ROOTED: Living Scattered, Not Shattered
ROOTED Leadership | 1 Peter 5:1-7
Christopher Rich – May 15, 2022

Introduction | We all Need Leadership
This week we are going to resume our
series ROOTED: Living Scattered, Not Shattered. Many of us are realizing our roots are too shallow and weak to sustain us in the storms of life. We need good news greater than our current events. We need to be rooted in what is real, true, and eternal. When we are rooted in the transcendent, we are not reactive to the temporary.

Leadership has an Impact – Part of how we become reactive to the temporary is how we interact with and respond to leadership, specifically in the life of the church. Ideally, we would all be and follow good leadership. Good intentional leaders facilitate flourishing for all. They are able to see and lead people to a preferred future and/or help people endure seasons of difficulty or trial. We all have a relationship to leadership. That is the ideal, but that is not always what is real. Leadership is fraught with landmines for leaders and those being lead. This happens in government, entertainment, business, but it has a different impact in the church when leaders
fail to be effective, faithful, to remain qualified or worse when they actively leading in ways that are destructive. This can be individual pastors or boards of elders, etc. Absent, apathetic, or abusive leaders cause frustration and inflict pain for those they are called to lead. How can we navigate this in a word where we are to be scattered not shattered? To often we respond with checking out or disengaging. The answer for bad leadership cannot be a rejection of all leadership, for that would be chaos causing more harm. Rather there should be humble servant leadership. We all need Rooted Leadership.

PART I | Rooted Shepherds |1 Peter 5:1-3
1 Peter 5:1-3 |So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:  2  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;  3  not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 
Rooted Shepherds (5:1-3) – In light of God’s will that you will be a people scattered not
shattered, the church will have functional and positional leadership. Peter earlier introduces himself at the beginning as apostle but here he uses a more humble disposition. He is a “fellow elder”. Imperfect Peter is a leader of leaders, chosen by Jesus, witness to His suffering, and recipient of His grace. He says his qualification for leadership is that he has witnessed the sufferings of Christ. This is not a great accomplishment but is highlighting his greatest failure. He is Leading with his failure and vulnerability. But we also know of his restoration. There are no perfect leaders in Jesus’ church. Humility is required. Failure was part of his ministry but so was

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repentance and restoration. Peter demonstrates humility and the hope of the restoration he has been given by Jesus. He also has the great hope of future glory with Christ! I am one of you, I have failed, I will finish.
Shepherd the Flock among you- Rooted Leaders are IN Fellowship not apart or aloof from it.
Rooted Leaders are known leaders, who recognize public ministry is also personal ministry.
They are both over and among. 1 Thessalonians 5:12 says “Respect those who labor among
you and are over you in the Lord.” They are hard workers. They are known as laborers in the
church. They get stuff done, labor in preaching and teaching, and work like farmers in the
trenches. They are part of the fellowship knowing those who they help lead.
Over you in the Lord- Rooted Leaders are in and among the community there is a clear
distinction in their office, role, and function. There are positions with in the Fellowship of
leadership, that provides care, direction, vision teaching, and instruction. Leaders and pastors
are Christians first; they are in the Lord. Their identity is In Christ so they serve and lead like
Christ as a “Servant-Leaders”. It is important to have both among and over present, because
there are consequences when the emphasis is on one but not the other.
Leadership that is among but not over does not provide clear and compelling direction.
Leadership is ineffective. Flourishing turns to wilting, where vision is lacking the people perish.
They become led by the church, seeking to avoid conflict and please everyone in the process
they lead no one. It doesn’t’ mean they don’t care for the church, but concerned for individual
sheep they easily forget there is a flock to lead.
Leadership that is over but not among does not provide adequate care and concern for
the church because they are separated too far from it. Fruitfulness can turn to trampling as
leaders become too domineering. In the desire to lead they dictate rather than direct. It doesn’t
always mean they don’t care about people, but concerned for the flock they can easily forget the
flock is made up of individual sheep to care for.
Both NEED to be held in tension. The answer is not ignore either orientation but to grow
in both. Leadership recognizes it has a role in not only leading the church organizationally, but
care for the congregation pastorally. That care includes correction and admonishment. Rooted
Leaders are among the church enough to know where and how it needs to grow and over it
enough to be bold to address it. According to Bob Thune’s Biblical Eldership there are five key
things Elders are called to:
1. Feed God’s Flock: Treasuring Gods’ word and teaching it to others
2. Protect God’s Flock: Refuting false teachers and spiritual apathy and sin.
3. Lead God’s Flock: Being examples in both character and competency and setting the
agenda.
4. Care for God’s Flock: by encouraging them in the gospel through all kinds of life
circumstances.
5. Champion God’s Mission: and train others to live as missionaries in our culture.

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Skillful shepherds will lead the sheep. They will not be content for the flock to remain as they
are, nor even manage them more efficiently. They will seek the growth of the flock numerically.
They will also seek their progress, individually and corporately, towards maturity. They will not
be managers, for managers deal in seen realities, but leaders, for leaders deal in unseen

potentials. – Derek Tidball, Skillful Shepherds.

Rooted Mission - Not under compulsion but willing- The word could also be constrained. This is
not a role you do because well someone has to, or you were forced into it. God is looking for
willing alignment to His pruposes for His people. You don’t shepherd under compulsion but in
joyful alignment with the mission, vision, values of the specific church place and time and
direction.
Rooted Motives- Not for shameful gain, but eagerly. He doesn’t say no gain but shameful gain.
Elders/Pastor who make their living from the Gospel are to be supported by the gospel. Ox e not
muzzled, etc. Shameful gain is motivated by greed or selfish motives., etc. The contrast is to
eagerly motivated. It’s more postitive than willing but is fully a want to in the roll.
Rooted Means - Not domineering, but examples – Internal motives lead outward actions.
Dominating means forcefully ruling over in a harsh or excessive way. Usual contexts are
military, political, or physical. I out rank you and/or I will overpower you. When arrogance out
paces assertiveness, and abuse overshadows everything. Domineering is not Direction -
Domineering does not include legitimate leadership, or when leadership doesn’t go the direction
you desire. Verse 5 tells members to follow leadership (when legitimate, and not leading to sin)
They are present and assessable. They share the Gospel AND there very lives. Examples to
the flock. #StayQualified Elders aren’t varsity Christians, but they are qualified. Elders aren’t
Excellent Christians, but they are exemplary one. Being character qualified is a great
responsibility, but it’s also a great blessing. It’s a gift from God, one given to enjoy, and one
given to cultivate. As leaders fall, and fall some more, pastor friends of mine gather together and
lament when this happens, soberly consider the fact that not of us are above or beyond a similar
fall. However, we also praise God for His exceeding graciousness of equipping and empowering
us with character that can keep us qualified to lead. Not only for leadership sake, but for the
blessing and enjoyment of flourishing life. To be qualified is not a burden but a joy, so is
resting….
“Pastors have no special well of spiritual strength to draw from, no secret tools to reinforce their
spiritual fortitude beyond what any of us has. It’s easy to forget that Christ’s undershepherds are
still sheep in his flock. If we treat pastors like spiritual superheroes, we do them a disservice.
Superman doesn’t need to do pushups, but ministers still need permission and margin to do
their spiritual exercises: time alone with God, time praying, time in Scripture beyond sermon
prep, time with spiritual directors and counselors and other pastors who get what they’re going
through”. – Our Pulpits Are Full of Empty Preachers, Christianity Today