ByA Message to Pastors
How does it feel to have a church without leadership? The flock of God will be scattered. Right? That was what happened before Jesus came. He came to meet God’s people, weary, scattered and living like sheep without a shepherd (see Matthew 9:36, Isaiah 53:3, 1 Peter 2:25). Although this state of life has changed in many people’s lives, especially believers, some are still yet to see this spiritual transformation because the shepherds in their churches aren’t doing the work of the ministry well.
1st Peter chapter 5 is the last chapter of the epistle. And although the Apostle spoke about various things in previous verses, he knew that it was worth it to conclude his epistle by giving spiritual advice to pastors, which when followed, will sustain God’s church. Today, I’m glad that we will look into this matter using the first four verses of the chapter. Because of how continuous the verses are, we’re going to look at it point by point instead of verse by verse. Let’s have a look at the scripture before we dive in.
[1] “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:” [2] Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; [3] nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; [4] and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
1 Peter 5:1-4 (NKJV)
As you can see from the verse above, it takes a lot to shepherd God’s flock well. Below is a list of explained things pastors must do in doing God’s work with excellence and diligence.
Not by compulsion but willingly
I’m a little surprised that the first and foremost thing Peter said that overseers in God’s house must note is that they must serve willingly and not by compulsion. That is quite interesting to me. As of the time of this writing, I’ve not been in ministry for long. But I’ve seen many ministers whom I’ve interacted with complain bitterly about the work they do sacrificially for the Lord. I quite remember one telling me that if time was to be reversed and the day he was called to serve God was right before him, he would have never said yes. When I heard that, I marvelled but never said anything to him.
Now, I understand that in some ministries, there is gross administrative lapse, so many are appointed to serve but aren’t doing their work heartily but shabbily. In that situation, complaining is good to do with the purpose of ensuring there is order. However, to say that you have no willingness to serve God is a turn-off to the Lord. Did you know that Jesus prevented people who gave even one excuse for following him from becoming a part of his followers? Look at Luke 9:61-62 (NKJV). It says,
[61] And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” [62] But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The one who wanted to follow Jesus had a legitimate reason to say goodbye to his family before following Him. But for Jesus, that was a disqualifying excuse. When you accept the call of God on your life, and you constantly wish you had never become a minister of the gospel, Jesus says that you are not fit for the kingdom of God. That is why, in our ministry, we immediately remove people from our list who get called for vetting into ministerial leadership but give excuses before accepting it.
As a ministry leader for some years now, I’ve realised that it is easier to work with faithful people than forced and trapped people. The latter will always murmur behind your back and poison other friends around him who are serving in the ministry together. If you are a ministry leader reading this, don’t say that your leadership team comprises few people, so you don’t care about taking in new people who show little commitment to the ministry. No! Follow Jesus’ principle. Look out for faithfulness in people who got called to lead with excuses, and take out those who murmur, give excuses and complain about God’s service.
Not for dishonest gain but eagerly
Another significant thing pastors must watch is greed. If you are greedy, money will influence your actions and behaviour towards God’s people. In Africa, there are many pastors who are focused on exploiting the congregants for money instead of feeding them with God’s Word. So, in such ministries, there is more emphasis on money than God, which is not supposed to be so.
I am a ministry leader, and I know how vital money is in running a ministry. Truly speaking, no ministry can go far if there is not enough money in its coffers. But I believe God increases a ministry based on faithfulness, not exploitation. If you use dubious means to raise your ministry, it will eventually crumble. Nobody can deceive God. Anything He doesn’t build through people doesn’t have lasting value. That is why it is dangerous to shepherd God’s flock well with even a subtle intention of exploiting them for dishonest gain. Constantly let God check your heart. Let Him prune you of any filthy spirit towards money, and focus on serving Him eagerly.
Not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock
That is another primary thing to note as pastors. As a leader in God’s house, you have spiritual authority. The higher you go, the more obedience you can command from God’s people, especially those in leadership in the ministry (i.e., according to administrative hierarchy). But as God elevates you, you might get to a point where people may idolise you, especially as a senior pastor (I speak as an African who has seen this in many ministries). When that happens, if you, the leader, don’t have love, you’ll become a lord over God’s sheep instead of God.
Leaders must pay attention to this, especially if your ministry is now building up. As the ministry grows, share the burden, especially in the ministration of the Word. If you don’t do that, and you’re preaching always, you’ll build people’s expectations on you. So when you’re not around on Sundays especially, people won’t feel like coming to church.
I know one great preacher who made this mistake but later rectified it. Did you know what he did? He never let his church know he was travelling to other places to minister. Secondly, he started merging other ministers to preach on service days. Lastly, he stepped aside from preaching in the church for over a year. Even though church membership drastically dwindled when he was doing this, people started coming to church with a reduced expectation that he was the one to minister. However, he could have prevented this if he initially learnt and implemented the multi-pastoral vision principle (the principle of making multiple people in the ministry feed God’s flock instead of the senior pastor). Learn to do ministry not just with divine power but with wisdom also. We must manage God’s people must very wisely.
You will receive the crown of glory
One of the happiest days in any worker’s life is pay day. Many people complain that their salaries aren’t enough. But during payday, seeing a cash drop in their accounts brightens them up. I don’t believe in working merely to earn money. I believe in working for fulfilment and to impact generations, which, in turn, is more rewarding, both inwardly and monetarily. And even though worldly people focus on compensating workers monetarily, God extends His reward from just earthly benefits to eternal benefits (see Matthew 19:29).
When you shepherd God’s flock faithfully, the scripture says you’ll receive the crown of glory, which never fades. That crown of glory is God’s honour to you for your faithful service. Its benefit surpasses any monetary gain in this world.
Are you a servant of God reading this? Don’t give up. Many ministries don’t pay pastors well. So, if you’re in such a situation, always remember that when God takes charge of rewarding you, it will surpass anything man will ever reward you. Keep your faith alive. The Lord is your strength.
