Regarding Pastors Rightly

“Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.”

(1 Peter 5:5a ESV)

I remember, as a youth, how much I looked up to my pastor. I both respected and admired him. And, because he invested in my life, I’ve always thought of him as much more than a pastor. I’ve always thought of him as a spiritual father.

Now that I’m a pastor, I hope that I can be as great of a blessing to others as he was to me. I hope and pray that God will use me in my calling to direct people to himself. I hope and pray that I can live up to the responsibility he’s entrusted to me.

That being said, even after twenty years of full time ministry, I’m still not fully comfortable with the respect people give to me. I’m not fully comfortable with it because I know my sin and my shortcomings. I realize that I’m not deserving of the role God has assigned to me.

No pastor is perfect. No pastor is deserving of the role into which he’s been placed. Yet, as we see in the above passage, those who are younger are called to be subject to the elders. They are called to be subject to their pastor and spiritual leaders.

This doesn’t mean that those who are older are free to disrespect him. Age isn’t the primary issue in this passage. Spiritual maturity is the matter at stake. Peter is telling us that those who are young in faith, he’s saying that those who aren’t as spiritually mature, are to be subject to the leaders God has placed over them.

This is something that’s missing in many places today. Often, pastors are treated as hired hands. Their voice is regarded as only one in the crowd. They are bullied and pushed around. And we must repent of this and give to them the esteem they deserve.

However, pastors must also ensure that this doesn’t go too far. They must ensure that they aren't treated like a god. And they must ensure that they don’t take it too far. As we saw in the first several verses of this chapter, they are not to become dictators. Putting this all in perspective, the people are to respect their pastors and spiritual leaders as they humbly carry out the calling given to them.