Hallmarks of a good shepherd. 1 Peter 5

What might we say on the matter of church leadership, its style and qualities? 

What does the Apostle Peter in chapter five of his first letter to the Christians in Rome say about it? He says church leaders should be like shepherds in their leadership. It was not a style readily recognised by Roman society of the day, which saw leadership as enforced power politic by the elite classes of society. And neither is it a style readily recognised in our own day, with much of its emphasis on leadership as being out in front, career driven, competition, and little time for those who don’t perform. So where is Peter coming from in his understanding of leadership as a shepherd? 

Recall what happened between Peter and Jesus on the night Jesus was betrayed. Peter denied knowing the Lord three times, not because he was competing with Jesus for followers, or out of a sense of egotistical promotion of self, but out of fear. Fear that the authorities were rounding up Jesus’ followers and he would be next on a cross. And his fearful denial led to shame and sorrow. We are told he wept bitterly. 

Now recall the exchange that took place between Peter and Jesus during one of Jesus’s post-resurrection appearances. He asked Peter, do you love me? Three times, do you love me. And three times Peter said yes. Now at that point, Jesus could have said something like, then why did you deny me three times? Told Peter off. Condemned him even. But he didn’t. Peter was re-commissioned: feed by sheep. It’s clear that Jesus brings forth the principle that perfect love drives out fear, and that there is no condemnation for those who remain in Christ, that all mysterious “in Christ” that Paul so often uses to express the deep personal relationship that binds the believer with Christ. 

So Peter’s understanding of Christian leadership is coming from his own experience of Christ being the good shepherd towards him. As his Lord forgave, loved, served, and washed his feet as his master, so Peter in turn exhorts his readers in Rome, and by extension us, to follow the same principle and example. It’s not a style recognised by the social structures of today. A leader being a servant, washing feet, forgiving the fearful when they fail? Try putting that in your resume next time you apply for a leadership role in business. But that’s what a Christian leader is called to do. Perhaps we could encapsulate the heart of a church leader to have its genesis in these words from Psalm 130: Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord. Lord, hear my voice. 

Now it occurs to me that these words reveal two insights about being a good shepherd. The first is, Lord hear my voice. 

Our chief shepherd said, my sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. So if ministers of our master’s church are not training the people under their care to recognise their master’s voice, then I would ask why not? Are they the good shepherds that Peter, in his letter, is commanding them to be? How do you recognise the master’s voice? How are you being trained and encouraged to recognise it? 

Jesus Christ is mankind’s greatest need. John’s gospel is replete with Jesus’ sayings to effect that only he can answer our greatest need: verses like, I am the bread of life; he who believes in me will never be thirsty. None of the founders of religious movements said this. They all said, do this, do that, follow such and such a method. But none of them said, you want eternal life? Then you come to me and I will give it to you. Peter recognised that Jesus meets mankind’s greatest need when he said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God. 

The second insight of being a good shepherd is, out of the depths I cry to you, Lord. 

Remember Peter’s experience in weeping bitterly after he denied Christ. Out of the depths he cried out. Peter knows what it is to suffer, to mourn, and to be weak. Therefore he has a heart for those who are going through the same bleak journey. That’s the thrust of his first letter to the Christians in Rome. They are under severe persecution because they refused to participate in emperor worship, and that meant they were traitors in the eyes of the authorities. 

Shepherds of the flock let the suffering, the weak, the powerless, and the anxious come to them. Why? Because they heard their master’s voice say, come to me all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Shepherds of the flock give those who are seeking a connection a space to come. Shepherds of the flock give those seeking a connection words of affirmation and acts of service, two of the five love languages you may have heard about. And it’s out of these that the Christian mission for evangelism and social justice come. 

Evangelism because we have a wonderful story to tell. We are witnesses to what Christ has done for us, and we want people to have what we’ve got. And social justice because Jesus bids all who are heavy laden to come to him. He also taught blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the persecuted, and you know the rest from his sermon on the Mount. 

Christian social justice follows because God cares, and it matters not whether we are Anglican, Catholic, Uniting, Baptist, Lutheran or whatever. We are all one in Christ. We all have a heart for the heavy laden, for those who are sorrowful, for the persecuted. 

But getting back to the second insight of what makes a good shepherd, out of the depths I cry to you, Lord. Good shepherds are called upon to walk with those who cry out. The reasons for suffering are not always known, but one reason is the metamorphosis of our fallen nature into a nature of faith and trust. 

If faith is genuine, it will persevere under trial and it will set itself up for the long haul. Non-genuine faith will look for the path of least resistance to escape. Jewellers know that a genuine diamond placed in water sparkles brilliantly, whereas the sparkle of the imitation is practically extinguished. Likewise, the faith of many people under the water of sorrow or affliction is nothing but an imitation. But when a true child of God is immersed in a trial, he or she will shine as brilliantly as ever.

 Good shepherds must always point the people under their care to the great message of Christian hope, which as the letter to Hebrews points out, we do not have a high priest (that is Christ) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet is without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 

So if you can accept trials and go through them until the end, knowing that the end is not despair but a new hope, and not withdraw into self-reliance, then you have learned to say not my will be done, but yours be done. In Christ, brokenness becomes the context for hope, not despair.

 So then, to sum up. At the end of John’s gospel, Jesus asks Peter three times, do you love me? Answer is yes, then feed my sheep. Jesus’ greatest concern is that people be told the truth about himself, and he wants to ensure that his apostles do just that. Peter is remembering Jesus’ words to him as he writes to his fellow elders (church leaders) and commands them to be godly shepherds feeding the Lord’s people. And that means teaching the truth and pointing people to the one who is alive for eternity.

Philip Starks

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