Spiritual Leadership

In December 1787, a British ship known as the HMS Bounty left England for the South Pacific. The commander of the ship was William Bligh, and the mission was to collect samples of fruit trees which could be planted on British colonies in the Caribbean.

The boat was supposed to head west across the Atlantic, then south around South America, and then continue west toward its destination. But near the southern tip of South American, harsh weather forced the crew to sail back east past Africa and Australia approaching its island destination from the other side.

After travelling more than 10 months and over 25,000 miles, the crew enjoyed a five-month layover on the tropical island of Tahiti. As you might imagine, a five-month stay on a beautiful tropical island had quite an impact on the crew.

Many fell in love with island life, and some even married the local women. Throughout that same time, there was also a growing resentment toward commander Bligh who would flog or whip his men when they did not carry out their duties. Some even began to note some paranoid tendencies.

Loaded with fruit tree saplings, the Bounty left Tahiti with its crew. Three weeks later, however, the men’s love for the island and their animosity toward their commander led to a revolt. There was a mutiny. Twenty-six crewmembers took command of the ship. Commander Bligh was taken prisoner, and he and 18 other loyal crewmembers were abandoned at sea on a smaller boat. Amazingly, Bligh navigated his new vessel 3,600 miles in a two-month journey back to a safe port north of Australia.

The Royal Navy eventually went back to look for the rebels. Those who remained on Tahiti were caught, but the rest had escaped to another island 1,000 miles east named Pitcairn.

About 20 years after the HMS Bounty had originally set sail, an American boat landed on Pitcairn and discovered a community living which turned out to include the only survivor of the original rebellion. According to the man, the Bounty had been stripped and burned, and internal conflict and disease had led to everyone else’s death. The HMS Bounty never completed its original mission.

I think most people have an intrinsic sense that for any group to survive, there has to be some measure of unity and harmony. There has to be some mutually agreed upon structure for a society or a company to thrive, and that structure needs to include some measure of authority.

When the relationship between those in authority and the rest of the people begins to deteriorate, the entire structure will deteriorate as well. That can happens in nations. It happens in companies and families. And sadly, it happens in churches as well. If the relationship between the members and the leaders breaks down, and no one does the work of repairing that damage, it won’t be too long before the church is destroyed. It will no longer effectively carry out its true mission.

This was one of Paul’s concerns with the church in Thessalonica. Externally, there was the threat of persecution, but internally, there was also the threat of strife and disunity. I’m not sure how severe the threat was for them at this time, but it is something Paul gives attention to as he begins drawing his letter to a close.

This morning, we are going to be looking at verses 12 and 13 of chapter 5, which include a request from Paul concerning the relationship between members of the church and their leaders. That exhortation has two main components. The first one is in verse 12. He wants the church to respect, or to regard, the leaders. The second component is in verse 13. He also wants them to esteem them highly in love. I’m going to leave our explanation of that for next time.

What I’d like to do  today is direct our attention to the assumption Paul is making concerning the leaders. Notice, he doesn’t just say respect your leaders; he gives the church a description of what the leaders are doing.

Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians gives evidence of the kind of ministry he had among them, and his dedication as a leader and as a teacher was passed on to others in the church. So, Paul assumes a certain kind of leadership is taking place, and that assumption is likely due to Timothy’s report. What kind of leaders does Paul expect the church to have?

For our time today, I want you to think about the people you lead or the people you influence. Even if you’re not in some formal or official leadership position, you have an influence on those around you. That’s God’s design. How do you do that better?

For those of us in some recognized form of leadership, I trust today’s lesson will be particularly helpful or challenging. Husbands, fathers, mothers, you need to consider how you lead your wife and your children.

Those of us who teach in some church context—whether that’s for kids or adults—we need to learn from the Apostle Paul and the Thessalonian church. And more directly, anyone who serves as a deacon or an elder, or who aspires to do so, should understand and regularly be reminded of the principles Paul presents.

Another important reason to review the role of leaders is because even if you don’t expect to find yourself as part of the church’s leadership, you are expected to take part in affirming that leadership. So, you need to know what constitutes a faithful leader. What kind of leaders is God looking for? What qualities should leaders exhibit?

In looking at the words of Paul, let me give you four brief answers to that question. The first answer is faithful exertion. Faithful exertion. What does it mean to exert yourself? It means to put effort into something. It means to work hard.

Notice Paul’s first description of church leaders in verse 12. They are those who labor. Those who labor. The Greek verb here is kopiáo, which means to work to the point of exhaustion. It means you work hard. It means you sweat. It means there is diligence. There’s a reason we use the word labor to describe the pain of a mother about to have a baby. It’s hard work!

Some people’s idea of authority means you get to sit in your lawn chair drinking lemonade while everybody else does what you tell them. But that is not Christ’s picture of leadership.

Parents, God didn’t give you kids so that they could do all the work around the house while you watch TV. Elders, God doesn’t intend us to boss members around while we sit back and rest.

In Acts 20, when Paul is talking to the Ephesian elders, he says that his hands ministered to his own needs and to those who were with him. He says, “I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Paul’s authority as an Apostle of Jesus Christ never meant that he stopped being a servant of the church. He worked hard as an example to the church, and as an expression of his love. Nobody was going to accuse Paul of being lazy.

Men, this is what our wives need to see in our lives. We work hard for them. Parents, this is what your kids are supposed to see. We’re not just working hard from 9 to 5. Diligence should be a defining mark of our entire life. That doesn’t mean we never rest. But it means our life is one of production. If you’re seeking to serve others for the glory of God, you are going to be tired. That’s part of doing it right.

J Oswald Sanders once wrote, “If a Christian is not willing to rise early and work late, to expend greater effort in diligent study and faithful work, that person will not change a generation. Fatigue is the price of leadership. Mediocrity is the result of never getting tired.” That’s a pretty challenging statement for all of us.

Listen to Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 15:10. He is comparing himself with the other Apostles, and he says, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

Paul understood that diligence is both the result of personal exertion and spiritual empowerment. Paul depended on God, but He also worked hard in the ministry. He labored over the people in his care. There was a mental and a physical fatigue that characterized him, and yet God enabled him to keep working day after day.

If you want to be faithful, if you want to be effective as a parent, or as a leader, or as a minister of Jesus Christ, don’t be lazy. Exert your energy. It takes prolonged diligence. Many times, it’s going to take physical effort to serve others, and it also takes mental effort to stay put and focus on what matters most. That’s the calling of spiritual leadership. You need to be disciplined and focused. You need faithful exertion.

Kids, you need to recognize that school is about more than the subjects you are learning about. You are also learning to work. That was a big par of seminary for me. I was taught theology and languages and Bible knowledge, but I also learned how to study. I was forced to apply my work and write research papers. I had to stay up late or wake up early. That’s part of my education. That’s part of proper preparation for the ministry. We need to learn to work hard.

And you see the same idea in the middle of verse 13 when it says that the church should appreciate her leaders because of their work. Leaders work.

The second characteristic of a faithful leader is personal connection. Faithful exertion and personal connection. Look again at verse 12. Paul says that the leaders are “those who labor among you.”

The work of a spiritual leader is not supposed to be detached from the people. It’s supposed to include physical and meaningful contact with others.

Back in chapter 2, Paul described his ministry with the Thessalonians as that of a mother and a father. He loved them. He had an affection for them. He was not working hard at a distance. He had a personal connection with them.

That personal concern Paul had for the church is what led him to send Timothy to get an update. And it’s part of what motivated Paul in the ministry. He longed to see them again.

Think about the difference between how the Pharisees treated the Jewish population and how Jesus treated His followers. The Pharisees saw themselves as above the rest of society. They lived apart from the people. Jesus lived among the people. He touched them. He ministered to them.

God did not intend the body of Christ to only minister to people form afar. He intended us to be personally invested in other people’s lives. He intended us to have meaningful relationships with the people we minister to.

There are seminaries and pastors who teach that in order for the pastor to be most effective in ministry he needs to keep a certain distance between himself and the people. That is a dangerous lie about church ministry. It is the exact opposite of the heart of a true shepherd.

I can’t remember where I first heard it, but there is a saying that says something like, “A true shepherd will smell like sheep.” A true shepherd will smell like sheep. He’s doesn’t just minister for their sakes; he ministers among them. He spends time with them. He is accessible and available. Jesus came from heaven to dwell among His people, and we need to express the same kind of attitude.

I am grateful for how the internet age has expanded the reach of Christian teaching, but one of the dangers of the digital age has been people who begin to learn good doctrine, but it’s detached from God’s ordained context of a local church. They hear preachers on TV or in the radio, and they think “That’s my pastor!”

The man you’re listening to might be a good pastor, but he’s not your pastor. To you, he’s just a teacher. You can’t see into his life. You can’t affirm the character qualities in his home life.

In James 5, there’s an instruction there to a sick person to call the elders. Reach out to them. That command assumes they are accessible. There’s a personal connection.

First Peter 5 uses this phrase twice in the opening verses. The elders are “among you.” They are part of the church. They are connected to the rest of the people.

How do you apply this principle as a parent? Hopefully it’s something you’re already doing. We need to be forming and nurturing relationships with our children. We need to get to know them as individuals made in God’s image.

If you want to minister to your coworkers or your extended family, you need to know them personally. They are not obstacles to the mission; they are part of it. Find ways to open up your life to them. Maybe you could have lunch with them, or invite them over for dinner, or go to their kids’ sports games. Think about how you can step into their lives for the glory of God.

When Paul arrived in Thessalonica, he wasn’t just concerned with building up a crowd of followers. He began to care about them as individuals. He formed personal relationships with them. In chapter 2 of the letter, verse 8, Paul says he had an affection for them, and he was ready, not just to share the gospel with them, but his own self. He opened up his life to them.

We need to be doing the same for the glory of God if we want to minister to our neighbors, or the children in the church, or to our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Jesus never intended church leaders to serve from a detached position. He wants personal connections.

One of the passages that comes to mind when I think about this topic is what John says in his last two epistles, 2 and 3 John. He says, “I have more I want to say to you, but I don’t want to say it with paper and ink. I would much rather talk to you face to face.” As a spiritual leader, as a minister of Jesus Christ, John understood the value of personal connection.

Let’s move on to a third characteristic of spiritual leadership. Again, Paul is not explicitly commanding it in this passage, but he is assuming it. Attribute number 3 is biblical instruction. Biblical instruction.

This is probably the most obvious characteristic when we think about pastors in the church. They are to teach the word of God. Pastors have a derived authority because they are teaching the authoritative word of God.

Verse 12 continues saying to the Thessalonians these leaders are “over you in the Lord.” They are over you in the Lord.

That “in the Lord” phrase is a reference, first of all, to the reality that Christ has placed them in that position. You might remember that from our study in Ephesians 4. Leaders in the church are gifts from Christ to the church. In fact, every spiritual gift is given by the Spirit of Christ for the benefit of the church.

A second idea contained in that phrase “in the Lord” is the extent of a leader’s authority. My authority over you as one of your pastors only goes as far as the word of God allows. I can’t tell you what color to paint your house or what kind of car to buy, but I can speak authoritatively from the word of God on the issues it either speaks clearly about or indirectly toward.

If you come to me with a question about how to honor God, I don’t have the liberty to start making things up. I need to go to the word of God. This is the authority; I’m just helping us understand it and then think about how it should be applied.

Parents, there are so many things you will teach your kids, and what you decide to include in your child’s upbringing is going to be different in some degree to what other parents want to teach or expose their children to. But the one thing we cannot neglect is the word of God. This is the duty of a parent.

Ephesians 6:4 says we are to bring up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. In other words, we need to teach them this book. Not simple as a theology book. Not simply as a story book. But as the true and authoritative word of God.

You might remember that Paul said something like that to the Thessalonians back in chapter 2. In verse 13 he says he thanked God constantly because they received the word of God, and they accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really it, the word of God. Paul never lost sight of his mandate to teach the word of God, and to do it with authority. His responsibility was to give biblical instruction

I think it was Steve Lawson whom I once heard say, “God only had one Son, and He made Him a preacher.” Teaching the word of God is a vital part of spiritual leadership. It can happen in a sermon; it can happen in a class; it can happen in a counseling scenario, and it can happen in everyday conversation.

In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, when Paul lists the requirements for pastors in the church, he says that an elder must be able to teach. He needs to be able to clearly articulate sound doctrine and defend it against false teaching.

How sad it is when so-called pastors stand in front of a congregation, and rather than give people the word of God, they start spouting their opinions about religious things or political things. There are biblical topics that will connect to political issues or everyday issues, but the church was not placed here as an earthly political entity. It was placed on this earth to be a pillar and support of the truth. That’s our calling. That’s what makes us distinct. we teach the word of God, and that’s especially what leaders in the church are to do.

The final description of a spiritual leader is this: watchful correction. We have faithful exertion, personal connection, biblical instruction, and watchful correction. Watchful correction.

As a dad, I don’t just teach my kids the truth and then just let them figure out their own way through life. The time will come when they leave the house, but in the early years, they are under my care. I need to keep a watchful eye over them. I need to be vigilant.

Yesterday my kids were at a birthday party. And when it was time for the piñata, the kids were told, “Don’t rush in until we say you can run in to get the candy.” Why do we say that? Because we know that candy is hard to resist for a kid, especially when it’s a race to get to it. But if the kid with the stick is still swinging, he could really hurt someone.

But even though we give them that warning, we are still watching. And my brother-in-law had to jump in to grab the stick because the kids couldn’t help themselves once candy started. That’s a picture of being a watchful parent.

Well, the idea of watchfulness and correction comes at the end of verse 12. Paul says that spiritual leaders admonish. They admonish.

Some translation say “give instruction” which is a similar idea, but I prefer admonish here. To admonish someone is to warn them. It is to offer a correction. It is to push them back on the proper path.

The Greek verb here is nouthetéo, which is a combination of two words: nous, which means “mind” and títheimi, which means to set, or to put in place. So, the idea here is to set someone’s mind right. Today, if someone was really out of line, you might say, “I need to go set him straight.” That’s the idea here. There is something this person is considering in their course of action, so I need to caution them. I need to warn them for their own protection.

This is the heart of a shepherd. If a sheep is in some sort of danger, if a sheep is wandering toward a threat, the shepherd steps in. But he doesn’t do it with a self-righteous authoritarian tone. He does it with gentleness. Like a father picking up his son when he’s about to step in a pothole.

Galatians 6 says that when we restore someone, it should be done in a spirit of gentleness. That’s the heart of Jesus Christ. In the weeks to come we’ll see that all of us are called to help warn or correct one another, but this is an especially important task for the leaders in the church. The ministry of Christian leadership is a ministry of warning and protecting. It is a ministry of loving and watchful correction.

If we refuse to step in and warn somebody who is in danger, that’s not an act of politeness, that’s an act of hatred. It’s a lack of love. When you or I shay away from telling someone about their sin and about salvation in Jesus Christ, that’s a lack of love.

If you’re visiting us today, and you haven’t surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, we want you to know that it is the love of God that compels us to tell you that you are a sinner headed for eternal condemnation. You are headed to hell forever because you do not meet God’s perfect standard of righteousness.

But one man has already met that requirement—the man Christ Jesus. He is God in human flesh. And not only did He perfectly live up to God’s standard, He died on the cross, which He did not deserve, to face God’s wrath in the place of sinners. And then He rose from the dead proving that He had conquered sin and death. If you will turn from your sin and trust in Him, you will be saved. And we’d love to make that a public proclamation by baptizing you as a member of your church. Come talk to us about how to do that.

Nobody likes to be told that they are doing something wrong, but we do it in love because that is the heart of Jesus. He exposed the Samaritan woman to her own sin, but He also told her about the promise of salvation in Him.

Spiritual leaders warn those in their care. They act for their protection. We need to do the same for those God has given us the task of shepherding.

If you care about our church, if you want our church to be healthy and effective in the mission of Jesus Christ, then you need to care about our leadership. And you need to care about the kind of leader and influencer you are within the church.

In closing, I simply want to read to you the closing verses of Colossians chapter 1. This is Colossians 1:28-29. This, too, is the Apostle Paul writing, and so it’s no surprise that we see the same principles we’ve mentioned already. Spiritual leaders love the sheep. They exert energy. They make personal connections. They teach the word, and they graciously and lovingly warn and correct.

Here's how Paul puts it in

Colossians 1:28-29. Speaking of his role as a minister of Christ, he says—[Christ] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.