What does First B Jackson teach about church leadership?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on church leadership keeps returning to a single question: why are you in this work at all? Pastor Ray has put that question to himself as much as to anyone else, framing the whole conversation around 1 Peter 5 and the charge Paul gives the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20. The answer the text keeps pushing toward is not about gifting or ambition but about the kind of person you are in ordinary life, whether you serve voluntarily or under compulsion, whether you are eager or in it for what you can get, and whether the people in your care can see Christ between them and you rather than your own personality or position.
Pastor Carl has opened this topic by sitting with hard questions before reading a single verse, because he wanted the weight to land before the words did. He placed himself and the other elders inside the passage before preaching it to anyone else, noting that Peter, the chief apostle, introduces himself simply as a fellow elder, not a great leader, and that this was deliberate coming from a man who had denied Christ and been sifted. The single imperative in 1 Peter 5 is shepherd, and everything else describes how that shepherding is to be done: not for sordid gain, not lording a position over people, but proving to be an example to the flock. The reward, Peter says, is an unfading crown of glory, but not until the chief shepherd appears.
Pastor Arm has brought Hebrews 13:17 into the same conversation from the congregation's side, spending a whole sermon on what that verse asks of the people in the pews and not only the people at the front. The word translated obey carries the sense of being genuinely persuaded by something trustworthy, not blind compliance to a person. The word translated submit is the language of a combatant who stops fighting and yields. The justification the verse offers is that these leaders keep watch over souls and will be required to give an account of how they handled it, which is what makes the task sobering for everyone involved, leaders and congregation alike. The steady, faithful presentation of God's word is itself a form of keeping watch, and 1 Timothy 3 fills out what the person doing that watching ought to look like: above reproach, hospitable, not a drunkard, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, and managing his household well, not as a checklist for disqualifying everyone who reads it, but as a description of the kind of person whose life is credible enough to lead.
Taught from 1 Peter 5 · Acts 20 · Hebrews 13:17 · 1 Timothy 3:1-7 · Titus 1:5-16
The passage taught · 1 Peter 5
1 Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed.
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly;
3 neither as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock.
4 When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- July 20, 2025 I Entrust You to God and the Word of His Grace Ray walks through Acts 20, tracing Paul's farewell journey, his midnight sermon in Troas, and his final words to the Ephesian elders as he pressed on toward Jerusalem.
- July 20, 2025 Innocent of the Blood of All People Pastor Ray walks through Acts 20, where Paul says his goodbyes, raises a boy from the dead, and charges the Ephesian elders to guard God's flock with their lives.
- March 8, 2020 Obey Your Leaders and Submit to Them Pastor Aaron walks through Hebrews 13:17, examining what it truly means to obey church leaders, why that call exists, and what God requires of those who lead.
- November 4, 2018 Shepherd the Flock Among You Pastor Ray walks through 1 Peter 5, asking what truly drives those who lead God's people, and calling elders and all believers to shepherd with humility and eagerness.
- November 4, 2018 Shepherd the Flock Among You A Wyoming pastor walks through 1 Peter 5:1-3, asking hard questions about why anyone leads, and what faithful shepherding actually looks like.
- July 15, 2018 Hold Firm to the Trustworthy Word Titus 1:5, 16 examined: what Scripture says about church leadership, truth versus deception, and why the gospel must not be added to or taken away from.
- May 6, 2018 Dignified, Blameless, Faithful in All Things Pastor Carl walks through 1 Timothy 3:8-13, exploring what Scripture says about the character God calls deacons and their wives or women to display in serving the church.
- April 29, 2018 Above Reproach: The Elder's Noble Task Pastor Ray walks through 1 Timothy 3, examining what Paul says an elder must look like and why those qualities matter for the health of a local church.
- April 29, 2018 A Noble Task The pastor walks through 1 Timothy 3:1-7, examining what God requires of church overseers: a life above reproach, marked by humility, faithfulness, and genuine care for others.
Mentioned along the way
- October 27, 2024 Everything Jesus Began to Do and to Teach The pastor opens Acts 1 at First Baptist Jackson, exploring how the early church prepared for the Holy Spirit through obedience, fellowship, prayer, and scripture.
- May 13, 2018 The Mystery of Godliness A Wyoming pastor reflects on 1 Timothy 3:14-16 and an early Christian hymn about Christ, inviting his congregation to share the songs of faith they hold onto in hard times.
- May 6, 2018 Hold the Mystery with a Clear Conscience A sermon from First Baptist Jackson on 1 Timothy 3:8-13, exploring the character God calls deacons and those who serve the church to walk in through Christ.
- June 23, 2013 Continuing Acts, Traditions (2) Peter and John face arrest for preaching resurrection, yet the early church responds not with fear but with bold prayer to a sovereign God who rules over all things.
- May 19, 2013 Introducting Acts, Traditions Acts 1 shows four things the early church did to prepare for the Spirit's move: obey Jesus, gather together, pray persistently, and study God's Word.
- May 19, 2013 Introducing Acts, Morning Praise The pastor opens Acts by showing how the early church prepared for the Holy Spirit: through obedience, fellowship, persistent prayer, and recognizing God-appointed leaders.