Love Your Church - Week 7 - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 — HONORING: FOLLOWING HUMBLE SHEPHERDS

Scripture is clear-eyed about the reality of bad leadership: Paul tells the Romans to “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them” (Romans 16:17). But Scripture is equally clear about faithful leadership and the call to honour it. Most pastoral qualifications are about character, not skills — pastors are called to do their work willingly, to live holy lives, and to be humble servant leaders like Jesus. John Stott modelled this beautifully. When asked what his ambition was, Stott replied simply, “To be more like Jesus.” His long-time secretary marvelled that “he emptied my office wastepaper basket every day for many, many years.” On finding a muddy pair of his colleague’s shoes, Stott cleaned them, explaining: “My dear René, Jesus told us to wash one another’s feet.”

First Peter 5 outlines what we should expect from a pastor under three headings: task, heart, and reward. The task is to shepherd the flock through careful and skillful oversight. Shepherding is a demanding job — it requires knowing the sheep individually, noticing the sick and the wandering, protecting the flock from danger. The heart: pastors should serve willingly and not under compulsion, eagerly and not for shameful gain, as examples and not domineering over those in their charge. The desire for power and control produces toxic church environments; Christian leadership is not lordship but the laying down of one’s life. The reward is not earthly applause but the unfading crown of glory when the Chief Shepherd appears. A plurality of elders is the New Testament norm — because all leaders are sinners, concentrating power in a single person carries real danger.

Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” That final clause is quietly important: when pastors lead with groaning — weighed down by complaints, drained by gossip, demoralized by cynicism — everyone suffers. You benefit directly from a healthy, joyful pastor. You contribute to that health or undermine it.

In concrete terms, members should respect faithful pastors by being attentive to their teaching and refusing to participate in rumors and backbiting. They should love their pastors with warm affection, imitate their faith and way of life, and be a joy to pastor rather than a burden. And above all, they should pray for their pastors. When someone asked C. H. Spurgeon what the secret to his effectiveness was, he said simply, “My people pray for me.”

Questions - HONORING Read 1 Peter 5 v 1-5

1. What dangers does Peter want his readers to avoid—both elders and other members of the church?

2. What is the purpose of elders and pastors seeking to lead in the way Peter instructs?

3. What is the purpose of church members being “subject to the elders”?

4. In what areas might people find it especially hard to submit to their elders? Have you had experiences of this kind of tension in church? What would humility, respect, and love look like in those situations?

5. In what ways are your elders and pastors a good example to you? How could you follow their example?

6. What might encourage each of your elders and pastors this week? How could you help them keep in mind Peter’s vision for leadership? What will you pray for them?

01/09/2026

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

New to church?

Coming to a new place for the first time can be a bit daunting, and at Grace, we want you to feel welcome and secure when you visit us for the first time. As a church, we seek to be and make disciples of Jesus Christ. We aim to be clear and relevant in all we do so that everyone is welcomed, included and helped.

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service ends. It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10:30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our band. We typically have 2 songs lasting approximately 10 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray or read a small passage from the bible. At this stage, we usually have a short talk specifically for the children, before they go off to Junior Church. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song.

images: Services

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 3 years).
Junior Church (years 1-6)
Sunday Ignite (years 7-11)
Young people (15+ years) Stay in service.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome and songs. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the children's talk, someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Home Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministries
Women's Ministries
Mission
Youth Work

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Pastor Simon Percy

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