This week I got blindsided by someone who had let a lot of minor frustrations in his life build up throughout the fall until I unwittingly proved to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. All his fury was unleashed on me. Fortunately, only three days later, he profusely apologized and I gladly and quickly made amends. Reconciliation in ministry is often not that easy.
Pastors frequently testify to one or a small number of parishioners who remain a thorn in their flesh for years on end. They typically assume the worst of motives in their leaders, spread gossip—often a core of truth supplemented by false inferences, misleading embellishments, and negative innuendos. It can be extraordinarily difficult to know when to respond to unfair charges being made against oneself, risking an escalation of the problem, and when to try to ignore them in hopes that they will go away, but leaving others to believe untrue things about one. Many pastors try proactively to be very controlling with their congregations in hopes that people will be afraid to cross them. The strategy can work reasonably well, but it doesn’t foster good will and is not what Peter describes in [1 Peter 5:1-4].
Peter’s original audience included numerous Christian congregations in various Roman provinces in what today we would call Turkey (1 Pet. 1:1). They were undergoing local harassment for their faith (4:3-4) with Nero’s persecution looming on the horizon. If evidence from a slightly later period of time is at all representative, they were probably targets of many false representations of their beliefs and practices, mixed in with accurate descriptions of that which already repulsed the Hellenistic world. If anyone had accepted church leadership in hopes of satisfying their desires for power and influence, they might well have been tempted to resign as the situation grew bleaker. Peter uses a series of three contrasts in 5:2-3 to challenge the elders/overseers/shepherds of these churches to to reflect on their motives for leadership and to encourage them not to give up. They should serve willingly, not for reward or status, and not autocratically. The term for “dishonest gain” could also mean “shameful gain” or “foolish gain.” Peter’s point could be that people are not to desire too much or inappropriate or ill-gotten gain, but more likely any time one’s motive for ministry is what one can get out of it one has lapsed into that which is dishonest, shameful or foolish.
How can Christian leaders continue to follow this counter-intuitive approach? Central to the answer to this question is recognizing the eternal glory that awaits us after we suffer. Verses 1 and 4 bracket Peter’s trio of contrasts by reminding us of the everlasting rewards of the life to come. As I think back on some of the models of leadership that have had the best impact on me over the years, I recall individuals who were secure enough in what they stood for and strong enough in their walk with the Lord that when people unjustly abused them, they didn’t fight back but quietly prayed for their oppressors and just kept moving forward in obedience to God. Dr. Vernon Grounds, professor, dean, president and chancellor of Denver Seminary (in that order) for 59 years, who passed away at age 96, may have been one of the best models ever of letting such criticism leave him undeterred, unruffled, and still kind to his critics.
I can’t pretend that I’ve even come close to his model. But with 41 fewer years of life thus far, maybe I can still grow a little more. If the king of kings could become a human embryo, he can surely help me to become more humble and less defensive and self-justifying!
Dr. Craig L. Blomberg serves as Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary.