“Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion . . .” (1 Peter 5:2).
While Paul says that he was “obligated” to preach the gospel (Rom. 1:14), and we are obligated to “not live according to the flesh,” nowhere are individuals told that they are “obligated” to serve as elders. The idea is not to be men who serve out of necessity or constraint, or as one writer put it, being compelled “in a manner that cannot be evaded.” Men who serve under compulsion from any source should not be elders if that is their primary reason for serving.
There are many reasons why a person might serve as an elder out of obligation or compulsion:
- Expectations from others, including one’s wife
- A pressing need for more leaders
- An inner sense of inferiority and need to “achieve,” thus someone being obligated to fulfill personal needs in ungodly ways
- The pressing needs of the congregation
In most congregations, it would be safe to say there are not enough godly leaders willing to make the personal sacrifice to shoulder the burden of watching over the people of God and meeting their spiritual needs. Yet, despite our sense of urgency, we must never compel men to be elders, nor allow others to compel us to serve as elders.
The man who is feeling compelled by the Holy Spirit finds that his motivation will fall in line with the Spirit, and this will be reflected in a willing eagerness. But a man must see beyond the human coercion so that he won’t be blinded to the Spirit’s leading. And the existing elders must allow the Spirit to motivate those whom he desires, lest we find unqualified, unwilling men serving as defective shepherds of God’s people.