the commander of a legion or the executive of an organization, we should view ourselves as protectors, guardians, and nurturers.  Too many church leaders think the members are there to serve them, when it should be the other way around.

NOT BECAUSE YOU MUST, BUT BECAUSE YOU ARE WILLING –   We must ask ourselves why we are doing this – why are we pastoring?  Even men in unpaid ministry positions, like those in Maranatha, can find themselves doing things merely to appease or impress their supervisors or the denominational leadership, or out of fear of the church hierarchy.  It is easy to find pastors who hold a flurry of special events (small seminars, special workers’ meetings, etc.) before a local visit from the directors of their organization.  This passage instead encourages ministry “because you really want to,” that is, compelled by a genuine love of Christ and love for the people (see 2 Corinthians 5:14).  Our motivations matter to the Lord, and are probably more obvious to the members than we think.

NOT GREEDY FOR MONEY – The worst reason for doing ministry, which is lamentably common, is that it provides an easier opportunity for income than alternative sources of secular employment – some people are in ministry as a career to avoid having to earn their living through manual labor.  Suppose for a moment that your country outlawed receiving any money or other compensation whatsoever from the ministry or from church members, but otherwise allowed churches to function freely – in other words, all ministry had to be on a strictly volunteer basis, with no salary, no sponsorship from foreign churches, no income or assistance related to the ministry at all.  How many pastors would there be in your country?  In the New Testament period, this would not have changed anything.  We fear that today, very few would be willing to be pastors if they had to support themselves completely with secular jobs, as the Apostle Paul did.  Worse, it is easy to find pastors who are egregious in their greed, begging for donations and then using the contributions to support a life of luxury.  Some will even lie to donors in order to solicit assistance.

NOT LORDING IT OVER THOSE ENTRUSTED TO YOU – The Bible simply forbids authoritarian styles of leadership for pastors, here and elsewhere (Matthew 20:25-26; Mark 10:41-43; Luke 22:25-26; 2 Corinthians 1:24).  Titus 2:15 does mention encouraging and rebuking “with all authority,” but this refers to confidence in the eternal truth of what we are saying, not to our relationship style with the church members.  Do we teach the members to obey us, or to obey the Lord?  Do we expect members to be submissive to the ministry no matter what, regardless of how awful his behavior becomes?  “Lording it over” means reminding the members of “who is in charge,” warning them against “touching the Lord’s anointed” (the person saying the warning), or treating it as a sin when people question things or ask for explanations – instilling fear to manipulate them into submissiveness.

BEING EXAMPLES – We should not expect or require more of the members than we ourselves do.  Pastors must exemplify the level of brotherly love, humility, prayer, study of the Word, and evangelism to which the members should aspire.