MPC, 24th March 2002.1 Peter 5:1-5 - "Glory Can Wait"
Phil Campbell MPC, 24th March 2002.
You've got to feel sorry for Steve Waugh, haven't you? I mean, arguably one of the best cricket players for years, a CAPTAIN who's had the respect of his team, the respect of the whole Australian community.
And yet now, when he gets off the plane from South Africa yesterday, it's like the SHARKS are circling. The media sharks. Out for blood. And the questions. You've been dropped from the ONE DAY TEAM. Does that mean your DAYS ARE NUMBERED in the TEST TEAM? Is it all over? Are you FINISHED?
No wonder Steve got a bit dirty. In the bit of it I saw he was scowling; he said, you wouldn't think I've just come back from leading one of the most effective TEST CAMPAIGNS EVER. There are NO QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT. Just this stuff. And I know test captains don't cry, but the poor guy looked pretty close to it.
Because it looks very much like his GLORY DAYS are over. He's had his day in the sun. And it's coming to an end. He's had the fans, he's had the media spotlight, he's had the adulation, he's had the test centuries at the Gabba that every schoolboy dreams of. And now the GLORY DAYS are gone.
Like his brother Mark. "Mark, are you planning to FIGHT YOUR WAY BACK into the one day side?" And Mark says, I think you've got to be realistic and say, after 17 years it's the end of an era.
Sad. And hard if you put yourself in the place of someone like that. Used to the spotlight. And now it's gone. Used to glory. Now it's faded. You HAD IT… and now it's GLORY NO MORE.
That's how it is for the sports star. That's how it is for the politician. That's how it is for the movie-star. That's how it is for your Brad Keeling and your Jodee Rich and your other corporate high flyers who come and they go. Who rise and they crash. Glorious one day. Gone the next. And all you've got in your retirement is the photos and a few stale memories.
Maybe a better way is to LEAVE THE GLORY OUT OF IT. Until right at the end. Maybe a better way is the exact REVERSE of what Steve Waugh is facing. And LEAVE THE BEST UNTIL LAST?
Which is exactly how Peter says is the way it's meant to work with ELDERS. Christian leaders. 1 Peter 5, it's a classic passage for Christian leaders of every variety you can think of. And it seems just about totally ignored; I mean, you watch your Archbishops and your Popes and your processions of Presbyterians and you wonder if we've all somehow missed the point. Which is why we need to take notice. Of 1 Peter chapter 5.
So let's get FIRST THINGS FIRST. As Peter addresses the church ELDERS he's writing to, he's appealing to them as a FELLOW ELDER. Who has, he says if you look at verse 1, witnessed something incredibly significant. Has witnessed in person, the Lord Jesus Christ, SUFFERING on the cross. And the glory that followed in the resurrection. And that's turned everything upside down.
So one thing's very clear to him. THE GLORY CAN WAIT. He knows it's coming. But it's not yet. And so here's the apostle Peter, he describes himself like this. He says "To the elders among you, I appeal as a FELLOW ELDER, a WITNESS OF CHRISTS SUFFERINGS, and one who ALSO WILL SHARE in the GLORY TO BE REVEALED." He knows it's coming. And he knows he has a share in it. But the thing that's most real in the meantime is that the GLORY IS NOT YET.
Verse 4; he says it again. If you're thinking of being a Christian leader because you reckon there's some sort of STATUS in it, if you're thinking you get to put the crown on and sit at the big seats and look down on everyone else, THINK AGAIN. The glory has to wait. Until the CHIEF appears. The chief shepherd. When the CHIEF SHEPHERD appears, says Peter, THEN, then you'll receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
I guess the Steve Waugh syndrome would have been even clearer back in Peter's time. Because when you won a race at the Greek Games, the prize was a GARLAND. A crown of leaves. I guess you'd have your moment. The crowds in the Coliseum would be roaring; you'd be on the podium, you'd be crowned with the garland. Couple of days later you've got a bunch of dried leaves.
Peter says this is better than that. But IT'S NOT NOW. It's LATER.
Verse 6; and it's the same idea again. Addressed not just to leaders but to all of us. Humble yourselves therefore, he says, under God's mighty hand… THAT HE MAY LIFT YOU UP IN DUE TIME.
Humble now. And the glory can wait.
Now I'm saying all that by way of introduction to the fact that today we've ordained and inducted Stuart Atkinson as an ELDER of our church. Which for all of us is a big and an encouraging step. And the rules of the Presbyterian Church of Australia say that when you do that, the minister is to PREACH on the duties of eldership. To REMIND STUART… and to REMIND EVERYONE… what Christian leadership is really all about.
And so the first reminder is this. That there's NO GLORY INVOLVED in Christian leadership. Only humble service. Which is a hard lesson to learn. Because we so easily think in worldly ways and straightaway turn LEADERSHIP into status. We turn an appropriate AUTHORITY to lead into POWER. We want the glory now. And we think maybe that becoming an elder, or being a minister, or in other churches maybe an archdeacon or a bishop, we think there's a GLORY INVOLVED. If I illustrate what I'm talking about I'll get in trouble for being critical of other churches. Or even worse, critical of our own. So I'll leave it to your imagination. Or your own memory. To see if you can bring to mind a picture of a CHRISTIAN LEADER who somehow thinks their POSITION MEANS STATUS.
Peter calls himself a WITNESS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. And if it's good enough for the Lord of the universe to make himself a servant, if it's good enough for the Ruler of creation to suffer and die on a cross for the sins of His people, then Peter says he's happy enough to WAIT FOR THE GLORY as well.
And so he goes on to list what REAL CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP should look like.
If you're looking for money, says Peter, forget it. If you're after POWER, you've come to the wrong place. If you want PRESTIGE or IMPORTANCE, or FAME - go and play cricket. Because in simple terms, if you want to be a Christian leader, you've got to model yourself on a leader who suffered and died for his people. And verses 2 and 3 spell it out.
a) SHEPHERDS of God's Flock…
Now there's a lot packed into the first half of verse 2. And it's worth a close look.
Leaders are shepherds. But the flock belongs to God. Leaders are OVER-SEE-RS. But above all, leaders are SERVERS. Like Jesus.
Have a look what it says. And it's addressed to those who are ELDERS. He says "Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, SERVING as overseers."
A few years ago we spent a week on Lou's cousin's farm down near Dubbo; they run a few thousand sheep. And one afternoon we had to move the sheep from the top paddock down to the bottom paddock; and let me tell you, it was great fun. Andy and I got on the motor bikes, and we whistled up the dogs and off we went. And we scared the wits out of 'em with our revving engines, and our yelling, and the dogs yapping at their heels and drove them exactly where they were meant to go. Which is the perfect picture of the modern sheep farmer.
Trouble is, if that's what you've got in mind when you read the word SHEPHERD there in verse 2, you've got it totally back to front.
Because when Peter says "BE SHEPHERDS OF GOD'S FLOCK" that's not the picture he's got in mind. Shepherds in the old days didn't have motorbikes. And they didn't even have sheepdogs. If you were a shepherd you led from the front. And the sheep followed. Wherever you went, they'd come behind you. Because they trusted you to lead them; you were the guy who knew where to find the nice green grass.
A very different picture, isn't it? And I guess that's a good thing to know. Elders aren't heel snappers. And when we appoint elders, the job doesn't come with a motorbike and a stockwhip. Elders are called to lead God's flock by walking ahead. Leading by example; being followed by sheep who trust them. Who follow because they want to - not because they have to.
And will you notice, it's GOD'S FLOCK. Nobody elses. And that the flock is not under the ELDERS AUTHORITY. Or under the Elders POWER. But under the ELDERS CARE. In other words, God's saying to someone like Stuart, here's a bunch of my sheep. Would you mind LOOKING AFTER THEM for a while?
Now there's more in that first half of verse 2. Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care… SERVING… as OVERSEERS. Which are two words you mightn't have thought belong together.
But the fact is, at the same time as elders are called to SERVE, they're called to serve by OVERSEEING. Called to serve by standing back and LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE. Called to serve by POINTING THE WAY FORWARD.
Trouble is, maybe you've got the idea that servant leadership is kind of inert. Waiting for everyone else to tell YOU what should happen. Which isn't helping anyone. And a great way to serve the sheep is to stand on the hill and LOOK OVER THE WHOLE PICTURE. Over-see.
We need elders and leaders who get the balance right. Of SERVING. As overseers.
Well, there's the job. A serving shepherd. An overseer. Who follows the example of Jesus. If you want a few more specifics, Peter goes on to list three contrasts. Three negatives, and three positives. That take us through the rest of verse 2 and into verse 3.
Here's the first one. We've seen Christian leadership isn't a ticket to status. And yet in spite of that God wants leaders who are willing. And not dragged into the job under protest. Leaders who are actually keen to give themselves up for the sake of God's sheep, who delight in making themselves servants, who are happy to put the GLORY aside until later - they're a rare breed. And they're exactly the sort we want as the leaders of our church. And that's the start of the list. Peter says, SERVING AS OVERSEERS NOT BECAUSE YOU MUST. But because you're WILLING as God wants you to be.
Here's the second contrast. Right at the end of verse 2.
It might sound obvious. And for Stu becoming an elder here this morning, if he thought there was money in it, I've got some bad news. But the point is, Peter's talking to a wider group here as well. Some who put their normal work aside to lead the church. And so he says check your motives. NOT GREEDY FOR MONEY, but EAGER TO SERVE.
Whatever sort of ministry it is, God wants leaders who are in it for what they can GIVE rather than what they can get.
Finally, says Peter - and here's the third contrast - Don't LORD IT OVER PEOPLE. It's in verse 3, "not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being EXAMPLES to the flock."
Shepherds who lead the flock BY THEIR OWN EXAMPLE.
Leaders who people want to follow. Because of what they see in front of them.
Who encourage other people to serve by serving.
Who encourage other people to share by sharing.
Who encourage other people to be hospitable by showing hospitality. Elders who encourage other people to be serious about God's word. By working hard at studying it themselves.
Who encourage other people to be committed to meeting together week by week by BEING HERE IN CHURCH FAITHFULLY.
Tough job, isn't it? The pay's lousy, the conditions stink, the job requirements are just about impossible. Being a shepherd who LEADS BY EXAMPLE. Who cares intimately for God's sheep. If you think it's some sort of a status symbol being appointed as an elder, you've got it wrong.
I mean, I was at one church, where if you're an important person in the town, if you're a business man or a bank-manager, they make you an elder. And I heard someone asking once, how could these guys be elders if half the time they never even came to church? Except the other elders dug their heels in and said "They do their job. They're always at church when they're rostered on door duty." And that, they reckon, is what it's all about.
Can I urge you today, if we're going to be the church we should be, INSIST ON more than that from your leaders. And if you're an elder, if you're a leader, make sure you're GIVING a whole lot MORE THAN THAT. Show people what it means to follow in the footsteps of the Christ who suffered. And when you do that, you've got a great promise as well. The promise of a crown of glory that's never going to fade away. When the chief shepherd appears, says Peter in verse 4, when Jesus finally comes back, when we finally hit the finishing line, if you've cared for his sheep well, there's going to be a huge party.
No prizes here. No money. No fame. No glory. But in the kingdom of God, the faithful servants are the great ones. The humble helpers wear the golden crowns. The first become last, and the last become first. So STICK WITH IT, says Peter. Follow the example of Jesus. And share in the glory of Jesus.
Well, that's what Peter says to leaders. Now a quick word for those being led. And the funny thing is, it's almost the same. What did he say to the elders, to the leaders? He said, BE SERVANTS. Like Jesus. So look what he says in verse 5.
An awkward translation in a way, because they've changed the word ELDERS here to read THOSE WHO ARE OLDER. Exactly the same Greek word Peter used in verse 1. And I'm sure he's still talking about ELDERSHIP here and not just people who are older. And the verse should read, "Young men, in the same way be submissive to the ELDERS."
Now I can't imagine why young men get a special mention here. Except that I can almost still remember when I was one. And knew EVERYTHING. That's probably what the years between 18 and 30 are all about. 18 you know everything there is to know. 25 you're learning some of the questions. And soon after that you realise all the stuff you THOUGHT YOU KNEW, you didn't really.
Young men, says Peter, in the same way, even if you don't see the strength straightaway of elders who are leading by serving; SUBMIT TO THEM. And all of you... instead of throwing your weight around, throw your weight BEHIND YOUR LEADERS. ALL OF YOU... clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Friday's editorial cartoon in the Courier Mail has the treasurer Peter Costello saying "It's been a BAD WEEK FOR LITTLE JOHNNIE." And over three frames in the cartoon, Peter Costello's smile gets wider. And wider. And wider. That's politics. Bad for John is GOOD for Peter. And meanwhile in London John Howard says, Anyone speculating about a LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE has got it badly wrong.
But in political leadership, it's EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF. The young gun waiting for the right time for the leadership challenge.
Not so with us. Because instead of being GLORY SEEKERS we're prepared to wait. Instead of being POWER BROKERS we're under-shepherds of the Shepherd who GAVE UP HIS LIFE for the sheep. The Instead of being in it for the money or the prestige, Christian leaders DELIGHT TO SERVE.
As we welcome Stuart to eldership in the Presbyterian Church of Australia here today, we're doing it at a time when CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP is pretty much in disgrace.
I mean, the other day the POPE had to stand up and apologise to the world for all the PEDOPHILE PRIESTS. And if you're an Anglican archbishop, you'd have to check your dirty linen VERY CAREFULLY before you'd think about becoming GOVERNOR GENERAL. There's never been more cynicism about Christians, about the church, about Christian leadership in general.
And YOU, Stuart, in spite of that, you're taking on a great challenge. And I guess because of that, it's all the more important, for you, and for all of us who lead, to MAKE ALL THE MORE SURE… that we're taking the challenge seriously. Of being CHRISTLIKE LEADERS… and examples to the flock.
We've called you and ordained you to this job because we've seen your leadership gifts at work already. We've seen your integrity. We've seen your attitude of SERVICE. Our prayer is that you don't ever let go of those things. But develop in them more and more. So that when the chief shepherd appears, scoring a century at the ‘Gabba will be nothing in comparison… to the crown of glory he'll have waiting for you.