THE WORK OF A SHEPHERD
Acts 20: 17-38

INTRODUCTION 

Many years ago, our family went camping at Devil’s Lake State Park with another family.  We had four children at the time and the youngest, Jordan, was just a baby.  The family we were camping with also had four children and their youngest was also an infant.  I spent a lot of time at Devils Lake State Park when I was a teenager and was very excited to show my young family some of the unique and beautiful features of this park.  I had hiked along the bluffs on many occasions, both on and off the trails.  On the first morning, after breakfast I gathered our little troop of four parents and eight children under the age of eight and off we went along the trail that followed the foot of the bluffs.  Jane and Robin were carrying the babies in those little front carriers.  After we had been walking along the flat and boring trail I told our crew that what we really wanted to do was to get to the top of the bluffs so we could see the beauty.  I promptly turned off the trail and began to lead our flock up the gently sloping bank.  As we began to wind our way through the trees, the women wondered out loud if I knew where I was going.  I assured them that I did.  “I did this all the time when I was a teenager.  The top of the bluff isn’t far and we’ll have lots of fun getting there.”

The pitch of the slope continued to increase until we came to a spot where the only way to continue upwards was to scramble with the use of your hands.  The women again wondered if I knew what I was doing.  I assured them I did and that the top could not be far away.  Well, with some additional coaxing we began to clamber up the incline.  One of the toddlers began to cry in fear as it clung to a tree to keep from sliding backwards down the slope.  The two moms simply stopped, sat down and refused to go any further as they could no longer maintain their balance with the weight of the babies in front of them.  Then, Robin, the other mom, informed Jane, who informed me, that she had a metal rod up her spine to correct a curvature in it and she could not bend her back like the rest of us could.  Her back was not feeling very good.  It was finally obvious to me that we could not go on but must retreat.  The trouble was that going back down was actually harder than getting to where we were.  After some panic that we would not be able to get down, Rob and I were able to help each child and mother down to the trail, one at a time.

Obviously, I failed as a leader.  Why did I fail?  I had a great deal of enthusiasm for the goal I wanted to reach.  I was able to persuade people to follow me.  I had a very clear vision of where I wanted us to end up and I was able to communicate the vision in such a way that others embraced it and willingly followed me.  However, I failed to get my followers safely to the goal for several reasons.  First, I was not fully aware of the condition of my flock.  Second, I did not take into consideration what I did know about my flock as I planned our ascent.  Third, I pursued a course that I enjoyed and that I could handle but it was not one they could endure.  It is one thing to be inspired by a goal and to be able to inspire others to value the goal, it is entirely another thing to get the group safely to the goal.  Leadership is the ability to motivate and lead people to a goal that they have embraced.  It is enabling others to follow you to a desired and desirable end.

Jesus has appointed leaders in his church.  He has told those leaders what their goal is to be.  In the NT, the assigned goal of Christian leaders is to lead those who have been appointed to their care safely to their heavenly home.  It is to lead them to God.  The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:30-32 says it this way, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews or Greeks or the church of God, even as I try to please everyone in every way.  For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many so that they may be saved.”  Paul here describes the goal of his life, the glory of God in the salvation of the “many”, all those whom God has given him to lead.  We see this same goal expressed in the passage we are studying these two weeks.  Look at vv. 28-32.  Notice that there is a particular group of people, “all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers”, for which the elders in Ephesus are responsible.  Their goal is defined in both negative and positive terms.  First, they are to be on their guard so that wolves that distort the truth and lead the sheep away from Christ and after them do not destroy the flock.  Then it is expressed in positive terms in v. 32.  The word of God’s grace gives an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.  Again, what Paul views as the goal of Christian leadership is to make sure that all those who are assigned to your care make it safely to their heavenly home.

What methods are Christian leaders to use in order to bring the flock safely home?  That is the question we want to answer this morning.  I want to remind you of what I said last week.  These instructions are given first to those of us who are elders in our church.  However, these instructions also apply directly to parents, small group leaders and to every Christian; the difference being that elders are responsible for every person in our church while others are responsible for a more limited number of sheep.  Last week we looked at the motives of Christian leaders, this week we will look at the work of Christian leaders.  I want us to see three things from this text.  Verse 28 gives us the outline for our examination of the leader’s work.

Christian leaders keep watch over themselves

Why do Christian leaders need to keep watch over themselves?

I don’t think there is any question that what Paul says in vv. 26-27 and 29-30 is the reason that he begins v. 28 with “keep watch over yourselves.”  Paul knows that God is paying very careful attention to those who claim to speak on his behalf and is going to hold them to a higher standard than others.  This is one of the clearest things taught in the Bible from beginning to end.  In Luke 12:48 Jesus says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.”  Taking on the mantle of speaking on God’s behalf, whether it is as a parent, a small group leader, or an elder, you are placing yourself in a position of higher accountability.  But it’s not only a place of higher accountability but also a place of greater danger.  It is so easy to presume that because you know and teach what is true that you actually believe it.  It is easy to presume that because you know and explain what is right, that you are actually doing it.  There is no necessary connection between knowing the truth and obeying the truth.  Now, you cannot obey the truth without knowing it.  However, knowing the truth does not necessarily mean you are obeying.  It is also dangerous because you could deceive yourself and then deceive others.  

Jesus’ harshest words are reserved for spiritual leaders.  Listen to what he had to say to the religious leaders of his day.  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”  The teachers of the law “tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”

I think that Eugene Peterson captures the way that the Scriptures warn men and women who would speak for God when he describes the great danger of self-deception.  The sins to which Christian leaders are most susceptible, “sins of the spirit”, like pride, greed and lust, are difficult to detect.  Speaking of Christian leaders he says, “Is this outburst of zeal energetic obedience or human presumption?  Is this exuberant confidence holy boldness inspired by the Holy Spirit or a boastful arrogance fed by an anxious ego?  Is this assertive leadership courageous faith or self-importance?  Is this suddenly prominent preacher with a large and admiring following a spiritual descendant of Peter with five thousand repentant converts or of Aaron indulging his tens of thousand with religious song and dance around the golden calf?

It is not easy to tell.  Not at all easy.  Deception is nowhere more common than in religion.  And the persons most easily and damningly deceived are the leaders.  Those who deceive others are first themselves deceived, for not many, I think, begin with evil intent.  The devil, after all, is a spiritual being.  His usual mode of temptation is not to an obvious evil but to an apparent good.  The commonest forms of devil-inspired worship do not take place furtively at black masses with decapitated cats but flourish under the bright lights of acclaim and glory, in a swirl of organ music…  The religious leader is the most untrustworthy of leaders: in no other station do we have so many opportunities for pride, for covetousness, for lust, or so many excellent disguises at hand to keep such ignobility from being found out and called to account.”

Judas should stand as a primary warning for everyone who speaks for God.  He spent three years with Jesus.  He preached the good news of the kingdom on many occasions.  He healed people and he performed other miracles.  However, in the end, he revealed himself to be a pretender and he has gone to his just reward, eternal sufferings.  Richard Baxter, who wrote an entire book on v. 28 that was the standard text for describing the work of elders for over 300 years says this, “how many men have preached Christ, and yet have perished for want of a saving interest in him!  How many, who are now in hell have told their people of the torments of hell, and warned them to escape from it!  How many who have preached the wrath of God against sinners, who are now enduring it!”  If you don’t believe that is possible, then you don’t understand the depth of the deception that is in the human heart, including your own.  It is more than possible that men and women who have preached the true gospel are in hell.  It is also a certainty that those who preach false gospels, while believing it to be true are also in hell.

Every Christian leader needs to be able to say with the apostle Paul, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.”  Every parent needs to be able to look their child in the face and say, I want you to be just like me in the way I live my life for Christ.  Every small group leader needs to be able to look those in his or her group in the face and say, I want you to follow Christ just like I follow Christ.  Every elder and pastor needs to be able to look each member of their congregation in the face and say, “I want you to pray as I pray.  I want you to spend your money as I spend my money.  I want you to treat your wife as I treat my wife.  I want you to watch the media I watch.  I want you to eat the way I eat.  I want you to raise your children as I raise my children.  I want you to study the Bible as I study the Bible.  I want you to take care of your property the way I take care of my property.”  I’m not saying that everyone is supposed to copy every detail of the leaders life.  I am saying that the leader needs to ask himself or herself on a regular basis, “would I want those whom God has given me to lead to think like this, love like this, act like this, believe like this?”

The Christian leader must always be aware that he or she is modeling the Christian life that others will live.  In Luke 6: 40 Jesus says, “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”  Notice, Jesus didn’t say the student will be like what the teacher taught but will be like the teacher himself.

I am absolutely convinced that God is the one who saves people.  Salvation is from the Lord, from beginning to end.  But I am also absolutely convinced that the method God uses to save people is people.  Only those who have known the saving work of God can help others know it as well.  Richard Baxter writes, “How can you call, with serious fervor, upon poor sinners to repent and return to God, when you never repented or returned yourselves?  How can you heartily follow poor sinners, with importunate solicitations to take heed of sin, and to lead a holy life, that never felt yourselves the evil of sin, or the worth of holiness?”

If you wanted to study auto mechanics, who would you want for a teacher, the person who went to technical school and took all the classes and read all the books but never looked under the hood of an actual car or the guy who has the schooling and spent 20 years fixing cars?  If you are going to help people know God, pray, repent, trust, and love, then you must be experiencing.  So you have to keep watch over yourself so that you personally know the realities of which your speak.

How do Christian leaders keep watch over themselves? Live a disciplined life

Paul described his life like this, “Don’t you know that in a race, all the runners run but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way so as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly.  I do not fight as one beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified from the prize.”  He tells his young protégé, Timothy, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.”  The Christian leader is hard on himself or herself.  Now let me be very clear at this point.  The motive of your discipline is not primarily so that you can be an effective leader or parent.  If your ultimate reason for disciplining your eating habits or your Bible reading or how you talk with your wife is because you want to be a good leader, there is a strong chance you will end up in hell.  Loving to influence others is not necessarily the same as loving God.  The reason you discipline yourself is so you will gain the prize of eternal life with Christ.  You need to be able to ask yourself, “If I wasn’t in this position of leadership, would I still live this way?”  When my kids are grown, am I still going to read my Bible every day?  When I’m not leading a small group, will I still study the Bible like this?  Paul beat his body and made it his slave so that he would be saved in the end.  His ultimate purpose is pleasing God and loving God, not leading people.  You will never regret spending time reading Scripture, praying, reading good Christian books, helping the poor, sharing your faith, leading your family in worship.  There is a day coming when you will deeply regret not doing these things.

When Paul tells the elders to keep watch over themselves, he is speaking to a group of men.  He is commanding each individual to not only keep watch over themselves, but also over the other members of the group.  This is one of the main reasons that I believe the pattern in the NT is for a plurality of leadership in the church.  The biblical pattern is for each local church to be lead by a council of elders.  The NT teaches that some of the elders are to give their full time to “pastoring”, yet all of the elders share in the responsibility for the work and that includes holding one another accountable.  One of the things I’ve appreciated about the elders in our church is that they are not afraid to ask me tough questions.  In addition they do not become defensive when I ask hard things of them.  It is my ambition to be open to the criticism of other leaders in our church.  How a person handles criticism is one of the chief measures of their fitness for spiritual leadership.  Defensiveness has no place among Christian leaders who, by definition, know they are sinners.  I even expect and desire correction from everyone in the church.  Just because I’m the pastor and say something or do something doesn’t mean it is what God would have said or done.  We are, after all, Protestants and not Catholics and so we don’t believe that any human being is infallible.  I and the other elders and other leaders are accountable to one another and to you, that’s the beauty of a congregational form of church government.

Christian leaders keep watch over the flock assigned to them

Why do Christian leaders keep watch over the flock?

Notice first that the Holy Spirit is the one who made them overseers over this particular church.  This isn’t something they decided, but it is something God decided.  They are like hired men who have been given a job to do.  If they are not faithful to their task, they will have to give an account to the one who gave them the task.  Again, I think it is critical to note that not only does God assign the flock to the shepherd, but also the shepherd to the flock.  If you belong to River Hills Community Church then God wants you to be lead by Randy Benish, Todd Cook, Dave Cullum, Dan Martin, John Swanson and Ed Wojciechowski.  This is true for families and small groups as well.  God is the one who assigns the leaders to a flock and the flock to the leaders.  We are not simply a random assortment of individuals, no matter how much our consumer mentality makes us believe so.  God forms congregations and appoints elders to lead them.

Let’s say you have a good friend who is going to be out of town for a couple of days.  He asks you to take care of his dog.  If the dog is a mutt, you will, because you love your friend, make sure the dog gets fed and watered and let out each day.  However, if your friend’s dog is a rare purebred that he spent $1000 to purchase and you know that he is planning on breeding the dog in order to go into business for himself, you will be far more careful in how you take care of the dog.  It’s not that you love your friend more if he owns a valuable dog. Rather, you take better care of the dog because you know how valuable the dog is to your friend whom you love.  In the same way, Christian leaders are motivated to take care of God’s church because God shed the blood of his own dear son to purchase the church for himself.  We love him and the church is valuable to him, so I take special care of what is special to God.

Christian leaders are motivated to pay careful attention to the church because enemies inside and out beset the church.  Satan and all of his hosts are seeking to destroy the church by raising up false teachers within the church to lead those within it astray.  Elders, pastors and parents know that there are many forces seeking to dissuade those in the church from following Christ.  So we bend our energy to warn and alert people to the dangers and we teach people the truth so they will recognize what is false.  We are not on cruise ship touring the Bahamas as we make our way toward heaven.  We are in a battle ship fighting our way to the homeport.  We are under attack from the sea and the air.  Spies have slipped on board during the night and are trying to commandeer the ship.  We must be ever vigilant and courageous as leaders if we are going to bring the ship safely to port.

How do Christian leaders keep watch over the flock?

I want you to look through this last speech that Paul gave to the Ephesian elders to see what it is that Paul himself did to keep watch over the flock.  Look in vv. 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 31, 32, and 35.  Paul was committed to communicating a message.  It is a helpful message.  It is a message about repentance from sin and trust in Jesus Christ.  It is a message of God’s free unconditioned favor towards sinners.  It is the whole will of God.  He worked hard, night and day, teaching, proclaiming and warning all the flock.  He was committed to enabling people to know the truth of Christ, then to love the truth and finally to act upon it.  I want you to notice the two ways he communicated God’s truth.  In vv. 20 and 31 you will notice that he worked both in public, that is to groups of people and he worked in private, from house to house, to each one of the Ephesians.  In other words, Paul kept watch over all the flock by both public instruction and by personal, private conversation.  He did not leave out anyone that was part of the flock assigned to him.

Paul’s goal was not simply proclaiming the truth with no regard as to the effectiveness of what he preached.  When he told people to repent and trust in Christ, he wanted them to do so.  He wanted people to abandon false ways of thinking about God and to embrace the truth.  He wanted people to be growing in holiness.  He wanted it for the glory of Christ and for the eternal joy of the people.  Imagine going to the parent-teacher conference for your child and asking how little Johnnie was doing.  The teacher tells you, I have no idea how he’s doing.  Let me tell you about my lesson plans and all the creative ways I’ve been presenting the material.  How would you feel?  You would be furious.  You don’t really care about how she is teaching.  What you care about is if your child is learning.  In fact, a teacher who doesn’t care if the students are learning and never checks to see if they are is not a teacher.  If your doctor prescribes pills but doesn’t want to see you again to see if the pills worked, how would you feel?  If he is content to dispense the medicine but never checks back with you to see if you are well, what does that tell you about the doctor?  It means his goal is dispensing medicine, not curing illness.  It is not the doctor’s job to dispense medicine, it is his job to cure illness.  In the same way it is not the job of Christian leaders to simply proclaim the truth, it is their job to make sure that the truth is transforming the lives of those to whom it is addressed.  That is the goal of keeping watch over the sheep.  No shepherd has discharged his duty of caring for his flock when he is done talking.  Rather he or she is required to find out if the sheep have been fed, are they healthy or sick, if they are in danger of being devoured by wolves.  The only way you can find those things out is by personal conversation.  That is why Paul went house to house and warned each one of the Ephesians.  He was seeking to find out what condition each sheep was in and then to seek to administer the appropriate help that each one needed.

I believe that it is the duty of every elder, parent, small group leader and other leader to “know the condition of his or her flock” by having regular, personal conversation with each person under their care in order to find out if the truth is having its intended effect.  I spend, on average, talking personally with about a half dozen people each week, in their homes or in the office.  Most of the people I speak with at present fall into these three categories: current or future leaders in our church, new people to our church or to the faith and those who are experiencing a personal crisis of some kind.  What I am discovering however, is that by talking to these three groups of people there are a growing number of people in our church with whom I never have a personal conversation.

Therefore, I am going to begin a process of systematically meeting with every person who is a regular attendee or member of RHCC for the purpose of talking about how you are doing in your relationship to God.  There are about 125 individuals who are thirteen years old and above that regularly attend our church.  I aim to meet with three of you each week in order to meet with everyone at least once each year.  This is not a test.  I think of these meetings like going to the doctor for a physical.  We are going to talk together to see, together, the marks of spiritual health and to discern if there are any indications of spiritual malaise.  It will be my goal to help you make progress in growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I aim to work so that you can be presented holy and blameless in the presence of Jesus when he comes.  I will be sending out, in this newsletter, a description of the subjects we will talk about..  However, these conversations will also be a time for you to initiate talking about the things that you are concerned about in your own spiritual health.

I know that most of you will feel uncomfortable in having this kind of a conversation.  Some of you will feel that it is none of my business how you are progressing in your walk with Christ.  I know that having a pastor or elder come visit you to talk specifically about your relationship with God is not usual in the American church.  However, it is the duty of every pastor and elder to engage in this work.  I promise you that I am not doing this to be nosy or to lord it over you or to act like a know-it-all.  I am doing this for you, for your eternal joy.  I’m doing this to help you.  1 Thess. 5:12 says, “Now we ask you brothers to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.  Hold them in the highest regard because of their work.”  It is this work of giving personal oversight to each member of the congregation that Paul is talking about.  Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.  They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.  Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.”  Again, the work is this work of meeting with each person to inquire as to the state of your soul.  If we will do this work together it will help both of us.  I will be able to stand before Christ unashamed and so will you.