A Call to Pastoral Humility

As he drew his first epistle to a close, the apostle Peter turned his focus to the elders of the churches to which he wrote, urging them to lead their people with godliness. Elders and pastors are shepherds over God’s flock, Alistair Begg reminds us—ones who should lead by example, cultivating humility, entrusting God with their anxieties, preparing to face adversity, and resting in the security of God’s grace. In “Standing Firm in the Grace of God,” Alistair helps to understand what true, godly humility looks like:

Since the elders are to fulfill their calling in a spirit of submission to God, the active practice of humility is a garment to be worn—verse 5: “Clothe yourselves, all of you.” “All of you.” …

Humility. Put it on! The exhortation is not to feel humble. It’s not to pretend to be humble like Uriah Heep in David Copperfield. What a character he is! No, the picture of humility is a Jesus picture again, isn’t it? It’s John 13. It’s tying on the apron when His fellows see there is no particular interest that any one of them has in dealing with the feet of his friend. And Jesus … ties it around His waist. And then He washes the feet of His disciples. He washes the feet of the betrayer. He washes the feet of the denier. He washes the feet of each of them who, in short order, would be locked in a room for fear that they might end up as their master was ending up.

It’s a problem, pride, isn’t it? … Every day, in a thousand ways, we seek to make ourselves the center of the universe. And that’s a real problem, because we’re not the center of the universe. We aren’t even the center of our own little universe. And when that begins to take hold in leadership in a church and begins to permeate the flavor of the church, it is a real danger, because friendships are broken; family ties are strained; fellowship is destroyed. Because humility is about serving rather than being served. It’s about giving rather than taking. It’s about responding versus commanding. It’s about fitting into the plans of others, not demanding that they fit into ours.

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