What does the Bible say about pastors, leadership, and our role in honouring them? In this sermon, the Scriptures are unpacked to reveal:
Pastors pour into us daily—how can we pray for, encourage, and support them? Watch now and be challenged to see pastoral leadership through God’s eyes!
It’s pretty important to know what an elder’s job description is for two reasons: firstly, if elders don’t know what they are supposed to be doing, there is a good chance that they won’t do it well. Secondly, if saints are not aware of what their elders are called to be doing, they might find themselves fighting their elders when they are actually just doing their job.
In the link above, I dealt with the question "What Does It Take To Be An Elder?" and we discovered that Peter had some really helpful things to say on the topic. I am going to draw on Peter again, picking up on the same passage in 1 Peter 5 where he uses three different words to describe the same leadership role.
In verse 1, Peter uses the word ‘presbuteros’, which is where we get our word ‘elder’. Then in verse 2 he uses the word ‘poimein’ from which we get ‘shepherd’ and the word ‘episcopos’ from which we derive ‘bishop’. I pick up on this because these words all give us subtle shades of meaning as to the responsibilities of an elder.
a. ‘Elder’
The idea behind this word is imported from the Old Testament where elders were appointed to carry the responsibility of leadership along with Moses (Numbers 11:16-17). The literal meaning of the word is ‘older’, which signifies the wisdom required for the task.
With the role of ‘eldering’ comes the connotations of being a ‘father’ in the household. For example, we are told that elders care for the people in the ‘household of God’ in a way comparable to how they manage their own households (1 Timothy 3:1-5). The logic is that, “If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:5)
Therefore, an elder must be someone of spiritual maturity, even if they are not old in years (1 Timothy 4:12), because someone with so much authority and responsibility within the kingdom should have the necessary spiritual maturity to handle that responsibility with integrity.
b. ‘Shepherd’ and ‘Overseer’
These same two words are used to describe Jesus when He is referred to as the “… Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). This is why elders are ‘under-shepherds’ serving beneath the ‘Chief shepherd’.
As Christ provides for and protects the sheep. Elders are called to feed the saints by ministering the Word of God to them and warning them about the dangers of sin and false-teaching (Acts 20:28).
A shepherd is called to go after the lambs that are going astray and to gently lead them back to faith. He speaks words of healing when they have fallen out of the way and have maybe suffered an injury or been ravaged by the wounds of this world.
Jesus said a shepherd is different to a ‘hired hand’, who runs to save his own skin at the first sight of danger. A shepherd loves his sheep and is even willing to put himself in harm’s way to protect them if necessary.
This is a helpful 3-fold description of some of the responsibilities that are unique to the role of an elder.
a. Doctrine (Govern)
We have already touched on the responsibility that elders have to safeguard the ‘flock’ from being deceived by teachers who pervert the truth. False teachers are described as ‘wolves’ who do great harm to the flock, and elders have a duty to guard against them (Acts 20:28-30).
b. Discipline (Guard)
Wilful, unrepentant sin is as dangerous as false teaching. (1) Believers are called to reflect God’s holiness, drawing others to His light—unchecked sin tarnishes this witness. (2) Sin within the church can lead others astray, which is why Scripture instructs us to warn and discipline fellow believers (Matthew 18:15-18; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13).
c. Direction (Guide)
Every local church is facing unique issues and challenges. Thus, the leadership within each church has to lead their church through these challenges under direction of the Holy Spirit. We see this in Paul’s letters addressed to the different churches, each letter written to strengthen and equip them to navigate the specific situations they were facing.
As a good shepherd leads his sheep to ‘green pastures’ where the sheep will flourish, elders within a local church have been given the responsibility of leading those saints into the fullness of their inheritance in Christ.