Living as part of God’s kingdom community requires the right leadership...

At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled living as part of God’s kingdom community. During this series, we have been looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. This week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that the Apostle Peter wrote to early followers of Jesus, we will discover a timeless truth about how we are to live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are a part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in 1 Peter 5:1:

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, ² shepherd the flock of God among you,

Now when Peter uses the word therefore here, he is basically saying “In light of what I have just said to you in this letter; in light of the reality that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that has an eternal perspective that leads to right thinking about the future, that loves others in a way that removes selfishness from sight, that invites others into open handed community that and that serves others through the use of our spiritual gifts; in light of the reality living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that sees suffering through an eternal perspective that provides the evidence of our spiritual state and that makes sure that we suffer for the right reasons, I want to exhort the elders among you to do something in light of all of that”.

When Peter uses the word exhort, this word means to make a strong appeal to someone. Who Peter is making the strong appeal to are the elders among you. Now when Peter uses the word elder here, this word refers to a group of people within a local church that have been specific responsibilities of leadership within a local church. So, I would like to take a few minutes and explain what the letters that make up the Bible have to say when it comes to leadership within a local church.

When we read the letters that make up the Bible, we discover two positions of leadership within a local church. The first position of leadership is referred to as Elders. To describe the role and responsibility that Elders have in a local church, the letters that make up the Bible use the imagery of the relationship that a shepherd has with sheep. While we may find it difficult to connect with this imagery today, this imagery would have been familiar to the readers of the letters that make up the Bible.

Similar to a shepherd with sheep, Elders have been given the responsibility to provide servant leadership in a local church in a way that protects, cares, leads, and feeds those who attend a local church.  First, the Elders are to protect a local church from the influence of false teaching. Just as a shepherd was responsible to protect sheep from the attacks of wolves, the Elders are responsible to protect a local church from the wolves of false teaching and beliefs that could attack a local church. 

Second, the Elders are to provide spiritual care for the members of a local church.  Just as a shepherd was to provide for the physical care and needs of sheep, the Elders are responsible to provide for the spiritual care and needs of the members of a local church. Third, the Elders are to provide leadership for a local church. Just as a shepherd would provide leadership and direction for the sheep under their care, the Elders are responsible to provide leadership and direction for a local church when it comes to the mission and vision that God has for a local church.

And fourth, the Elders are to feed those who attend a local church. Just as a shepherd was responsible to feed their sheep in a way that provided them the opportunity to grow and mature physically, the Elders are responsible to provide spiritual food for a local church through preaching and teaching that provides the opportunity for those who attend a local church to grow spiritually.

The second position of leadership within a local church is referred to as Deacons. Deacons have been given the responsibility to provide servant leadership in a way that is focused on the practical care and needs of a local church. The Deacons function under the leadership of the Elders as the Elders “right hand men and women” who free the Elders to focus on the responsibility to protect, care, lead, and feed the church spiritually.

The Deacons do so by engaging the multitude of practical duties required in caring for a local church. These duties include meeting the pressing and practical needs of those who are in need and providing oversight in the areas of facilities and finances. Deaconesses are female Deacons who also assist in meeting the practical needs of a local church under the leadership of the Elders.  The qualifications for leadership in a local church are provided in two letters that have been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Timothy and the book of Titus.

Now notice that I did not talk about the leadership position of pastor. According to the letters that make up the Bible, a pastor is not a position; a pastor is the exercising of the spiritual gift of pastor/shepherd. A pastor is, biblically speaking, an Elder who has the primary teaching and leadership responsibilities as a result of being funded by the church so that he can fully focus on that responsibility.

At the church where I serve, we are an Elder led, congregational affirmed church. In other words, the congregation recognizes and affirms spiritually mature leadership and then gives the responsibility to that leadership to handle the day to day operations of the church. When there is a decision that involves a great deal of money or a significant aspect of the leadership and direction of the church, the church membership will vote to affirm such decisions. However, the vast majority of the decisions of the church are handled by the Elders of the church, with the important assistance of the Deacons and Deaconesses as part of the leadership team of the church.

Now with all that background in mind, let’s jump back into this section of this letter. In verse 1, Peter explains to the readers of this letter, and to followers of Jesus throughout history, his credentials to make the strong appeal that he was about to make to the Elders of the church. First, Peter establishes his credentials as a fellow Elder. Peter was given by Jesus the responsibility to protect, care, lead, and feed the churches he was engaged with. Peter is explaining that he was an Elder of Elders.

Second, Peter establishes his credentials as a witness of the sufferings of Christ. This phrase refers to the sufferings that Jesus endured during His rejection, arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Peter’s point here is that he was given the responsibility by Jesus to testify to the truth of Jesus life, death, and resurrection that comprise the message of the gospel that provides humanity that opportunity to be rescued from their selfishness and rebellion so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for.

Third, Peter establishes his credentials as a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed. Peter’s point is that he was a partner with those who will participate in the splendor and radiance of Jesus that will be revealed when Jesus returns to defeat selfishness, sin, and death and usher in God’s kingdom community in its fullest sense upon His return. After providing his credentials that empower him to make such a strong appeal to the Elders, Peter then makes his strong appeal to the Elders in verse 2: “shepherd the flock of God among you.” 

When Peter refers to the flock of God here, he is painting a word picture of the followers of Jesus who form a local church as sheep who are under the watchful eye of a shepherd. Peter here is making a strong appeal in the form of a command to call the Elders of the churches that were reading this letter to make sure that they were fulfilling the responsibility that they had to watch out for those who attended their churches so as to provide the servant leadership in protecting, caring, leading, and feeding those who attended their churches.

And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we discover a timeless truth about how we are to live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture. And that timeless truth is this: Living as part of God’s kingdom community requires the right leadership. Just as it was for these early followers of Jesus who were experiencing sadness and suffering as a result of their current circumstances; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, living as part of God’s kingdom community requires the right leadership.

And in 1 Peter 5:1-5, we will see Peter reveal three different requirements that make for the right leadership as part of God’s kingdom community the church. First, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that the right leadership requires the right qualifications. The right leadership recognizes their responsibility to protect, care, lead, and feed those under their leadership.

Tomorrow, we will see Peter continue to unpack those qualifications…