1TIMOTHY3v1to7: CHURCH LEADERS
Introduction. Read 1Tim3v1to7.
This is a very important passage because it describes the attributes needed to qualify as a church leader and as a consequence the way leaders should be appointed. I am afraid many churches fail to heed the advice Paul gives to Timothy with the inevitable trouble this causes.
(1) Two names for the same office.
Paul writing to Titus uses two different names for the same office in the space of three verses - Titus1v5to7. The two words are 'elder' and 'overseer'.
Elder is a word with a Jewish background and a long history. Elders were the local leaders of the Jewish people. They presided over worship in the synagogue and settled local disputes. The elders were invariably older and respected men of the community.
Overseer is a word with a Gentile history. It was a title given to public servants who regulated the affairs of a newly founded colony or a home city. They functioned like a consul in one of our former colonies or a modern mayor like Boris Johnson.
William Barclay points out that the term 'elder' described what church leaders were, namely older and respected men. The term 'overseer' described the leader's function and task which was to superintend the life and work of the local church.
Nowhere in the New Testament are the early church leaders called priests. Yet the august Anglican writers in the Pulpit Commentary persist in calling overseers priests!! They were never thought of by the early church as priests because Jesus had made the final and all sufficient sacrifice for sin. He is our intermediary with the Father - we need no other.
(2) Each church had more than one elder.
Paul left Titus in Crete to appoint elders in each city. See Titus1v5. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in the churches of Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. See Acts14v23. It is clear that there were several elders in the church at Ephesus. See Acts20v17. It seems to me that if a man had the qualifications Paul described he should be designated an elder regardless of how many were exercising authority in a church. One thing is clear, the responsibility for managing a church was shared in Paul's day.
There are some disadvantages of this model of church government:
- No one was in absolute charge. This is not a model the world adopts or understands.
- It could lead to rivalries and quarrels among the leadership.
- Some who are passed over for leadership could become disillusioned.
There are equally some advantages:
- The responsibility of leading a church is shared equally among able men.
- A group of elders will bring a variety of gifts to the task. They will be able to compliment each other. It is a way of ensuring a balanced teaching ministry.
- A plurality of elders does avoid dictatorship of the pastor.
(3) How should elders be appointed?
We have seen that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium and Antioch in Syria. Titus did the same thing in Crete. However, we are not told how elders were appointed in churches founded by the other apostles or, indeed, by Christians who were not apostles.
The most important consideration was that a man possess the qualities Paul describes in 1Tim3v1to7. If a man had these qualities he should be an elder whether appointed by an apostle, the agent of an apostle, pre-existing elders, the local church as a whole or some other means. The legitimacy of an elder did not depend upon the way he was chosen for this role in the church but the possession of the attributes Paul describes.
Today the same applies. The important thing is not the means used to select an elder but that a candidate meets the criteria laid down by Paul. A man can satisfy these criteria without going to college, or undergoing training for the ministry or having a bishop's hands laid upon him. I am afraid that many able men are never invited to become elders, joint leaders of local churches, because the criteria Paul details are not recognised.
Christians well qualified for joint leadership roles are held back for a wide variety of inadequate reasons:
Lack of academic qualifications.
A sole leaders antipathy to sharing authority.
Jealousy and envy. People who have been passed over for a leadership role in the past do everything they can to block the appointment of others.
Fear. Sometimes a man of great gifts will be held back by his church for fear he will become too influential.
Similarly some who should never be church leaders are selected. In churches like my own, where the membership as a whole choose the leader, mistakes are made because the only criteria considered are preaching ability and personality. The latter is not even in Paul's list of qualities an elder should possess.
(4) The qualifications for leadership.
(a) Desire.
A man should have set his heart on being an overseer. A prospective elder or overseer should not be reluctant to accept the role. He shouldn't need pressing or persuading - rather he should count it a privilege, a noble task - not a chore.
Nobody should be selected for church leadership who is 'in it for the money'. Paul warns that an elder should not be a lover of money. In Britain nobody enters the paid ministry for the money on offer. There is no profession worse paid! However, in countries where mega churches exist men undoubtedly become church leaders for the money.
(b) Good character.
An elder should be beyond reproach or criticism. Paul probably means he should not have any obvious faults. My father was a pastor. He was not without failings but these were not obvious and not such as to bring the church into disrepute. I have had some very obvious faults: a bad temper, belligerence, moodiness and contrariness. I was not appointed an elder of my church until I reached the age of 50 when some of these failings had become less evident.
Paul goes on to list some qualities - the lack of which could bring and elder into disrepute:
- Temperate. This means showing moderation in all things; not given to excess. This particularly applies to our appetites - for food, alcohol and sex. I knew of two drunken vicars - one of whom drank himself to death. He undoubtedly brought the church into disrepute.
- Self-controlled. Jesus said: "Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth." An elder should be able to keep his passions under control. It is hard to control: anger, fear, erotic love, grief, disappointment, bitterness and covetousness. A person capable of self-control will be not violent but gentle.
- Respectable or well behaved. Such a person behaves appropriately in all circumstances. He knows how to play with little children, celebrate at a wedding, comfort the bereaved, listen to the elderly and encourage the young. This is a characteristic of some pastors I have known who have been especially valued by their people.
- Gentle - capable of tempering justice with mercy. A gentle person does not treat people strictly as they deserve but is able to bear with their weaknesses and encourage them to improve. This is a very important characteristic of a school teacher. When I marked a pupil's work I did not always give them the mark and the comment that they deserved. Instead I tried to encourage them to try harder.
- Peaceable - not quarrelsome. Peaceable folk are not always looking for a fight. Some Christians are 'trigger happy'. Churches can be damaged beyond repair by Christians spoiling for a fight. They turn the church business meeting into a battlefield. No church leader should be infused with this spirit.
(c) The possession of certain gifts. These include being:
- Hospitable. An elder should have an open heart and keep an open house. It is important to know how to look after visitors: to make them welcome and to make them comfortable; to have everything nice for anyone who stays overnight. I shall never forget going with my friend Tommy Bamber to stay for a few days with Mr and Mrs Segawa in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan. What a fuss they made of us. I shall never forget sitting in Mrs Segawa's kitchen as she cooked tempura prawns, scallops, white fish and an assortment of vegetables. As soon as we had finished one offering she cooked another. What a gracious, charming hostess she was. Not many Christian elders could rival this non-Christian lady when it came to showing hospitality. It was a sweet and lovely interlude in my life.
We should never forget how pleased Jesus was to accept the hospitality of a great variety of people - including Zacchaeus.
- Able to teach. This is a very important gift that not all Christians by any means possess. I think the following are necessary to teach well:
A knowledge of your subject.
An enthusiasm for your subject.
A good command of language and a facility for explaining.
A clear speaking voice.
A good use of illustrations.
A good rapport with your audience. He sense of humour helps.
Warren Wiersbe points out that in view of the importance of teaching it is surprising how few men teach in Sunday school. I have even known pastors who actively dislike delivering a children's address as part of morning worship. It is perhaps significant that this is the part of the service many adults enjoy best.
- Equipped with management skills. Paul considers that an elder ought to be able to manage his own family. The children of an overseer should show proper respect for their father and obey him. If a man's children are unruly and poorly disciplined he is unlikely to command much respect in the church.
- A Christian of experience. Paul considered it was dangerous to appoint recent converts to a leadership role notwithstanding their position in society. Men who are made elders too quickly may become conceited and puffed up with a sense of their own importance. Pride is all too ruinous. It was Satan's downfall. He was full of pride and ultimately lost to God. Young, inexperienced church leaders might become so full of themselves that they have no room for Jesus.
Churches should be aware that a school caretaker - a Christian of long standing - might well make a better elder than a recently converted headmaster.
- Well thought of by the world. A Christian should not be open to criticism in the world because he :
Lacks generosity. My great uncle Bill was a Christian of sorts. He was a greengrocer and was known to cut a sprout in half in order to give exact measure!
Is an incompetent workman and skimps work.
Is a poor sportsman and cannot accept defeat gracefully. I can remember playing in a football match many years ago against another church side. One of our members harboured a grudge against one of the opposition and chased him around attempting to kick him in the river. It took me a long, long time to accept defeat gracefully as a cricketer.
Is a late payer and pays the bare minimum.
Is an inveterate scrounger.
Thinks the worst of people and runs them down. I can remember my mother saying she got picked up to conduct a ladies meeting in a neighbouring village. She and the lady driving her arrived early. My mother then had to listen to the lady driver criticising one member of the church after another.
Is an obvious hypocrite.
And so one could go on and on.
It should be evident by now that the most important determinant in deciding who to make an elder is character - whoever does the making!
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