Acts 20:28-35
28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. 32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. 35 “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
This final goodbye has been a farewell speech to the Ephesian elders. The organization and leadership of the first churches is part of the reason why I started studying Acts in the first place, so this is quite an important passage. Too often we have looked at a church’s board of elders or pastors as a business position (myself included). We think they are in charge of how loud the music is, the color of the carpet, and whom we should put in charge of the coffee bar. The truth is, however, that an elder’s main responsibility as chief servant of the church is to care for the congregation spiritually.
In this passage, Paul exhorts them to always be on alert for not only will people come from outside the congregation to confuse and distort the Word of God, but also people will rise up from within! It is more damaging for someone from within the congregation to rise up and distort scripture than it is to come from outside. I’ve seen it happen and the elders are in charge of protecting the rest from these folks…even from themselves! Paul, in addressing the elders, tells them to be on guard for yourselves. The very wolves in sheep’s clothing could be the very spiritual leaders he is talking to. This is a serious issue. In verse 32, it seems as though Paul is changing themes but in reality, he is still talking about protecting the flock. He is using his own example to show how we can tell the difference between someone new who comes in that will edify the church.
Paul is encouraging the elders. In some cases, this might be seen as a dirty trick to gain the respect of the elders, but they should be wiser than to be swayed by personal encouragement. A faithful congregant should encourage their leaders. Paul also points out that even though he was working as a missionary, he never sought out his own gain. Those who rise up to sway others away from the truth often have an underlying reason for doing it. This might not necessarily be monetary; they could be seeking to gain followers or validation that they are right and the pastor is wrong. Finally, a follower of God’s word is focused on giving, not receiving. Too often we feel as though the church isn’t giving us enough: food, water, direction, music, etc. We don’t get together on Sundays to recieve, but to learn how to give. Paul’s words in verses 33-35 serve as an example for church leadership as well as congregants. Paul’s example is for all in the body of Christ, not just those who are responsible for others.
What does it mean to be a shepherd? In English, we talk about pastors being shepherds because this language is in the bible but do we really grasp the meaning of what Paul is talking about? In Spanish, the word for shepherd is literally “pastor” which probably gives more insight into the depth of a pastor’s responsibilities. Furthermore, in the United States, we don’t really have many shepherds around anymore and through the generations the definition and job responsibilities of a shepherd has been forgotten. A shepherd is one who does everything he can to care for the welfare of each one in a flock. Jesus, the chief shepherd, demonstrated this for us when on earth. Pastors/ elders are given the responsibility of doing the same. We shouldn’t look at elders, as board members who get together regularly to make business decisions. Rather, they are a team of shepherds working together to best serve the spiritual growth and protection of the congregation which they have been appointed to serve. Eldership is a position of service and sacrifice (as Jesus served us), not of power and position. If you think about it, the true appointment of eldership is a bit scarier than just being a board member. There is more responsibility involved; elder/pastors are responsible for caring for the bride of our Creator until He returns. Would you be ok with such responsibility?
We need to break free from the capitalist mindset of what the board of elders represents. As we continue working to understand the Culture of Jesus, we cannot conform our way of governing the body of Christ as if it were a business but rather as if it is His precious gift to us that we get to be a part of. This isn’t to say that in a church organization there isn’t local business to attend to: paying the bills, interacting with local officials, hiring and firing of staff, etc. but let us not treat the precious body of Christ like a commodity. If He has appointed you to care for it, do so diligently. If He has not, respect and honor those who He has appointed to guide and protect you. If you have no idea what I am talking about, maybe it’s time to find a new church.
