One of my greatest joys in life is being a pastor. I get to lead a great church: Wilkesboro Baptist. I get to spend my days in study, preparation, leading, shepherding, evangelizing, and caring for others. My day job is about sharing the gospel inviting people to an eternity altering decision to follow Jesus.

Being a pastor is a privilege and a calling. Of all the things pastors are responsible for Paul narrows it down to a very simple but very challenging expectation. When speaking to the elders and church leaders from Ephesus in Acts 20, Paul gave the following admonition:

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Acts 20:28

The elders (Acts 20:17) of the Ephesian church were the overseers Paul referred to in verse 28. Overseeing means teaching, leading, and shepherding the church of God.

The verb translated “pay careful attention” is the Greek verb prosechete. The verb is a present, active, imperative. Imperative means command. Active means the elders are the agents of the activity. Present means the command is an action in process with no sense of completion. The significance is that paying careful attention is a continual command to church leaders.

Elders are to “pay careful attention” due to the potential for destructive enemies in the body of Christ. Paul identified those enemies as wolves or unbelieving fiends who would enter the church taking the lives of the sheep. He also identified false teachers and false doctrines as damaging to the church. One doesn’t have to look far to discover the damage that false teachers and wicked leaders have done in local churches. Our church, Wilkesboro Baptist, has a significant number of folks who left their churches due to false doctrine, ungodly leaders, or unethical decisions. Church hurt is a real thing, and Paul warned the elders to pay attention to self and to the flock to protect the church.

Paying “careful attention” begins with the elders or church leaders in a congregation. In recent weeks, our elders have met to interview and vet elder candidates. These conversations result in questions and discussions about what it means to be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2) with regard to the character qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Elders and pastors are called to a higher standard of faithfulness and following Jesus not because elders and pastors are super-Christians, but because of the unique responsibility of our calling. Elders are to set an example in word and deed.

Elders, overseers, or pastors (interchangeable terms) are “to care for the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.” Elders are to protect the church from Satanic enemies, sinful proclivities, and doctrinal infidelities. These kinds of enemies damage believers and destroy faith. When Paul warned against wolves and false teachers who damage believers and destroy faith, he was talking about people. Those who end up damaged and battered by wolves and false teachers are real people. Even more, they are the church whose Jesus purchased with his own blood.

This means churches do not belong to the congregation, leaders, deacons, elders, pastors, committees, families, etc. The churches of Jesus Christ (each local congregation) belongs to the one who gave his life for them. Jesus bled for his church and wants his church protected and cared for. Elders and church leaders have the obligation to care for the flock for whom Christ died. This is the privilege, calling, and weight of being a pastor/elder.

Of all the things I get to do as a pastor, meeting with my fellow elders and brothers in prayer for each other and for the body is possibly my favorite and the most meaningful. Holding one another accountable as we consider what it means to be above reproach is a necessary and joyful task.

Just this week, we discussed and prayed over challenging church member situations. These believers belong to God through Christ. He loves them and gave himself for them even in their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual brokenness. He loves them deeply. We get to care for them and shepherd them and love them through their struggles and difficulties. Also this week, we continued a discussion of what it means to be “above reproach” taking a specific topic and recognizing our need to pay attention to ourselves. We’re not perfect. We each need regular repentance and accountability. But I can tell you that it is a joy it is to be with brothers who are willing to pay attention to themselves and to the flock of God.

Paying careful attention means at least:

• Self-attentiveness to be above reproach. To be above reproach does not mean sinlessness, but it does mean at least two things related to our sinful condition. First, elders must live by a higher standard than merely liberty. There are many things Christians can do that might not be sinful. But elders and church leaders ought to live higher than that standard. Elders are to set an example. One of our elders put it this way recently, “The higher the office in the church the more restrictive the behavior.” This is not legalism where we hold others to this standard, but it is to take seriously the command to be above reproach. Second, elders must have an attitude of repentance. When we find ourselves acting sinfully, our bent must be an attitude of humility, confession, and repentance. Living above reproach in this manner requires the constant attention to character and creed, doctrine and devotion, belief and behavior for the sake of the church of God.
• Mutual accountability. Among our elders I have an accountability partner. I also have a fellow pastor that I talk with regularly. Accountability does not mean we will remain sinless, but accountability suggests humility and submission. As the Senior Pastor at WBC, I lead the staff and organization. But as a fellow elder, I’m directly accountable to our elders. Annually, I have an evaluation, and my accountability partner and my wife both have the freedom to share with the body of elders anything they deem necessary. Many of the failures of church leaders and church dynamics I’ve been aware of through the years lacked a system of accountability.
• Intentional prayer. I’m quite certain we will not know the impact of our prayers for one another until we get to heaven. I’m also quite certain that the prayers of others have had an enormous impact on my spiritual life. I’m converted in part because of the prayers of my mother. There is no doubt God has brought me through things and protected me from sinful things due to the prayers of his people. We should pray for one another regularly.

If you’re reading this and a member of WBC, pray for your elders, pastors, deacons, and leaders. If you’re reading this and not a member of WBC, ask your pastors how you can pray for them and encourage them. If you’re reading this and don’t have accountability in your life, find a discipleship group or accountability partner. For those of you connected to WBC, I’d be happy to help you find that connection. Using the form below, let me know how I can help you connect to others for accountability and growth.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash