Read 1 Timothy 3:1-12
The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for positions of church leadership.
Adam: Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told of how his wife and he enjoy walking nude in the woods.
Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.
Abraham: Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man’s wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.
Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.
Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.
David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.
Solomon: Great preacher but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.
Elijah: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.
Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.
Hosea: A tender and loving pastor but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation.
Deborah: Strong leader and seems to be anointed, but she is female.
Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.
Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.
Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.
Amos: Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people--might fit in better in a poor congregation.
Melchizedek: Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date.
John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.
Peter: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper-even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.
Paul: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.
James & John: Package deal preacher & associate seemed good at first, but found out they have an ego problem regarding other fellow workers and seating positions. Threatened an entire town after an insult. Also known to try to discourage workers who didn’t follow along with them.
Timothy: Too young!
Methuselah: Too old . . . WAY too old!
Jesus: Has had popular times, but once his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all, and then this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he’s single.
Judas: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We’re inviting him to preach this Sunday. Possibilities here.
8 Marks of a Godly Church Leader:
1. Motivated
Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.
1 Timothy 3:1 (NIV)
Not the kind of self-seeking motivated by selfish desires that we see in our world today, but rather a Biblical, sanctified ambition:
Does not seek:
• Power
• Praise
• Prestige
• Popularity
Does seek:
• Glory of God
• Well-being of others
The man truly called to the ministry is marked by both an inward consuming passion and a disciplined outward pursuit. For him the ministry is not the best option, it is the only option. There is nothing else he could do with his life that would fulfill him
- John MacArthur
2. Male
Now the overseer must be…the husband of but one wife [literally “a one-woman man”]
1 Timothy 3:2 (NIV)
In the Greek, it is even more obvious than in English. Every noun and adjective in verses 1-10, 12 is in the masculine form.
3. Moral
In these verses, Paul is describing the current character of the men who were to serve as church leaders:
• All the verbs are in the present tense
• When Paul writes about the characteristics of these leaders, he does not use an article. In Greek, that kind of sentence structure is used when the writer wants to stress the character of whatever he or she is writing about.
• In the culture of that day, there would have been very few, if any, men who had consistently modeled that kind of character before they became believers. In fact, Paul himself would have not met many of these criteria before he became a believer:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinner - of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:12-16 (NIV)
Paul begins here with the general principle:
Now the overseer must be above reproach…
1 Timothy 3:2 (NIV)
He then goes on to describe several characteristics of a man who is above reproach. Of course, this does not mean perfection, but is does refer to a consistent, mature Christian way of life that does not give any occasion for public reproach.
4. Manager
the husband of but one wife…He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
1 Timothy 3:2, 4-5 (NIV)
What does it mean to be a “one-woman man”?
Several possible meanings:
• No polygamy
• No single men
• No re-marriage
• No divorce
• A man who demonstrates loyalty and trustworthiness in his relationships with females
Our elders have taken the position that a one-woman man refers to the current character of the man. He must be someone who is totally committed to his wife; someone whose relationships with women are beyond reproach. Men who have been divorced are neither automatically excluded from being a church leader, nor are they automatically eligible to be a church leader. Each individual case will be evaluated based on such factors as whether the divorce occurred before or after the person became a believer, whether there were Biblical grounds for divorce and how long ago the divorce occurred.
How a man relates to his wife is part of the larger issue of how a man manages his family. Paul gives similar requirements regarding the family life of a church leader in Titus:
An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
Titus 1:6 (NIV)
The way a man manages his own family is a good indicator of how he is going to manage the affairs of the church. A good father is able to balance tenderness and compassion with appropriate discipline. A good church leader needs those same qualities.
5. Mature
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil…They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
1 Timothy 3:6, 10 (NIV)
The issue here is not age, but spiritual maturity. Church leaders must demonstrate their maturity before they are chosen for positions of leadership in the body. A new convert who is put into a position of spiritual leadership is apt to become full of pride and would then fall into the same kind of judgment that Satan experienced as a result of his pride: a demotion from a high position due to his pride.
6. Moderate
Now the overseer must be…temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable…not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
1 Timothy 3:2, 3 (NIV)
• Temperate = alert, watchful, clear-headed
• Self-controlled = prudent, well-disciplined
• Respectable = orderly
• Hospitable = to love strangers
• Not given to drunkenness = literally means someone who sits long beside his wine; idea is that he is free from any kind of addiction that might take control of his life
• Not violent = literally a “striker” or a “giver of blows”
• Gentle = patient and willing to yield to others
• Not quarrelsome = peaceful, reluctant to fight
• Not a lover of money = not to have his attention fixed on monetary rewards
Taken together, we get the picture of a man who lives his life in moderation. He is not an extremist in any area of his life.
7. Messenger
Now the overseer must be…able to teach…
1 Timothy 3:2 (NIV)
Many of the requirements for elders and deacons are quite similar. However, the ability to teach is the primary quality that differentiates between the two. An elder must be able to impart the doctrines of faith to others.
Four criteria that identify a skilled teacher:
• Gift of teaching
• Deep understanding of doctrine
• An attitude of humility
• A life of holiness
8. Model
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
In everything set them an example by doing what is good.
Titus 2:7 (NIV)
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)
