Do You Have A Shepherd Or A Celebrity?

Real spiritual leadership isn’t built on spotlight moments, strong opinions, or “winning” church politics. It’s built on the quiet, gritty work of shepherding people who belong to God. We wrap up Dr. Timothy Mann’s message from 1 Peter 5 with a vivid look at what pastors, elders, and everyday spiritual influencers are actually called to do: protect the flock from harm, lead people into the nourishing truth of Scripture, and care for individuals who need attention, correction, or healing.

We also name the pressures that can distort ministry from the inside out. What happens when a leader treats ministry like a job they “have to” do? What about the pull of money, side hustles, and using the church as a platform for profit? Dr. Mann draws a clear biblical line: it’s right for a church to provide for its pastor, but it’s deadly when dishonest gain becomes the motive. He contrasts servant leadership with celebrity culture and reminds us that pastors are overseers, not overlords, and any real authority comes from God’s Word under the headship of Jesus Christ.

The heart of the message lands on motive. Trying to please people is exhausting, and it eventually warps leadership into fear, frustration, or control. Peter points us to a steadier goal: please Christ alone, with the hope of His return and the promise of an unfading reward from the Chief Shepherd. If you care about biblical leadership, pastoral ministry, and building a healthy church culture, this teaching will give you language, clarity, and next steps. Subscribe for more verse-by-verse Bible teaching, share this with someone who leads or serves, and leave a review that tells us what point challenged you most.

Transcript

Welcome And Message Setup

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You're listening to Foundations of Christ, the Bible-teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's Word. Rooted in Scripture, anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each week, Dr. Timothy Mann opens the Bible to prosperity, conviction, and encouragement for everyday life. Today on Foundations of Truth, Dr. Timothy Mann concludes his message: how to be a spiritual leader. Whether you serve in the pulpit, in your home, in your workplace, or simply influence those around you. These timeless biblical principles will challenge every believer. Our message is from 1 Peter chapter 5. Peter calls church leaders to shepherd God's people with humility, compassion, and a servant's heart. Not for personal gain or recognition, but because they belong to Christ. Let's join Dr. Timothy Mann now.

The Shepherd’s Real Work

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The shepherd had many tasks in performing to care for the flock and to protect them from thieves and marauders, and the shepherd teacher must protect God's people from those who want to spoil the flock. 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. I Jesus, he absolutely preached to great multitudes. 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, it's 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. Why?

Accountability For Shepherds And Sheep

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Because one day we're going to give an account of our ministry. We're going to give an account. And if you're not going to do it well, if you're not going to do it God's way, you really shouldn't be doing it. You shouldn't. This is not something to play with. But the sheep also will one day give an account of how they obeyed their spiritual leaders. Read Hebrews 13, verse 17. Hebrews 13, verse 17. What does that mean? That means that both shepherds and sheep have a great responsibility to each other. Great responsibility. So the responsibility of a pastor is to feed the sheep, feed the flock of God, shepherd them. Not only that, verse 2. Take the oversight. Serve as overseers. This word bishop means overseer, one who is look who looks over for the purpose of leading.

Among The Flock Yet Over It

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Now you're going to notice in this verse that the shepherd is both among the sheep and over the sheep. Among the sheep and over the sheep. And I'll just tell you, that can create problems if the sheep do not understand. It can. That's tough. Why? Because I'm a sheep. And because I'm one of the sheep, because I am a sheep, I'm to be among the members of the flock. But because I'm called to be a leader, the pastor is over the sheep, over seers, to be a leader. And some people, it's been my experience, maybe you've never heard of this before, but uh some people try to emphasize the among relationship and refuse to follow the authority of the shepherd. And then others want to put the pastor on a pedestal and make him a super saint that is not human, that doesn't think, that doesn't have interests, that doesn't have needs, that actually doesn't have feelings, that doesn't have joy, that doesn't have sorrow, that doesn't get depressed, that doesn't get happy, that doesn't have arguments with his wife. I don't, she has arguments with me. One who never mixes with the people. The effective pastor, hear me well, let me instruct you on this. The effective pastor needs both relationships to be among the sheep, but also the responsibility to be over the sheep. He needs both relationships if he's going to be effective. Because to be among them, that's how you get to know them. You know their needs and their problems, and you identify with that. And you're a sheep along with the other sheep. But he needs to be over the sheep so he can lead them and help them and walk through those problems. And there must be no conflict whatsoever between pastoring and preaching. Pastoring and preaching. There can't be any conflict. Why? Because they're both ministries of a faithful shepherd. See, the preacher needs to be a pastor so that he can apply the word to the needs of the people. But the pastor needs to be a preacher as well, so that he can have authority when he shares in their daily needs and problems. Understand, any authority that I ever exercise or have is not from me. It's not in and of myself, it's not based on this position. The authority is the preached word of God. It's the word of God under the headship of Jesus Christ. And if you come to me and I speak something into your life and it's not the word of God, that's just my opinion. You need to be careful about just applying my opinion. I've been wrong. Yeah, amen. I told you she argued with me. But then also, listen, the pastor is not the pastor is not just a religious lecturer who weekly passes on information about the Bible. He's to be a shepherd who knows his people, his sheep, God's sheep, the under-shepherd of the great shepherd, and can help them through the word.

Leadership Dangers Start With Laziness

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Listen, being being the spiritual leader of a flock has its dangers. Really? Has its dangers. And Peter pointed out some of the weaknesses that leaders must avoid. The first is laziness. He said, not by compulsion, not by constraint, but willingly. His ministry must not just simply be a job that he has to perform. Yes, it's a job in the sense of a vocation, but it's ministry that's not just simply a job that he has to perform. He must do God's will from his heart. Dr. George W. Truett, who was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, for nearly fifty years prior to W.A. Criswell, often he was asked to accept other positions and he refused. And this is what he would say. He'd say, I have sought and found a pastor's heart. I have sought and found a pastor's heart. And here's the deal. When a man has a pastor's heart, he first loves the shepherd, but he does love the sheep. And he serves them because he wants to, not just because he has a duty to do so. That's the difference. This is tough stuff. I'll tell you, if a man has no conscience and he has no internal drive, the ministry is a good place to be lazy. Seriously. It is. Because church members rarely ask what their pastor's doing with his time. Nobody shows up at my office and says, Let me see your time card. Let me see your schedule. It's a good place to be lazy. It's a good place to stay at home in the bed till twelve. You can easily borrow sermons from other preachers and use them as your own. With the advent of the internet, you can get a Saturday night special every week without study. It's a good place to be lazy. I've known pastors who spent most of their week on the golf course, and then on Saturday night they'd be using Jerry Vine's sermon on Sunday morning. And they seem to be getting away with it. And the the thing is, is what what in the world are they going to say when the to the chief shepherd when he appears? Laziness is a is a challenge. He said, Don't do this just because of constraint or compulsion. Don't do this because you have to. But willingly, there's an internal drive. There's a conscience that comes with call and needs work.

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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. 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. The

Money Cannot Be The Motive

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other one is covetousness.

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That's the other issue. Dishonest gain. Not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. Listen, I want to say to you very clearly this morning. I say it without shame, without fear, without worry of what you shall think of me. It is entirely, it is perfectly proper for the church to pay the pastor and pay them, pay him well enough so that he does not have to worry about taking care of his family. That's biblical. Very biblical. As a matter of fact, the Bible says those who teach and preach well are worthy of double honor. I thank the Lord. I'm blessed. This church is very generous. The trustees have been so kind. But here's the here's the issue. If the church is as fair and generous as possible, it's not a problem. The pastor or any other elder, any other spiritual leader, making money must not be the main motive for his ministry. The Apostle Paul stresses that in his qualifications for the elders. I wondered what is that when I was growing up? Filthy lucre. That sounds awful, doesn't it? I don't want lucre, much less filthy lucre, you know, right? Dishonest gain. Loving money. The bottom line is the shepherd must not be a lover of money, and also he must not devote himself to pursuing money. Pursuing money. Now, now understand, because of family or church situation, some pastors have to engage in outside employment. I was a bi-vocational pastor for the first three years that I was a pastor. I had to work another full-time job because the church I was at just couldn't do it. And so the apostle Paul occasionally was a tempmaker. Not always, sometimes he received full-time support. But sometimes he was a tempmaker. So there's no shame in moonlighting if that has to be the case. But here's the thing, as soon as possible, the members of the church ought to relieve their pastor of outside employment so that he can devote himself fully to the ministry of the word. Not only, here's another thing. Let me just let me just run this horse just for a second. I'll tell you what is I don't say this much, but here's what I'm going to promise you. As long as I'm the pastor here, and there's other pastors that serve alongside me, whether it's one or many, here's what will never happen. Pastors at Providence Church will never get involved in money-making schemes that deter them from their ministry. That will never happen. And this church will not be used as a platform for that to advance any sort of pyramid scheme or say you need to buy into this. Now I'm not talking about other businesses that you have that you may, you know, engage in and do. That's great and wonderful. The Bible's very clear about what the pastor is supposed to be doing. I'm going to go on record this morning and say, it is my conviction. It is my conviction. What people ought to think when they see me coming is that sooner or later they're going to have a conversation about the gospel with me, not about Amway or something else. That's all I'm saying. I'm done. Alright? It's just not going to happen here. It's not going to happen. The Bible says in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 4, no one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs. He wants to please his commanding officer. So this phrase, eagerly, eagerly, eager mind. Paul said, I'm eager to preach the gospel, willingness to serve because of eagerness and readiness within his heart.

Lead By Example Not Control

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Here's the third responsibility an example to the flock. There's a big contrast between dictatorship and leadership. Big contrast. You can't drive sheep, you have to go before them and lead them. It's been well said that the church needs leaders who serve and servants who lead. The trouble today is that we have too many celebrities and not enough servants. No competition in the work of God when you're serving in the will of God. Nobody has to act important and lord it over God's people. You just don't have to. Pastors are to be overseers, not overlords. I'm not going to tell you how to run your life. I believe in soul liberty. I believe in the priesthood of the believer. If you're saved, I'm going to preach God's word. And if that makes application to your life, then thank God for it. So be it. I hope you, you know, get so convicted about it, you can't stand it but change whatever you're dealing with. But I'm not going to tell you the details of your life. This is what you need to be doing. If it doesn't match up with what I think, then, uh, you know, we're not going to have anything to do with you. You're going to be shunned and put out. No. Overseer, not overlord. You have enough sense. If you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you, you can read this word, you can pray, you can seek God's leadership. If you want counsel, great. I'll I can sit down with you. I can talk about you. I can say to you, hey, here's what I would do if I wake up, if I woke up in your shoes tomorrow morning. Here's what I would do. But I'm not going to tell you relationships you should have or not have based on reports or gossip that come to me. And by the way, don't be carrying tails, you're a busybody. Verse 4.

Please Christ Alone For Lasting Reward

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If you're going to be a spiritual leader, not only do you have to have a vital experience with Christ, not only do you have to have a loving concern for God's sheep, but you need to have a desire to please Christ alone and nobody else. A desire to please Christ alone, nobody else. Verse 4. When the chief shepherd appears, you'll receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. This is an epistle of hope. That's why we call this thing the hope in a hostile world. Peter brings in again, once again, the promise of the Lord's return, and his coming is an encouragement and suffering. It's a motivation for faithful service. And here's the fact if a leader ministers to please himself or to please people, he or she in any setting that they're in, you're going to have a very difficult and disappointing ministry. Doing it to please yourself or to please others. I think the times in my life in my ministry when I have had a disappointing ministry, when I have had difficult ministry, it's been because I was seeking to please myself or to please others. Those days are over, y'all. For me personally. That's not saying I don't struggle with that temptation sometimes. I want you to like me. Somebody asked me one time recently, it must be hard to keep all these people happy. It was a guest. It must be hard to keep all these people happy. I said, you know what? I don't even try to keep them happy. I don't. I just try to please the Lord and let Him take care of the rest. And if they want to be here, I want them here. And you know what? If they don't want to be here, that just causes friction and trouble and problems. I'm not going to try to flip things upside down and make somebody happy just to keep somebody. If they don't want to be here. Jesus Christ, he's the good shepherd who died for the sheep. He's the great shepherd who lives for the sheep. And he's the chief shepherd who's going to come for the sheep. And as the chief shepherd, as the chief shepherd, he alone can assess a man or woman's ministry and give him or her the proper reward. And here's the good news. Some who appear to be first may end up last when the Lord Jesus comes and examines each person's ministry. And those who look like they've been last, they're going to be at the front of the line. And there's several crowns in these days. And the one Peter mentions here is the athlete's crown, usually a garland of leaves or flowers that quickly fade away. And it says here, the faithful shepherd's crown is a crown of glory, which is a perfect reward for an inheritance that's never going to fade away. Today a Christian worker may labor for many different kinds of rewards. Some work hard to build personal empires, some strive for the applause of men, still others seek promotion in their denomination. But one day all of these things are going to fade away. The only reward that we should ever strive for is with the well done of the Savior and the unfading crown of glory when it comes. Everything in the local church does rise or fall in leadership. It does. No matter how large or how small a fellowship might be, those leaders must be Christians. They must each have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a loving concern for their people, and a real desire to please only Jesus. Only Jesus. And we lead by serving, and we serve sometimes by suffering. That's the way Jesus did it, and that's the only way that truly glorifies him. And it's absolutely a good thing to have good shepherds. But the most important thing is that you need to be a sheep in the flock of the great shepherd.

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Thank you

Resources, Book, And How To Respond

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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 factful gift and support our ministry, we would appreciate it very much. 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 Ornith Beach, Daytona Beach, Fort Orange, News Ornith 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.

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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. That is exactly what this book is designed to give. Saved, understanding God's work in us, walks through what the scripture teaches about salvation, what God has done for us, what he is doing in us, and the assurance that every believer can have because of his work. 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 on Amazon, Barnes Noble, in Books a Million, and 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. 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.

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I'm Dr. Timothy Mann. If this episode has been helpful to you, please share it with someone. And if you would like to support this ministry, you can give at FoundationsOftruth.net or by mail to Firm Foundations Ministries, P.O. Box 731-867-Ormond Beach, Florida, 32173. I would love to hear from you. Be sure and reach out. Send me an email. I'd like to know what God is doing in your life. Until next time, stand firm, think biblically, live faithfully.