Mature Pastoral Leadership
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Ben Kreps:
Hey everyone, and welcome to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of Sovereign Grace churches with our executive director. Mark on the last podcast you talked briefly about the need for mature leadership for the pastors of Sovereign Grace churches. And in a culture that is driven by feeling; in a chaotic culture, an emotional culture, how we need an exhortation for us as pastors to be level-headed and sober-minded. And you wanted to unpack that thought in this podcast, so go for it.
Mark Prater:
Yeah, I do, and we talked about this at the leadership team retreat this past week. By the way, if you prayed for our retreat, thank you for praying. Yeah. Just to add what you just said, on top of that, we're living in this online world, and so there are voices and influences outside of the church that the members of our church are being influenced by. And that can create challenges for the pastor in terms of leading. And so, what do you? How do you navigate this? And I'm making a case for the simple phrase: mature leadership. I'm going to mention another article that was sent to me that I read about the sober-minded leadership of the pastor. And I first got thinking about this, I mentioned this last week, when I read an article written by Samuel James that was published on the website, Mere Orthodoxy, May 26th, 2023.
The title of his article was a question: Does Maturity Still Matter? And he began that article by quoting a book written by Mark Sayers. He's an Aussie in Melbourne, Australia. And the title of that book is A Non-Anxious Presence. I got the book and read it and he takes several chapters at the beginning of the book to just make the case that the fundamental structure in the world has shifted from central institutions to that of networks, and within those networks, power is fluid, basically. So, he is saying, look things have changed. We live in a more globally connected world, and that connection is happening online. We live in a more online world, so we live in a more globally connected online world than ever before.
And because the world is more connected than ever, he says he thinks the world is actually more complicated and more anxious. And, therefore, that creates issues for pastors who are trying to shepherd people who might be anxious because of what they're reading online or influences online. And he just makes the observation that in those moments, leaders have leverage by having this non-anxious presence. He says this, this is Sayers, with outside networks becoming the primary shaper of those we lead, the social dynamic within our churches and Christian organizations has become inflamed. That illustrates why he thinks our world is more complicated and more anxious than it was before.
And then, I thought Samuel James made a wonderful observation in his article saying "as a network is swamped by chronic anxiety, it is marked by reactivity. Those within the system, no, no longer act rationally, but rather high emotion becomes the dominant form of interaction. The system's focus is directed towards the most emotionally immature and reactive members. Those who are more mature and healthy begin to adapt their behavior to appease the most irrational and unhealthy. This creates a scenario where the most emotionally unhealthy and immature members in the system become de facto leaders, shaping the emotional landscape with the focus on their negative behavior and what they see as the negative behavior of others. The anxiety present envelops the vision of the organization within the system. And when that happens, as a result, organizations can get locked into reactive mode." We can react as pastors, we can react as churches, as a family of churches. And we're reacting to de facto leaders and that can really hinder the mission that we've been given by Christ in the proclaiming of the gospel.
So again, what Sayers is saying; in the presence of an anxious, complicated world, the non-anxious presence of a leader gives him leverage because it's distinctly different from the world. To say it another way, leaders have influence by being faithful and truthful and courageous, who keep their nerve in challenging situations. I think it's very similar to what Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy where he says that we are not to be quarrelsome, men are not to be quarrelsome; kind to everyone who can patiently endure evil and can correct their opponents with gentleness. That's 2 Timothy chapter 2 verses 24 and 25.
And, I just me mentioned this briefly last week in the podcast, that Joshua Jordan, the senior pastor of Lifegate Church in Seguin, Texas, he said, Hey, I read Samuel James article on Mere Orthodoxy. He said, that was great. Let me send you another one that I think is saying the very same thing. And he sent me an article that was written by David Mathis, published on the 9Marks website entitled, Pastors Govern Sober-Mindedly. And obviously what Mathis is picking up on is that qualification in 1 Timothy 3:2, that elders are to be sober-minded, and that should affect how we lead. And let me just read you just a quote from that article. This is David Mathis. "Men who are sober-minded are level-headed and balanced. They are responsive without being reactive. Important distinction. They are not given to extremes, not suckers for myths and speculation and conspiracy theories, and not dragged into silly controversies. They are able to discern what emphases and preoccupations would compromise the stewardship at the heart of their work. And they stay grounded in what's most important and enduring, keeping the gospel of first importance and at the center. They're able, like increasingly few modern adults to keep their head in all situations." So he is saying similar things that Samuel James and Mark Sayers are saying. And I just think it's what we have to do as leaders, pastors who lead churches, to be levelheaded and to keep our head in challenging situations and to patiently, even patiently endure evil, and where we need to bring truth, correct our opponents with gentleness as Paul writes in 2 Timothy, and not be anxious about it. Just be faithful as the spirit helps us to lead, holding onto our Bibles, leading with the truth, knowing that the truth is what people really need. It's what we need and those we shepherd need. So just some thoughts about mature leadership.
Ben Kreps:
That's wonderful. And those men are writing with great wisdom as they observe our culture, especially nowadays, with its emotionally charged rhetoric and the ever-changing landscape of opinion. And how attractive it is to see the scriptures hold out a radically countercultural picture of what pastors are to be like. It is attractive. It's a beautiful thing to consider, a lifestyle as a pastor of sober-mindedness, steadfastness, faithfulness in the face of trial and difficulty. Having said that, maybe some of us are more aware of deficiencies in light of those clear biblical exhortation. So do you have any encouragement for us about how we can go about cultivating this non-anxious presence, this steadfast, sober-minded pastural leadership?
Mark Prater:
Yeah, I do. And what I'm about to share are things that I see in my own life. There are temptations I see in my own heart. So I'm not saying this with strength, but actually I'm saying these things out of weakness. And so, just a couple of thoughts. I think it's good to be reminded of the most frequent command in scripture, which is fear not. And I think when we are facing challenges as pastors or pressures, and we know that we've got to speak truth in that situation, keeping a level head, we can be fearful, not so much because of the truth, but because we might lose members of our churches and we might lose income, and people may say poor things about us, things that are really not true. And it's in that moment, we have to remember, like Isaiah 41:10, fear not for I am with you says the Lord. So I think it's a courage that recognizes that fear is present, but is doing the right thing despite the fear, because the Lord is with us. So that'd be the first thought; fear not.
I think the second one for us as pastors is to cultivate contentment, because in those moments, we can be anxious. I know I could be anxious. And, we're saying the right things. We're doing the right things, and we're addressing challenges. And now we create more challenges. And life is harder. There can be an anxiety there. And if we cultivate biblical contentment, the pastoral epistles talk about it in 1 Timothy 6, for example. Paul also wrote about it in Philippians 4, as well. But we cultivate contentment, contentment in the Lord, that whether we have plenty or we have little, as he writes in Philippians, that we will continue to be able to be in a place where we're not as anxious and just have faith that God will be with us as we say and we do the right things.
And I think it's not just saying and doing the right things, but that contentment and lack of fear will mark the flavor of our leadership. So staying levelheaded, keeping our head in a difficult situation, being faithful, being gentle, yet very strong, where we need to be strong, that's a leadership people will recognize, as you said, in contrast to a chaotic world, Ben. And even if they don't agree with you, they at least can say, that affects me the way you've led through it. So just a couple of thoughts related to battling fear and cultivating contentment.
Ben Kreps:
That's excellent encouragement. It reminds me of the story of King David in 1 Samuel, where facing significant opposition, including the potential stoning that was coming his way that he strengthened himself in the Lord. And so I think what you're describing here is how we go about strengthening ourselves in the Lord as we face the challenges and joys of pastoral ministry. So thanks for your thoughts, Mark. Thank you for your encouragement. Thank you all for watching or reading. We'll see you here next week, Lord willing. Bye for now.