THE
SHEPHERDING OF THE CHURCH (Pt. 3)
(The Church – God’s Masterpiece – Part 13)
by Pastor-teacher Dennis Rokser
In our last two articles we considered the need
and names of spiritual leadership in the church. In this edition of the Grace Family
Journal, we want to devote our attention to the nature of spiritual
leadership.
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour
among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for
their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)
BIBLICAL
SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP REQUIRES AN “AMONG YOU” PERSPECTIVE
While the
emphasis of these verses are on the believers’ responsibilities to “know”
and to “esteem… in love” their spiritual leaders, three vital truths
emerge relevant to the nature of church leadership. First of all, pastors are to “labor among you” in the
church. The word “labor” (kopiontas)
means to toil or work hard to the point of exhaustion. When done properly, ministry is hard work –
though accomplished by the grace of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his
grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more
abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. (1
Corinthians 15:10)
These verses are a rebuke to laziness in pastoral ministry. As someone told me in jest, “Pastors are too honest to steal and too lazy to work.”
In the apostle Paul, these Thessalonian believers were privileged to have a good example of one who “labored” for the Lord (2:9, 3:5).
Yet, this labor of love must not be merely an act of human achievement cranked out by the flesh. The divine power and enablement of the Holy Spirit is crucial in all of spiritual ministry.
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching
every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus: Whereunto I also labour,
striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. (Colossians 1:28-29)
The words of our Lord and Saviour (who is our Life) could not be clearer when He told His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion…
Abide in me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can
ye, except ye abide in me. I am the
vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John
15:4-5)
And what is to be the pastor’s concentration
and focus of labor?
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of
double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. (1 Timothy 5:17)
But note again that pastors/elders are to
labor “among you.” This not only
refers to physical location but should remind us of our equal spiritual
position and equal priesthood in Jesus Christ
(1 Peter 2:5).
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
For ye are all the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus. For as many of you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28)
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily. And ye are complete in him,
which is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:9-10)
Through the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit
(1 Cor. 12:12-13), all believers are placed into union with Jesus Christ at the
moment of faith in Christ. There are no
spiritual “haves” versus “have-nots” in the body of Christ. Nor is there to be a “nico-laity” system in
the local church. In His letter to the
church of Pergamos our Lord declared,
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of
the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. (Rev. 2:15)
The
Scofield Reference Bible remarks…
From nikao, “to conquer,” and laos,
the people,” or “laity.” There is no
ancient authority for a sect of the Nicolaitanes. If the word is symbolic it refers to the
earliest form of the notion of a priestly order, or “clergy,” which later divided
an equal brotherhood (Mt. 23:8), into “priests” and “laity.” What in Ephesus was “deeds” (2:6) had become
in Pergamos a “doctrine” (Rev. 2:15).1
While there are differences in spiritual giftedness and
function in the Church, we must never forget that every believer in Christ has
an equal standing and equal positional blessings in Him because
of God’s amazing grace. Thus,
pastor-teachers are to labor “among” the saints with this doctrinal
understanding and grace-orientation so that fellow-believers could become
equipped for their “work of ministry” (Eph. 4:13).
“Among you” also indicates involved and not
detached leadership. These elders did
not emerge from some ivory tower on Sunday in order to preach, only to
immediately retreat into some holy huddle until next Sunday. They labored “among” the sheep. Frankly, I am flabbergasted and abhorred by
hearing of pastors, how upon completion of their “sermon,” immediately leave
the building and depart for home. These
spiritual leaders may be “teachers” of God’s Word, but they certainly fail to
understand or have the heart of a “pastor-teacher” to the detriment of
their local church. And in some cases,
they remain inaccessible or unapproachable the remainder of the week as
well. On the other hand, some troubled
sheep want their pastor to drop all other commitments and priorities to
minister to their felt needs RIGHT NOW!
When the tyranny of the urgent supplants God’s priorities for the
pastor, it will be to the neglect of the overall needs of the church. This also underscores the need and value of
having a shared spiritual leadership and the multiplicity of “them
that labor among you.”
While it can be difficult to balance the demands of
pastoral ministry, we pastors dare not reject or neglect this “among you”
perspective or involvement!
Take heed therefore unto
yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made
you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own
blood. (Acts 20:28)
BIBLICAL SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
REQUIRES AN “OVER YOU” PERCEPTION
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which
labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you. (1 Thess. 5:12)
“And are over you” (kai proistamenous humon) means
to have authority over; to preside or superintend over someone or something
functionally. “Proistemi” is used in
this way as a necessary qualification for both a pastor and deacon regarding
their homes.
One that ruleth well his own house, having
his children in subjection with all gravity;
if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take
care of the church of God? (1
Timothy 3:4-5)
Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling
their children and their own houses well. (1 Timothy 3:12)
This functional role of leadership needs to
be perceived by both the pastor and the believers he presides over. On the one hand, this means practically that
pastors need to recognize and become comfortable in their role of spiritual
leadership and final decision-making.
On the other hand, those under their leadership need to remember and
submit to their functional authority (Hebrews 13:17). Both are essential for harmony instead of friction in the flock.
And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's
sake. And be at peace among yourselves. (1 Thessalonians 5:13)
Furthermore, the sphere and limitation of the pastor’s
authority are underscored by the phrase “are over you in the Lord.” Leon Morris adds,
Being “in the Lord,” it is an authority to be
exercised for the spiritual good of believers (2 Corinthians 10:8), and not to
give the office bearers opportunity for lording it over them (Luke 22:25-27).”2
1 Thessalonians 5:12 (among many verses)
highlights the New Testament pattern of elder rule with congregational
input. You do not need spiritual
leaders if they are not free to lead.
As some wit has written, “For God so loved the world that He did not
give us a committee!”
This verse also instructs us that a third function of
spiritual leaders is to “admonish you.”
Hiebert writes,
“Admonish” (nouthetountas) quite literally means “to put in mind” and usually carries an implication of blame attached, calling attention to faults or defects. It is the activity of reminding someone of what he has forgotten or is in danger of forgetting. It may involve a rebuke for wrongdoing as well as a warning to be on guard against wrongdoing. It directs an appeal to the conscience and will of one being admonished in order to stir him to watchfulness or obedience.3
While “admonishing” is not limited to pastors
(see 5:14 “warn the unruly”), it is a necessary and scriptural
aspect of their function. Mayhue
insightfully notes…
Interestingly,
these three basic functions correspond to the three titles given to the one
role of pastoring the flock. Elder,
Overseer, and Pastor are terms used interchangeably in Scripture, to describe
the various functions carried out by the same person (cf. Acts 20:17,28; Titus
1:5, 7; 1 Peter 5:1-2). The pastors were to work diligently among the flock;
the overseers were to stand before the flock in the Lord as examples and
leaders; and the elders were to admonish the flock wisely from the Word of God.4
But in order for the spiritual authority of
pastors to not be abused or misused, a third requirement is mandated.
BIBLICAL SPIRITUAL
LEADERSHIP REQUIRES A “SERVANT” POSTURE
And there was also a strife among them, which of
them should be accounted the greatest. And
he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and
they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is
greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that
doth serve. For whether is greater,
he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but
I am among you as he that serveth. (Luke 22:24-27)
Though in a kingdom context, these quarreling
disciples of Christ (who became the apostles of the Church beginning on
the day of Pentecost) received here a serious rebuke from their Lord about the
need for “servant-leaders,” as Jesus Himself was “among you as he that
serveth.” This “servant” posture
would also cause Jesus Christ to state,
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him
be your servant: Even as the Son of man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom
for many. (Matthew
20:27-28)
The pastor’s “servant” posture begins
vertically with recognizing who ultimately he is serving – namely, the Lord
Jesus Christ first, not people.
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)
For they themselves shew of us what manner of
entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve
the living and true God; And to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which
delivered us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)
It is one thing to be a servant; it is
another to have the spirit or attitude of a servant. What is needed for this to occur?
Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and
with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the
Jews. (Acts 20:19)
Serving the Lord with the right spirit
involves a humility which only comes by grasping the grace of God and relying
on the power of God.
For I say, through the grace given unto me,
to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he
ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to
every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any
thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of
the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth
life. (2 Corinthians
3:5-6)
Though true service begins with the vertical, it overflows
to the horizontal — the pastor’s service to others. Thus, all believers (including pastors) are instructed…
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty;
only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one
another. (Gal. 5:13)
Apart from this servant posture, spiritual leaders can and
will abuse and misuse God’s sheep for their own gain and purposes. Or being consumed with their own egos and
rejecting all feedback from the flock, they will act as dominating dictators
like Diotrephes of old, of whom the apostle John said…
I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who
loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his
deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content
therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them
that would, and casteth them out of the church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.
He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
(3 John 9-11)
A number of years ago A.T. Robertson wrote an article on “Diotrephes”
for his Baptist denominational paper.
Robertson said that the result was that, “the editor told me that
twenty-five deacons stopped the paper to show their resentment against being
personally attacked in the paper.”5
Dear friends, unfortunately the Diotrephes dilemma has not gone
away. Fellow pastors, may we
increasingly have an “among you” perspective, an “over you in the
Lord” perception, coupled with a “servant” posture as…
…we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus
the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5) ¢
Footnotes:
1
The Scofield Study Bible, (Oxford
University Press.), pg. 1332.
2
Leon Morris, The New International Commentary on
the New Testament, The First and Second Epistles to the Thesslonians“
Revised (Eedmans Pub. Co – Grand Rapids, MI). pg. 166
3
D. Edmond
Hiebert, “1 & 2 Thessalonians” (Moody Press – Chicago, IL), pg. 249.
4
Richard
Mayhue, “1 & 2 Thessalonians” (Christian Focus Publications, Great
Britain), pg. 139.
5
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New
Testament (Nashville & Broadman Press, 1933), 6:263.
Dennis Rokser has been involved with the Duluth
Bible Church for the last 17 years, serving as pastor-teacher for the last
fourteen years.