Over the years we have managed to lose sight of God’s plan for leadership in the church. In fact we have modeled the leadership structure of the church more after our nation’s government than the Biblical plan. Our leadership strategies have the tendency to look more like corporate America instead of the one’s modeled by Jesus. There should not be any such thing as church government; God has not given any of us the right to govern His church. The church is not a democracy, when we believe that authority rests in the majority vote of the congregation or some governing board we deny Christ’s authority over the church. Over the last century some very distorted leadership models have made their way into the church. The Biblical idea of shepherding has been lost and many sincere church members have been confused in regard to God’s plan for church leadership. We must make a decision, are we going design our lives and churches around the pattern of Jesus or around the best thinking the world has to offer. Today we want to discover, whatever happened to Biblical leadership.
I. An overview of the wrong models adopted in church leadership.
A. The clergy system rather than a community of ministers.
1. The clergy structure is closer to the Old Testament pattern than it is to the New Testament pattern.
a. The temple signified the localized presence of God making the building itself holy.
b. The priesthood was a special class of people chosen to serve God on behalf of the people.
c. The sacrifices were offerings made to God in order to please Him.
2. Jesus instituted a completely new paradigm, no longer would the Spirit’s presence be with us but it would be in us.
3. You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5—NIV)
4. Not only are we the stones that make up God’s building, believers are now a holy priesthood who perform service for the Lord.
B. The governing board rather than elders shepherding.
1. This finds its root in the belief that the church is a democracy and we elect representatives to carry out the business of the church.
2. This style of leadership is often deeply engrained within the local church and it continues to exist because the people have not been shown the correct pattern in Scripture.
3. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. (Colossians 1:18—NIV)
4. The authority for what happens in the church does not rest in the hands of the people but in Jesus Christ.
5. When church leaders following the shepherding style of servant leadership, they reflect the very heart of God and imitate the ways of Jesus.
C. Supervising people’s jobs rather than caring for people’s needs.
1. Leadership does not consist of telling people what to do and how to do it.
2. Leadership must care for people’s needs and see to the fact that their number one need is met, that they are growing in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Leaders do not set policy they lead in service by example.
3. We must approach the issue of leadership on Jesus’ terms, not ours. The concepts and values He shared with His disciples may not be familiar categories of our contemporary management textbooks or our manuals of church administration. The metaphors He chooses may not imply the same patterns of leadership behavior that is familiar in our churches. – David Bennett
4. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26-28—NIV)
II. An overview of the poor leadership styles adopted by the church.
A. The hired hand style of leading.
1. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (John 10:12-13—NIV)
2. In ancient Palestine Shepherding was not a part-time, fair weather affair. Shepherding was a 24/7, hands on task.
3. The modern day hireling likes the prestige and visibility that comes with leadership but when it begins to involve long hours, receiving criticism and getting sheep smell all over you, they take off and leave the sheep.
4. Jesus’ sets the opposite example in the fact He does whatever it takes to protect and lead His sheep including laying His life down for them.
B. The cowboy style of leading.
1. There is a very elementary difference between shepherds and cowboys. Shepherds lead and cowboys drive.
2. Cowboys force the herd to go their way while shepherds lovingly lead the flock God’s way.
3. The shepherd relies on the trusting relationship between him and the sheep.
4. Jesus leads us in paths of righteousness, where we fear no evil and our cups run over even in the valley of the shadow of death.
C. The sheriff style of leading.
1. He’s the law and what he says goes. He does not ask if you like it; he just demands that you do what he says.
2. These types of leaders cannot expect the love, affection and loyalty of the flock.
3. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. (Matthew 20:25-26a—NIV)
4. This style of leadership is of the world and has no place in the Lord’s church.
D. The CEO style of leading.
1. This model works mostly behind closed boardroom doors, making decisions, tapping gavels, dispatching memos and announcing edicts.
2. This type of leadership neglects opportunities for the much needed informal contact with the people. They neglect the many shepherding opportunities the Lord puts before them.
3. The CEO is not leading by example in a hands on method, so the relationship with the flock is not being built the way that God expects.
4. How can you get sheep smell on you if you never touch them-except for a hand shake and some quick words in the aisle on Sunday morning?
III. What a true Biblical leader looks like.
A. Biblical leaders display the attitude of servitude.
1. As we mentioned earlier in Matthew 20:25-28, Jesus equates leadership with service (diakonos).
2. We see in Acts 6, that servants do ministry (diakonia).
3. God calls all people to ministry and those He calls to leadership, lead by example or lead through service.
4. The leaders who best reflect a shepherd’s heart are those who first and foremost have a servant’s heart.
B. Biblical leaders guard God’s flock.
1. The common word translated guard is prohistemi which means to stand before, to maintain, to manage and to guard.
2. Paul uses this very word when he writes about the qualifications for an elder.
3. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (1 Timothy 3:4—NIV)
4. The word carries the idea of leadership being a demonstration of personal care.
C. Biblical leaders function as shepherds.
1. The Bible focuses on the care-giving aspect of shepherding.
2. Paul charged the elders at Ephesus, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” (Acts 20:28—NIV)
3. Built into this verse we quickly discover that being an overseer involves being the primary care provider for the sheep.
4. Regardless of which word is used describe the elder: pastor or shepherd (poimenos) or overseer (episkopos) you cannot escape the idea that shepherding is all about hands on care-giving.
D. Biblical leaders follow the one proven leader, Jesus.
1. Jesus was a humble servant leader both by birth and example.
2. Jesus was a balanced shepherding leader balancing toughness and tenderness along with teaching and touching.
3. The results Jesus achieved are second to none. In three years He defined a mission and carried it out. He recruited and motivated twelve ordinary men to become extraordinary.
4. The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers. Leaders are responsible for future leaders. They lead to identify, develop and nurture future leaders. – Max DePree
A guide on a tour bus that traveled through Israel’s countryside had the crowd engaged as he explained the history, the scenery and the lifestyle. In his description, he included a heart-warming portrayal of the ancient shepherd/sheep relationship. He told of how the shepherd builds a relationship with his sheep, how he feeds them and gently cares for them. He pointed out that the shepherd doesn’t drive the sheep but leads them, and that the shepherd does not need to be harsh with them, because they hear his voice and follow. Suddenly the guide realized he had lost his audience. They all were staring out the window at a guy chasing a flock of sheep. He was throwing sticks and rocks at them, whacking them with sticks and even siccing the sheep dog on them. The sheep chasing man really took away from the image the guide had just painted. The guide overcome by emotion jumped off the bus and confronted the man, “Do you realize what you have done to me?” he asked. “I was spinning a charming story about the gentle ways of shepherds and here you are mistreating, hazing and assaulting these sheep. What’s going on?” A bewildered look froze upon the face of the sheep-chaser. Then he finally said, “Man, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not a shepherd. I’m a butcher.” This poor unwitting fellow provides a tremendous illustration of what a shepherd is not.
