By example

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. – 1 Peter 5.1-4

This passage of course deals mostly with instructions for the elders in the church. But they are things the flock needs to know about as well.  Folks in the church need to know how their leaders are too lead. 

So let’s see how pastors are supposed to pastor.

Shepherd the flock

Don’t do it because you ‘have to’

Shepherd willingly

Don’t do it for your own good

Don’t act like you are a master

Lead by example

I am only going to focus on that last point for today.

Pastors can’t take an attitude that says ‘do as I say not as I do.’ If we want something done we need to lead the way. We need to lead by example. 

A couple of pastors come to mind. I was visiting a pastor and we rode to church together on Sunday morning. When we got there I expected him to do what a lot of pastors do. I expected to see the closest parking space to the front door with a ‘Reserved for the Pastor’ sign on it. Instead, he drove to the furthest spot in the car park. When I asked him why he just said ‘because other people need close parking more than I do.’ 

I know another pastor who has added ‘toilet cleaner’ to his job description. Twice when I have visited the church I have seen him with rubber gloves and a toilet brush. I didn’t even ask, I was just blessed and challenged by his example. 

These seem like petty things, but to me they are good illustrations of shepherding by example instead of lording authority. 

I suspect that if people see the elders leading by that kind of example they are more than willing to serve as well.