6. Church Leadership: The Legacy Of Leadership (Acts 20:17-35) </p>

A legacy is something that is passed on, usually from one generation to the next and often in the form of a person’s manner of life, such as their values, relationships, priorities, beliefs, habits, and moral character - those primary characteristics that continue to influence those who follow after them.

We learn much from the legacy of great spiritual leaders who have gone before us, like John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, William Tyndale, Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon was fifty-seven years old when he died, after a ministry that impacted people around the world. After forty years of exemplary ministry, Spurgeon passed into the presence of the Lord. Two or three days before the end he said to his secretary, “My work is done.” Well, his work may have been done, but it still lives on to this day. That’s a lasting legacy!

Acts 20 records the apostle Paul’s journey to Jerusalem (20:16). On route, he stops at Miletus where he calls for the elders of the church at Ephesus to meet with him (20:17). He had had a great influence on the church at Ephesus after having ministered among them for probably a couple of years. When they came to him he gave his farewell address to them in which he exhorts the leaders to take on the work of shepherding the people of God. The primary purpose of this meeting was evidently for Paul to remind the elders to follow the example of his ministry among them. This would be his lasting legacy.

I am calling this biblical study on church leadership, “The Final Farewell Of A Godly Leader: A Lasting Legacy” (Acts 20:18-35). Paul’s final words are words of reflection and exhortation, words that demonstrate credibility, experience, and godliness, words that project warmth and care, words that summarize his ministry. Let us learn from the apostle Paul’s legacy as described in his parting words and apply the principles of his leadership to our own. The first principle we learn is that...

I. Our Words Should Expose The Clarity Of Our Motives (20:18-21)

1. Our Personal Testimony (20:18-19). Credibility seems to be more and more absent in church leadership today. It seems that no sooner does a church leader emerge on the public scene and generate some degree of notoriety than something arises that mars or even destroys their ministry. Often this happens during the latter years of a leader’s ministry. It’s so sad! A man may have had a tremendous impact on people over a long period of time, and then towards the end of his life he may do or say something that casts a shadow over all those years of faithful ministry. Not so with the apostle Paul. His ministry was credible because his motives were clear, in terms of…

a) Commitment and consistency. It’s important that our words clearly communicate who we are and why we do what we do. “You yourselves know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in Asia… (20:18). The believers in Ephesus knew all about Paul’s manner of life from the example he set while living and ministering among them. They had observed him from the very first time he came to their area. They saw how he lived, his steadfast commitment to the ministry and his consistent manner of life.

Commitment and consistency are so often lacking in the lives of church leaders. Sometimes their zeal for the ministry wanes. Sometimes they say one thing and do another. In fact, we sometimes do that ourselves. What we need is not only commitment to the work of the Lord but consistency in the work of the Lord, ensuring that our actions match our words, that our motives are pure, and that our manner of life is patterned after Christ’s. If we do, we will leave a lasting and powerful legacy.

b) Activity and attitude. The singular activity of the apostle was devoted to “…serving the Lord” (20:19). He was a living example of his own exhortation: “Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord” (Rom. 12:11). That was his daily engagement, to serve the Lord anywhere and at any time, whether it was convenient or not, “in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).

And he carried out that ministry activity with a Christ-like attitude, “serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots of the Jews” (20:19). Humility is often confused with meekness. In a sense, they are two sides of the same coin of self-awareness. Humility is the awareness of yourself in relation to others, not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think (Rom. 12:3); whereas meekness is the awareness of others in relation to yourself, considering others as more important than yourself (Phil. 2:3). The apostle Paul exhibited both these attributes throughout his ministry life, despite the hardships and opposition that he received from others

It's so easy to develop a bad attitude when you are verbally criticized, physically attacked, and wrongly accused, isn’t it? When you read of the tears that he shed and the trials that he experienced from the plots of the Jews (cf. 2 Cor. 11:24-28), you wonder how he could have lived such a consistent, committed life with such humility. May that energize us to so live with clear motives, manifesting the meekness and gentleness of Christ (2 Cor. 10:1).

2. Our Public Ministry (20:20-21). It’s so easy to live our personal lives differently from what we practice publicly. Perhaps this is why the apostle Paul spoke about his personal testimony before speaking about his public ministry. They must be consistent with one another if we are to have credibility. Paul’s personal testimony was marked by commitment and consistency in his activity and attitude, and his public ministry by…

a) Transparency and boldness. “I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that was profitable or from teaching you publicly and from house to house” (20:20). He didn’t hold back anything that was beneficial for them to know. He didn’t play favorites. He didn’t modify his message to suit the crowd. He didn’t say one thing in public and another in private. His motives were expressed in openness and truth, transparency and boldness.

b) Gospel orientation. “…testifying to both Jews and to Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus” (20:21). Paul’s audience included everyone regardless of race or religion. Wherever the opportunity arose, Paul taught the truth of the word of God in every venue (whether in the public square or in private homes) and in every way, such as “proclaiming… teaching… testifying” (20:20-21).

Even more noticeable than how he taught and preached is what he taught and preached. Four different descriptions are given in our passage: He preached (1) “Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (20:21); (2) “The gospel of God’s grace” (20:24)”; (3) “The kingdom (of God)” (20:25); and (4) “The whole plan (purpose) of God” (20:27). This was the sum and substance of his ministry at the root of which was the gospel. This should challenge us as to the extent to which our preaching and teaching ministry is similarly characterized. Are we taking every opportunity to lead people to repentance? Are we taking every opportunity to help people grow in their faith?

We need to preach evangelistically (the gospel), instructively (for the edification of the saints), admonishingly (warning unbelievers and saints alike), and fully, so that we are “innocent of the blood of all of you” (20:26).

The second principle we learn is that...

II. Our Words Should Exude Our Confidence In God (20:22-25)

The men who have been role models and mentors to me have all been men with great confidence in God for the present and the future. In Paul’s experience he had…

1. Confidence despite present uncertainty (20:22-23). “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit warns me in every town that imprisonment and afflictions are waiting for me” (20:22-23). Even though the Holy Spirit had told him what awaited him at Jerusalem, he was not deterred. He had confidence in the call of God on his life. This is what kept him going, regardless of the possibility of imprisonment, persecution, and even death that he may face in Jerusalem.

2. Confidence in view of future completion (20:24-25). “But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace” (20:24). Paul’s focus was on the long term, not on the short term. He was not concerned about the present uncertainty of what may happen to him in Jerusalem because he didn’t place value on his present, temporal life. Rather, he was concerned about the future completion of his ministry, for which the Lord Jesus had called him and gifted him. This is what gave Paul such confidence, to “testify to the gospel of God’s grace” to the very end, to finish well his life’s task. Is this not the life of a preacher? Is this not what we have been called to?

For this reason, he was determined to press on to Jerusalem, despite the testimony of the Holy Spirit that “in every town imprisonment and afflictions are waiting for me” (20:23), and despite the reality that this would be the last time he would see the brethren from Ephesus: “And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will see my face again” (20:25). Despite this uncertain future and the fact that the end of his life was in view, his life’s purpose never changed, it would be one of constant testifying and proclaiming the truth of the gospel. “I strive toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). He never wavered in his task in view of its future and imminent completion. This is what he aimed for. He kept his eyes on the goal (to “finish my course) and the prize (“the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”).

The third principle we learn is that...

III. Our Words Should Express Our Convictions About Ministry (20:26-31)

In three succinct exhortations, Paul expresses his convictions about a preaching ministry…

1. We must preach the full scope of Scripture (20:26-27). “Therefore, I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, because I did not hold back from proclaiming to you the whole plan of God.” This verse contains two convictions about a gospel-preaching ministry…

a) That the people are responsible before God for their response to our preaching. No matter how Paul’s hearers responded, his conscience was clear; if any of them chose not to believe, he was not responsible - they were. Because he had fully, openly, and boldly declared the whole plan and purpose of God to them, he could say “I am innocent of the blood of all of you” (20:26). He had completed his ministry; he had preached the whole truth. That was his responsibility; how they responded was their own responsibility for which they would answer to God.

b) That the preacher is responsible to declare the whole plan of God in the gospel. Paul had spent a considerable amount of time in the church at Ephesus teaching them the truth. On his arrival in Ephesus he found that the disciples there only knew about John’s baptism, so he taught them that John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, “telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus (19:4). The result was that they responded positively to his teaching and he baptized them “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (19:5). He then continued to fully, openly, and boldly (19:8) declare the whole truth of the gospel, nothing left out and nothing compromised (see also 20:19-21). Despite opposition (19:21-41), “I did not hold back from proclaiming to you the whole plan of God” (20:27), he says. He had fulfilled his duty to make known to them the entire truth concerning the full scope of the gospel (see Ephesians 1:3-14).

This is a wonderful encouragement for those of us who are preachers, that we are responsible to preach the full plan of God in the gospel and our hearers are responsible for how they respond. If we have been faithful in making known to our hearers the scope and power and consequences of the gospel, then we can leave the results of our ministry with God; he will be the judge.

2. We must warn about spiritual dangers (20:28-30). As a result of what Paul had preached in Ephesus, he exhorts the leaders of the church to “be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood” (20:28).

First, the elders of the church are to “guard” their own personal lifestyle and teaching. They are to be living examples of what it means to believe the gospel, examples of godliness among the flock of God.

Second, they are responsible to guard “all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers.” They are the church’s guardians, supervisors who make sure that none of the flock falls into danger.

Third, they are responsible to “shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.” Notice the specific terms that Paul uses here to describe the responsibilities of elders, equating them with shepherds (pastors) of the church. They had been appointed and were recognized as the leaders of the church, whose primary function is to “shepherd (pastor) the church of God.” As spiritual shepherds, they are responsible to supply good spiritual nutrition and to provide complete spiritual (and physical) care and guidance. That’s what shepherds do. They are the guardians, care-givers, and protectors of the flock. To this end, elders are to watch out for two specific sources of danger to the flock…

a) Savage wolves (20:29). “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” Savage wolves are those people from outside the church who, like wild animals, attack the flock. They break into the sheepfold and decimate the flock for their own sick benefit and morbid pleasure (see John 10:10-13).

b) Divisive men (20:30). “Even from among yourselves (your own number), men will rise up, teaching perversions of the truth…” These are false teachers who arise from within the church, who distort the truth of the gospel for their own divisive purposes. Satan always has his agents who are ready to pounce whenever there is a gap in the protection of the flock, whose express purpose is “to draw away (lure) the disciples after them.” False teachings are accompanied by false motives, namely, to create a personal following in opposition to the genuine shepherds of the church.

3. We must teach others by our example (20:31). “Therefore, be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.” Paul himself was the quintessential shepherd of God’s people, the example of the continuous and passionate faithfulness to which he is exhorting the Ephesian elders. He is not asking them to do anything that he had not practiced himself.

The fourth principle is that...

IV. Our Words Should Exhibit Our Care For The Congregation (20:32-35)

1. A final benediction: Ministry is about God and his Word (20:32). “And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.”

As a demonstration of the very pastoral care that he is exhorting the elders to practice, Paul entrusts the Ephesian believers to two rock solid resources: (1) our divine, personal resource for care and protection in God himself; (2) our infallible, written resource for spiritual edification and teaching in God’s word, “…which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.”

This phrase “all who are sanctified” refers to the saints, those who are set apart (“sanctified”) exclusively to and for God and who collectively (“among all”) will enter into their inheritance of a shared future life (Eph. 1:14, 18; 5:5), the security and reality of which is based on the truth of God’s word which builds us up (Eph. 2:20; 4:12, 16, 29).

2. A final exhortation: Ministry is about selfless service (20:33-35). “I have desired no one’s silver or gold or clothing” (20:33). True and faithful leaders are not motivated by personal gain or materialism. Indeed, “you yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me. In every way I have shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (20:34-35). He was their mentor who not only taught them in his words but also in his actions.

Pastoral ministry is about selflessness – about giving not taking, about generosity not miserliness, about working not idleness, about others not self.

Final Remarks

Paul spoke these words in anticipation of his departure to Jerusalem where he might receive a death sentence. He references this possibility several times in this short treatise. “22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit warns me in every town that imprisonment and afflictions are waiting for me…25 “And now I know that none of you… will see my face again… 29 After my departure…” (20:22-29).

It is in that context that he speaks these words, leaving for us a lasting legacy of pastoral leadership, which, I suppose, is summed up in verse 24: “I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.” His life and ministry were all about a humble attitude (20:19) and a bold proclamation (20:20-21, 24, 25, 27). It is on the basis of this ministry that he issues the concluding exhortations that (1) ministry is about God and his Word (20:32) and (2) ministry is about selfless service (20:33-35).

Such final words are truly remarkable. By the grace of God, may this inspire us as pastors and preachers to establish and leave behind us just such a legacy.