Who Will Lead When The Fire Comes?

If you’ve ever wondered what makes a spiritual leader steady when pressure hits, 1 Peter 5 has a bracing answer: it starts long before the crisis, and it starts in the heart. We walk with Dr. Timothy Mann through Peter’s counsel on biblical leadership, and we get clear on something many churches blur: titles do not create authority, character does. Elder, bishop, and pastor are not competing “ranks” but Scripture’s different angles on one calling, spiritual maturity, real responsibility, and shepherd-hearted care for God’s people.

We also challenge the unspoken church myth that ministry belongs to a professional clergy class while everyone else is just the audience. Scripture paints a different picture. Every believer is called to full-time Christian service, whether your leadership is formal or simply lived out at home, at work, and in the lives you influence. That’s why Peter’s first leadership qualification lands on all of us: a vital, growing relationship with Jesus that no education, résumé, or tradition can replace.

From there we talk about why Peter sounds urgent: fiery trials will come, and the church will need direction, encouragement, and protection. Dr. Mann connects Peter’s words to Peter’s own story, suffering, humility, and restoration, then turns to the flock image that frames pastoral care: feeding the flock with the Word of God, guarding against false teaching, leading toward spiritual growth, and caring for individuals because the sheep belong to God, not us.

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Transcript

Foundations Of Truth Opening

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You're taking the foundations of truth. The Bible teaches the story of Dr. Timothy Mann. Our request is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's word. Rooted in Scripture, anchored in the greatest of the gospel of God of Christ. Dr. Timothy Mann opens the Bible to prosperity. And encouragement for everyday life. Today on Foundations of Truth, Dr. Timothy Mann begins a two-part message from the book of 1 Peter, chapter 5. And it reminds us that true spiritual leadership never begins with titles or positions. It begins with a genuine, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Stay with us as we discover what biblical leadership really looks like in a world that desperately needs faithful shepherds. Let's

Bishop Elder Pastor Defined

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join Dr. Mann now as he talks about the distinctions between bishop, elder, and pastor.

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The word elder and bishop really refer to the same office because the word bishop in the original Greek language, Episcopas, is translated overseer. Not just bishop, but overseer. The word elder doesn't reference age. It talks about the maturity, the spiritual maturity of that position. So there's the responsibility of that position. Then there's the spiritual maturity of that position. And the word pastor, which means shepherds, is another title for that same position, which speaks to the nature of that position. It's elders' maturity, bishop is responsibility, and shepherd is the character of it.

No Clergy Class Full-Time Service

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These elders were appointed to this office. And we see that word ordain in the scriptures, and sometimes we get kind of confused about that, and we see this arbitrary distinction between what we call clergy and laity, some professional class of Christian worker that is somehow separate or higher than laity. That's really not a biblical view. Yes, there are there's leadership, and some of those leaders receive their living from the preaching of the gospel and the shepherding of God's people, but it's not that there's some sort of vocational chaplaincy or or eldership or clergy that simply exists and does the work of the ministry, while laity is just the recipients of ministry and attend some sort of gathering once a week and then goes about their real life the rest of the week. Every single one of us are called to full-time Christian service. No matter your vocation, no matter how you make your living. So there's not some arbitrary class. It's never meant to be that way. The church did that, unfortunately. Apparently, each congregation had the privilege of choosing qualified men in this leadership aspect.

Leadership For Coming Fiery Trials

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And so what the Apostle Peter here is concerned about, what he's concerned about is that the leader, the the leadership in the local church be at its best. Be at its best. Why? Because the fiery trial is going to come. The difficult days are sooner or later going to come home. Not only circumstantially, due to situations in the lives of people, but in the culture, in the climate. Don't you see that coming today? It's coming. It is coming. And when that when that fiery trial comes, the believers in assemblies have to look to leadership for direction and encouragement and help. And what's next?

The First Quality Vital Experience

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And so when the apostle Peter writes here in these first four verses of 1 Peter chapter 5, and he's talking about how to how to be a spiritual leader, he's unpacking these personal qualities that really make for a successful spiritual leader. And while, yes, they are applicable specifically to a pastor or elder or bishop or whatever term you want to use, this also applies to each one of us who are in full-time Christian service, living our life as a follower of Jesus Christ, and are a spiritual leader of somebody else. There's still application here. So what are these character qualities? What's necessary to be a successful spiritual leader? Well, first of all, we see in verse 1 that it's important to have a vital personal experience with God, with Christ. A vital personal experience. He could have, right? He had the uh credential, he had the resume, he could have dropped dimes and said, I am I'm an apostle. I'm one of the original twelve. He didn't. He didn't say I'm some great spiritual leader. Instead, he simply identified himself as another elder. However, he did mention he personally had witnessed Christ's sufferings. That's important. Because the Greek word that's translated witness in verse 1 of chapter 5, this is important, that also gives us our English word martyr. Martyr. And when we think of a martyr, we think of one who gives his life, his or her life for Christ. And Peter did that. He did that. But basically, a martyr is a witness who tells what he or she has seen and heard. That's the basic meaning of the word martyr. And that's what Peter's doing. And it's interesting to read 1 Peter chapter 5, the whole chapter, but specifically these verses, in light of Peter's personal experiences with Christ. He said, I'm a witness of the sufferings of Christ. He's thinking back about that because 1 Peter 5, verse 1, he says, I'm a witness of the sufferings of Christ. That takes us back to the Garden of Gethsemane. That takes us back to Mount Calvary, the cross. That takes us back to those times. And when he says in verse 1, I'm also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed, the glory that will be revealed. Remember when Jesus took his inner circle up on what we call today the Mount of Transfiguration. And they got a glimpse of the glory of the Son of God. And Moses and Elijah standing there, right? Who was in that group? Peter. And Peter was a good Baptist because he immediately wanted to start a building program. That's the first thing he did. He said, We need to make three tabernacles right here for all of you, right? Put up a building. This was Peter. He's experiencing this. And so the emphasis then in verse 2 on the shepherd and the sheep, that certainly brings to mind John chapter 10, where Jesus taught about him being the good shepherd, the great shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. And then, of course, in John chapter 21 at the end of the book, where Peter is being restored after his denial of Jesus. And Jesus comes to him and says, Peter, do you love me? And he says, Yes, Lord, you know I love you. And he says, Well, feed my sheep. Tend my lambs, feed my sheep. And so here we're seeing this shepherd motif being unpackaged for us. And then this in verse 3, this warning of 1 Peter 5, verse 3, of lording it over the saints reminds us of Christ's lesson about true greatness that he had to teach Peter and the others in Luke chapter 22, verses 24 through 30, where he had to teach over and over about humility and service. He had to teach his disciples that. Verse 5, and we're not going to get to verse 5 today, but he talks about being clothed with humility. Don't you remember? In the upper room, Jesus is coming around and washing the feet of his disciples. And guess who the guy was that said, You're not going to wash my feet. Who was it? It was Peter. Peter. That's where he put on the towel and he washed Peter's feet. You get on over to chat verse 8. You get this warning, and though, but it's important, this warning of Satan in verse 8. That parallels our Lord's warning to Peter. When he looked at Peter and he said, Peter, Satan has requested that I let him have you for a little season. He wants to sift you. And I'm going to let him. But when you're changed, and you're going to be changed, Peter, when you're converted, strengthen your brethren. He warns him and he tells him. Peter, he didn't heed that warning. He ended up denying his Lord three times. You get on down to verse 10, and it's interesting to note that word perfect. He says, May the God of all grace who called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. That word perfect or make you perfect. That is translated mending their nets. Mending their nets over in Matthew, where Peter was being called as a fisherman to become a fisherman of men. In other words, I kind of gave you this little preview. Peter wrote these words inspired by the Spirit of God, yes. But what he's writing, he's writing out of his own personal experience with Jesus Christ. That's the point. His own personal experience with Jesus Christ. He had a vital and growing relationship with Christ, and that made him able to minister to God's people, to effectively lead God's people. That's what made it possible. You can't learn in a book, you can't go to a school, you can't just simply take a class that will ever substitute for a personal experience with God through Jesus Christ.

Leaders Must Keep Making Progress

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So the pastor and other leaders, other leaders in the local assembly, other leaders who have leadership responsibility. Every one of us do. Sometimes it's formal in the form of an office or a position or a ministry team or a role or simply in serving, but the pastor and other leaders in the local assembly must be people who have a personal experience with God and who are growing. The Apostle Peter admonished young, I mean the Apostle Paul admonished young Timothy when he said, Be diligent in these matters, give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see your progress. Progress, that means that that word progress means pioneer advance. All leaders, all spiritual leaders, all elders must constantly be moving into new territories of study and achievement and ministry on a personal level. And if the leaders of the church are not moving forward, you know what happens? The church doesn't move forward. Whether you're a deacon, whether you're a Sunday school teacher, whether you're a trustee, whether you're a staff person, whether you are a greeter who has responsibility in some other area of ministry, if we're not moving forward, if there's not progress taking place in our own lives, the church doesn't move forward. A spiritual leader has to become a spiritual pioneer, if you will, willing to move into new territory in our own lives so that we might lead the people that we have responsibility for to experience new blessings and challenges. Here's what

God Uses Trials To Grow Us

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happens. Sometimes, more often than not, sometimes God permits trials to come into the life of a church. We always say, well, the devil's at work. Not necessarily. He might simply be a tool in God's hand. Do you get that? Satan cannot do anything that God does not allow him to do. That's what he said to Peter. Peter, Satan is asked to sift you. Read Job, figure it out. The devil's just not running rampant on the loose without God able to do anything about it. God is sovereign and in control, and anything that the devil is doing, it's because God has allowed him to do it. He's a defeated foe already. And to say, well, the devil's having his way. No, friend, God is having his way. He's just allowing Satan the opportunity to do that for his purposes right now. I can't explain that. I do not know why God allows evil as it is today. Other than to say this, ultimately, somehow, somehow, when it's all said and done, it's going to bring glory to his name. That's all I know. That's the best I can do because that's what the book says. And so God allows and trials to come into the life of a church so that people are will be forced to grow and to discover new truths and new opportunities. And change comes. Change comes. Listen, good godly change, good biblical change that moves us forward in accomplishing the very existence and the purpose for which the church is here is a good thing. It's a good thing. If you do not grow out of your spiritual experience as Peter did, as he suffered for Christ in the city of Jerusalem, then we're missing we're missing what God has for us. Peter was not perfect by any means, by no stretch of the imagination. In fact, the apostle Paul had to rebuke him once for his own inconsistency in the book of Galatians. And Paul had his problems too. You know that to be the case. But the fact is, Peter was yielded to Christ and he was willing to learn all that God had for him. If the Bible has any counsel at all for God's leader, shepherds today, and it does, if the Bible has any counsel at all regarding this, it is to cultivate a vital, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. And share what he gives you with other people for whom you have the responsibility to lead. Because here's what happens: that way you will grow and they will grow with you. Whether it's the kids in your Sunday school class, whether it's those children you're responsible for in children's church every once in a while, whether it's those people that are working in the video room, you take this thing and you transfer it across the board, your own family. We all hit seasons of dry spells and difficulties, and we have times where we feel like the heavens are brass and we're just not moving ahead. Sure. But if you're really saved, if you're really a child of God, sooner or later, he's gonna bring you out of that place where you can continue to grow again. Because you've had a genuine vital experience with God. It's not just a head thing, it's not just tradition, it's not just the religion you grew up with. It's there is a real faith that's there. For a pastor, for you, anybody else in between, to be a spiritual leader in any setting whatsoever, on your job, you name it, there has to be a real vital experience with Christ.

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Thank you for joining us today for Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. We hope this program from 1 Peter chapter 5 strengthens your walk with Christ and encourages you to remain faithful in an increasingly hostile culture. And would you prayerfully consider partnering with our ministry? Your financial gifts enable these verse-by-verse Bible messages to continue reaching listeners who are hungry for biblical truth and pastoral encouragement. If you'd like to make a tax-deductible gift, visit us online at foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. And thank you so much for helping proclaim God's unchanging word to a world that desperately needs it. Let's return now to today's message from the Hope in a Hostile World series. Here's Dr. Timothy Mann.

Loving Concern For God’s Sheep

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Secondly, you have to have a loving concern for God's sheep. A loving concern for God's sheep. That's what verses two and three say. The image of the flock is used often in the Bible. You know that to be the case if you're a student of God's word at all. It's a very instructive image. Instructive image of a flock. Because those of us who are believers today, we were once stray sheep, wandering toward ruin. But aren't you grateful that the good shepherd found us and restored us to the fold? That's his grace. Sheep are actually clean animals in comparison to dogs and pigs. Compared to dogs and pigs, they're very clean. Why? Because the dog returns to his vomit and the pig goes back to the mud hole. Sheep tend to flock together. Do you notice that? They do, they flock together. God's people do need to be together. I know that you know sometimes we get on each other's nerves. Sometimes we get on each other's last nerve. And sometimes there are problems and difficulties that arise. But you can't be a lone sheep. You can't. If you're out just doing your own thing all the time and never have any interest in being around other sheep who are really sheep, it could be you're a goat. The interesting thing about sheep, though, is they're notoriously ignorant. They just are. They're notoriously ignorant, and they're prone to wander away if they do not follow the shepherd. And that's a problem. Why? Because sheep are defenseless for the most part, anyway, and they need their shepherd to protect them. Sheep. Sheep are very useful animals. Jewish shepherds tended their sheep, not for the meat, which would have been very costly, but instead it was for wool and milk and lambs. What does that say? That says that God's people should be useful to him and certainly ought to reproduce themselves by bringing others to Christ. And sheep were used for sacrifices, we know, the old sacrifices, and we ought to be living sacrifices doing the will of God. And what happens here is Peter reminds these shepherd leaders of their God-given responsibilities.

Feeding Protecting And Knowing The Flock

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What are they? You say, Well, I you know, I wonder what the pastor's supposed to be doing. What's his job description? It's right here. Right here in the book. I love it. It makes it clear. What's the first one? It's feed the flock. Shepherd the flock. That means care for and feed, and that's what that word means. The shepherd had many tasks in performing to care for the flock, had to protect them from thieves and marauders. The shepherd teacher must protect God's people from those who want to spoil the flock. There are those who want to do that with false teaching, and sometimes the sheep do not like it truthfully when the shepherd rebukes them or warns them. But that ministry is for their own good, not only individually, but also for the whole flock. A faithful shepherd not only protected his flock, but he led them from pasture to pasture so that they might be adequately fed. The shepherd always went before the flock and searched out the land so that there would be nothing to harm his flock. He would check for snakes and pits and poisonous plants and dangerous animals. How important it is for pastors to lead their people into the green pastures of the Word of God, so that they might feed themselves and grow. Sometimes it's necessary for a shepherd to seek out a wayward sheep and give it personal attention. Some pastors today are only interested in the crowds and really don't see an individual sometimes. Maybe sometimes I'm guilty of that. If that's the case, I'll please ask for your grace and patience in that as I continue to grow in that area. I do not ever want to be dismissive or not see someone as an individual, as a person who has needs. But you know what he did? He took time to chat with Nicodemus. He took time to be with the woman at the well and the others who had spiritual needs. It was not about running an organization for Jesus or the other leaders. The Apostle Paul ministered to people personally. Read his letters to the Thessalonians, and he loved them. He loved them. He had problems with them, but he loved them. He loved them. You know, sometimes if a sheep is too rebellious, the shepherd may have to discipline that sheep in some way. If a sheep has a special need, the shepherd might have to carry it in his arms next to his heart. At the close of each day, the faithful shepherd would examine each sheep to see if it needed special attention. He would anoint the bruises with healing oil. He would remove the briars from the wool. And a good shepherd would know each of his sheep by name and would understand the special traits of each one. I'm going to tell you what, it is not an easy thing to be a shepherd of God's sheep. It's not. If you think this is a fun job sometimes, I'll trade you for a week. Make it a month, and then you'll never think that again. It's not an easy thing to be a shepherd of God's sheep. Why? Because it's a task that never ends. It demands the supernatural power of God if it's going to be done correctly. It cannot be done in the flesh. And the fact is, what makes it even more challenging, what makes it even more hard sometimes, is that the flock is not the shepherds. The flock is not the shepherds, it's God's. This is not my church. I say sometimes, well, my church, and I know what I mean. But strictly speaking, it is God's flock. Purchased by the precious blood of his son. I didn't die for you. You didn't die for me. Jesus did. He bought you. And we as leaders, whether it's in a committee, a trustee, any kind of leader across the board, Sunday school, pastor, whatever it is, we have to be careful how we minister to God's sheep. Why? Because one day we're going to give an account of our ministry. We're going to give an account.

Listen Again Support The Ministry

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Thank you for joining us today for Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. If you'd like to hear this message again or share it with others, visit us online at foundationsoftruth.net. While there, you can also check out more biblical resources. And if you'd like to make a financial gift and support our ministry, we would appreciate it very much. Be sure to join us tomorrow for part two of how to be a spiritual leader. Dallas Reese, thank you for listening to Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. We're thankful for AMN Plumbing, a local ministry partner serving the Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Fort Orange, New Smyrna Beach, and surrounding areas with Dependable Plumbing Service. Their support helps make Foundations of Truth available to more listeners each week. Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann is supported in part by Luther Rice College and Seminary, equipping men and women for ministry through biblically faithful theological education. As a leader in online learning, we are grateful for their partnership in helping carry biblical truth farther.

A Book On Knowing You’re Saved

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Before we close today, I want to tell you about a resource that I believe will be a genuine help to you. I've recently published my first book, Saved, Understanding God's Work in Us. In over 30 years of pastoral ministry, one of the questions I've encountered more than almost any other is this How can I know that I am truly saved? It is a question that deserves a careful biblical answer. And that is exactly what this book is designed to give. If you want to understand salvation more deeply, stand on firmer ground in your faith, or be better equipped to share the gospel with someone you love, then this book was written for you. You can find it pretty much anywhere you buy books. Just search Saved, Understanding God's Work in Us by Dr. Timothy Mann. I pray it strengthens your faith.

Final Thanks And Partnerships

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Thanks for being with us today. God bless you.

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Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann is supported in part by Cat Care Clinic, located in Ormond Beach, and serving families with thoughtful and compassionate veterinary care for cats. We're grateful for their partnership in helping carry biblical truth farther.