My Dear Shepherds,
At our Christmas Eve service each year I’d look out over the congregation, all holding their candles in the darkened sanctuary and singing, “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.” I’d identify with Luke’s phrase about “shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks by night.” It was very sentimental as long as it lasted.
The flocks to whom Peter wrote faced dark nights of another kind—suffering “grief in all kinds of trials.” Our congregations may not be under such duress as they were but all of us keep watch over flocks in dark danger. Peter told elders like us,
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them … (1 Pet. 5:2)
Peter’s phrase, “watching over them,” or “exercising oversight” (ESV), from episkopeo, comes up in discussions of church government. But in this case, Peter’s point wasn’t government so much as making sure we know what kind of shepherds we’re to be:
… watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. (1 Pet. 5:2-3)
Evidently these temptations were as common in the early church as they are now. Jesus warned about hired hands posing as shepherds. Here’s how that happens. We’ve all seen these poisoned pastors and we’ve also sensed our own vulnerability.
“Not because you must.” Leaders whose service becomes mere obligation, a grudging duty, deaden churches. I know there are reasons why we lose heart, but when our ministry becomes a grind, it’s the church that becomes grist.
“Not pursuing dishonest gain.” Sometimes a pastor works a dubious side hustle. Others leverage ministry for money. They fleece the flock. The upshot is ministry bankruptcy.
“Not lording over those entrusted to you.” Here’s a pastor who sees their people as a spiritual chain gang. At first, maybe the goal was just to fast track a grand vision but then the shepherd becomes a taskmaster, a slave driver, a graceless Pharisee.
But, to borrow a phrase from Hebrews, “Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case.” The Holy Spirit has embedded in us as believers, and all the more as elders, the spiritual DNA of a servant. It’s a supernatural Christlike gift, overriding our inbred selfishness, and making ministry a gift.
The qualities Peter encouraged here are not crushing demands. They are the miraculous servant-hearted instincts growing within us. To be “willing, as God wants you to be,” is a gift! Isn’t it wonderful when we want to serve, and when we find such deep satisfaction in it? Aren’t you glad we can serve eagerly, that feeling that no other work in all the world would be such a privilege?
It’s easy to forget how deeply significant it is for us to simply be “examples to the flock.” We may think that leadership is mostly about pursuing vision and goals. They have their place—second place. It’s the slow work of our example, sculpted by time, love, and trust, that prompts lifetime change in the people we shepherd. No service we provide is so lasting!
Most pastors are ordinary unless you know what to look for. Your servant nature is well-disguised until I hear you talk about your love for your people or how eager you are (most of the time) to do the work. When I hang out with you for a while, I realize again that you are among the richest people I know.
Be ye glad!
