Leadership in the Church: Not Taking, but Tending | 1 Peter 5:1-7

Devotional

Day 1: When the Chief Shepherd Restores Broken Leaders

Peter’s failure didn’t disqualify him from shepherding. Jesus met him on the shore, not to demote him, but to recommission him with three simple words: “Tend my sheep.” God specializes in redeeming flawed leaders and broken systems. He takes what others have abused—authority, roles, even entire institutions—and breathes new purpose into them. Just as Peter became a living example of restored leadership, Christ still transforms wounded shepherds into agents of His care. The same hands that once denied Jesus now extended mercy to others. [19:42]

“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ […] ‘Tend my sheep.’”
(John 21:15–17, ESV)

Reflection: Where have past leadership failures made you hesitant to trust God’s redeeming work? How might Jesus’ specific call to “tend” others heal your view of authority?

Day 2: Shepherds Scout Cliffs, Sheep Tread Safe Paths

True shepherds don’t drive flocks from behind like cowboys—they walk ahead, clearing brambles and facing predators first. Authority in God’s kingdom means absorbing risks so others thrive. Elders aren’t exempt from the wilderness; they’re called to map it, their scars becoming signposts for the flock. Leadership that demands comfort is counterfeit. The shepherd’s staff exists to redirect wandering, not to elevate the one holding it. [29:44]

“He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”
(Isaiah 40:11, ESV)

Reflection: When have you experienced leadership that “absorbed the cliff” for you? How does this reshape your expectations of godly authority?

Day 3: Hiding in Baggage vs. Holding the Staff

Saul hid from his calling; Peter gripped his staff. Reluctant leaders, like Saul skulking among suitcases, drain communities. But those who shepherd “willingly” (1 Peter 5:2) carry weight so others can stand taller. Compulsion breeds resentment; love bears burdens lightly. God’s call often comes to those knee-deep in failure, not those polishing trophies. True authority begins when we stop clutching our insecurities and start carrying His lambs. [23:19]

“But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent […] I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? […] Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth.’”
(Exodus 4:10–12, ESV)

Reflection: What “baggage” makes you hesitant to lead or follow? How might God repurpose your weaknesses for others’ care?

Day 4: Palaces or Pastures: Where Leaders Feed

David traded battlefields for palace rooftops, exploiting power while sheep scattered. Elders must graze where the flock grazes—not in isolated boardrooms but in the mud of everyday needs. “Shameful gain” (1 Peter 5:2) isn’t just money; it’s the addiction to comfort, applause, or control. Shepherds who feed themselves starve their sheep. The staff isn’t a scepter; it’s a tool to guide hungry hearts to living water. [25:38]

“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.”
(Ezekiel 34:2–3, ESV)

Reflection: Where might you be “dining on wool” instead of tending wounds? How can you shift from consuming to cultivating today?

Day 5: Humility: The Shepherd’s Smock

Peter told elders to wear humility like work clothes—stained with service, not starched for show. Authority in the church isn’t a podium but a posture: bending to wash feet, kneeling to bind wounds, leaning to hear whispers. The “unfading crown” (1 Peter 5:4) comes only to those who’ve traded crowns for towels. When shepherds smell like sheep, the flock learns to trust the scent of Christ. [32:01]

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
(Philippians 2:3–4, ESV)

Reflection: What “stains” from serving others bring you joy? How does humility protect both leaders and flocks from pretense?

Sermon Summary

Leadership in the church has to be unlearned and relearned because so many ideas about leadership come from culture, from painful experiences, and from what the human heart wants authority to be. God redeems leadership, even when the very idea feels permanently tainted. God does not throw away the roles he designed just because sinful people have misused them. God restores them and puts them back into his own shape.

Peter writes as a fellow elder, as a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and as one who knows what it means to have the Lord of the universe kneel down and wash his feet. First Peter 5 calls elders to “shepherd the flock of God,” and that word matters. Peter could have said teach, govern, direct, or instruct, but the Spirit gives the word shepherd because it carries care, protection, guidance, patience, and sacrifice all at once.

The role of elder was not invented by the apostles. Jewish communities already had elders, and many of those elders opposed Jesus, plotted his arrest, condemned him, and even helped cover up the resurrection. Yet God did not discard the office. God redeemed it. Numbers 11 shows God giving Moses seventy elders to help bear the burden of the people, and that same pattern runs into the church. Elders are given to carry weight on behalf of the flock.

Peter’s phrase “exercising oversight” gives elders real authority, but that authority comes after “shepherd the flock.” Order matters. Authority is not for the sake of the shepherd. Authority is for the sake of the sheep. Leadership in the church is not taking, but tending.

Peter names three ways elders must shepherd. Elders must serve willingly, not like Saul hiding among the baggage because the work feels like a burden without love. Elders must serve eagerly, not for shameful gain, not like David lounging in the palace while others were at war. Elders must serve as examples, not domineering like Rehoboam showing everyone who was boss. A shepherd is not a cowboy driving cattle from behind. A shepherd goes before the sheep, finds the path, clears the obstacles, and meets the danger first.

Jesus fulfills every part of this calling. Jesus went willingly, came eagerly, and went before his people into death and judgment. Peter’s call to elders ends with a call to everyone: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another.” Humility makes leadership and submission possible under the mighty hand of God, because the good shepherd, the great shepherd, and the chief shepherd cares for his flock.

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Key Takeaways

1. God redeems broken leadership
God does not abandon leadership because sinful leaders have made it ugly. The role may be tainted in memory, but God is stronger than the failures attached to it. Redemption means the Lord can restore the very thing that pain has made hard to trust. [03:21]
2. Elders bear the people’s burden
The office of elder is not a platform for importance. Numbers 11 shows elders receiving the Spirit so Moses would not bear the burden of the people alone. Spiritual leadership carries weight on behalf of the flock, especially the weight of care. [14:05]
3. Authority exists for the sheep
Peter puts shepherding before oversight because order matters. Authority in the church is real, but it is borrowed authority, given for tending and not taking. Any power that serves the leader instead of the flock has already bent away from Christ. [21:50]
4. Shepherds lead from the front
A shepherd is not a cowboy driving from behind. The shepherd goes first, finds the path, clears the danger, and refuses to ask sheep to walk where he will not go. Example is not decoration on leadership, it is the shape of faithful oversight. [29:20]
5. Humility makes leadership Christian
Peter calls everyone to be clothed with humility because pride corrupts both ruling and following. Christian authority is not authoritarian, and Christian submission is not servile, because both happen under the Lord. Humility gives dignity to obedience and restraint to leadership.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:24] - Unlearning Leadership From Culture
[01:34] - Power Tests A Leader
[03:04] - God Redeems Leadership
[05:32] - First Peter 5 Read Aloud
[08:02] - Not Taking, But Tending
[09:03] - Elders In The Early Church
[11:04] - A Corrupted Office Redeemed
[12:57] - Numbers 11 And Shared Burdens
[15:32] - Shepherd The Flock Of God
[17:47] - Wicked Shepherds And God’s Rescue
[21:08] - Authority For The Flock
[22:28] - Willing And Eager Elders
[27:20] - Examples, Not Domineering
[31:02] - Jesus The Chief Shepherd

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Peter 5:1-7
“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: 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 those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” [05:32]

Numbers 11:16-17
“Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.'”

Ezekiel 34:1-16
“The word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them. For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.'”

Observation questions

In 1 Peter 5, what three contrasts does Peter use to describe how elders should lead: not under compulsion but willingly, not for shameful gain but eagerly, and not domineering but being examples?
In Numbers 11:16-17, what reason does God give for appointing the seventy elders, and what are they supposed to share with Moses? [14:05]
In Ezekiel 34, what had the bad shepherds failed to do for the sheep, and what does God say he himself will do instead? [17:47]
In 1 Peter 5, what command is given to everyone in the church at the end of the passage, not just to elders? [32:01]

Interpretation questions

Peter says, “shepherd the flock of God,” and only then says, “exercising oversight.” What does that order suggest about the purpose of authority in the church? [21:50]
If the office of elder had already been corrupted in Israel, why would God restore it instead of discarding it? What does that show about the way God deals with broken things? [12:12]
Ezekiel 34 shows shepherds feeding themselves instead of the sheep. What are some church leadership patterns today that might look different on the surface but still repeat that same heart? [18:01]
Peter calls everyone to be clothed with humility toward one another. Why is humility necessary not only for following well, but also for leading well? [32:07]

Application questions

Many people carry painful memories of leaders who used authority badly. How have those experiences shaped the way leadership is viewed now, especially in the church? Where is it hardest to believe that God can redeem even this? [03:21]
Authority is for the sake of the sheep, not the shepherd. In daily life at home, work, ministry, or friendship, where is there a temptation to use influence for personal comfort, control, or recognition instead of care? [22:09]
Elders are called to serve willingly, not just out of pressure or obligation. Where does service to others currently feel reluctant or forced? What might willing obedience to God look like in that area? [22:28]
Elders are called to serve eagerly, not for shameful gain. What kinds of “gain” are most tempting right now—approval, comfort, attention, ease, or something else? How can those motives quietly distort the way others are treated? [24:48]
Shepherds lead from the front, not from behind. Is there a place right now where example needs to come before instruction—at home, in parenting, in friendship, in marriage, or in the church? What would going first look like there? [29:20]
“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another.” With whom is humility most difficult right now? What would humble speech, humble listening, or humble submission to God look like this week in that relationship? [32:01]
Peter ends by saying to cast anxieties on God because he cares. What burden has been carried alone that needs to be handed to the Chief Shepherd? How might trusting his care change the way that burden is handled this week? [06:55]

Sermon Clips

72s

“``An elder has authority. There's no sense denying that or disguising that. I know authority is a dirty word for all of us people that want to be mostly by ourselves. Mostly responsible for ourselves. We all wanna be small business owners of our own lives. Right? We don't wanna work for somebody else. Peter says the elders are to shepherd by exercising oversight. Okay? It's right there in the text. But this comes after shepherd the flock and order matters. Okay? Shepherd is the big goal. Exercising oversight is the way of accomplishing it. You see the You see how how important that is? Shepherd the flock of God. One way that you do that, exercising oversight. But the big goal is to shepherd. Authority is not for the sake of the shepherd, but for the sake of the flock. Always, always, always not taking, but tending.”

45s

“Anyone who is attracted to power must be kept away from the reins of the church and the office of elder. The core function of an elder is not to control things but to care for people. Any authority they have comes from God for the sake of the sheep. It's on loan and it can be taken away at any moment. Instead, an elder is to be an example. This injects humility into leadership immediately. To be an example means you're thinking, I too am a sheep. I can't ask others to do something that I'm not willing to do myself.”

51s

“You know, a cowboy drives his cattle from behind, but a shepherd leads his sheep from the front. He goes before. He's scouting for the best way to water, to pasture. If there's a cliff ahead, the shepherd comes to it first. If there are obstacles, he clears them away. If there's a predator, he is in harm's way and he gets out his weapon. The sheep tread on a path he finds for them and makes for them, not the other way around. Not the other way around. Shepherds are not behind but before.”

73s

“Once again, despite despite the failures of leaders past, despite Peter's failure, a human leader of God's people is called a shepherd. Redemption. Redemption from all of the failures of the past. God's brought it back. The abusive elders didn't abolish the office of elder and wicked shepherds have not taken away the human calling to shepherd. Both are redeemed by God and both are connected together. Hallelujah. That we don't have to carry our own burdens all the time. That God is more strong and powerful and mighty than the failures of leaders in the past. The failures of the leaders in your past, God is stronger and mightier than that. I hope that's good news for you today.”

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Leadership in the Church: Not Taking, but Tending | 1 Peter 5:1-7 | June 14, 2026