The Shepherd's Task: Overseeing (Part 2)

As we turn to the book of 1 Peter chapter 5 once more, you’ll notice something interesting in what Peter does with the attention to oversight. He focuses LESS on WHAT elders should do by “exercising oversight”, and more on HOW they should do it.

If we take a moment to look at the following items after Peter mentions oversight… he lists 3. Most of these items are adverbs. Adverbs if you recall from English class, describe verbs. The verbs is this section are both the words “shepherd” or “feed” the flock of God and “exercise” oversight. So these items in verses 2-3 describe how one is to shepherd and oversee.

And why would Peter spend time on talking about how shepherds should shepherd rather than on what shepherding is. Couple reasons could prompt Peter to do so.

These elders/pastors have already been instructed on how to shepherd and were quite likely, already doing it. Last week, we discussed the implied meaning behind what exercising oversight means by looking at it’s very definition. We also looked around other parts of scripture to see what is meant and how the church leaders (the apostles and elders) were exercising oversight in the church up until that time. For Peter’s audience (all over Asia Minor), they probably were taught by Paul and other church leaders what they should do. It was already modeled for them. So it is quite possible they were already doing it. For our time in this passage, it was necessary for us to search out other scriptures, comparing scripture with scripture, to understand what oversight is all about. But for Peter, it wouldn’t have been quite as necessary.

Secondly, what we do is always important, but how we do things seems to almost always be just as important if not more important. God is not impressed by right actions, right words, right behavior if its not done by right heart motivations. So Peter is really more concerned that the elders who are already shepherding God’s flocks in that time are doing so in the right way.

So here Peter lists 3 ways in which Pastors ought to exercise their oversight. Some stipulations about how they go about doing their tasks. Each of these are listed as negative or inappropriate ways followed by positive or appropriate ways to shepherd.

BTW… Notice how shepherdly this advice is. He doesn’t just give them what not to do.… but also gives them what they should do… very similiar to Jesus’ instruction… very similiar to what the Bible says it does of itself… All scripture is given of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction.

A. “Not Under Compulsion” but “Willingly”

The first thing Peter wants his pastors to know about how they should serve is that they should do so not under compulsion. Compulsion isn’t a word in our typical vocabulary. So understanding the original greek word would help us. What the word is trying to convey is the idea of being forced into something. Necessitated.

The root word is used in these others passages.

Matthew 14:22 ESV

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

Galatians 2:3 ESV

But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

So Peter didn’t want his elders to shepherd people because they were backed into a corner and made to do it. Rather, he wanted them to shepherd people by oversight through a willingly desire. The idea behind this greek word is one of a voluntary nature, of one’s own accord. Only twice is this word used here and in Hebrews 10:26 where it speaks of sinning willfully rather than ignorantly.

Peter remarks how this is God’s will as “God would have you do it.”

God’s not really interested much in your dutiful actions. Doing so because you have to. He is after you heart. Long before Jesus ever spoke His famous sermon on the mount, which BTW proved that God wasn’t just after the letter of the law but took it to the heart of the matter, there was a man named David that understood and recognized the truth on this matter also.

Psalm 51:16–17 ESV

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

To not possess such a willingness to shepherd (of your own accord) will inevitably lead to a short ministry. You will lack perseverance.

I remember many a times forcing my sisters to do things they didn’t really want to do. Usually the end result was always a fight. I would be upset at her because she gave up to soon, was really giving it her best effort, and kept asking when we were done. Not to mention the carelessness of her approach. She would do things half-heartedly and would sometimes cause more chaos than help. Of course, it’s possible she could have grown to really like it, but it would have been much better and less destructive if she would have had a willingness/excitement to participate rather than for me to nag her into joining.

Same can be said of the pastors of people.

What is their motivation to be a pastor? Peter continues to inform us in next point as well.

Is your desire to shepherd rooted in service or in self-interest? Drawn by opportunities to be seen and valued or in a responsibility to care?

And that’s what he says...

B. “Not for Shameful Gain” but “Eagerly”

It can be really easy to jump into the ministry as a shepherd for all kinds of reasons. I remember thinking that as a young person, it would be really cool to be a youth pastor cause they just get to have fun with young people all the time. My understanding of what youth pastors do or should do was WAY off.… But several guys can go into the ministry for various reasons that don’t line up with the right reasons God has laid out. You enjoy being the leader, you like the attention, you are an intellectual and love to study, you like to express your opinions and be heard, you love to organize activities, you love just hanging out with people… Several of these may not seem all that bad, but there none of these fully represent the right reason.

Peter clearly lays out what would be inappropriate reasons to shepherd people.

Shameful gain. Notice that Peter doesn’t say just the word gain. And that should be noted. Pastors shouldn’t feel guilty for making an honest living from being a pastor. We’ve already spent time discussing the verses that deal with a pastors pay. But what pastors should avoid is shepherd for the sake of a certain kind of gain.

Various translations use these words to describe the inappropriate gain that pastors shouldn’t seek in shepherd and overseeing.

Shameful, filthy, sordid, dishonest, greedy gain.

What these are implying is that a pastor would use his role as a shepherd to accumulate for himself.

Obviously, this would include the materialist wealth of this world.

Remembering a few weeks back, we spoke at length of characteristics of false teachers. One of the most defining of their marks is their greed and love of money. Scripture almost every time it mentions false teachers mentions their greed.

But yet scripture mentions everywhere the dangers of money and the desire to be rich.

1 Timothy 6:9 ESV

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

Matthew 19:23 ESV

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

That’s why prosperity preachers, the preachers and sneakers club, are to be so avoided. They just don’t get the danger. They continue to think and preach that money is a sign of blessing when scripture often reveals how that the one who pursues it is most liable to harm.

That doesn’t mean we can’t be wise, but when money is the pursuit, it’s a dangerous thing.

In today age, there are mainly wealthy pastors. They can easily swindle people with their charm, their intellect, their personalities, to gain large sums of money. Yet this shameful.

Not only is it shameful, it’s also dishonest. IT’S PURE ROBBERY!!!!! Not just of people, but you are robbing God. God has given gifts to people to use for His good. He intends his stewards of his kindness to use His divine powers in them to produce glory for His Name. Yet we have taken his enablements and used them to bolster our wallets but also to bolster our self image.

To shepherd for shameful gain isn’t merely financial, it’s also shameful if its to promote one’s image, to be better liked, to gain a following, to have more personal glory.

So that means a pastor who shepherds well isn’t guaranteed any of these things. Consider the apostle Paul or Jesus. They shepherded well and did it always turn out to their immediate favor? Did it always ensure public approval, friendship, growth, love? Definitely not.

Pastors can truly expose their motivation to shepherd when they decide to quit at the moments those moments when their preaching feels futile, when church membership seems to continue to dwindle, when they lose friendships because of stances taken for truth.…

One of my all-time favorite examples of this is when John Macarthur came into a board meeting with several other pastors/elders and said to them how thankful he was to be amongst friends. They responded to him in front of everyone how if he thinks that they are his friends, then he’s got another thing coming. And they went on to berate him and assault him as he listened. Then after about 30 min or so, he dismissed the meeting and said that he has sheep to feed and went to his study to prepare for his sermon.

These are hard things. Many of us would probably throw the towel in. Such betrayal, such shock, such confusion… The sting is real. If pastors do this so they would be popular, to be praised, to have many friends, and to have active growing churches.… they are going to be disappointed. None of those are guaranteed. Some of those things are good things. But they are not God’s best.

The pastoral calling is not about personal glory or public influence, its about a summons to serve Christ by serving others. That’s what we see in the text.

But eagerly...

This is the very heartbeat of what is means to be a shepherd like the Great Shepherd. Jesus longed to serve others. His desires strongly ached to feed the people for whom He loved. His compassionate welled up for them and that caused Him to pursue them. It’s one of the million things that we love about Jesus.

To walk in the shepherds way is to have the very same mind of Jesus.

These elders would likely have started with the righteous desire but would need these reminders as they continued to serve the Lord. The battle for the heart and mind are constant. We are all called to daily crucify our flesh and walk in the spirit. To deny self and follow Him. Pastors are not exempt from these things in anyway.

This is how we can pray for them. That they would serve God no matter the circumstances or the hardships. No matter if things are going smoothly or roughly. No matter if people like them or not. That there eyes and there minds would be just as Christ’s are. To serve people eagerly and from the heart. Jesus healed alot of people that would never “return the favor.” A very well known story is that of the 10 lepers. How many of them came back to thank Him and to follow Him. Only one. The pastors position may be a thankless one, maybe even appearing as a profitless one. But He must continue to love, and serve others from the eagerness of His heart because He loves God.

And the same can be said of us. We serve others even when no one serves us. Why because we love God and want to honor Him. It shouldn’t take someone to first do good to us before we do good to them. We act like Christ. “We love Him because He first loved us.”

Finally, Peter gives one last instruction on how pastors should shepherd the flock as overseers.

C. “Not domineering over” but “being examples”

We’ve talked a lot about the various reasons pastors shouldn’t shepherd God’s people. Being the boss can be a very tempting reason to take the position because it comes with authority. Yet, all pastors need to understand a few things about this authority. It’s a borrowed authority and it’s meant to be a humble authority.

1. Borrowed Authority

I knew of a pastor who loved his work. He faithfully served and invested in the church he served with vigor and passion. He gave his all into building that church, serving over several decades. But as the years went by the mentality slowly grew in his mind, that this was his church. One particular Sunday afternoon, there were a few people in the kitchen, sorting things, cleaning, etc… and he walked in. He noticed that something wasn’t put back in it’s usual spot so he made a comment about it to the ladies. They responded that there were some changes made that they liked better. He got kinda frustrated at that since that was the way things were for like a long time, and they were tampering with it. They went back and forth arguing their points before he finally erupted… THIS IS MY CHURCH AND WE WILL DO THINGS MY WAY.

At first, we cringe when we hear something like this… but if we are being honest, it would be all too easy for anyone of us to do this. You spend time on something, you invest in it, you have seniority over it, because of all the labor you’ve done for it, you feel entitled. Yet, the very truth of this whole matter is that this gift, this ministry, this authority, is a borrowed one. It’s not yours.

The church is not owned by any one pastor. It’s owned by God. It’s merely managed by God’s selected pastors. Notice what scripture says here. “Not domineering over those in your charge”.… or said domineering over those entrusted to you.” Pastors certainly have been given responsibility to watch after God’s people, but they are not His people, they are God’s. He is merely watching out for them until the Chief shepherd comes back for them.

BTW, there is an encouragement here. We might look at this passage and say, great God let imperfect humans have authority over people. And we just have to put up with it till He comes back. Notice though what scripture calls him.

1 Peter 5:4 ESV

And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

The chief Shepherd… might be thought of as the top dog but it is also true that it could be said that he is the perfect model. We might be misled into thinking that he’s not around by the wording of this verse.… “when he appears...”, we might feel as if He is distant and distracted. That He just past it along and left. But that’s not our God. That’s not our shepherd. When God is called anything that is true, He perfectly embodies of it’s right characteristics. So as a shepherd, a good shepherd… everything we have said of pastor/shepherds is still perfectly true of our good shepherd. He is with the sheep, he cares for the sheep, he watches over the sheep, he guards the sheep, and guides them. So no, he didn’t just dump the sheep off to shady shepherds and run off. He is still very much engaged in the work of shepherding, first helping the shepherds, then thru them helping the sheep.

We might at times be discouraged with the state of how things are going in God’s flock, but to understand that Christ is the chief Shepherd means we can have great confidence that He is still at work, in the midst of the flock. Remember that shepherds lead us through dark valleys. God the good shepherd still does that. It doesn’t mean He’s abandoning us… It means he’s taking us to a place much greater. So if our Good Shepherd is still leading His flock, that means that no matter how our shepherds lead us on earth/our heavenly shepherd is still perfectly in control.

2. Humble Authority

A pastor/shepherd is not to domineer over the flock, because the flock is not his. It’s God’s. And because it’s God’s flock, he wants to lead it the same way God does.

Whenever my wife have the opportunity to get away (whether its for a date, or a ministry opportunity that would be better without kids around) we take our kids to people we trust and drop them off. But before, we just leave them there… usually something important is discussed. What should we do with these kids… questions like how much screen time is allowed, what kinds of food should I give them or should I avoid, if it’s overnight, what time do they go to bed, what are some of the rules, etc. Why are these questions asked? Well, those that are watching the kids know that the parents of these kids understand them better then the sitters. They also want to be consistent with the kids. It’s a common curtesy, but it’s also most beneficial for the kids.

Ever received your kids back from people that operated completely different than you do. Your kids will either be completely wiped out, whiny, graggy, angry, should I say spoiled.… haha. That’s not helpful.

So pastors who are “sitting” for God’s flocks want to be able to give the flock “back” to God in good order. Following the same pattern God laid down Himself, to avoid confusion, and to represent God well.

How does Jesus lead His flocks. Is He overly domineering?

To answer this, we find it quite helpful in again looking at the original language… to domineer is also translated to exercise lordship over… the same greek work found here is found in Matthew 20:25

Matthew 20:25 ESV

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

Jesus was talking about the leaders of the world… probably could have also included the pharisees and scribes as well.

Does Jesus praise this kind of leadership? absolutely not… in fact quite the opposite.

Matthew 20:26–28 ESV

It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

To compare the kinds of leadership styles… to domineer over someone… to lord it over them looks like this...

oppressive (unjustly inflict hardship- overly excessive)

must be served (everyone has to do things for him, life is all about his time, his responsibilities, his concerns)

critical & harsh- (often speak negatively of people, harsh in their tone to people)

proud & unwilling to listen- (unwilling to apologize/admit clear mistakes/always right)

uncaring- (show little concern to no concern if it affects anyone)

But to shepherd like Jesus, to have authority like Jesus is to...

be gentle

serving others

humble

be loving

That’s good leadership… that’s the kind of leadership that Jesus’ portrays. Jesus led. But He didn’t lead by shouting angerly, He didn’t lead by dictating, He didn’t lead by criticizing/mocking/belittling those he led. He led by serving. He led by loving. He led by modeling. He led by showing & teaching. He led with great patience. He led by being concerned first and foremost with the Kingdom of God in mind.

When we get angry at anything, who’s honor are we most concerned about in that moment. Whether it’s an injustice at work, an idiot driver on the freeway, spouse that didn’t listen, fellow member doing something different at church.… who’s honor are we most concerned with. When we try to control things, to domineer, it’s because all we think of is ourselves. But if we have the mind of Christ, concerned most for the things He was most concerned about, we will lead as He lead.

It’s hard to lead this way. It’s hard to walk humbling. Everyone of us is required to do so. That’s exactly what Peter says just a few verses later… Pastors ought to be humble but so does everyone else.

1 Peter 5:5–7 ESV

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.” 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.

Submission which requires a great amount of humility is tough. That’s why he includes the part about casting your anxieties on him. These anxieties are caused mainly by people whom you can’t control and who will offend you. And yet our part is still the same. Walk humbly. Submit because that’s our responsibility. Doesn’t matter how wrong others may be, our part is to honor God in our humility. For a pastor, it’s easy for us to err towards a domineering spirit when people don’t walk the way they should. We get can get aggressive, get angry, get controlling… but our respond is to lead the way Christ does. For members, it can be easy to riot, to rebel when our leaders aren’t leading entirely well, yet our response is still to be the same as Christ’s who submitted Himself over to evil rulers to do entirely unjust things to Him. To even subject Himself to a life a criticism and mis abuse. Yet He did that out of love for the Father and love for us. Of course, we shouldn’t submit if it’s down right unbiblical but we honor God when we do submit even to unjust leaders. Same is true in marriages… we don’t only submit when they are acting perfect.… same is true of governments, same is true of kids and parents.… same is true of the church.

Of course, Godly leadership makes submission much easier. When you trust, that those that look after you have your best interest at heart, you are much more confident to submit yourselves to them. So pastors strive to honor God by leading others in the ways that are that are like Him.

III. Compensation of Oversight

Oversight is a very difficult task. Many pastors walk away from the ministry because the grueling and difficult nature of pastoral work. A resent study by revealed that 50% of pastors quit in 5 years (whether that’s to another minister or just altogether). Beyond that 80% of pastors don’t make it farther than 10 years in the minstry.) These statistics do prove the reality of the difficulty of pastoring. Pastoring has one of the lowest rates of longevity in almost any field. That’s a sad reality.

The work alone is hard enough, but also consider the compensation.

When people stay long at a particular job, one of the largest reasons they stay is because of the benefits and compensation. But for pastors, why do they stay. And that’s what Peter wants these pastors to realize and reconfigure to. Peter just loudly announced that elders/pastors aren’t supposed to be in it for the material gain, no promotions no big pension plans, no sweet gifts, cars etc, not in it for the earthly power and authority, not building an empire, or not for the earthly reputation, being well known and well liked, not in it for merely for friendships and lots of relationships (cause our message often turns many people away). If Peter ended his discussion at of elders at v.3, and didn’t include verse 4. Perhaps more pastors at that time would have given up… cause who would want to sign up for that. You can at least take the hard work if you know that theirs a reward for it. And Peter knows that, Paul knows that, Jesus himself teaches that. In every pastoral passage, the reminder is given again. We serve for a heavenly reward.

1 Peter 5:4 ESV

And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

The Bible often contracts for us the rewards of earth and the rewards of heaven. The filthy gain we receive in this life is temporary, but the rewards in heaven, the highest levels of glory there is, are described as unfading. Life of service for eternity of glory… that seems a no-brainer. But we often need the reminder. The earthly outlook has it’s constant appeal to our flesh. But we need to the Spirit of God to give us the appeal of heaven and it’s great rewards.

Chief among them is the reward of Christ… the chief Shepherd. To embrace Him and to hear Him say well done. To serve Christ is the reward, and Pastors and people constantly need reminders of that.

“One of the greatest rewards that we ever receive for serving God is the permission to do still more for Him.”

-Charles Spurgeon

Conclusion:

Oversight is not easy. It entails many things. From managing many things, to caring deeply for things, and investing much time. On top of that, it comes with many risks. To many pitfalls that are very easy to fall into. But I am so very thankful that God has provided for us the Good Shepherd that knows His sheep and looks after them. Nothing will separate us from His perfect, powerful love and His ever present watchful gaze. If you know nothing of this great Shepherd, understand that He only guards/protects his own. Not all are His sheep. Today, the Lord has once again opened the door to enter His sheepfold and to know His goodness. If you would like to know more of what the good shepherd has done for you and how you can be apart of His flock. Encourage you to speak to me or the person who brought you or to ask someone nearby. They would be happy to share the joys they know of being part of God’s flock and how you too can be apart of it.

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