The Heart Of A Shepherd Series

As most of you know, my personal biography includes many years as a manager in a large organization, and part of my job was to interview and hire people. Over the years, as the jobs that I was responsible to fill got higher up in the organization, the job descriptions expanded. The years of experience required increased. The list of degrees and certifications that the candidates needed to possess got longer. The skills, and experience, and accomplishments that we were looking for grew more and more extensive. We would put all of these into the job description, and we would receive the resumes of the candidates. But the one essential thing that a job description couldn’t really convey, and that a resume couldn’t demonstrate, was that the candidate had the right attitude, the right frame of mind; in other words, that their approach to leadership would be a good fit with our organization. That was something which required a face-to-face (or sometimes a Zoom-to-Zoom) interview. We needed to look them in the eye, and listen to their tone of voice, to try to determine if they had that indefinable combination of passion, commitment, confidence, and humility that we were looking for. It wasn’t easy, but it was critically important. Because someone who had impeccable credentials and a long list of accomplishments, but who didn’t have the right attitude, would be a liability to the organization, instead of an asset.

Which brings us to today’s text, in which Peter is describing what leadership should look like in the church. He’s addressing elders, but he doesn’t focus on what their qualifications should be, or how many of them a church should have, or how they should be selected. We can find that in other places in the New Testament. Instead, he’s focusing on what is in their hearts. He’s telling them, and us, what kinds of attitudes a spiritual leader must possess. And note that I didn’t say, “should” possess, but “must” possess. Remember, Peter is writing in the first century, to believers who were scattered across five Roman provinces in what is today the country of Turkey. These believers were experiencing severe persecution and suffering for their faith; Peter calls it a “fiery ordeal”. And so effective leadership, godly leadership, was essential to enable these Christian communities to persevere in faith as they faced hostility and opposition. The instructions that Peter is providing here were therefore critical for their survival. [Is godly leadership essential for churches today?]

So who is he writing to? Verse 1: “To the elders among you”. Elders plural, because he is writing to several churches; we don’t know if any given congregation had more than one elder. We really don’t know much at all about how these groups of believers were organized; the process of identifying elders may have been fairly informal at this point. The important thing is that these were people who were recognized as having the necessary experience and maturity to exercise spiritual leadership. That’s who Peter is addressing his instructions to. But I’m going to take it one step further. Although Peter is addressing elders specifically, the principles he shares with them are applicable to anyone who exercises leadership in a Christian fellowship; anyone who has a responsibility for ministry oversight, or who has influence over others in spiritual matters. And that includes most of us at one time or another. So let’s pay close attention to what Peter tells us spiritual leadership should look like. I’ll begin with verses 2-3:

“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.”

Peter lists three specific things:

• First, they should watch over their flock willingly, and not merely out of obligation.

• Second, their goal should be to serve, rather than to gain financially.

• And third, they should lead by example, instead of exercising authority in a heavy-handed, dictatorial manner.

We’ll look at each one of these. But what they all have in common is that they reflect an attitude of leadership whose goal is to benefit others, rather than oneself. Let me explain.

Leadership which seeks to benefit oneself demonstrates an “I Deserve” mindset. An “I Deserve” mindset. Self-centered leadership is focused on how I, as a leader, will benefit from my role. This mindset starts with all the reasons that the leader should be honored, or compensated, or obeyed; and then takes steps to ensure that they get what they think is due them. For example:

The “I Deserve” Leadership Mindset

Because . . .

• I have knowledge and education