A Shepherd To Follow Series

1 Peter 5:1-4 [5:1] So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: [2] shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; [3] not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. [4] And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (ESV)

According to several confirmed sources across denominational lines: Today: in regards to: Pastors: Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention in their churches. Four thousand new churches begin each year, but over seven thousand churches close. Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression. Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living. Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years. Ninety percent said the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people. For Pastors' Wives: Eighty percent of pastors' spouses feel their spouse is overworked. Eighty percent of pastors' spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession. The majority of pastor's wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry. For Pastors' Marriages: Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in divorce. Finally, for Pastors' Children: Eighty percent of adult children of pastors surveyed have had to seek professional help for depression. (These statistics came from across denomination lines, and have been gleaned from various reliable sources such as Pastor to Pastor, Focus on the Family, Ministries Today, Charisma Magazine, TNT Ministries, Campus Crusade for Christ and the Global Pastors Network. Sited at: http://maranathalife.com/lifeline/stats.htm)

What’s your thought of the ministry? Do these statistics surprise you? Pastoral ministry has changed so much that it would be unrecognizable to pastors 50-60 years ago, and it’s hard to fathom for those retiring from the ministry now. What do you think a pastor should be responsible for? How should a pastor minister to the flock of God? Why should he do what he does? What difference does it make to you as being a part of Safe Haven?

Perhaps at this point your thought is I’m glad I’m not a pastor, or they only work one hour a week, what are they complaining about? But it should be pretty obvious from our study of 1 Peter, that godly regard for authority all ties together. How we regard Elders, Government, employers or household authority, all relates to what we think of God. But, as we will see, it relates even more so for members of the local church. In the context of 1 Peter, Peter has been explaining how to deal with difficulties. Therefore, the elders especially should not draw back from shepherding the people, for it is God’s will that they willingly lead the church, even though by doing so they may make themselves a larger target of persecution (Jobes, K. H. (2005). 1 Peter (p. 300). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.).

Peter, writing to the elders of various churches in Asia Minor (1:1) and to church and elders of all eras, issues several fundamental and crucial commands concerning shepherding. Those commands may be understood by asking four basic questions of this passage: 1) What are the issues in shepherding? (1 PETER 5:1) 2) Who must be shepherded? (1 Peter 5:2) 3) How must shepherding be done? (1 Peter 5:2c-3) 4) Why should shepherds serve? (1 Peter 5:4).

For our local Church, in order to have “A Shepherd to Follow” we must ask:

1) WHAT ARE THE ISSUES IN SHEPHERDING? (1 PETER 5:1)

1 Peter 5:1 [5:1] So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:

Chapter 5 of 1 Peter is actually an application of admonitions, exhortations and personal greetings based on what has been written in the previous four chapters. The next time I preach will be the last message in 1 Peter and this and that last message, apply what Peter has written. Peter begins verse one with an Exhortation. To exhort (parakaleo) means literally “to call alongside,” or in the general sense, “to encourage or compel someone in a certain direction.” Here Peter directs the appeal to the elders, who are the Lord’s appointed and gifted leaders of the church. The first mention of elders is in Acts 11:30, where the writer Luke identifies them as the leaders of the Jerusalem church. Subsequent references in Acts (14:23; 15:4, 6, 22, 23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18) continue to make clear their role. The early church broadly adopted a similar model (cf. Acts 2:42–47; 6:4), appointed a plurality of godly and gifted men to lead, guard, and feed each local congregation (cf. Titus 1:5). Titus 1:5 [5] This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-- (ESV). Here we see that the words presbyteros (“elder”) and episkopos (“bishop,” or “overseer,” cf. v. 2 here) are interchangeable. The early church utilized more people than the church today does (see comments on 4:10; cf. Eph 4:12) and so put the spiritual leadership in the hands of a plurality. (Blum, E. A. (1981). 1 Peter. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 250). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)