Church Leadership
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2023 · 5 November 2023
Let’s look at the Holy Spirit as he speaks to us in verses 25 through 38 particular this evening. Here we have the basics or the priorities of leadership in the Church. In all of God’s kingdom, leadership is important. God knows that there must be authority and submission in everything. In the Old Testament, you find that there are many things that indicate to us the importance of leadership.
God has always ministered his kingdom through key leaders. God takes a strong view of inadequate or ineffective leadership. In Hosea 4:9, God is not only commenting on the sins of Israel, but on the sins of Israel’s leaders. God says, “I can’t expect anything out of the people that I’m not getting out of the leaders. Whatever the leaders are, the people will be. Like people, like priest.”
In Isaiah 9:14-16, we find more of God’s attitude toward leadership. It says, “Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.” In other words, God’s going to replace all the leaders. God says He’s going to punish the leaders because they have made the people sinful by their failure to lead them into holy godly life patterns.
In Jeremiah 5:31 you hear the same, “The prophets prophesy falsely; the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love it so.” In other words, the people are loving the inadequate leadership they’re getting. Ezekiel 22:26 says, “Her priests have violated My law, have profaned My holy things. They have put no difference between the holy and profane. So the people committed many sins.
In Matthew 15:14, Jesus looked at the leaders of Israel, and said, “They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” Paul is closing out his missionary journey, the third of his tours, in Acts 20. He has stopped because his ship has stopped at Miletus on its way to Jerusalem. And he is hurrying to Jerusalem to get there for Pentecost.
Paul also takes an offering which he has collected for the poor saints in Jerusalem. And he has stopped at Miletus for a couple of days, because the ship stopped there. And he sends for the elders of the Ephesian congregation to come to Miletus, so that he may spend a little time with some final words. Because Paul is so burdened by the absolute necessity of adequate leadership.
And so, from Acts 20:17 - 38, Paul gives information regarding leadership in the ministry, in the pastorate, in the work of Christ. And leadership in Scripture is a two-sided issue. It is an issue of great responsibility with great potential for judgment. Good leaders are doubly blessed; bad leaders are doubly chastised. Because to whom much is given, much shall be required.
In James 3:1 it says, “Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” But on the other hand, in 1 Timothy 5:17, it says, “The elders (pastors) that rule well are worthy of double honor.” So, you have the double honor for the good leader, and the double judgment for the poor leader. Leadership is a tremendous responsibility.
Now, the task of the early apostles was to appoint such leaders in each church. The apostles would go around and raise them up. The elders of the church at Ephesus – and when I say elders, I’m saying the same as pastors. But the elders there, the pastors there had been trained, and matured by Paul. Raised up by the Holy Spirit, Paul became aware of who they were.
The apostle said in Titus 1:5, “Now, you set the things in order in Crete, and you ordain elders in every city.” Pastors in each city were to be ordained by the evangelists or the apostles. Paul gives them a charge that really is much bigger than just what you see in Acts 20. The church of Jesus Christ ought to follow the biblical patterns. Real New Testament revival must come at the level of leadership.
The life of the Church, in its productivity and its fruitfulness, is directly depended upon its leadership. In 2 Timothy 2:2, we found that God’s design for the Church is to teach faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Therefore, leadership is the priority in the Church, and it’s a tremendous responsibility. New Testament biblical leadership is not political power play.
You are a leader in the Church when God has appointed you as such. That’s the Father’s to give. Secondly, biblical leadership is not dominant dictatorship. Jesus said in Matthew 20:26, “whosever will be great among you, let him be your servant.” And biblical leadership is not charismatic control either. Verse 27, “Whosever will be chief among you let him be a slave.”
Verse 28, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” The greatest leader that ever lived was a servant, wasn’t He? And He taught us the greatest principle of leadership by example. What He was is what we are to be. Real leadership is the exemplary life. You are a true pastor only as long as you follow what you say and what Jesus did.
Now, in Acts 20, Paul closes out his instruction to the Ephesian elders. And he charges them to order their ministry after the priorities that God has set down. And they were priorities that he didn’t talk about only, but that he lived in his own life. First he said the ministry toward God is service to the Lord. To the Church it’s teaching, toward the lost it is evangelism, and toward myself, its sacrifice.
Now, having finished that, he wants to concentrate on the Church aspect. Now, I’m going to give you the priorities for teaching the Church, for being effective in the Church.” You’re always to remember you’re in service to Christ. Not to men, to Him. Paul said, “I have discharged my responsibility to all: to the Church, to the saved, to the unsaved, Jew and Gentile. I’ve done the job.”
God has committed to him a ministry, and if he doesn’t fulfill it, he’s going to be chastised for the failure to fulfill it. What Paul is saying is this, “From now on, men, the responsibility is yours. Make sure that you discharge your ministry in a way faithful, equal to the way I gave you by example. That doesn’t mean you lose your salvation; that just means that you’ll know punishment.
Now, Paul gives them five keys to leadership. Principle one, make sure you’re right with God. Acts 20:28 says, “Therefor take heed to yourselves and all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” The priority begins with you. You’re not ready to face the responsibility of ministering unless you’re right with God.
In Mark 13:9 it says, “But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to local courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them.” If you’re not spiritually strong, you will fail. Jesus in Luke 21:34 says, “The day of the Lord is coming, and you better examine yourself so that you’re ready when it happens.”
Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:20, “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but wood and earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor.” In other words, if you have a big house, you’ve got two sets of china: the fancy stuff for the friends and the outsiders that come in that you really want to have a nice thing for, and the rest of the china is what we use every day.
Now, the implication here is that in God’s house there are going to be some vessels that God will honor, and they will be used for the greatest tasks. 2 Timothy 2:21, “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” There are some vessels God can use, and there are some that He can’t use.
The one thing Paul knew was that the day that holiness ceased to be a part of his life, effectiveness also ceased. 1 Corinthians 9:27 says, “I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” You see a guy in the ministry involved in so many things in the church. And suddenly, a terrible moral thing comes into his life. And he is disqualified.
And even though he maintained his redemption, because justification is a forever thing, he lost his meaning to the body, to the service of Christ, and became a worthless vessel. It isn’t your tremendous charisma. It isn’t your powerful, forceful, dynamic leadership. That doesn’t qualify you to be a leader. What does qualify you is your own holiness in your life and the call of God.
The New Testament never suggests the hint of any kind of qualification that has anything to do with worldly position, or money, or personality, or anything. The only qualification is a spiritual one, because this is a spiritual work. And sometimes what would be the smartest thing to do in a business sense is the absolute opposite of what God wants, and we must step out in faith.
I’m not saying God doesn’t forgive, and I’m not saying God can’t put such a person who has been restored, and who has recovered from such a thing, in a position of leadership. Paul summed it up in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Timothy, be an example of the believers. You show the world what a holy man is in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity.” All those areas are spiritual where you’re to be an example.
But secondly, Acts 20:28 says, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock.” The priority of anybody in leadership, whether you’re teaching a Sunday school class, or whether you’re working in a Bible study in a home, your second obligation is that ministry. He says, “Be on guard for all the flock.” No favoritism. We are just a little group of helpless, ignorant followers.
Flock has been a historic term that God has used for his people in the Old Testament. In Jeremiah 13:17 and in Zechariah 10:3, God calls Israel the Lord’s flock. But also in Luke 12:32 Jesus looked at the group of disciples, and He called them His “little flock.” And then in John 10, he repeated called all the children of God as His sheep, and Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
In Acts 20:28 it’s apportioned to us by the Holy Spirit. It’s amazing to realize that before the world began, we were planned into this. All that’s described as shepherding is more than just the act of feeding. To a pastor would be to care for, to discipline, to exercise authority over them, and to guide them in the right path. But the heart of shepherding is to feed. And so, the essence of this is feeding.
Leading is important too, we mean ruling. The elders that rule well are worthy of double honor. This means selecting the direction of the church. The sheep didn’t decide which field they had to go to next. The sheep just followed the shepherd. God has committed the leadership of the church into the hands of the pastors. And it says there we are overseers by living as an example.
Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account.” Do you know that I have to give an account to God Himself for how I care for the flock? That may change the way I care for the flock. The one who leads is the one responsible to God, and if faithful, he’ll receive the crown of glory.
Whatever we do is in public. If we live a holy life, that’s public. If we sin, that’s to be made public, too. Why? That others may learn that we deal with sin. What really motivates you is that this isn’t my church. It’s God’s Church. Jesus said to Peter three times, “Feed My sheep.” “Feed My sheep.” “Feed My lambs.” They’re not Peter’s. They’re not mine. They’re Christ’s.
The Holy Spirit knew I needed more, and added this at the end of verse 28, “Which He purchased with His own blood.” That’s saying that that flock of God is so precious, that He paid the supreme price. And if it’s that precious to Him, it ought to be that precious to me. If God would go to that extent, I want to make sure I take care of it. God Himself, in the form of the Son, shed His blood for the Church.
Paul did this and he is our example. In Ephesians 5 it says, “Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
Paul says, “I know one thing. I know that God redeemed you to be a holy church, and that God gave you into my care, and I’m your pastor. And I’m your under shepherd. And I got to take care of you. And if God’s will is that you be a holy church, that’s what I want, too.” The under shepherd must have the same attitude that the Great Shepherd has: about the purity and the holiness of the Church. Let’s pray.