Today we are putting a man's name into consideration as a future Elder. I hadn't actually planned a sermon on Eldership (the sermon series I'm preaching through is something I'm working with other preachers on) but the text seemed to be a good groundwork for understanding what Elders do, what their responsibility is to God, and what our responsibility is to the Elders.
OPEN: Years ago, we had a young man attend here who was all excited about Jesus, but he had a hard time figuring out why we did what we did here. It seems he’d been introduced to Christianity in a huge church down in Texas. He explained that the church building there was OWNED by the preacher and his family. That family made all the decisions… and they got all the money. What offerings that were not spent on the building & ministries, paid for the preacher’s salary, home, car, utilities, and vacations. Everything about the church belonged to that preacher and his family. And this young man was fine with that. And so, when he found out I didn’t RUN the church - let alone own the building - that confused him, because to his way of thinking I was the preacher… therefore I had to be in charge!
At one point we had a conversation that went something like this: He asked “Who’s IN CHARGE of the church?” I knew why he was asking the question, so I smiled and said “That would be Jesus”; “No… I mean, who has the AUTHORITY in this church?”, and again I smiled and said “That would be Jesus”; “No, no, no", he protested. "Who has the FINAL SAY here… in this church?” (pause) “That would be Jesus.”
The idea of letting Jesus be in charge of His OWN CHURCH never occurred to this young man, and he was never quite comfortable with that. He wanted to see THE person who was IN CHARGE – he wanted to see THE person who RAN THINGS.
And that’s the kind of mindset Jesus was dealing with here in Mark 10:25-28. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles LORD IT OVER THEM, and their great ones EXERCISE AUTHORITY OVER THEM. 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.”
When I first started my research on this sermon, the working title was “Greatness thru Leadership.” And I was uncomfortable with that, because the Bible doesn’t talk all that much about how to be a great leader. What it does talk about is how to be a great SERVANT.
ILLUS: Now, that’s almost counter-intuitive to how the world thinks. Back in 2015, Psychology Today had an article that explained that Public schools were using assertiveness training to help build confidence. And Congress had gotten all this started with an $80,000 grant. He noted that the government does not teach any classes on servanthood. No government grant has ever been issued to teach humility, and self-denial. Servanthood is a counter-culture virtue. It’s not how things are done in this world.
Many people (who want to be leaders) want to have power/ authority/ control. And what Jesus was saying was: worldly leaders (not Godly leaders) want the power to Exercise Authority over others. and they want the power to Lord It Over folks.
Jesus told His disciples “That’s not who you are!” It shall not be so amongst you! If you want to be great… you gotta be a servant. If you want to the person who impresses God, then you need to learn to be a slave to other people’s needs. That’s the Template of what Christians should be like. It’s what we ALL should do if we do things right.
Now. bear in mind… I struggled with the idea of attaining greatness thru leadership. But the more I studied the Bible on this, the more I realized that God has always had leaders for His people. Whether it was prophets, priests and kings (in the Old Testament), or apostles, preachers and Elders (in New Testament) there were always leaders that God raised up to guide and protect His people.
In fact, in Hebrews 13:7 the church was told to “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. In other words – look up to your leaders. Try to figure out how they became men of God… and then imitate them.
Back in the Old Testament, one of the WORDS God used for the leaders of Israel was “shepherd.” The Prophets, Priests and Kings (those who were responsible for the guidance and protection of Israel) were men who were seen by God as being the shepherds of HIS people. Their job was to guide and protect God’s flock.
And now here in Mark 10, we find Jesus telling His Apostles the same thing. They were going to be the shepherds of HIS flock. They were to guide and protect HIS CHURCH. And, they were going to do that - NOT by being the BOSS of the church, but by being THE SERVANTS OF the church.
ILLUS: Years ago, a visitor joked with me: “It must be hard being a preacher with 150 bosses.” And I replied: “I don’t have 150 bosses. I only have one boss and that would be Jesus. I serve 150 people… but I only have ONE boss." In the church there there’s only room for ONE BOSS, and that would be Jesus. All the rest of us are (supposed to be) servants.
So, if a person wants to be a leader in the church, whether it’s by teaching or preaching or Eldership - or whatever it is - they have to surrender their personal agendas at the altar of Jesus’ will. Because the church belongs to Jesus. It doesn’t belong to YOU or ME… and it doesn’t belong to any mortal leader! When people forget that… bad stuff happens.
And since the church (that’s the Christians here) belong to Jesus, then ALL of us must decide to honor Jesus by becoming the servants of everybody else in church. If leaders get upset (or if we get upset) because we can’t get “our way”, that implies that those who are upset want to be in charge. THEY WANT TO BE THE BOSS because they want things THEIR way! And that’s not healthy.
Now that brings us to the ELDERS of the church. The Elders are quite literally called the PASTORS or SHEPHERDS of God’s people. That’s what Peter calls Elders in I Peter 5:1-2. He writes: “I exhort the ELDERS among you… SHEPHERD the flock of God that is among you.”
The job of the Elder to guide and protect the congregation. Psalm 23 is an excellent guide for Eldership. A good shepherd/Elder makes the flock (Church) lie down in green pastures (An Elder makes sure the doctrine here is sound). A good shepherd/Elder leads the people beside still waters (he tries to deal with conflict in the church before it gets out of hand). A good shepherd/Elder restores the souls of those who are troubled (he’ll counsel with God’s people when they’re upset). And a good shepherd/Elder leads the church in paths of righteousness.
In the 30 years I’ve been here I’ve watched our Elders try hard to do those things and I have repeatedly praised them in front of the congregation because of how hard they’ve tried to guide & protect this church.
Now, unfortunately, that’s not true in a lot of churches. Too often, Elders (or others) can fall into the trap of wanting to be the BOSS of the church. The Apostle Peter told the Elders of his day, that they should be “Exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; NOT DOMINEERING over those in your charge but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd (THE REAL BOSS) appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” I Peter 5:2-4
Our brotherhood has often had Elders who want power/authority/control, and they’ll try to micro-manage everything…because they want to RUN THINGS. And they’ll often try to RUN the preacher. But if the preacher doesn’t let them run him, well… they’ll run him off.
ILLUS: Years ago, I knew of a preacher in our brotherhood named Ron Walters… and he was a hard worker and a pretty good preacher. Apparently, he was approached by a wealthy man who wanted to start a new congregation in his community and he was impressed with Ron’s abilities. So he offered Ron a decent salary, a rental home (with the rent fully paid), and new car. The donor told Ron how GOOD a preacher he was and how much he was needed. And, of course, Ron was flattered… and he couldn’t pass it up!
So Ron moved down to this new church work and he started to do his thing! But once he moved in… things went South. Ron knew how to start a new congregation, but the donor wouldn’t let him do what he knew how to do. The wealthy man wanted to micro-manage Ron’s ministry. He tried telling Ron what to do and when to do it, and eventually Ron just couldn’t handle it anymore.
Now, for the most part, we’ve rarely if ever had that problem here. I’ve been a preacher here about 30 years, and the Elders have never micro-managed my ministry. In fact, as a rule, they’ve NEVER micromanaged much of anything.
ILLUS: When Scott (our Family Minister) got here, there was a general understanding of what he was supposed to do - but from that point on… he was on his own to determine his ministry here. And he’s done a great job with many things we’d never have thought to ask him to do. The same has been true of almost all the other ministries we have here. The Elders tend to have a kind of “hands-off” mindset. Their thinking is: “I don’t want to run your ministry. If you love Jesus - and you’ve got a vision for what you want to do - GO FOR IT.
QUOTE: General George Patton once said “Don’t tell a man what to do. Tell him what you need, and he will surprise you with his ingenuity.”
Now, does that mean that the Elders have always been right in what they’ve done… and what they’ve decided? Oh… heaven’s no! Not only are they not always right… but (it may surprise you) I’m always right either. In fact – I’d bet dollars to donuts… you’re not always right either! And do you know why none of us are going to be right all the time? Because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!
Do you think GOD DIDN’T KNOW that Elders wouldn’t always be perfect? Do you think that occasionally, an Elder might not measure up to his responsibilities, and that maybe God wouldn’t know that would happen?
Well, of course God knew that was going to happen– He’s God.
(PAUSE) Now what we’re going to do this morning is this: we’re going to FLIP the coin. We’ve been talking about how Elders should SERVE us as shepherds. But now we’re going to talk about how we - as Christians - should SERVE the Elders.
1ST - Hebrews 13:17 tells us “OBEY your leaders and SUBMIT to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Notice that Hebrews tells us that this is something WE CAN DO for Elders. We OBEY and SUBMIT to them because we know they’re keeping watch over our souls. So we’re serving them… because they serve us.
But now… wait a minute. What if I don’t agree with them. Why would I want to submit to a leader I don’t agree with?
BIBLE QUIZ: is Hebrews 13:17 part of God’s word? (YES)
So… is THIS God’s command for YOU and I! (well, YEAH)
Now - next question: Do you see a qualifier in that command? Do you see the words “Obey your leaders and submit to them… BUT only if we agree with them.” I mean… if I don’t agree with them I don’t have to submit to them - RIGHT? Is that what it says? No… there’s no qualifier there.
Now, if these leaders were asking me to do something immoral or heretical, I would know that type of thing would violate God’s will and so I wouldn’t have to do THOSE THINGS. But nowhere in the Bible does it say that I DON’T have to submit to my church leaders IF I DISAGREE with them!
So, God tells me I need to obey and submit to my leaders. And since God says I should do that then God is responsible for the outcome.
So 1st – I should obey and submit to my Eldership.
2ndly… and this 2nd one’s is tough - Exodus 22:28 tells us “You must not blaspheme God or curse a ruler of your people.”
We must NEVER curse our leaders! And that includes Elders. It’s equivalent (in that verse) to blaspheming God. Romans 13:1-2 tells us “there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”
Oh… I don’t like that!
ILLUS: Have I ever told you I’ve been fired from 2 churches? It’s been kind of a badge of honor for me because I didn’t get fired for being lazy or immoral. I got fired in both places because I opposed evil in those congregations. Now pay attention here: I NEVER showed disrespect for those Elders. I NEVER stood in the pulpit and insulted them. I NEVER talked about them behind their back. I NEVER worked to undermine them. I just held their feet to the fire because they weren’t doing their jobs… but I never got angry with them. And I never got angry because I trusted God to take care of things. And God DID take care of things. God straightened those churches out, partly because I didn’t get in the way. I didn’t disrespect them; I didn’t insult them; and I didn’t try to undermine them.
If you obey God in those situations… you can trust Him to take care of problems even in an Eldership.
One last thought! Jesus said: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35). People will know we’re followers of Jesus if we love each other. Does that mean I need to love other Christians in the church, EVEN IF THEY ANNOY ME? Does that mean you have to love the preacher/teacher/ some other staff EVEN IF THEY ANNOY ME? Does that mean you have to love… the Elders EVEN IF THEY ANNOY ME? Well yeah… but why? Because this is important to Jesus. And it’s important because that’s who we are. “We (are to) love because HE 1st loved us!” (I John 4:19)
That term “Love one another” occurs at least 16 times in the Bible. Then that same idea shows up another 43 more times where we’re told things like… Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10); Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10); Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16); Build up one another (Romans 14:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:11); Accept one another (Romans 15:7); Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25); Serve one another (Galatians 5:13); Bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). AND ON AND ON AND ON
Christians should love one another… just like that. Members of the church should love their Elders… just like that.
And the Elders should love the members of the church… just like that. We should all be known for that kind of love and we should all love each other because… JESUS 1ST LOVED US!
INVITATION
