Shepherd Leaders

(Some wisdom from my coauthor, Cap’n Dave, taken from our rough draft of “Redeeming Church Conflict’s” Chapter 10—“Authoritative Leadership” …)

“First Peter 5 verses 1-3 call elders to be shepherd leaders who care for the flock entrusted to them by God. Verse 3 tells elders to ‘be examples to the flock.’ The question naturally follows, examples of what? The short answer is to be examples of holiness. That means they are to reflect the character qualities set forth in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Furthermore, the list of the fruit of the Spirit set forth in Galatians 5:22-23 provides additional guidance of what practical holy living looks like. God’s people need leaders who model all of these traits:

Above reproach, husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, solid manager of his household, dignified parent with submissive children who are believers, not a recent convert to Christianity, well thought of by unbelievers/outsiders, not arrogant, hospitable, upright, holy, disciplined, holds firm to sound biblical doctrine, and able to rebuke those who contradict the teaching of Scriptures.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Being an example of holiness as a Christian leader is an awesome responsibility. Especially in church conflicts, we have seen few church leaders who consistently live as intentional models of holy life in Christ. But those who do stand out and are worthy of mentioning:

– A pastor who had the courage to stand before the gathered church and confess how he had sinned by making rash comments that offended some members. The result of this kind of confession was to place the pastor at a level of greater esteem in the hearts and minds of the church’s members because they saw Christ-like humility in action. That is modeling.

– The pastor who confronted an angry wife about her harsh treatment toward her husband who had the courage to ask for her gun and took it from her as she walked down a hall in her home with it pointed at him. The wife saw her pastor’s courage and eventually agreed to receive additional counseling that led to a renewed marriage.

– The lay elder who refused to continue a discussion in an elder board meeting because it had turned to gossip about a church member who was not present. Standing up to his peers was an act of courage that called fellow elders back to the Christian standard for speech, Ephesians 4:29. Other elders from that day forward were much more careful how they spoke about others.

– An overworked pastor who would regularly volunteer for nursery duty to demonstrate how Jesus’ call was for every Christian to love and care for the little children, the future of the church. The result was that the church never lacked for volunteers in the nursery. If the pastor could do this so could they.

– The pastor who had been at the center of great church conflict during what he thought was to be his last sermon at the church breaking down and confessing all of his sins that had led to so much pain. The result was a renewed call for him to stay on and lead everyone to a real change of heart as a result of the gift of repentance he had demonstrated that morning. Many said they had seen the power of humility that morning and it changed them.

– Pastors and elders in the face of vicious attacks by some members listening quietly to the complaints and responding with love and care. They modeled gentleness and patience even though charges were unfounded. The antagonists were eventually silenced by the quiet calm and gentle spirit of the men they had attacked. Such gentleness ‘shut their mouths.’

Mmmmmm … encouraging! I can’t wait to read what he sends me this week.