“CHURCH LEADERSHIP.” 1 TIM. 3: 1-13, 17-18; HEB. 13: 7, 17-18.
1 TIMOTHY 3: 1-7, 8-13, 17-18, HEBREWS 13: 7, 17-18.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO 1 TIMOTHY 3.
The theme of today’s lesson is that the church of Jesus Christ needs godly leaders who meet biblical qualifications and believers have responsibility to respect and support those leaders. Two questions are to be considered; 1) Who can be church leaders? And 2) what is our responsibility toward the leaders?
Leadership in any area is difficult today. Leadership in the church is also difficult. But then, it always has been.
During the last few decades many people have developed a bias against institutions and their leaders. The church and its leaders have been included in this bias. A natural human resistance to authority reinforces this bias. One result is a lack of respect for leaders of any institution—including the church. The biblical view of the church is that it is Christ’s body with many members and that Christ gives to the church gifted leaders who equip the members for their part in the church’s ministry. As church leaders seek to fulfill this calling, they deserve the respect of those who hear them preach and teach God’s Word. Because of the importance of church leaders, the church should be careful to seek biblically qualified people who have a shepherd’s heart.
The 7 years that we lived in Bixby, Ok. our pastor was Rev. Divine. He was a godly man and a fine pastor. A year after we moved to Shawnee Brother Divine and his wife attended Immanuel Baptist Church. We invited them home to eat with our family. After the meal he shared the reason he was visiting our church.
The doctor’s wife in Bixby was a dope addict. She would come to church with dilated eyes but never created any problem. The congregation decided the church should withdraw fellowship from her, as she was a bad example to the youth.
In the business meeting someone made the motion to vote her out of the church. Brother Divine pointed out that she was better off under the watch-care of the church than if the church was to withdraw fellowship. The motion was amended to let her remain in the church, but fire the preacher. On his small salary the pastor had not been able to accumulate any savings. He needed a means to buy groceries.
At that time I was putting new sheetrock through out our old house so he became a sheetrock finisher for the next several days until the Baptist Church in Helene, Ok., called him to be their pastor. He later retired to the Baptist Retirement center as director of recreation. At his death he was buried here in Resthaven Cemetery. I’m sure you know of similar situations. Today’s lesson will help us understand that churches need biblically qualified leaders whom they will support and follow.
In the June issue of the Pott-Lincoln Association Encourager we find five churches in our Association, including Immanuel, are seeking youth ministers, one church needs an Education Minister and First Baptist McLoud, Forest and Trinity are without a pastor. May 2 Pearson Baptist Church voted to disband. Please pray for these leadership needs in these churches. We were told that this year 6% of the Baptist Pastors in Okla. will leave the pastorate to seek less stressful occupations. Let’s turn now to God’s Word and see the qualifications of church leaders; both paid and volunteers. We begin with the pastor, bishop, or overseer in 1 Tim. 3.
PLEASE READ 1 TIMOTHY 3: 1-7.
You will notice that Paul emphasizes what a church leader is instead of what he does. These verses list the qualifications for the office of a bishop, which can be called “pastor” or “elder.” Only one item in the list describes something a pastor does. Everything else pertains to the kind of person he should be. The work of a church leader is important, but his character is the foundation for what he does.
In vs. 2 & 3, Paul examines the personal qualification for being a pastor. Paul begins with “This is a trustworthy saying.” This formula is found five times in Paul’s Pastoral Letters. Paul used it to highlight certain statements. Of course, all Paul’s sayings were trustworthy, but he drew attention to some.
Paul turns now to the subject of leadership in the church. In vs. 1-7 he first discusses bishops; in vs. 8-13 the deacons. Paul’s focus on the personal qualities of those who would serve in these positions, rather than their duties, indicates his concern to install the right people, perhaps some of the false teaches had come from, or are seeking positions of leadership.
Paul wrote that being a bishop is a noble task. In many ways this is God’s highest calling. The word translated desire means “to aspire to.” This word can refer to a selfish desire, but it also can refer to a desire motivated by love and commitment. We don’t usually think of this vocation as one that a person seeks. Paul was not denying that God’s calling should precede a desire to be a pastor, but he was teaching that those who respond positively to this high calling show wisdom and discernment.
George W. Truett told a group of fellow preachers: “Now, for a generation, I have given my humble testimony, as a preacher of His glorious gospel. If He should give me a thousand lives, today, and ask me to choose what calling I would have them follow, I would not hesitate one moment, to choose that every one of the thousand lives should be a preacher for Him.”
The first qualification is that the person be blameless or above reproach. This expression doesn’t mean “without sin,” which would disqualify everyone, but, “above scandalous reproach.”
The person should have no skeletons in his closet, any past or present sins that will cut the ground out from under any pastor. This applies to the consistency of the man’s life since his conversion. Some church leaders did evil things before coming to Christ. Paul himself would have been disqualified from being a church leader if his former life were held against him. But after he became a believer, he lived a life dedicated to Christ. Paul’s overriding concern is that bishops (elders) have a good standing among non-Christians. You should read Titus 1: 6-9 of Paul’s letter to Titus regarding how he was to act as Paul’s representative on the island of Crete.
The requirement to be the husband of one wife has been subject to a number of interpretations. Thomas D. Lea mentioned five. (1) The pastor must be married. (2) The pastor cannot remarry after his wife dies. (3) The pastor cannot practice polygamy. (4) The pastor cannot have been divorced. (5) The pastor must be faithful to his wife. Lea discounted the first two because of Paul’s preference for remaining single (1 Cor. 7:32-35) and because Paul allowed widowed Christians to remarry if they married believers. Paul and the early believers opposed polygamy based on the biblical view of marriage (Gen 2:24). The last two interpretations are the most likely to contain Paul’s meaning. Lea gave special emphasis to the fifth one. The Greek describes the overseer literally as a ‘one-woman’ kind of man, faithful to his one wife. Many Baptists, however, believe Paul was referring to divorce.
An overseer should not put away his wife and continue to serve as pastor of God’s flock. This view emphasizes that a pastor’s calling involves living an exemplary moral life, including—if he is married---maintaining a good, solid relationship with his lifelong companion.
Other interpreters understand husband of one wife to mean the church leader must be faithful to his present wife. He must be devoted to his wife and not sexually lax or promiscuous. In our day of loosened morality, certainly a church leader should be above reproach in marriage.
The next three qualities defining an overseer could summarize him as a Christian gentleman. To be self-controlled means, to have the discipline to avoid excess in any form. In other words the overseer must be sober and balanced in his spirit. Sensible describes a person who is not flighty but trustworthy. Such a person has a well-ordered demeanor. To be respectable implies an inner life that reflects an outer dignity and stability.
“Love of strangers” is a literal translation of hospitable. Being given to hospitality was important in an age without many safe places for travelers. Christian missionaries such as Paul traveled a lot. So did rank-and-file believers such as Aquila and Priscilla. This was especially needful in early time when traveling believers were exposed to insult or even danger. A number of N.T., passages stress hospitality. A church leader must be willing to welcome believing travelers. Some, who were being persecuted, depended on the help of other Christians along the way.
The pastor must be able to teach. Eph. 4:11 lists “pastors and teachers” among the gifted people, whom the Lord gives as gifts to the church. Although some leaders were mostly teachers, this passage probably refers to pastors who teach. Paul surely cited teaching ability among the qualifications for pastors. In fact, teaching is the only task mentioned in vs. 1-7.
Vs. 3 is a list of mostly negative qualities a pastor must not have. The inclusion of these shows the kind of sinful conduct that characterized must first-century life. Many pastors probably were from an old life in which these things were done. Not given to wine (drunkenness) means that he must not be “addicted to wine.” In our American society satiated with a thirst for alcohol, the practice of total abstinence by Christians could curb the destructive effects alcoholism has brought to us.” Two biblical principles provide reasons for abstinence. One principle is the stewardship of one’s health (1 Cor. 6: 19-20). The other principle is influence (Rom. 14:20-21). A pastor who drinks can influence others to do the same.
A second negative qualification is that an overseer should not browbeat people into submission by being a bully. He must not be a quick-tempered leader who uses threats or violence to get his way. The image is one of a dictator who tries to browbeat people by physical or verbal violence. Instead, a leader should be one who is gentle, kind, considerate, forbearing) in his relationships. An overseer supervises, yes, but it is with flexibility and by modeling the same kind of consideration he desires of others.
Not quarrelsome is the third negative. The overseer must be a man, who is not contentious, but a peace-loving leader who rejects threatening and fighting.
A good pastor is not covetous or greedy. Literally he is “not a lover of money.” Paul later warned against thinking of godliness as a means of great gain. The pastor’s main goal must be to care for the believers in the church—not to get rich. Paul was speaking of religious leaders who saw in religion a means of financial gain for themselves. He warned in 1 Tim. 6:10 that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Leadership in Paul’s day, and in ours, depends on honesty and integrity.
In vs. 4-5 Paul taught that the overseer must be exemplary in leading his own family. Paul assumed the overseer was married, but Paul did not require marriage. Nor did he demand that the overseer have children. But if he does have children, the overseer is to teach them obedience and godly behavior. In vs. 4 the word manages has the idea of providing direction to the family, leading the family. The goal of the overseer’s managing is that the children be under control with all dignity. The word dignity, meaning “seriousness,” refers to the father’s manner in disciplining his children.
The Greek word translated manage appears again in vs. 5. Its use here with the verb take care of, shows that Paul defined the overseer’s leadership in the home as related more to compassion rather than delivering ultimatums.
The point of all this underscores the close relationship between church and home. (Paul is the only writer in the N.T. to describe the church as God’s church.) Just as the overseer as a faithful father manages and takes care of his home family, he is to manage and take care of the church family. The overseer leads his people to obey Christ, not with a heavy hand, but with the same care and compassion that a father leads his own children.
In vs. 6-7 Paul concluded his words concerning the qualifications of overseers with a warning. The overseer should not be a new convert because he might become conceited. The new convert may well become a pastor after he has had time to mature in the faith, but a new convert is vulnerable to be lifted up with pride and thus fall into the condemnation of the devil. Since pride was the devil’s initial sin, he seeks to lead others to share the judgment of God on pride. A new convert is especially vulnerable. However, pride is not the exclusive domain of new converts. All Christians continue to struggle to overcome the powerful yet subtle temptation to pride. This includes men who have years of experience as pastors. Being in a position of respect and influence can tempt a person to take credit for what only the Lord can do.
Vs. 7 ends the list by coming back to the importance of being without reproach in the eyes of outsiders. He must have a good report or a good reputation among outsiders. This is needed lest he fall into reproach or disgrace and the snare of the devil. This does not mean that he seeks popularity at the expense of standing up for and speaking out in ways that may offend some outsiders. It means that outsiders know that he is a person who is true to his calling and convictions.
In other words, the church leader should have a good name in the community. The overseer’s behavior should model commitment to the gospel he professes to believe. He should build a bridge for the gospel to reach others, not erect a barrier to the gospel. If the overseer fails to make a creditable witness to the lost, the devil schemes to trap him and the church by making unbelievers skeptical of believing the gospel the church proclaims to them. When church leaders live in such a way that unsaved outsiders refuse to listen to their message, the devil has clearly lured believers into a trap.
Churches have a responsibility to choose biblically qualified leaders as ministers. Ministers have a responsibility to live within the qualifications specified by God’s Word. Nothing hurts a church so much as leaders who live like the world rather than representing Christ. Sin in the life of any believer sets a stumbling block in front of outsiders, but because of his wider influence, sin in a pastor’s life does the greatest harm to the cause of Christ. The pastor is expected to be a preacher, teacher, leader, and counselor. He is to be a role model for all ages.
PLEASE READ 1 TIMOTHY 3: 8-13.
These verses describe the qualifications for a deacon. The name deacon means minister or servant. Originally it was used of anyone who served, whether in the home, or in the state, or in the church. But, in the course of time, it came to be used of those who were selected for special duties in the church. The pastors and the deacons are usually mentioned together in the N.T. Paul puts them together in their qualifications in 1 Timothy 3: 1-13.
The story of the origin of the office of deacon is found in Acts 6, but the name deacon does not occur. They were 7 in number, but it does not mean that every church is to have just 7 deacons. The number will depend on the size of the church.
We only had 3 deacons in 1st Bapt. Ch. of Bixby. We had about 40 in 1st Bapt. Ch of Edmond where my pastor Dr. M.E. Ramey insisted I be ordained as a deacon. They had no rotation system such as we have at Immanuel so many of the men had been meeting and making the decisions for so long I never really became known to the group. I prefer the rotation system.
The duties of deacons are not clearly defined in the N.T. The first deacons were chosen to look after the administration of the common fund in order that the apostles might have more time for prayer and the ministry of the Word. But they were also to be spiritual leaders in the church. This is indicated by the high standard of character that was demanded.
The deacon is the pastor’s helper in all the activities of the church. Certainly his duties consist in more than passing the plates for the offering and ministering at the Lord’s Table.
PLEASE TURN TO 1 TIMOTHY 5.
This passage consists of a series of the most practical for the life and administration of the church.
PLEASE READ 1 TIMOTHY 5: 17-18.
The Greek word interpreted elder means an older man. Paul used it that way in 1 Tim. 5:1. In vs. 17 it was used to describe church leaders. Paul wrote of elders who are good leaders. The elders gave leadership and supervision to the church. The context of fatherly leadership used in the earlier passage in 1 Tim. 3: 4, 12 shows Paul had love and not just authority in mind. The pastor leads, not as an autocratic, dictatorial tyrant but as a father who leads his children with firm but gracious guidance.
Paul contended that church leaders who rule well should be properly honored and properly paid. When threshing was done in the East, the sheaves of grain were laid on the threshing floor; then oxen were driven repeatedly across them and the oxen were left unmuzzled; they were free to eat as much of the gain as they wished, as a reward for the work they were doing. The actual law that the ox must not be muzzled is in Deut. 25: 4.
The saying that the workman deserves his pay is actually a saying of Jesus in Luke 10: 7. It was most likely a proverbial saying, which He quoted. Any man who works deserves his support, and the harder he works, the more he has earned and the more he deserves. But it is to be noted that those who toil in preaching and teaching are to be especially honored. I have never known a preacher or teacher who was overpaid. Paul was writing of the twin benefits of honor or respect and financial remuneration.
Some Baptists identify elders as referring to the same as bishops and pastors. Some Baptist churches have a pastor, elders and deacons. In Immanuel Baptist Church we have a pastor, three associate pastors, 3 trustees, and a number of deacons. Some churches understand vs. 17 refers to two separate groups of elders: ruling elders and elders that teach and preach. They still have deacons to serve.
Several years ago the First Baptist Church, Shawnee had their deacon meeting on Sunday afternoon. Monday morning Dr. Lowell Milburn would be in my office asking, “Do you know of a small church on a creek somewhere that has no deacons?” Brother Bill Jones, now deceased, while pastoring in Shawnee told me he would never pastor a church again that had deacons. I later visited his church in another town and was invited to go to the office with a group of men for prayer prior to the service. I asked what they were called. They said they were trustees. They had no deacons. Brother Jones had kept his word. Deacons can be a problem, or a blessing.
PLEASE TURN WITH ME TO THE 13TH CHAPTER OF HEBREWS.
TEACHER READ HEBREWS 13:7.
Remember them, which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. (or their way of life.)
The epistle to the Hebrews is an anonymous book. We do not know its author, its destination, its date or the place where it was written. The Book begins like a treatise, proceeds like a sermon, and concludes like a letter.
The occasion of the Epistle was the need of special exhortation for Hebrew readers who had professed faith in Jesus as the Messiah, some of whom were wavering in their faith and needed to be told to “hold fast” and to “go on” to perfection. The readers had endured some persecution but no one had been killed. Worse persecution was coming, and they needed to have faith and demonstrate faithfulness.
These second-generation Christians were not eyewitnesses to the ministry of Jesus. Instead they were challenged to carefully remember the former days, carefully observe the outcome of the lives of those who had gone before them and imitate their faith.
The purpose of the Book was to bring to the attention of Christians everywhere the preeminence of Jesus Christ. In Heb. 13:7 in addition to the roll of the faithful in Ch. 11, the writer reminds the Hebrews and us of their own faithful leaders within the church. In so doing he outlines the duties of pastors: to 1) to rule, 2) to speak the word of God, and 3) to establish the pattern of faith for the people to follow. Vs. 7 is closely related to vs. 8. Earthly leaders come and go but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
PLEASE READ HEBREWS 13: 17-18.
Whether we like it or not, the pastor of the church exercises the very authority of Jesus Christ when he practices and applies Scripture. Obeying and submitting to servant-leaders is what vs. 17 calls for. Yet these verses should not be understood as demanding blind loyalty to leaders in the church.
The reference to “various kinds of strange teachings” in vs. 9 indicates that the original readers were in danger of being led astray by false doctrines. The writer of Hebrews countered this danger by admonishing his readers to follow their leaders insofar as they protected them from these strange teachings by their speaking the Word of God to them and watching over their souls.
A good leader is like an alert shepherd who keeps watch over his flock by night. The second reason for obedience to our leaders is that they will give an account. Church leaders are under-shepherds to the great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. They will have to report to Him.
Obviously, believers are not to blindly follow without evaluating what leaders say in light of God’s Word. The idea is to follow our leaders as they follow the Lord. No flock should follow their shepherd over a cliff! The Lord does not expect a congregation to obey and submit to a minister who is teaching heresy. Believers bring grief and not joy when we fail to follow a leader who is imitating our Lord.
People’s view of church government determines how they interpret and apply the words “obey” and “submit. People in some forms of church government are expected to obey the person or group that run the church. Baptists have a congregational form of government in which each member stands on equal ground. Christ Himself is the head of the church, and God’s Word is the authority to which believes submit.
A pastor’s authority grows out of His teaching and preaching God’s Word and his faithfulness in following Christ and calling others to follow Him. In vs. 19 the author of Hebrews may have been a supporter of the church’s leaders. He found out that some church members were not following the Lord, as they should. The church leaders were calling them to follow Christ all the way. The author agreed with this emphasis and wrote to call the members to obey their leaders. He called his readers to remember past leaders and to imitate their faith and way of living.
As one of the leaders, the author asked his readers to pray for him and the other church leaders. His use of the plural “we” is the reason for interpreting his payer request to include all their present leaders.
Church members should pray for their pastor and other church leaders. Charles H. Spurgeon was one of the most effective preachers of the 19th century. His proclamation of Christ from God’s Word drew people to a 6,000-seat tabernacle. Someone asked Spurgeon the secret of his power in preaching. Without hesitating, Spurgeon said, “My people pray for me.”
It takes spiritual weapons to fight a spiritual war, and the chief spiritual weapon is prayer. Only with God’s power can leaders accomplish God’s work.
Of the 250 churches in Seminole, Lincoln and Pott. counties Dr. John Nichols calls 8 to 10 pastors each week asking for their prayer requests. They always express appreciation that they can share the needs of their congregation or their personal needs with someone. We do pray!
NEXT SUNDAY FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 12 WE WILL SEEK THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: “WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS AND H OW CAN I USE MINE IN AWAY THAT PLEASES GOD.” A.V. DAUGHERTY altav@swbell. Net http://www.theweeks.org/av/ web page.