Sunday 11/10/19
Series: Walking the Talk
Message – Healthy & Content
Podcast: Download (62.0MB)
Healthy & Content
We are nearing the end of another year and I find myself asking, as I often do, is this having any impact. Are the lessons I am teaching and the direction I am leading us producing in you the changes I sense need to take place?
This year we have been focused largely on walking the talk and recently we’ve been looking at how necessary it is to develop a living fellowship with the Holy Spirit in order to effectively live the Christian life – or “walk the talk”.
Last night, my sister-in-law posted a picture of a Civic Center filling with people for something. When I asked what it was she posted a live feed of a concert including a well known worship band.
When I’ve looked for new music to have here on Sunday mornings I have come across this band several times but have never effectively gotten all the way through one of their songs due not just to the words (which are sometimes admittedly good) but more from the sense I get from them. They come across more like a eye-catching, attention grabbing, vain glorious group who disguises themselves as ones who would lead you into the very presence of God – but all I ever seem to feel led to is paying attention to the performers. This led me to look up from what church they hail. One thing led to another and after being thoroughly disgusted by how young the lead pastor is knowing a novice cannot be a pastor and that this young man could not be anything but a novice at his age, how many he is supposedly a pastor over (in excess of 20,000 weekly), the lavish life-style he lives and the questioning gaze the world has upon his ministry I began to cast a gaze back upon myself.
I began asking myself questions about leadership and if I am simply cynical of these types of mega church pastors due to some base form of jealousy or is it rooted in something real.
I discovered it had a little of both.
I do in fact wish I had a greater influence than the one I have and I’ve often wondered why we are so limited in numbers.
Is it location, is it content, is it delivery, is it a lack of flashiness or failing to appear culturally relevant…etc.?
So I began to think about what it is that a real shepherd does.
- What are they called to?
- Who are they called to?
- What is the scope of their work?
- How many can they effectively lead & feed?
So I did a little search and found about what I was expecting. The world has a better grasp on this than the church does.
Over and over again, the world seems to recognize the difference between Supervisors, managers, directors and leaders.
In the end, leaders won out as being the most effective towards actually changing the lives of those within their sphere of influence and over and over, the number given for those one can effectively lead was 7±2.
Now to be fair, the reasons for such as small number do not completely fit the work of an elder/pastor, but they come amazingly close!
After this I thought, “ok, I’ll bite the bullet”…I’ll search, how many people a person can effectively pastor.
I was both surprised and not by the answers.
Overwhelmingly the Christian world believes they can effectively “out-lead” the world. While the world admits to and embraces their limitations in order to lay hold of effectiveness by limiting their sphere to between 5-9, the church seems to think Pastors can effectively handle 150-200.
As I stated, I believe the limit of 5-9 is not fully applicable for a Pastor due to some of the reasons that number is considered effective in the work world. One of which is that in order to have effective leadership, a leader MUST have personal contact and time invested in each person they lead to the tune of about 1 hour a week. That is a full 1 quarter of their work week. Leaving only 30 hours for the actual work of leading – which involves living an example to follow.
I do not believe the Bible anywhere indicates that level of involvement between shepherds and sheep in a local assembly, but I do believe that individual and personal one-on-one involvement is an absolute requirement.
So, I returned to my previous question of what an elder (who is a spiritual leader) is called to do.
Are they to supervise, manage or lead? The answer is yes! All 3.
A supervisor is very task oriented and end-goal minded, but they are NOT personal. They see to it that things get done without truly connecting with the people of the work. They can effectively be over many people – maybe even 100.
A manager is responsible for overseeing the actual work, that it is getting done and how well it is getting done. They can effectively be over fewer people – maybe up to 25.
A leader provides motivation and inspiration, task and purpose, guidance and direction by example causing others to notice and respond positively. They can effectively be over even fewer. That is where the 7±2 comes in.
Since the work of a leader is more hands on and personal by nature – it requires certain memory skills as well. People relate better with others to show an interest in them and one of the primary ways in which personal interest is noticed is by things others remember about you. It is because of this association that some in business, recognize a connection between the number of people you can’t effectively leave and an actual rule in regard to memory. It is called the 7±2 rule. Ever since 1956, the rule has been recognized as the effective upper limits of cognitive memory (or working memory) through the work of a cognitive psychologist named George Miller.
With few exceptions, every person has a working memory of between 5-9 things they can juggle at the same time. So if follows that this limits the number of people one can effectively lead.
Now this has limitations when being applied to a pastor because the sole application was the working world where the skills learned have a limited purpose and scope – so it is reasonable to assume if the skills are personal and all-encompassing that number might be able to be greatly increased.
But the important point of all of this is that ALL of these roles – supervisor, manager and leader apply to a Pastor.
This is found in just a few simple verses which speak about pastors and it also brings us back to our current topics of ‘Walking the Talk’ and communion with the Holy Spirit.
Turn to Acts 20:28. This is the place were Paul returns to Ephesus and encourages the Elders (v17) of that city church in regard to their work – a work which begins with the Call of the Holy Spirit and which requires His aid to effectively do the work. It says,
“Pay attention to yourselves and to the entire flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to be shepherds of God’s church, which he acquired with His Own blood.”
Notice first of all that Paul was addressing “elders”.
Secondly, notice these elders are the ones to whom the Holy Spirit gave the oversight of the local church – thus, making them what we in the modern church call – Pastors.
In this passage three greek words are used in association with “pastors”. They are the words flock – which speaks to the object of a pastor’s work. Overseer describes the authority of their work and Shepherds which speaks to the TYPE of work that they do.
This is confirmed in 1Peter 5:1-4, which says – “(1) Therefore, as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of the Messiah, and also a participant in the glory about to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you: (2) shepherd God’s flock among you, providing oversight – not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly; (3) not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. (4) And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
Finally I Peter 2:25 reveals that a Pastor has two predominate roles. It says, “For you were like sheep that kept going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
The words Shepherd and Overseer though joined by a conjunction are actually pointing out two predominate roles of the same office. Simply put this meant they were to lead and feed the flock.
The terms used in the Bible for what we in the modern church call a “pastor” were descriptive – they were NOT a title! Meaning, the word described the work – it did not provide a “title” for the person.
Other words the early church used were:
- Elder
- Overseer – episkopos #G1985 – and means – A superintendent, overseer or prefect.
- Shepherd (pastor) – Shepherd – (#G4166 Poimen) Shepherd, one who generally cares for, watches over, provides for the welfare of their flock.
- Feed – (#G4165 Poimaino) To Shepherd (the act of dong your job as a shepherd). To feed, care for, provide for in a spiritual sense.
- Prebyter
- Bishop
Again not titles but descriptions.
The above verses establish the following:
- Elders are to PAY ATTENTION to themselves and the ENTIRE FLOCK.
- The Flock is under their care and oversight as Shepherds.
- They are ordained by the Holy Spirit (indicating that when Paul left Titus in Crete to ordain elders in every city – that the Holy Spirit was to lead him in this duty even as the Apostles and Elders were led by the Holy Spirit to ordain Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:2)
- The local assembly belongs to God NOT the shepherds – they are acting on His behalf.
Now let’s read what Paul told the elders in Ephesus.
Acts 20:17-35, “(17) Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. (18) And when they came to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time– (19) serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews– (20) and that I did not shrink back from proclaiming to you anything that was profitable, or from teaching it to you in public and from house to house. (21) I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. (22) “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, bound in my spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, (23) except that in town after town the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. (24) But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. (25) “And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will ever see my face again. (26) Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of everyone’s blood, (27) for I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole plan of God.
(28) Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as 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 men from among yourselves will rise up with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. (31) Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. (32) “And now I commit you to God and to the message of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. (33) I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. (34) You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs, and for those who were with me. (35) In every way I’ve shown you that by laboring like this, it is necessary to help the weak and to keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, for He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
In closing let’s answer these obvious questions…
What does all of this have to do with “Walking the Talk” and walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit? How does this accomplish these goals?
Well that is easily answered in just three verses…
Eph. 4:11-16, “(11) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, (12) for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, (13) till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; (14) that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, (15) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— (16) from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Heb. 13:17, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”
1Tim. 5:17-21, “(17) Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. (18) For the Scripture says, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE AN OX WHILE IT TREADS OUT THE GRAIN,” and, “THE LABORER IS WORTHY OF HIS WAGES.” (19) Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. (20) Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. (21) I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.”
If the Lord so directs we will spend a little more time with this next week, actually studying the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of these verses so that we can see how to do them and in that way, walk in communion with the work of the Holy Spirit and walk the talk!
I hope this message will bless you richly…not because I taught it, but because it reveals Christ. He alone is our blessing and if in any way – whether big or small, 100% accurate or even just partially so – I have revealed our great God and Savior to you in a relationally knowable way, then this was time well spent on both our parts.
We at Living Grace Fellowship encourage you to place your trust in Jesus Christ, deliberately choosing Him and bowing the knee to Him as your Master and Lord, so as to come to realize Him as your Savior.
You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. The fact that you exist… that you are His creation, says you were in His heart, you are His delight!
If you do not know Him, please reach out to us. Give us a call at the number located on every page of this website or use our ‘Contact Us‘ page. We would be deeply honored, if you gave us the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will EVER be mentioned.
If you HAVE been spiritually fed by this ministry and WANT to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but please understand that all the outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.
Blessings!
