Introduction
When the Bible speaks of the role of an elder, it often speaks in agricultural terms. If we are to understand the role of Biblical elders and the purpose of their work, we must understand the Biblical image of a shepherd tending to the needs of his flock.
The Bible often describes the pastors and elders in the church as the under-shepherds serving under Jesus, the Chief Shepherd.
In one respect, the elders and pastors in the church are just like everyone else in the church in that they are also sheep under Jesus’ care and in that way, we are all part of Jesus’ flock and God’s family.
On the other hand, the Biblical analogy of shepherd and flock has been extended to include some of the duties assigned to the elders as men serving underneath Jesus, the Chief Shepherd.
This morning we are going to explore this analogy so we can better understand Jesus’ relationship to the church and the elder’s role in caring for God’s people.
Jesus described himself as the “Good Shepherd.” In John 10:11 He says, “11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” David wrote these words in his most well-known Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” It is fitting to begin our teaching today by looking at Jesus’ role as our shepherd.
Sometimes Christians throw around phrases like “the Lord is my Shepherd” without clearly understanding what those phrases really mean. I hope to clear up some of that haziness this morning.
Our view of Jesus is often too small. Here at Canyon, we often say that one of the goals on Sunday morning is to leave the service with a bigger view of Jesus than we had when we first walked into the door. IN the natural, our view of Jesus can be too human, too constrained, and too controllable. We’ll tend to doubt Jesus’ ability if our view of Him is too small.
When Jesus claims to be the shepherd of His people, that statement carries with it serious implications. In calling Himself the “Good Shepherd,” Jesus is claiming to not only manage His church, but to own the people in His church. Right off the bat, that claim creates some objections in my flesh:
What gives Jesus the right to manage me?
What qualifies Him to be my owner?
Does He have the proper credentials to hold that position in my life?
Who does Jesus think He is?
In a word, Jesus claims to be God. He claimed to be God in the flesh and, then, He emphatically stated that he was the “Good Shepherd.” Let’s put that into perspective because if we don’t clearly see Jesus’ glory and power, then might we find ourselves reluctant to submit to His will.
Jesus is qualified for the position of owner and manager because He is responsible for your existence (and mine). Jesus was directly responsible for the creation of everything we see in the natural world and also for everything that exists in the supernatural (or spiritual world). Colossians 1:16-17 says, “16 For by him
I often look at pictures of the stars and galaxies in order to wrap my mind around the unfathomable power of our God. With the unaided eye, you can see about 2,500 stars on any given night. Each one of those stars is a raging inferno much like our sun and they are so far away, we could never reach them.
Alpha Centauri is the closest cluster of stars to our sun. Travelling at the speed of light, it would take you a little more than 4 years to reach Alpha Centuri… that is about 40 trillion miles away. If you could stand on the surface of Alpha Centauri, you wouldn’t be able to see the earth without an extremely powerful telescope.
In fact, we have a picture of the earth from a mere 4 billion miles away. (1/100,000 of the distance. Alpha Centuri is 100,000 times further away) This picture was taken by the voyager spacecraft just outside of our solar system. From that distance, our earth is less than a pixel. Our earth is little more than a speck of dust in comparison to the unfathomable size of the known universe.
Here’s what blows my mind: Jesus (the Good Shepherd) placed every star in our universe… Right now we know of 10 trillion galaxies each filled with roughly 100 billion stars. That means Jesus (the Good Shepherd) placed at least 100 octillian stars in the known universe in addition to making us. That is a 1 followed by 19 0’s. Each separated by a distance inconceivable to our minds. King David wrote,
“3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?”
Psalm 8:3-4
When we see the power of our God, it is pretty humbling. It drains the “ego” right out of us when we see our powerlessness in comparison to Jesus’ limitless power. The picture of the earth from the voyager spacecraft was taken when I was in middle school. I’m somewhere in that picture (and you probably are too), but my presence is so small in comparison to the overwhelming magnitude of our solar system that you would never be able to tell that I’m in that shot. That is to say nothing about the massive size of our galaxy or the unimaginable size of the universe. Yet, the Maker of these astronomical systems calls Himself my shepherd and he sees me as one of His valued and treasured sheep. Who is more qualified to care for and own and manage me than the One who made me in the first place?
Based on that fact alone, we can reflect on the person and work of Jesus and say, “The Lord Jesus Christ – the one who made us and sustains us – He is my shepherd! I belong to Him!” The man or woman, who is a believer, has both a profound and personal relationship with of the Maker of the universe. The Creator, Himself, is deeply concerned for every one of His people on that tiny little speck.
This thought alone gives every believer a deep sense of dignity and worth. (We’re important to God)
It leads us to have a renewed sense of purpose for the brief time we spend in this present age. (Our choices are important to God)
The greater and wider and more majestic our view of Jesus is, the more important our relationship with Him becomes. King David spoke of the Lord as “his shepherd” and considered himself to be counted among the sheep. King David referred to himself as part of the flock with a sense of honor and devotion and admiration toward the Chief Shepherd.
BUT… the fact remains that many people refuse to acknowledge Jesus as their shepherd. They reject Him as Lord and deny that He’s God. Instead of showing love and admiration and thankfulness to the one who made them, they despise Him. They claim that He has no rights over their lives.
They disobey His laws.
They rebel against his authority over them.
They feel like the God who made them still does not have any say over their lives and they reject Him altogether.
Isaiah said (53:6),
“All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
Jesus, in His usual generous way, took the initiative to restore the relationship between Himself and the rebellious people He created. When the Good Shepherd died at Calvary, he once again demonstrated his deep desire for people to come under his care and be totally satisfied in a life-giving relationship with Him. That why Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
God’s people have been bought with a price. We are not our own. We belong to another who is fully righteous in claiming His ownership of our lives. Listen to this story from a (literal, real life) shepherd and his experience of owning sheep. He says:
“I recall quite clearly how in my first venture with sheep, the question of paying a price for my ewes [sheep] was so terribly important. They belonged to me only by virtue of the fact that I paid hard cash for them. It was money earned by the blood and sweat and tears drawn from my own body during the desperate grinding years of the Depression. And when I bought that first small flock I was buying them literally with my own body which had been laid down with this day in mind.”
“Because of this I felt in a special way that they were in very truth a part of me and I a part of them. There was an intimate identity involved which, though not apparent on the surface to the casual observer, nonetheless made those thirty ewes [sheep] exceedingly precious to me.”
“But the day I bought them I also realized that this was but the first stage in a long, lasting endeavor in which from then on, I would, as their owner, have to continually lay down my life for them if they were to flourish and prosper. Sheep do not “just take care of themselves” as some might suppose. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care.[1]”
It’s intentional that God calls us sheep and refers to Himself as a shepherd. Sheep are fearful and stubborn and often just go with the crowd. Sheep need to be constantly protected, provided for and lead. This the context by which the Bible refers to elders and pastors as under-shepherds.
Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, but the role of the elder is to serve Jesus by protecting doctrine in the church, developing disciples and leading God’s flock. Elders are charged with constantly pointing God’s people back to Jesus.
Now that we’ve considered the Maker of the universe, taking on the role of a shepherd and laying down His life for His sheep, let’s examine this morning the three main roles Jesus gives the elders in the shepherding of the local church.
#1 Doctrine: Protecting the flock from false teachers
According to the New Testament, elders are to protect God’s people from false teachers. In Acts 20, when Paul was leaving Ephesus, he gave a farewell exhortation to the elders. The essence of his speech was this: Be on your guard – wolves are coming.
Listen to Paul’s words in Acts 20:28: “28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers {remember that overseers and elders are the same office in the church], to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
Paul’s warning to protect the flock is clearly illustrated with an ancient sheepfold. A sheepfold was an open enclosure used to protect sheep. It was open to the wind, sun and rain. It was not closed in like a barn so it was always open to the eyes of the shepherd. The shepherd could easily see across the fold and be able to observe any approaching predators
It was often made out of rough laid stone. It could also be made out of timber, mud or thorn bushes. The main purpose of the sheepfold was to provide protection for the sheep. Predators vary greatly from country to country. In some areas, the sheepfold was constructed to keep out jackals and wolves. In other places, like Africa, a sheepfold had to guard against lions, leopards, and hyenas.
Even with the sheepfold in place, occasionally a predator would prowl around and find a weakness in the wall. If a weakness was found, the predator would leap over the enclosure to attack and kill. Whenever a predator would enter the sheepfold, it would cause panic to breakout among the flock. For those who owned sheep, raids like this would cause tremendous financial hardships that would sometimes take years to recover from.
1 Peter 5:8 says that Satan schemes against the church much like a lion prowls around it’s prey. Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
In the church, Satan walks around the perimeter looking for a weak spot where He can penetrate the defenses and attack the church. If he manages to infiltrate the church with a false teacher, the damage can be so extensive that it could take years for that church to recover.
According to Paul’s qualifications for eldership, an elder needs to have enough Biblical knowledge to be able to both spot unbiblical doctrine and to be able to openly refute a false teacher. Paul says to Titus that an elder “…9 must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:9)
Secondly, elders are charged to use the Word, not only to protect the church, but also as spiritual food to feed the church.
#2 Discipleship and Discipline: Point God’s flock to Jesus
An elder is required to know the Bible well enough to explain it to others. Sometimes elders have the ability to stand in the pulpit and communicate the Word publically. That why I asked Brian to share the Word with us a few weeks ago.
Other times, an elder might explain and apply the Word in more private settings. I’ve seen Al work in this way. Either way, the Bible makes it clear that elders are charged with knowing the Chief Shepherd well enough to direct other people to Him. Elders are able to distinguish the voice of Jesus from that of an imposter and help others to be able to do the same.
Once again in John 10, Jesus uses a shepherding analogy to explain the relationship between himself and His people. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” John 10:1-3
In a flock of sheep, there is a special relationship that develops between a shepherd and his sheep. To a certain degree, that relationship is dependent on the shepherd’s voice. Sheep quickly become accustomed to the sound of their shepherd’s particular voice. They know its unique sounds and inflections and are able to distinguish their shepherd’s voice from the voice of any other person.
If a stranger came in among the flock, the sheep would not recognize or respond to that person’s voice in the same way they would respond to the voice of their shepherd. Even if the visitor used the exact same words as the shepherd, the sheep would not respond to that person in the same way. They become conditioned to the subtle nuances and personal accent of their shepherd.
Over time, the sheep begin to associate the sound of the shepherd’s voice with special benefits. When the shepherd calls, it is for a special purpose that has their best interest in mind. The shepherd does not call the sheep just to amuse himself and pass away the time. When he calls, he has a purpose:
He calls them so he can examine each sheep and count the number in his flock.
He calls them to let them know that fresh feed is being supplied or that there is water or salt available for them
He calls them in order to lead them to a greener or fresher pasture
He calls them to bring them to a shelter because of an approaching storm
For whatever reason he calls, the shepherd is always calling them for their own best interest. Elders in the church are supposed to be men who are familiar with the good shepherd. They help others to hear and recognize His voice. When Jesus calls, He always has our best interest in mind. We can recognize the Chief Shepherd’s voice clearly because His words are written down for us plainly in the Bible.
The main way elders help others hear Jesus is by overseeing the biblical teaching ministries of the church. It’s implied by 1 Timothy 5:17 that at least one elder will do the hard labor of preparing the Word every week for the purpose of publically feeding the sheep. (That’s my job at this church right now)
Every Sunday morning and during every small group meeting, we are gathering for the primary purpose of feeding on God’s Word and so that we learn how to more clearly recognize the voice of the Chief Shepherd in the context of the noisy world we live in.
Lastly, in addition to protecting and feeding the flock, God has tasked the elders to lead His church.
#3 Direction: Leading the local church
Elders are stewards of God’s household, the local church. Elders are sometimes called overseers which is fitting for their role as supervisors and managers of the church. “Directing the church” means that the men serving as elders are diligently working to understand the instructions of our Chief Shepherd and they are putting His instructions into practice in every day, practical ways around the church.
At Canyon, we believe that the highest authority in the local church is the elder team. We do not have a denomination, an upper leadership structure or any other authority that supersedes the authority of our local elder team. We believe that is the best way to apply Paul’s instructions when he said in 1 Timothy 5:17, “ Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor…” Elders are charged to rule (or oversee or govern) the church and to rule well. That means they lead, direct, manage, govern and care for the local church.
The way church leaders get this done can vary from church to church. Some solid, reliable, Bible teaching churches may differ a little on their view of a church government structure. The governing style of the local church is important but it’s an issue of secondary importance. With that being said, let me tell you the way we apply these scriptures at Canyon.
You’ll find at Canyon that our leadership structure is very simple. We always have a plurality of elders and the senior pastor serves as one of those elders. The elders on the team are equals, but the senior pastor is seen as the first among equals. Here are three reasons why the senior pastor is considered first among equals:
The senior pastor leads and facilitates the elder meetings.
The senior pastor manages most of the paid staff.
The senior pastor has the most teaching influence in the church because of being in the pulpit every week.
However, the Senior Pastor is still considered equal with the other elders. Together, the elders oversee the work of the ministry here and they do so by coming to a prayerful consensus. That means we don’t make any major policy decisions unless all the elders are in agreement.
Ministry heads report directly to the elder team. Often they report to just one elder on the team. Business decisions are made at Canyon by the elders with input from key staff and ministry leaders.
You won’t hear these words around our church: Committee or business meeting. You will hear us refer to leaders and ministry teams that are ultimately managed by the elder team.
Conclusion / Application
The elders overall function is the pastoral oversight of the church. The word used in the Bible for “pastor” is a word that means “to shepherd, rule, teach or feed a herd of livestock.” When you call me “Pastor Mark” you are calling me a shepherd. Whereas I’m not the Chief Shepherd, that title is meant to remind me of my role as the caretaker of the spiritual health of those under my care.
Here is how you can apply this information to your life:
Understand the role of the Pastors and Elders. People often have misunderstandings about the role of people in ministry. Most pastors I know want to serve their people in every way they can, but every shepherd-leader must give priority to doctrine, direction, discipline and discipleship.
Elders have your best interest in mind. Whereas no church leader is flawless, the men serving here are really trying to govern this church in a way that leads you into a deeper relationship with Jesus.
Growing disciples are involved. You will get the most out of the discipleship ministries offered at the church when you are actively involved in them. It is hard to spiritually feed a sheep who is absent. We want to help you grow and your involvement in the ministry here will greatly help in your spiritual growth and the growth of others who fellowship here at Canyon.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, how sweet it is that you call yourself our shepherd. Better yet, how sweet it is to be considered part of your flock. Your Word says that the good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep and that helps me to understand that although you are the creator of the universe, you are willing to get involved at the most intimate level in the oversight and care of Your flock.
Lord, I pray for our new elder team to begin service next week. I pray for them to clearly hear your voice and lead others in following after you. Help us to guard your flock against false teachers and help us to help your people to be discipled well.
We pray for your leading and protecting for this, your church. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Teaching Outline
#1 Doctrine: Protecting the flock from false teachers – Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:8, Titus 1:9
#2 Discipleship and Discipline: Point God’s flock to Jesus – John 10:1-3, 1 Timothy 5:17
#3 Direction: Leading the local church – 1 Timothy 5:17
Application
Understand the role of the pastors and elders.
Elders have your best interest in mind.
Growing disciples are involved.[1] Keller, Phillip A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Page 12
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