Church
Devotion 3: Humble Leadership

Patrick Bicknell

One of the things that breaks my heart the most is hearing stories about individuals who have gone through some sort of church hurt, specifically from a pastor or leader in the church. Far too often, I see videos that come up on social media where people are talking about the hurt they have been through and how they have deconstructed their faith. Deconstruction is something that is beginning to happen more and more, and essentially, deconstruction can be described as rethinking one’s belief and faith and rejecting previously held beliefs. Church hurt from leaders is oftentimes what causes people to deconstruct their faith. I have heard story after story of people who experienced a pastor who was manipulative, narcissistic, egotistical, prideful, or any other form of abusive behavior, and what it caused in the person who experienced this hurt was an apprehension towards Christianity as a whole. They began to reject Christ and reject the faith they once held.

This is not a devotion on deconstruction, but rather, it is a devotion discussing the lane of authority the church has as described in the Bible. My hope with this is that we can have a proper understanding of how the church is to conduct herself and that we can help minimize the amount of people who experience church hurt.

In the book of 1 Peter, chapter 5, the Apostle Peter explains the roles of shepherds, which talks about pastors and how they are supposed to lead. Peter specifically charges the shepherds in verses 2-3, saying, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over the those in your charge, but being examples of the flock.”

He then finishes this section but exhorts everyone to be humble by saying in verse 5, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” Peter makes it clear how the pastors are to exercise their authority. They are to be those who seek to lead the flock of God, not dominate them. They are to be those who care for the flock of God, not hurt them. The church has a specific lane of authority, and it is not to be the ruler of the lives of the congregation but rather in humility, guiding and leading the flock of God in lives of holiness and obedience to the Lord.

I think 1 Peter 5:5 gives us the guideline for how to spot a church, pastor, or leader who is getting out of their lane of authority. Humility is the key. When a church begins to leave their lane of authority, they have already left behind humility and have embraced the plague that is pride. We need to be on the lookout for this and help those who lead us if we begin to see them stray into prideful, domineering leadership.