INTRODUCTION
In many respects the appointment of leaders within a church can be perceived to be the dry, boring mechanics of how a church operates. But I want you to hear this. “Everything rises and falls on Leadership.”
The success of any organisation – including the church – is directly related to the quality of its leadership. Poor leaders = ineffective organisation that will always miss the mark. And great leaders = an excellent organisation that exceeds it’s goals and objectives.
So this morning I want you to take a look at what makes a great leader. And we want to do this because we want great leaders here at our church.
And the Lord has been kind to us here by giving us very clear instructions about who is, and who is not suitable for leadership in the church. In 1 Timothy 3, we find the qualifications for elders and deacons. Elders are those called to lead through governance, while deacons are those called to lead through service.
I. The Qualifications of an Elder (1 Tim 3:1-7)
Let’s first take a look at what makes a great Elder.
1TI 3:1 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.
a) The task of an Elder
An Elder has the task of governing the church. He’s a regulator so to speak. It’s the Elder’s task to keep the church on track. First he keeps a check on the churches health by ensuring that we always operate within Biblical guidelines. The Elder has the task of keeping spiritual oversight of the church.
And second the Elder is to champion the cause of the gospel. That means the Elder encourages the church on to fulfil the mission Christ called us to in the world – the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ.
There are a couple of things that an Elder is not ....
First, “Elder” doesn’t necessarily mean “older” (1 Timothy 4:12) Just because someone is old does not mean they are mature (We’ve all seen people in that sad state!). An Elder is meant to exhibit wisdom, patience, discernment, and leadership. These things come from experience not necessarily age.
Second, an Elder is not necessarily a preacher or a teacher either. In 1 Timothy 5:17 the apostle Paul writes .....
1TI 5:17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
Which implies that some Elders do not preach or teach.
So these are the tasks of an Elder. Now, what character qualities should we be looking for?
b) The character qualities of an Elder
Well 1 Timothy 3:2-7 is fairly clear about the kind of character an Elder should possess.
1TI 3:2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
1TI 3:3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
1TI 3:4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
1TI 3:5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
1TI 3:6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgement as the devil.
1TI 3:7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
Two men were once stopped for speeding. One was a lawyer the other was a young high school drop-out. The police officer gave a heavy fine to the lawyer and docked him some demerit points. But he let the drop-out off with a warning. The lawyer protested the harsh treatment he had received, but the police officer said, “Sir you know the law and so you are under a greater responsibility to be an example of it.”
Likewise, Elders are under greater responsibility to be living examples of Jesus Christ and his character.
II. The Call of the Deacon
Now what about Deacons? Well, Paul writes this about what we should look for in a Deacon ....
1TI 3:8 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
1TI 3:9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
1TI 3:10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
1TI 3:11 In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
1TI 3:12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.
A) The Idea of Being a Deacon
The name “deacon” appears over 100 times in the N. T. But it’s only used twice in reference to an official status within the church (here and in Ph. 1:1). The word basically translates as “minister or servant.” It implies the meaning of someone who does the work of ministry.
Now some people think that the pastor gets paid to do all the ministry. But that’s not a biblical perspective. And unless you want your pastor to burn out in two weeks – it’s not a sane perspective either!
The Bible teaches us that the church/congregation does the ministry, the Elder governs the ministry (i.e. he maintains the boundaries), and the pastor leads the ministry.
Now to see that our church grows in a healthy and balanced way, we have set in place a structure that sees each deacon overseeing a specific area of ministry.
B) The Reality of Being a Deacon
Deacons serve the church by facilitating ministry. Ideally they lead a team of people who have gifts in their particular area of responsibility (e.g. Small Group deacon – small group leaders). And deacons, in turn, are lead by the pastor who supports and equips them for leadership.
Now although the deacons are involved primarily in the mechanics of the day to day running of the church – their role is no less spiritual than that of the Elder or Pastor.
We just need to look at the list of qualifications to see it – this is definitely a spiritual matter.
III. The Qualifications of the Deacon vs. 8-13
A) Character Qualities vs. 8
Here are the character qualities you need to look for.
1) Worthy of respect (v8).
The idea is that a deacon is a person with an authentic spirituality. It is easily recognisable and because of it people have a very high opinion of them.
2) Sincere (v8)
A deacon is jot to be a hypocrite or a gossip. He or she will be a person who speaks with integrity, consistency, and grace.
3) Not indulging in much Wine
A deacon is not to be addicted to booze!
4) Not pursuing dishonest gain
Deacons should not have a greedy spirit. A deacon should have well and truly settled the issue of tithing to the church.
B) Spiritual Qualities vs. 9-10
Here are the spiritual qualities you are to look for ....
1) Holding to the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
Deacons are not just men and women who believe the truth, they live it. They are men and women who have strong biblical knowledge and insight and are able to live with a clear conscience because they live what they believe.
This phrase also implies that deacons should not be new converts. It takes time to come to terms with the deep truths of the faith. And so leaders in the church should have a proven depth and and authentic spiritual maturity.
2) .... they must first be tested (v10)
A nomination for leadership in the church should be no surprise to anyone. Moving in to leadership in the church is in many ways a recognition of a persons gifts and the ministry they are already doing. This is how we can test an emerging leader’s capability – ask “Are they already doing it?”
3) ... nothing against them (v10)
Deacons are to be above reproach, i.e. blameless. There should be nothing they could be accused of - nothing that could disqualify them.
C) Domestic Qualities vs. 11-13
Here are the domestic qualities you are to look for ....
1) Husband of One Wife
The point here is that a deacon must be faithful in marriage. There should be no question mark over a deacon and their behaviour in the presence of the opposite sex. It doesn’t mean a deacon must be married. The issue here is moral character and not marital status.
2) Good managers of the home and children
Deacons are to prove there spiritual character in the most difficult arena – the home. They are to have their houses in order by capably managing their money, possessions, and their relationship with their spouse and children.
D) A special note on women deacons - deaconesses(v11)
Finally a special note on women deacons – or deaconesses.
The NIV translation of v11 reads, “In the same way their wives ....” (v11 NIV). This could be misleading and the translators have pointed that out by including a footnote at the bottom of the page - “In the same way deaconesses ...” (NIV footnote)
The original language says, “In the same way the women ....” (Gk). And the RSV and other versions recognise this by translating the verse, “The women likewise ...” (RSV)
The Bible teaches us that it is not the outward appearance of a person that is of primary importance – what is important is that there is new life within a person, brought by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
In Galatians 3:28 we learn that ....
“There is neither Jew no Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus Christ is an equal opportunity employer. All the divisions of race, class and gender go down when we come into God’s family.
And with that in mind, Paul clarifies the qualities we should look for in women who are called into leadership in the church.
1) Worthy of respect (v11) – They are to be women who are held in high regard because of their spiritual devotion.
2) Not malicious talker (v11) – they must not be slanderous. In control of their tongues.
3) Temperate (v11) – they must be women who have self-control and possess sober judgement and have no addictions.
4) Trustworthy in all things (v11) – and they must be women who are absolutely trustworthy, trustworthy with money, trustworthy in their area of responsibility and trustworthy with confidential information.
CONCLUSION
Friends, everything rises or falls on leadership.
If we have poor leadership we will be an ineffective church. If we have good leadership we will be a nice but probably mediocre church. But if we have great leadership based on the Biblical principles we have explored today, we will be an excellent church.
I know where I want to be.
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