Intro: Bernard Brown is the president of Kennestone Regional Health Care System in Georgia. And he talked @ once working in a hospital where a patient knocked over a cup of water, which spilled on the floor by the patient’s bed. The patient was afraid he might slip on the water if he got out of bed, so he asked a nurse to mop it up. The patient didn’t know it, but the hospital policy said that small spills were the responsibility of the nurse’s aid while large spills were to be mopped up by the hospital’s housekeeping staff.
-The nurse’s aid decided the spill was a large one so she called the housekeeping department. The housekeeper arrived and said the spill was a small one and she wouldn’t clean it up. So they sat there and argued w/one another whether it was a large spill or a small one.
-The patient sat in his bed amazed at the argument. So he took a pitcher of water from his night table and poured the whole thing on the floor. Then he said, “Is that a big enough puddle now for you two to decide?”
-Responsibility is a funny thing. We all act like we want it, but a lot of times when it comes time to step up to the plate we don’t. Or we don’t have a clue as to what our responsibilities are.
-We’re continuing our series on “DNA…The Genetic Makeup of VillageChurch.” And our focus is going to be on the responsibility of leadership at VillageChurch. More specifically, my responsibility as the pastor of this church. I think it’s important we cover this so that you’ll know where I’m coming from as a leader at VillageChurch.
-Over the past couple of months we’ve had a huge growth spurt at VillageChurch and I want those of you who’ve been here for a while to be refreshed on what the role of the pastor is, and for those of you who are new to VillageChurch, to know what to expect from the pastor at VillageChurch.
Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see Peter, who was a disciple of Jesus, writing to church leaders as to what their responsibilities were. And it’s from this passage of Scripture (among others) that we can discover what the role of a pastor is supposed to be according to Scripture.
TEXT: 1 PETER 5: 2-4
Bckgrd: Peter addressed this letter to both Jewish and Gentile Xians in several different parts of the Roman Empire. And these Xians were undergoing some severe stresses in their lives b/c of their faith. You have to remember this was a time of intense persecution against Xians. Nero was the Emperor of Rome. On 15 different occasions in this letter Peter speaks @ the sufferings they’re enduring.
-Leadership is always important. But it’s especially important during times of trial. Peter was concerned that the leadership in local churches be at its best b/c when trials and difficulties come, the people would come to the leaders for direction. With this in mind, we’ll see what the responsibilities of the pastor are to be.
-My 1st responsibility as a pastor is to:
DIV. 1: FEED THE FLOCK (v. 2)
Exp: As you read thru the Bible you’ll notice there are a lot of stories @ shepherds and sheep and it’s b/c it was a common job. Nomadic people tend to work w/some sort of livestock. Even today when you go out into the countryside of Israel, you’ll see shepherds carrying a staff, walking w/their sheep.
A. B/c of this it’s not unusual to see a lot of shepherd analogies being made. And one of the analogies that’s given in our text is that the leader of the church, the shepherd, is to feed the flock. The word “shepherd” means “to care for, to feed.”
1. Think @ what a shepherd would do, especially in an area like Israel. One of his primary jobs was to make sure he found food for the sheep to eat. One of the things you’ll notice @ Israel when you go there or see pictures of it, is that it’s a pretty arid place. You don’t see a whole lot of green in major parts of Israel. It’s pretty brown looking. About ½ of the country of Israel is desert.
a. That meant that a shepherd had to travel around w/his flock looking for places for them to graze so they’d be able to survive. Well, how does this analogy work w/the leadership of VillageChurch, or any church that for that matter? It gives me the 1st part of my job description which is that I’m supposed to make sure the flock has something to eat.
b. Before we go any further w/that, the question that has to be answered is “Who’s the flock?” The flock, the sheep, are the people who are followers of Christ; they are the people who make up the church. Jesus referred to His people, His followers as His sheep.
2. He said in John 10: 27, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” There is no doubt that Jesus is the Great Shepherd! But after His resurrection He ascended into heaven and left behind some leaders who would help shepherd the sheep while He physically was not present.
a. That’s my job for this local congregation. And part of my job description is to feed the flock. Just so you know, that doesn’t mean I’m fulfilling my obligation when you’re able to go back to our Hospitality area and pick up a donut. The food that’s being talked @ here is the Word of God, the Bible.
b. It’s my job to share w/you what the Bible says so that your soul can be fed; so that you’ll have tools with which to live by that come from God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 share w/us why Scripture is a good diet for us. It says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting an training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
B. Not too bad is it? Looks like something we’d want to pay attention to. We all know the human body can’t survive w/o food. We’ll wither away and die w/o it. The same thing’s is true concerning receiving spiritual nourishment. W/o God’s Word being taught, we’ll spiritually shrivel up.
1. I think most people have an understanding that they need something in their lives that’s bigger than them. They need something that’s going to provide them w/hope and that helps them feel as though there’s something they can latch onto when life gets tough.
a. The problem is a lot of us latch on to the wrong thing. We look to things to provide nourishment for us that leave us empty; or we put things into our lives that we think are going to provide joy and peace that actually end up being destructive.
ILLUS: Back in 1997 a cook in China was at home cooking some rice dumpling soup for some friends. He didn’t want his dumplings to get too watery so he grabbed some flour and poured it into the soup. The unfortunate thing is he didn’t grab the flour. He grabbed rat poison. And whenever he and his guests ate the dumplings they all died.
-When I read that story I thought, “How in the world could something like that happen?” Then I found out that rat poison and flour actually look quite a bit alike. But even though they look a like, one is able to provide nourishment while the other can rid you of your life.
b. My job as a pastor is to make sure I am feeding you what Scripture says and not anything else! There might be some things out there that look and sound like God’s Word. But my job is to fortify your soul w/Scripture.
2. I take the feeding of the flock seriously. That’s why I spend more time in preparation for Sunday morning that anything else. I believe my first priority as a pastor, concerning my duties, is to have a message prepared for the church that’s based on Scripture.
Reit: My first responsibility as a pastor is to feed the flock. The 2nd responsibility I have as a pastor is to:
DIV. 2: OVERSEE THE FLOCK (v. 2)
Exp: Peter says I’m to serve as an overseer. Some translations of the Bible say “bishop” instead of “overseer.” I believe there are several interchangeable terms for pastor used in the NT. Another term used is “elder.” And then the final term is “angel.” When translated from the Greek language, “angel” means “messenger.”
A. The word “overseer” means “one who looks over for the purpose of leading.” In other words, the pastor is the one who sees the larger picture from a higher plane and directs accordingly.
1. Now does this mean the pastor is better than others? Absolutely not! As a matter of fact, the pastor is also a part of the flock. The difference is the pastor has been set aside to lead the flock for Christ.
a. You can see an example of this in the OT w/the priesthood. In the Temple there was a place called the Holy of Holies. It was blocked off and was in darkness. And the only one who could ever enter into the Holy of Holies was the High Priest. He would go there once a year in order to offer a blood sacrifice for the people of Israel to God. He’d also make an offering for himself. Why did he have to do that? B/c he had guilt in his life just like everyone else. Heb. 9: 7, “But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never w/o blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.”
b. The priest, the shepherd isn’t better than anyone else. But he has been set aside to lead and guide. As I said earlier, an overseer is one who sees things from a higher plane. What does that mean? It means he spends his time seeking after God’s direction for the flock so that he’ll know which way to lead them. And as he seeks God, the Lord will provide him w/guidance.
2. One of the important ways to know how to lead is for the pastor to know the people in the flock. A shepherd in Christ’s day would spend most of his day w/the animals. He got to a point where he was able to tell the sheep a part. He knew them individually and called them by name.
a. I have a job to know people under my care. This was very easy for me to do when we 1st started this church. It wasn’t too hard to know @ 20 to 25 people. But you know what? It’s getting harder. When you’re having 500-600 people in worship there’s really no way I can know everyone.
b. So how can I faithfully be an overseer then? It’s my job to equip the leaders around me to minister to those around them. It’s called delegation. I get this from Moses in the book of Exodus. He’d just led thousands of Hebrews out of Egyptian captivity; which was a great thing.
B. The problem was when the people had problems and issues to resolve, they came to Moses. And he’d spend all day deciding their grievances. But his father-in-law came to him and said he couldn’t continue to live this way. It wasn’t effective or healthy.
1. So he told him in Ex. 18: 23, “select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide for themselves. That will make your load lighter, b/c they will share it w/you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
a. This is why we have small groups ministries. Our small group facilitators get to know the people in their small groups better than any of the other leadership in the church. So, in essence, our church flock is divided up into smaller flocks (small groups) so the people can have a close relationship w/their small group shepherd.
b. When we have small group meetings and staff meetings, it allows me to get a big picture look as to what’s going on in our church concerning ministries and needs. If I don’t get a big picture view of what’s going on then my vision for the church is going to be skewed. Let me give you an example.
ILLUS: I don’t have this great fear of flying that some people have. But I have to admit I’m never real excited @ flying when the weather looks bad outside. There’ve been times when I’ve been on a plane that’s taken off when the skies were dark outside and rain was coming down. But then after @ 5 minutes it was amazing what would happen when the plane would come thru the clouds. All the sudden everything was bright!
-The sun would be shining and the skies were blue. Now when I was at a lower altitude things looked pretty dismal. But when I got higher in the air, everything changed.
2. Perspective determines so much of how we live and how we lead. And I need to make sure I have, and the people who lead w/me, have our hands on the pulse of the people so we know what’s going on in their lives, but also on the pulse of God so that we’ll know what He desires from us.
Reit: The 1st responsibility of a pastor is to feed the flock. Another responsibility I have as a pastor is to oversee the flock. And the last responsibility I have as a pastor is to:
DIV. 3: BE AN EXAMPLE TO THE FLOCK (v. 3)
ILLUS: There is great power in being example. Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor w/the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this missionary who’d made a huge impact for Christ on the Chinese population.
-As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor’s character and godly life, and he found it difficult to carry out his assignment. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen and renounced his atheism and became a follower of Christ.
-Whether you and I realize it or not, our example leaves an impression on others.
Exp: One of the major roles of a pastor and the leadership at VillageChurch is to be an example to the rest of the church. It’s interesting to note Jesus refers to His followers as sheep. You see, sheep are different than cattle. You don’t drive sheep. You lead them. You stand before them and walk where you want them to walk. I know I’m much more likely to follow someone who leads by example than to follow someone who leads w/a whip and tries to force me to go where they want me to go. I follow someone much better when I know they live what they say.
A. That’s my job as pastor. I’m to lead by example. The scary thing @ that is if I walk in the wrong way I can get a # of sheep to walk in the wrong way w/me. Now I do want to say I’m not perfect and there are going to be times when I screw up. I’ve already done that! You can have a pretty short conversation w/my kids and wife to figure that out.
1. But in the big picture I want to make sure we stay on course. We might have a few deviations here and there but in the end I desire to lead us to good pasture!
a. So what kind of “example” am I to set? Let me share w/you a few biblical qualifications a pastor has. Titus 1: 6, “An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife.” I think that’s pretty simple to figure out. I can’t get engaged again! I’m to be moral. Titus 1:7-9, “Since an overseer is entrusted w/God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”
b. The word “example” basically means “something that has been marked by a blow.” I can’t be an example to the flock unless my life has been “stamped” by Christ. And if my life has been stamped by Christ then I will live and lead, not according to feelings, not according to what everyone else thinks I should do, but according to what the Bible says.
2. As we close, let me put this back on you. What has “stamped” your life? Who is the one who has put an imprint on your life so deeply that its fingerprints are on everything you do?
a. Jesus wants to stamp your life so that you’ll know Him and have the peace and joy in life that He wants you to have. If you’d like for Him to stamp your life, pray this prayer after me.
b. Dear Jesus, I ask you put your imprint on me. Today I’m giving my life to you and I ask you to cleanse me of my sin, to save me and give me a new life.
B. If you prayed that prayer, open your bulletin and fill out the contact form on the right side, then place it in the offering basket so we can get you some information in the mail on how to grow in your walk w/Christ.
1. As we close, I want you to know my job is to feed the flock, oversee the flock, and be an example to the flock. Let’s pray.
