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Begin by reading 1 Peter 5:5-11
Submit is one of those words we don’t like to use. Many weddings these days exclude Ephesians 5:22 which says, “wives submit to your husbands.” I love what one of our elders and teachers Steve Coleman shared about this point. He explained that the need for submission is a consequence of the fall. While it is necessary that the wife take a submissive role, it should not be a yoke put around her neck. In the same way that we try to lessen other consequences of the fall such as child birth pain with medicine and yard work with machines and chemicals, so too must we act to make the need to submit as painless and infrequent as possible.
Yesterday we discussed the first four verses of 1 Peter 5 in connection with a leader’s role in the church. We looked at the job of a shepherd and compared it to church leadership. In today’s reading, we see that people are supposed to submit to their elders. The words that are used does not limit this to a younger person submitting to an older person; but rather the congregation submitting to the elders or pastors of the church.
Steve’s point about submission in marriage can be applied to churches as well. The picture Peter is painting is one of a shepherd. As I shared with you yesterday, the shepherd is one who roams with his sheep, guiding them to pasture. If you ever get to watch shepherds in action (like I did in Morocco), you’ll find that they often give their sheep room to roam. If one sheep ventures too far, the shepherd gently brings him back with either the sound of his voice or a nudge with his staff. In the same way, church leaders are not supposed to be micro-managers. We, as leaders, must give leeway to allow the congregation to use their gifts, grow, and develop their vision for ministry. I like the NIV version of Romans 12:6-8, which essentially says, “if someone has the gift, let him use it.”
However, I would be a naive if I pretended like there was never a need for us to submit to the church leaders. I have heard of situations even in the most harmonious of churches where the need for church discipline and correction had to take place. Sometimes it becomes necessary to emphasize the need to be submissive.
Let me caution the leader with two points here. First, times of necessary correction are not moments to exert power and flex muscles, but are opportunities to restore and build relationships. Paul uses the phrase in Romans 12:5, “each member belongs to the others.” There is a parallel here between marriage and the church. Just as the husband belongs to the wife and the wife to the husband, so each member belongs to all the others. There is a yielding that takes place so as to honor, serve, and edify each other. The purpose of church discipline is to correct and restore. While there may be cases where that is impossible, the idea of a church leader is a husband that yearns for his wife to return to him.
Secondly, submission should never be demanded but always earned. If leaders are not respectful, trustworthy, responsible, godly examples, and loving, then they should not be surprised if people are hesitant to submit. As I watch the riots in countries like Egypt, Libya, and Iran, I’m reminded that tyrants are leaders who demand respect rather than earn it. Church is not like a business. A leader does not earn respect by title, education, or expertise. Being a shepherd is a calling of building trust, of walking with individuals through the trenches and mountain passes of life, and offering food and drink along the way.
In the same way that I have talked about leaders, this applies to each person in the Body of Christ. We gain respect by exercising our gifts with sensitivity and love. Yes, each of us has gifts, each of us ought to use our gifts, but the goal must always be to glorify God and edify the Body. When we use our gifts in a cavalier fashion, we end up creating the “look at me show.” However, as we grow in understanding that each person is a precious child of God, dearly loved, and entrusted to this flock, we begin to see our ministry not as an opportunity to exercise our gifts for the sake of doing so, but we do it to bless the people around us.
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