Chapter Ten: Follow the Leader . . .  how a new Pastor can get his people to follow his leadership. 

By Dr. Steve Davis

What you will get out of this chapter:

1) Leadership is about setting the example – here is how a young Pastor can get his older members to follow his leadership.

2) Even if you don’t have a personal mentor, what you CAN do.

3) You’re not just a young man working for a church – how to act like it.

4) How to get your people to recognize your pastoral authority.

Leadership is about setting the example for the congregation. A Leader should be able to say as the Apostle Paul, "You follow me as I follow Jesus (I Corinthians 11:1)." A true leader, no matter how old or young he is, will feel impelled to set the example for the other believers to follow. Any leader should be able to say, “Do as I do, and you’ll live a godly, Spirit-lead life that is working well on all levels.” Not every leader will have exemplary gifts in every area, but every leader is able to set the example of someone who is totally sold out to the Lord Jesus and is serving Him with all his heart.  This is what Paul wrote to young Timothy, as a new pastor, who was intimidated by some of the older members of the congregation, who didn’t immediately recognize Timothy’s position of spiritual leadership.

What God says a young Pastor can do. 1 Timothy 4:12 : “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”  This goes back to “taking the oversight.” Timothy, don’t allow people to despise you, or look down on you. You’re their Pastor, even though many of them are older than you. How do you keep them from despising you? By setting the example. Even  a young pastor can do this. Get into the Word, let it get  into you. Let your speaking, your lifestyle, your love for your people, your zeal, your faith and your pure lifestyle be an inspiration to them.  Become a leader by loving your people, serving them and setting the example.

Even if you don’t have a personal mentor, you can do this: v. 13  “Till I come, give attendance  to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”  Paul would be spending time personally guiding and giving counsel to Timothy, but until then there were three things Timothy could do to make his leadership plain. Spend time reading. The old saying that “leaders are readers,” is true – depending on what a person is reading. Spend time reading the Word, as well as time reading books on leadership and people management. Also, give time to duplicating yourself in others – mentoring. Find some in your congregation who have leadership potential and begin building a group of likeminded leaders. And, make sure your doctrine is biblical and accurate.  Don’t just go with the flow of what other churches are doing, but be founded on the rock, the Word of God.

You’re not just a young man working for a church.  v. 14  “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.”  A Pastor is NOT  “just like anybody else” in the congregation. He is called, he has responded to the call, he has prepared himself, he has made a commitment, paid a price and more than that, he is gifted by God for the ministry. He is a GIFT from God to the church!  Paul reminds Timothy not to neglect the anointing, the gifting that is in him for ministry. It’s easy for a Pastor to forget that there is an impartation in his life that separates him from the members of the congregation. He is not just a young  man. He is a young man with the anointing, a young man with the gifting for ministry directly from the Holy Spirit, that was given through the laying on of hands by those over him.

We need to recognize that there IS an impartation that happens through the laying on of hands. From Moses laying his hands on Joshua passing on a spiritual gifting for leadership to this passage in Timothy, God is letting us know in no uncertain terms that impartations for ministry come through the laying on of hands. This is also why he tells in 1 Timothy 5:22 to “lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.”

How to get your people to recognize your pastoral authority.  v. 15  “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.”  Timothy, in order to be recognized by his elder congregation members is told to meditate (from the Hebrew “to mutter, to whisper”) on these things; to speak them to himself, and to give himself 100% to being the example of  a committed, zealous and loving man of God. When he does that, everyone will take note that he is  what he says he is, that God has sent him to that congregation, and that God is backing him up!

Make the commitment and stick with it! v. 16  “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”  Like with any  man of God, the number one person for Timothy to keep an eye on was himself. Pastor, keep an eye on your attitude, your schedule, your words and deeds, and pay attention to what God is telling you through the Word of God. Keep on doing this all your life, never lose your momentum. That will keep you in position with God and will cause people to come to the Lord through your ministry.

So, is there a danger of the Pastor leading the people astray? Not if the Pastor and the people follow the Scriptures in a balanced way, comparing scripture with scripture. The moment the leaders don't follow Jesus, then the people have no obligation to follow the leaders. There have always been leaders and those in the ministry who were not men of the Word or of prayer. There have  always been those who have served as hirelings. There have always been small minded, negative and self serving men who would approach and occupy the pulpit. This is why it is so important for the people of God to be ruled by the Word of God, rather than by traditions of the elders or other man made documents. Of course, there needs to be for the law’s sake a church Constitution and By Laws. But these documents need to be in line with biblical principles, with the provision of being revisable as the people become more aware of how to keep them biblical in principle. (See elsewhere on this website for a sample of a Biblically based Constitution and By laws.)

A verse that is used throughout this work is Hebrews 13:17: "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch over your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you."  This doesn't say that these leaders are in total inspiration and whatever they say, do it. It does not give even a hint of a leader having the authority to have anyone do anything that is contrary to scripture. The rule that they have over the people is the rule of the Word of God. If they do not have the Word of God, they do not have the rule.

It is not about “total submission.” Just like in other passages about submission, there are limits and principles. First of all, the term, “submission,” does not mean inferior. It means that there is a primary mission and a secondary mission. The secondary mission is the “sub-mission.” The Lord has  a mission for His people, for His Body, for His flock. The mission of the individual members is a sub-mission. So, they are in submission to the Lord and to the overseer He has placed among them for the good of the body. In the things of God, and where he is operating by the Word, the people are required to submit to the Word of God that he brings forth. In matter such as when to go on vacation or  what color to paint their homes, he has no say so and the people are at total liberty. The Pastor may make suggestions, but as long as a member wants to do something that is not illegal, unbiblical, unethical or dishonest, the Pastor can't tell him or her what to do.

Even as the wife is to follow in the leading of the husband as long as he is leading in a biblical way, the same concept is applicable here in the administration of the body of Christ. Ephesians 5:23 "For the husband is the head of the wife..."   The husband is not he Lord, Jesus is. The elders are not the Lord, Jesus is. The wife is to submit to the husband, as he is submitted to the Lord and the Body is to  submit to the leadership of Elders, as they are submitted to the Lord.

 The question for the Pastor, or other Elders is: "How does Christ rule the church? Like a dictator? A tyrant? NO! He rules by the authority of the Word of the Father, in the Spirit of the Father and in the revealed will of the Father.  The people don't have to go to an Elder and get permission to buy a hair dryer. They don't have to go to an elder to find out  if they are allowed to change jobs.  The elders are not over any individual’s Christian experience. They are over the corporate ministry of the Body. They don't dictate, they oversee. It's to be for a whole Body, not just individuals.

Copyright Steven L. Davis  www.stevedavis.org