Overseers of the Flock

Acts 20:17-38 "A big personality, dazzling gifts of communication, or administrative genius can easily awe people but distract them from defects in a man’s character. Whether at this church or whatever church you are a part of, insist that the pastor be a man of humility, integrity, and godliness."  The Barna Research Group tells us America’s pastors are facing a credibility crisis. From a 2020 survey of Christians and non-Christians the researchers concluded that “overall, U.S. adults are unsure whether pastors in their local community can be trusted, are in touch with their community’s needs and are reliable sources of wisdom and leadership.”   Even more seriously, a report was released in the past few weeks that revealed horrifying details about the largest Protestant denomination in the U. S. According to this report, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse—abuse committed by pastors in the denomination—were ignored and even covered up. Instead of protecting the flock, these pastors were preying on the most vulnerable in the flock.  These things weighed on my heart and mind as I prepared to preach on Acts chapter 20:17-35, a classic passage dealing with the topic of pastoring. It is brimming with personality and pathos, shimmering with love and affection, yet rooted in the soil of suffering and frailty. We can enter into this passage—like a garden at harvest time—and come out with a wagonload overflowing with goods. But to narrow our focus, we will put one question to this passage: What must pastors do?  From this passage we discover three basic duties of every pastor. There may be a variety of ways of arranging these, just as you can choose different arrangements for a bouquet of flowers, but it is worth examining them in the following order: pastors must (1) teach, (2) model, and (3) nurture.