By: Dale Weckbacher
1 Timothy 3:1-2
It is a true saying
that if someone wants to be an elder, he desires an honorable responsibility. 2
For an elder must be a man whose life cannot be spoken against.
NLT
A leader is someone that goes out front paving a path for
those choosing to follow them. As such,
we who follow these leaders rightfully hold them to a higher standard than
others in our society. As Christians, we
have the privilege of leadership led by the only perfect human being to ever
walk the face of the earth, Jesus Christ.
We therefore can confidently follow Jesus with complete trust in every
Word recorded in God’s Word, knowing it is the highest standard in existence.
Unfortunately, churches, governments, business
organizations, and even families have earthly leaders who are imperfect. It is a plus if these leaders function under
the authority of God’s Word for then their imperfections have a chance of
correction, resulting in good leadership.
Unfortunately, however, earthly leaders lacking any desire to submit to
God’s Word, resulting in failed leadership, often lead us.
1 Timothy 3:1-13 is a teaching on the
biblical qualifications for leaders in the Church, specifically Deacons and
Elders. In this posting, we will be
looking at these qualifications.
The offices of Deacon and Elder
were the result of rapid church growth. Initially
the Apostles handled all the affairs of the church but as the numbers in the
church rapidly multiplied, many became discontented because nobody ministered
to them (Acts 6:1). In order to address
this situation, the Apostles called a meeting of all believers and appointed
seven men to administer the operations of the church while the Apostles devoted
their time to prayer, preaching, and teaching the Word (Acts 6:2-6). The result of this administrative change was
even more rapid church growth with even many Jewish priests converting to the
faith (Acts 6:7).
While the position of Deacon or
Elder placed one in a position of high esteem in the church, the position also
exposed one to scorn or, as was the case with Stephen, martyrdom (Acts 6:8-15, Acts 7). However, a Deacon or Elder not
living up to the high standard of leadership outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 will also
suffer scorn within the church as well.
Those of us aspiring to join in spreading the Gospel therefore must
dedicate ourselves to living up to this standard of leadership keeping in mind
we are only human and will fail but also keeping in mind, our Heavenly Father
will always forgive us when we ask (1 John 1:9).
Let us now take a deeper look into
the qualifications of overseers or elders, and deacons
1)
Faithfulness to their wives – In order for
followers to have faith in their leaders, their leaders must demonstrate they
are faithful. In the case of Jesus
Christ, he was faithful in obedience to His Heavenly Father by dying on the
cross. While hanging on the cross, those
taunting Jesus told him that if he indeed was God, to come down off the cross
(Matthew 27:40). As the Son of God,
Jesus possessed the power to come down from the cross and destroy his
executioners but instead remained faithful to His Father, and us, by fulfilling
his mission to die for our sins so we could have eternal life (John 3:16). Likewise, earthly leaders must demonstrate
faithfulness, not by dying for their follower’s sins, but by demonstrating
faithfulness in their lives.
Faithfulness to one’s spouse is one way of demonstrating a high level of
faithfulness.
2)
Exercising self-control – Many a leader has
fallen due to some impropriety in his or her life. The entire nation of the United States
experienced this failure of leadership in the 90’s with the impeachment of
President Clinton due to sexual improprieties in his life. Scripture teaches us that the Light of God’s
Word will expose our sins. Therefore, as
leaders in the church and for that matter anywhere else, leaders must avoid the
embarrassment of public scorn by dedicating themselves to exercising self-control
by living a life according to the Word of God.
3)
Living wisely with a good reputation – Wisdom is
the application of knowledge in our lives.
Therefore, in order for one to lead wisely, one must not only acquire
knowledge but also become wise in using that knowledge. This is why it is important for us to look at
someone’s accomplishments in their lives when considering them for leadership
for this gives us an indication of their ability to wisely utilize knowledge
and also whether or not they have a good reputation.
4)
Enjoy having guests in his or her home and able
to teach – One of the duties of overseers is teaching God’s Word. However, if one aspiring to leadership does
not enjoy having guests in his or her home, we must question whether or not
they like being around others. Teachers
must have students and therefore must possess people skills that attract people that will become their students.
5)
Not a heavy drinker or violent but peace loving
and gentle – Heavy drinking, or drinking until drunk, impairs ones
judgment. With one of the qualifications
of leadership being the wise application of knowledge, a heavy drinker whose
judgment is impaired will struggle with this requirement. In addition, a violent person, regardless of
whether their violence is the result of heavy alcohol use or just their fleshly
nature, will repel people instead of attracting them as potential
students. Instead, good leadership
requires one to be gentle and peace loving which will attract potential
followers. This, however, does not mean biblical
leadership is weak leadership but meek leadership, which is a quiet
strength. A great recent example of meek
leadership in the United States is President George W. Bush. Many were attracted to him and voted for him
because of his gentle and peace loving personality. However, the entire world witnessed the
strength of his leadership after the brutal attacks on 911 when the gentle and
peace loving man became a strong leader with a resolve to protect those
electing him to lead by avenging those that brutally attacked them.
6)
Not one who loves money – The love of money is
the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10).
Many interpret this verse to mean money is evil but the passage clearly
says it is the love of money that is the root of evil. A leader who loves money above anyone or
anything else is a leader not committed to leading those that follow them. Leaders lead people not money and therefore
good leadership is leadership that leads people out of love and concern for them
above all else. Once again, Jesus Christ
is the greatest example of this for he left the glory of heaven where he, as
the Son of God, had everything He needed to come to earth and die for the sins
of lost humanity.
7)
Manage his household – One of the clearest
indications of the ability of one to lead is how they lead their own
household.
8)
Must not be a new Christian – Wisdom is the
application of knowledge. Even though a
new convert to Christianity has much emotional excitement and desire to lead others
to Christ, they lack knowledge to wisely apply to their lives. Therefore, when seeking leadership in the
church we must seek leaders from among those demonstrating knowledge of God’s
Word so they will have good knowledge from which to wisely lead. In addition, a new Christian can easily
become filled with pride if they are thrust into a position of leadership
prematurely and fall (Proverbs 16:18).
9)
Well-spoken of in society – While the world’s
standard differs from God’s standard causing the world to often have a negative
view of the church, disgrace comes to the church if one of its leaders is
caught in some sort of disgraceful behavior.
Church leaders must therefore strive to maintain a good reputation in
society as a whole but without compromising their Godly values. Many in the secular world today have disdain
for church leadership because it comes out against homosexuality and
abortion. However, in reality the only
reason church leadership speaks out against homosexuality is because of concern
for those engaging in the activity. A
recent study revealed that those in the LGBT community have a higher instance
of health issues. (1) The procedure of abortion not only presents a
risk to the mother but also results in the death of the unborn baby. (2) Therefore, the reason church leaders speak
out about abortion is not only the preservation of the life of the unborn but
also out of concern for the health of the mother. Therefore, church leadership speaking out
against homosexuality and abortion should not be viewed with disdain, but
praised as leadership concerned with the health and welfare of others.
The requirements of a deacon are
similar and include,
3)
Demonstrating a commitment to the truths of the
Christian faith with a clear conscience (1 Timothy 3:9)
5)
Have spouses that are well respected and do not
speak evil of others exercising self-control and faithfulness (1 Timothy 3:11).
The promise for those exercising
godly leadership is found in 1 Timothy 3:13 where they are promised respect
from others with increased confidence in their faith in Christ.
There is currently a leadership
void in our society with a shortage of godly leadership. In order to fill that void, we need leaders
who lead according to the godly principles outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 in the
church, government, business, and our families.
Let us therefore apply these principles when seeking leadership in any
area of our lives and if we have the calling to lead, apply these principles in
our leadership as well.
Next week we will look at the
foundations of truth governing our faith.
1. Facts about Youth. Health Risks of the
Homosexual Lifestyle. factsaboutyouth.com. [Online] Facts About Youth.
[Cited: March 31, 2015.]
http://factsaboutyouth.com/posts/health-risks-of-the-homosexual-lifestyle/.
2. Kliebert, Kathy.
Abortion & Pregnancy Risks. dhh.louisiana.gov. [Online] State of
Louisiana. [Cited: June 13, 2015.]
http://dhh.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/page/915/n/275.
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