Why Church Matters, Part 3

Victory Life Church, Central — Sunday, September 28, 2025

Part 3: “Why Spiritual Covering Matters”

Link to a downloadable PDF
2025-09-28 – Why Church Matters, Part 3

Summary

In a time when trust in leaders—political, cultural, and even pastoral—has eroded, Jesus still calls and appoints shepherds for His church. Shepherding is hard and often misunderstood, but it remains essential. The biblical role of a shepherd is to feed, protect, and care for the sheep—to guide God’s people away from the spiritual junk food of our age and back to the nourishing Word of God, to guard them from sin, false teachers, and deceptive ideologies, and to tend to their needs with sacrificial love, not self-serving ambition. Likewise, the role of the sheep is to trust, follow, and submit to godly leadership, measuring leaders not by charisma or cultural influence but by their character, gentleness, and faithfulness to Christ. In a world discipled by algorithms and isolation, the church must be a community of sinners under Christ’s care, where shepherds lead with humility and courage, and the flock follows with humility and faith, so that together we grow up into Christ and display His life to the world.

Scripture Reading

John 10:7–16 (NLT)⁷ so [Jesus] explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. ¹⁰ The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. ¹² A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. ¹³ The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. ¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, ¹⁵ just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

Introduction

Last week, in elaborating on why the gathering of the church matters, I concluded by discussing the role of Shepherding in the church, which the Reformers referred to as “the authentic discipline of the people.” Church discipline, often misused or overlooked, should be a practice of loving correction and compassionate care.

Church discipline is defined as loving correction and compassionate care.

Loving correction, though often misused and abused, is essential for spiritual maturity. The Church should not tolerate hypocrisy, abuse, sexual sin, gossip, or back-biting, etc.

Shepherding is for correction and care in a culture of unbridled self-expression.

The current cultural reality, characterized by unbridled self-expression and the absence of objective truth, fosters narcissism and must be addressed within the church. Shepherds are the ones who bring correction and care to the congregation. Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, expects good shepherds despite the existence of abusive ones.

This is what I want to expound on more today: why spiritual authority matters, why being under shepherds is a necessary (and often forgotten, neglected, or shunned) part of following Jesus, and what it means to be a sheep in the Church. We’re going to talk about “the Role of Shepherds” as well as “the Role of Sheep” in the church. I want to clarify what spiritual leaders are called to do, what we are held accountable for, and what followers are called to do and be held accountable to by the shepherds God has called them to follow. Most of you will prefer the first part (shepherds) over the last part (sheep).

The Role of Shepherds

We are currently experiencing a turbulent period of leadership in our country. In the realm of politics, parties and politicians are often held in a near “godlike” status, where Americans’ hopes and dreams are embodied, and winning and losing elections become tidal waves in our country. In the realm of social media, the term “influencer” has become a lucrative career choice for many more people than in previous generations. In the realm of the American church, the role of pastor has shifted to become something vastly different from the New Testament description of this role (political champion, cultural influencer, therapist, CEO, hype-man, motivational speaker, etc.).

The rise of publicly broadcast corruption, scandal, propaganda, and the ubiquitous “algorithm” has led to a continual decline in trust within our culture. Surveys consistently show that trust in many major institutions — including Congress, the Supreme Court, the presidency, the media, large companies, and public schools — has declined significantly over recent decades. Our country has “been in a really low-trust environment since the 1970s,” and “Without [trust], everything is more difficult.”

The American church and pastors have not fared much better. In 2025, Gallup’s Honesty & Ethics poll found that only about 30% of U.S. adults say pastors have high or very high honesty and ethical standards, down from earlier decades, when the figure was ~56% (2000-2009). A July 2024 Gallup tracking poll showed that only about 32% of U.S. adults say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church/organized religion; in the mid-1970s, over 60% expressed high confidence. In 2016, Pew Research measured “confidence in religious leaders to act in the best interests of the public.” In one such survey, only 13% said a great deal of confidence, 39% “a fair amount,” 32% “not too much,” and 14% “no confidence.”

2025 Gallup’s Honesty & Ethics poll: only ~30% of U.S. adults say pastors have high or very high honesty and ethical standards (~56% in 2000-2009)

2024 Gallup: only ~32% of U.S. adults say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church/organized religion (60% in mid-1970s)

Summary: Fewer and fewer people trust leaders, secular or pastoral. There’s a legitimate reason for this. The numerous scandals and instances of corruption in politics, business, and the church in our country would lead you to believe that there is no reason to trust the church or its pastors. However, this does not change the fact that Jesus appoints shepherds over his church. Just because many pastors have neglected or abused their position, this does not mean that there is no need for shepherds in the church. This is a moment of opportunity to restore confidence in shepherds, but it must realign with the biblical vision of shepherding.

From our Scripture reading, one thing is clear: Shepherding is hard. Leadership, in general, is challenging, but leading in the church is even more so. Within the context of this passage, Jesus was called “demon-possessed.” If you choose to lead people, especially shepherding people in the church, you may be called similar things.

Shepherding is hard.

In every congregation, there are times of turbulence, challenge, and occasional accusation. One thing I am incredibly grateful for is our leadership covenant. Our covenant is what every leader within our church commits to live out. Within the context of trust, there are two specific commitments we make to each other that offer a balanced approach to leadership accountability.

We will remain open to correction from those who love us.

We will not receive an accusation against one another.

In our church, leaders are to be held accountable to a high standard, but within a context of loving relationships with one another and protecting one another from the enemy’s plots to divide us and harm the sheep.

The Role of Shepherds:

1. 1. Feed the Sheep
   2. Protect the Sheep
   3. Care for the Sheep

The Role of Shepherds

1. To Feed the Sheep

John 21:15–17 (NLT)¹⁵ After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. ¹⁶ Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. ¹⁷ A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

In the context of these verses, Peter had gone back to fishing for the night. Jesus appears in a beautiful story of restoration for Peter, who had denied Jesus three times during his passion. For Peter, the fundamental leadership metaphor Jesus is shifting in him is no longer fishing, but shepherding. He asks, “Do you love me more than these?” I think he is referring to “these fish?” Consider the significant transformation in Peter. He goes from denying Jesus to boldly proclaiming Jesus through Acts without fearing the consequences, to being crucified upside down because he considered his death not worthy, exactly like Jesus’ crucifixion. In his ministry, he says this:

1 Peter 5:1–2a (NLT)¹ And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: ² Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you.

Our primary responsibility as a shepherd is to feed you. You have a spiritual diet. Everything you are taking into your heart and mind is a spiritual diet. You are feeding yourself a spiritual diet of some kind. What is your diet doing to your spirit?

Tests reveal what is in you. If you were to get a spiritual MRI or DEXA scan and look at what is inside of your heart, what you love, what you care about, what you fantasize about, what you dream about, what you’re anxious about, what would your spirit look like?

Jeremiah 3:15 (NLT)¹⁵ And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.

The primary role of a shepherd is to ensure that what you are taking into their spirits are things that build your faith and give you life. Because of the nature of our technology and digital engagement, many people are feeding themselves on things that illicit fear, things that foster outrage and hatred (as evident in recent acts of violence), and things that cultivate deception and draw you into lies. In our world, what is readily available in our pockets is a spiritual buffet or gorging on our fleshly desires, things that poison our minds, and things that are diseases of the spirit. Most people, Christian and non-Christian alike, have a spiritual diet that is killing them slowly. What pastors are called to do is to push you back to the word of God, so that you can be built up in your faith and feast on the right things.

The reality in the American church is that most people don’t even read their Bible. In the American Bible Society’s “State of the Bible” survey, they defined a “Bible User” as someone who engages with the Bible on their own, outside of a church service, at least three times a year, which accounts for 41% of American adults. Only 9% of American adults engage with the Bible nearly daily, with 59% engaging with the Bible twice a year or less (21% twice a year, 38% never). How does a 3-5-minute, somewhat daily devotional time and a 20-minute weekend Bible-pep-talk counteract the onslaught of what the world feeds you?

YouTube accounts for most people’s news and entertainment, and podcasts are a relatively new phenomenon; Christians are trying to make an impact in these spaces. While most podcasts are not inherently bad, most of the ones that are listened to are not Christian, and at best, a Christian one serves as a supplement. Most people take YouTube, podcasts, Instagram, TikTok, etc., as their primary sources of content and learning in their lives. For many, this content consumption serves as a substitute, a “highly processed, bio-engineered” alternative to a healthy spiritual diet. (I prefer a good, short sermon over a bad, long one.) However, we should be craving pure spiritual milk to nourish our faith.

Analogy: parents feeding their kids complete junk. You would be so judgmental of them.

My primary goal as a shepherd is to feed the sheep in order for you to grow and mature in Christ. This is the primary function of my role in life, not just from the pulpit on the weekend, but all of us shepherds are to feed you in various ways throughout our community life together with the Word of God, so that you may grow up in Christ.

The Role of Shepherds

1. Protect the Sheep

Acts 20:25–32 (NLT)²⁵ “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, ²⁷ for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know. ²⁸ “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. ²⁹ I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. ³¹ Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you. ³² “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

• Shepherds protect the sheep from: (three main things)

1. 1. The Threat of Sin

In John 10:10, there appear to be only two options for life: 1. the Jesus life, or 2. the thief, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The thief primarily does this through the temptation to sin.

John 10:10 (NLT)¹⁰ The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

James 1:14–15 (NLT)¹⁴ Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. ¹⁵ These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

Wolves and lions are the primary metaphors used in the New Testament for enemies against the sheep, and those predators’ strategies are to isolate people and prey on them. My encouragement for all of us is to:

Hate sin and beware of isolation.

• Shepherds protect the sheep from:

1. 1. The Threat of False Teachers

Acts 20:29 (NLT)²⁹ I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.

The apostle Paul describes these false teachers as “vicious/savage wolves.” There are two primary ways that false teachers and leaders will deceive and manipulate the sheep:

1. They distort the idea of “distance.” (“The church is too big and the leaders don’t really care about you, but I care about you. If the leaders care about you, they would be here for you.”) Jesus cared for different numbers of people at different levels (remember the “four spaces” of relationships). The problem is not that churches are too big; small churches are not necessarily better. The church in Acts 2 started with 3,000 people and continued to grow. Yes, bigger churches can focus on care, but smaller churches aren’t necessarily perfect at that either.

1. They manipulate the leader’s “inner circle.” This is an Absalom spirit (“If I were in charge, I wouldn’t do it that way. If I were in charge, it would be so much better. If I were in charge, I would promote you…”). Why do false teachers do this? They want people and influence for themselves, for their own agenda and glory. They want control over people for their own benefit, rather than caring for them in their best interest.

Acts 20:30 (NLT)³⁰ Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.

• Shepherds protect the sheep from:

1. 1. The Threat of Distortion and Lies

2 Timothy 4:1–5 (NLT)¹ I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: ² Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. ³ For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will reject the truth and chase after myths. ⁵ But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

He tells Timothy to “correct, rebuke, and encourage” and to do it with patience. Why? The times will not always be favorable to do so, and many will not listen to sound doctrine. They turn aside to myths. When you preach the Word, people may not want to endure it. They will not care about what the church has taught for 2,000 years, but will instead find a church, a teacher, or a podcast that validates what they want to believe. Their theology is driven by personal desires rather than biblical truth. “This is the challenge of moral relativism and expressive individualism.” The framework shifts from “What does God’s Word say? How do I submit to it?” to “How do I feel? God’s Word must submit to my feelings.” This is extremely common in our age; our internal desires are reshaping Christian theology. This “desire-driven doctrine” is a poison to the purity of the Bride of Christ. It feels like empowerment and validation, but it is deception.

Paul also says that people will have “itchy ears.” You know what it’s like when someone’s telling you the truth and you hate it, and then someone lies to you and it’s fantastic—itchy ears. No shortage of YouTubers and Podcasters tell you exactly what you want to hear, regardless of whether it’s God’s word or not, and will turn you aside to myths, lies, and deception.

I believe that “all truth is God’s truth,” regardless of what discipline it comes from: psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc. But here’s the deal: it’s not God’s Word or the Gospel. There are a lot of people who have mixed God’s word with various psychological or sociological concepts and therapies and have diluted or corrupted the purity of God’s truth. I am not anti-therapy. Therapy done well is a gift to the church, but it’s not the church itself, nor is it biblical doctrine. You have to get the hierarchy correct. You cannot have psychology with a religious veneer and it set people free. I am in favor of Biblical truth and the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom integrating where the truth intersects with therapeutic method for the benefit of the Church. So, be careful about what you listen to.

The Role of Shepherds

1. Care for the Sheep’s needs

John 21:16 (NLT)¹⁶ Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

3 John 2–4 (NLT)² Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. ³ Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. ⁴ I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.

There is nothing that breaks a pastor’s heart more than hearing of people falling away, deconstructing, and de-converting. The reward for pastoring is people in the church growing in their discipleship and transformation into Christlikeness. There is no greater joy than that.

John 10:11–13 (NLT)¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. ¹² A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. ¹³ The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

Jesus warns of“hirelings,” dare we say, “influencers”? You don’t want hirelings for leaders. A hired hand sees danger and threat and runs. They care more about themselves and what they gain than the sheep they care for. We should not appoint people to leadership positions in the church who are only there to gain personal influence. A hireling also needs validation from the pastors or the people of the church; they’re using their position in the church to fulfill their personal emotional needs.

Jesus is calling the leaders of Israel “hirelings.” This calls back to God’s critique of Israel’s shepherds in Ezekiel 34:

Ezekiel 34:2–5 (NLT)² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? ³ You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. ⁴ You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. ⁵ So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal.

Jesus’ entire ministry, and John 10 very pointedly, was a critique of the shepherds of Israel. What did Jesus do in his ministry? Jesus tended the flock, strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, and sought after the lost.” The critique of Ezekiel 34: the shepherds were “Self-feeding, butchering and eating the fat, wearing the wool, and didn’t tend to them.” And in essence, the flock existed for their personal gain.

In contrast with Ezekiel 34, Peter’s summary of the role of a shepherd in 1 Peter 5:

1 Peter 5:2-3 (NLT)² Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. ³ Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.

The Role of the Sheep

“Sheep” may sound like an odd or demeaning metaphor, but in Scripture, it is a metaphor of care and concern.

The Role of the Sheep:

1. Submit to your Leaders (Shepherds)

1 Peter 5:5 (NLT)⁵ In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5a (ESV)⁵ Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.

1 Peter 5:5a (NIV)⁵ In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders.

Hebrews 13:17 (ESV)¹⁷ 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.

You should have confidence in the leadership of your church. You should have confidence in my leadership as the senior pastor, as well as the leadership of our campus pastors and assistant pastors. If you lack confidence in our leadership, I encourage you to find a church where you can. Some people have left our church because they didn’t have confidence in my leadership. If you can’t have confidence in my leadership of this church, it would be best not to stay under my leadership. That’s ok. What is not ok is wandering around in a spirit of rebellion and never finding a church.

Hebrews 13:17a (NLT)¹⁷ Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God.

I will stand before Jesus one day and give an account for how I led this church. It incites the fear of God in me. What you are looking for when deciding whether you can have confidence in the leadership of this church or any other church is whether we are caring for your souls or not. This doesn’t mean just being nice to you. Remember, loving correction and compassionate care.

It is the role of a member in a local church to submit to the leadership. So either step and lead, follow well, or go to another church. Those are the biblical options. Follow and submit to good leadership. If you want to see change in a godly manner, get involved, serve, give, and help make it what God has designed us to be, or go to a place where you can lead and follow. Although this may seem a bit self-serving, and it is awkward drawing attention to it, this is not my personal opinion or agenda. This is God’s word. I’m endeavoring to show you precisely what the truth of God’s word says.

People in our contemporary culture hate the word “submission.” However, the lack of submission, rebellion against authority, and self-serving agendas are not just a modern problem; this is a human problem. Do you think the Apostle Paul might not be the Pastor you wanted? The Corinthians didn’t think so. Paul had to defend his leadership in Corinth against what he called sarcastically “super-apostles.”

As I heard an experienced pastor say, “The great challenge that leaders have is to lead without getting bitter. And the great challenge that followers have is to follow without getting bitter.”

Hebrews 13:17b (NLT)¹⁷ Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

This is why Peter says to the elders to shepherd “willingly” and not grudgingly. Here in Hebrews, it says leaders should do this with a joyful heart. It’s also speaking to the followers not to make this sorrowful or make this a burden. It won’t help you. Following well enables leaders to lead well. [Specific Tips]

1. Trust your Leaders (Shepherds)

Hebrews 13:7 (NLT)⁷ Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.

Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. You have permission to examine the lives of your leaders and see the fruit. “What do the people closest to them say about them? How do they treat people who could do nothing for them? How do they treat people outside the church? What do they do under pressure? How defensive do they get? How do they handle being challenged? Now, everyone can have a bad day, but what’s the pattern of their life?”

1 Timothy 3 gives the standard of leadership Biblically, the godly fruit the leaders (elders) should embody. It’s essential that this standard is clear and that all leaders strive to mature into it, but it’s also crucial not to be a legalist and use this as a means to condemn or abuse leaders who are imperfect.

1 Timothy 3:1–7 (NLT)¹ This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” ² So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. ³ He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. ⁴ He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. ⁵ For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? ⁶ A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. ⁷ Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

Examine the leaders’ lives and measure them against God’s word, not your own preferences. This is actually a beautiful, holistic list of leadership characteristics and qualities. Don’t just critique leaders like a Monday-morning quarterback. Don’t just let cynicism toward past leaders who hurt you poison everything now. You can observe a leader’s life; you must do that. However, it’s not good to sit back and judge a leader who doesn’t meet your every criticism.

One thing that is prominent in the descriptions of godly leaders that is intended to build trust in those who follow is the “tone” and “presence” of the leader. “He must be gentle, not quarrelsome.” This is the tone of spiritual parenting: tenderness in their love for people. This does not mean to never correct or stand against evil. It means that the leader should not use anger or power to manipulate, condemn, or punish those in their care.

1 Corinthians 4:14–16 (NLT)¹⁴ I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. ¹⁵ For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. ¹⁶ So I urge you to imitate me.

1 Thessalonians 2:5–8 (ESV)⁵ For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. ⁶ Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. ⁷ But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. ⁸ So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

Galatians 4:19 (NLT)¹⁹ Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 (NLT)¹ So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. ² For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved. ³ That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. ⁴ I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you.

2 Timothy 2:24–26 (NLT)²⁴ A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. ²⁵ Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. ²⁶ Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

The New Testament never advocates for spiritual authority to be tyrannical. You are not encouraged to follow and submit to spiritual tyrants, but leaders who are giving up their lives for your growth. This is why I think there should be a healthy dose of skepticism for YouTube or social media influencers, news anchors, and cultural commentators. Do they embody this kind of leadership? Are they caring for your souls like a gentle and loving spiritual parent? Or does their platform grow by inciting inflammatory responses from you? Or are they being parasites by “reacting” to whatever viral video is floating around the internet? Why are church people more critical of their spiritual leaders than cultural influencers? These Scriptures should make clear the kind of leaders you are called to follow. My prayer is that our church leadership embodies these characteristics well.

1. Follow your Leaders (Shepherds)

Hebrews 13:17 (NLT)¹⁷ Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

You’re following someone. You are called to have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Do this so their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that doesn’t benefit you.

People are vulnerable without spiritual covering.

There is much abuse of the term “spiritual covering,” but it is a Biblical term that leads to health and flourishing.

Matthew 9:35–36 (ESV)³⁵ And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

“Turkish shepherds watched in horror as hundreds of their sheep followed each other over a cliff,” say Turkish newspaper reports. “First, one sheep went over the cliff edge, only to be followed by the whole flock, according to the reports. More than 400 sheep died in the 15-meter fall, their bodies cushioning the fall of 1,100 others that followed.” “Every family had an average of 20 sheep.” One villager said, “It’s going to be hard now for all of us.”

Beyond just attending church services, it is about belonging to the church community. “Your church” becomes “my church.” A critically important facet of being a faithful member of a church is submitting yourself to the spiritual care of the leadership. If you are not under spiritual covering, you are under the care of the culture. There is no such thing as neutrality in isolated individualism. The blunt reality is that you are being discipled, either by the church or the algorithm.

You don’t see the world as it is. Your exposure to the world is not without a filter and a lens. What you see of the world is a small fraction of the algorithm’s preferences for you. You are not objective. We are less objective than ever before. Your attention is being manipulated and slowly coerced. The algorithm, regardless of platform or app, is telling you what to pay attention to. Everything presented to you through news, social media, or YouTube is distorted and re-crafted to a specific narrative to disciple you. When you are isolated and distant from spiritual covering or community, you are being discipled by the algorithm, and predators are destroying sheep because of it.

Conclusion

Here is my commitment to you: to love you as a church, to pray for you as a church, to do my best with whatever gifts and talents God has given me, to feed you, to protect you, and to care for you. One day, I will have to talk to Jesus about how I have fulfilled His calling in my life through this position. I am not perfect in how I pastor, lead, or shepherd, but I am being sanctified alongside all of you.

James 3:1 (NLT)¹ Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.

I also ask all of our church members, those in all our campuses who call this their home church, to commit to making our church what Jesus wants it to be.

“The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given a designated responsibility in the community. The pastor’s responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God. It is this responsibility that is being abandoned in spades.” ~ Eugene Peterson

To clarify, our church has multiple layers of leadership. I am not the only leader or shepherd of the church. Many other great and faithful leaders and shepherds in all of our campuses are sacrificially loving and caring for you. There are times when we grow and things may fall through the cracks; don’t gripe and leave, help us fix these systems. We are not perfect. There have always been problems within the church from the time of Acts onward.

Our desire for our church is that in all things, whether the gathering of the church or the shepherds who lead the church, you see Jesus clearer and clearer. All of these elements of the church are there for us to love the head of the church, Jesus, more deeply, and to come under his covering well and join him in his mission.

Citaions and Read More

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/jun/11/trust-us-institutions; https://news.gallup.com/poll/512651/americans-trust-local-government-congress-least.aspx; https://www.pewresearch.org/2025/05/08/americans-trust-in-one-another/

Dr. Marc Hetherington, professor of political science at the UNC at Chapel Hill. The Guardian. June 11, 2024.

https://www.christiantoday.com/news/only-one-in-six-americans-fully-trust-religious-leaders

John 10:19-21

Proverbs 4:23, Matthew 12:34

Church of the City New York: Making Sense of Church | The Flock – Jon Tyson, Sep 15, 2025 — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/church-of-the-city-new-york/id1245313998?i=1000726934714

https://www.americanbible.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SOTB_2025-09-Final.pdf

1 Peter 2:2, Hebrews 5:12, 1 Corinthians 3:2, Ephesians 4:14-15

John 10:12; Acts 20:29; Matthew 7:15 (see also Ezekiel 22:27, Matthew 24:11, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 4:1)

1 Peter 5:8 (see also Psalm 22:21)

See 2 Samuel 13-18 for the whole story, but specifically 15:1-6 for this point.

Ezekiel 34:11-24 cross reference with John 10:1-21

Luke 15:4-7, Matthew 18:12-14, 1 Peter 2:25

Psalm 106 summarizes at least 10 times how Israel rebelled against God’s authority and Moses’ leadership.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4665511.stm

Eugene Peterson. Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity. pp. 1-2.