Thrive in Leadership and Humility

1 Peter 5:1–10 (NIV)

1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Now after telling us about judgment beginning in the house of God and for us to not consider suffering a strange thing considering we are aliens in this world but to rejoice through suffering because God will ultimately vindicate us in the end.

Now he moves on to church leadership, which is of special importance, especially in times of crises.

Church Leadership

Calls them Shepherds

A common metaphor throughout the OT (of God shepherding his people, Psalm 23) and picked up by Jesus as the Shepherd over his people (Matthew 15:24, Luke 12:32)

Psalm 23:1–6 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

What does this picture of shepherding convey for us?

Sheep (Everyone) is in need of a Shepherd! (Mark 6:34)

To keep them from wandering away in their stupidity.

To protect from dangers of wild animals and thieves.

To feed them.

To find them even at their own personal risk

To prevent one sheep from taking advantage of others.

To maintain unity of the flock

To exercise individual care.

These of course were made exclusively about Jesus as the Chief Shepherd but they also apply as extension to those who are His under shepherds in the church… Those in Church Leadership.

Jeremiah 23:1–4“1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.”

We all know we need some kind of job.

We all know we need friendships

We all know we need teachers and mentors to pass on knowledge

Yet, many don’t know their need for a shepherd, a pastor. Which I can argue is the most important need to be met for our spiritual health and growth which, according to 1 John 1, effects our whole life.

It is the responsibility and gifting from Jesus to teach truth to the flock for their growth.

Motivations of the Shepherd/Leader (applied indirectly to any situation in which a Christian is called to serve another for spiritual growth.)

This is important because: Just as a pastor needs to understand the callings of his “flock” in order to be more effective in serving them, so the flock needs to understand the calling of the pastor to be able to support the calling.

Until we come to terms with this calling and with God’s call on our lives to be recipients of that person’s calling, we will fail to be what God has called us to be: members of His Church.

We serve, not because you have to but you want to.

We know from the evidence of experience, that there is a world of difference between someone doing something because they are obligated and someone doing something because they desire it.

Of course there are and will be moments where you don’t want to get out of bed and do ministry, in fact many don’t. Sometimes we do it because we have been called and it’s just obedience, but God doesn’t want us to live there. He is so full of love, grace, energy, excitement, joy to share with you his ministers.

Perhaps we need to spend more time receiving these great gits in prayer.

It is imperative, that as your leaders pray for you daily, that you pray for your leaders.

We serve, not for what you get out of it but what you get to give.

We truly live in a consumer society. The number one focus for many people, is what do I get out of this.

It is the spirit of anti-Christ. Christ loves and serves nor for what He gets out of it but because of who He is.

I live for His glory and honor.

Not for power or control but be a living example.

We must remember that those we are serving are not our possession but they are entirely the possession of God, Peter calls them God’s flock.

Paul tells Timothy. SCLFP

Paul often tells his congregations to follow him as he follows the Lord. Imitate me, follow our example.

Which begs the question. If everyone imitated you, what would the world look like?

Why? Jesus rewards us.

Crowned with the Presence of God. The crown is the glory of being accepted/approved/praised by God.

It is a reward of Himself which is the greatest reward.

Clothe yourselves with humility

Why?

Because God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.

He will lift you up in his time.

What this is not promising (in the context of the letter) is that you will get a job promotion. As millions of Christians in this world over the last 2000 years have showed us… Strong faith in God does not equate a life on earth that gets better and better.

What he is saying, humility in this life, dependence on God will exalt you in the end. God will vindicate you.

As Peter told us in chapter 1 - Set your hope on the grace of God that will be brought to you at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

I am not living for now… I am living for then.

If I am living for now… I will make decisions that are best for me now and my place in society, which may include giving up my faith so that I may have an easier life. In the context of 1 Peter, I won’t lose my life.

However, he is also not saying that this life is unimportant and that we are just waiting to get beamed up. Existing and holding our breath till Jesus comes back.

But we have purpose and plans from Jesus to do the Impossible! In the here and now!

The pathway for such is humility - utter dependence on Jesus.

Pride = you are in control and everything is up to you. You make things happen. You exalt yourself.

Humility = you can do nothing but with Christ, by his power, his plans and purposes will be fulfilled. You trust in God and he exalts you according to his time and plan for his purposes.

Example: King David.

God tells David in 2 Samuel 7:

I took you

I selected you

I have been with you

I have destroyed all your enemies

I will make your name famous

I will provide

I will give you rest

God will make a house for you

I will raise up one of your descendants

I will make his kingdom strong

I will secure his royal throne

I will be his father

I will correct and discipline him

I removed your enemies for you

Insights from psychiatrist Louis McBurney: “Dropout is as pervasive a problem for Christian ministers as any vocation in our society. The clergy no longer command the same respect that they once had, divorce rates are up among them, they leave for “secular” jobs more than ever before, and they are fired more than ever before. These pressures create what McBurney calls a series of five crises: a crisis of authority, of identity, of priority, of integrity, and of dependency. In addition, pastors have a list of impossible tasks, a mandate to succeed, job insecurity, unexpressed anger, and financial pressure. To make matters worse, Christian workers tend to resist counseling because they are perceived (and therefore perceive themselves) as infallible, they are afraid of being exposed as failures or of being rejected, they seem to distrust psychology, they seem to lack funds for paying a therapist, and they do not deal with their feelings well.”