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| “An elder must be blameless…” |
| —Titus 1:6 |
Anyone who has attended church faithfully for an extended period of time may well have encountered the behavior of a church leader who made you say, “Whaaaat?” Sometimes that exclamatory question is spoken through tears. Church leaders can build up a church. And, church leaders can severely damage, even destroy, a church.
If you’ve followed my posts for very long, you know that I have a very low tolerance for incompetent, unqualified, unholy church leaders. Whether they’re called by the title of pastors, or priests, or elders, or deacons, unqualified church leaders can sometimes inflict great pain on an individual or on a group of individuals. Please let me illustrate my point:
In one church I attended many years ago, I watched a particular young man swagger into church. He had grown up in the church and acted like he owned the place. Though he was well-educated and had a responsible professional position, his arrogance and pomposity always preceded him whenever he entered a room.
I remember thinking, “For the sake of the health of this church, I’m glad he’s not in leadership.” The very next week, he was elected to serve on the Board of Elders. I was gobsmacked.
I wish I could tell you that my dire prediction was wrong. Sadly, working in a sneaky and deceptive manner to achieve his own selfish ambitions, this young man brought about the near destruction of that church.
The qualifications of leaders become critically important to the health of a church. Yet, very few church people even know that the Bible contains specific requirements intended to define qualified church leaders.
In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, the Apostle Paul gives instruction to the two pastors he was mentoring: Timothy and Titus. Notice Paul’s words in Titus 1:6-9:
An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Taking this list seriously certainly disqualifies a lot of people from serving as leaders. A church should not merely want to fill a slot on its leadership team. Rather, people should ask, “Who among us is most like Jesus?”
In that regard, here’s Paul’s other list as found in 1 Timothy 3:2-13:
Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
My zeal for this subject “burns hot” within me. I want all churches to be healthy. I don’t want unqualified leaders to become instruments of Satan, who always strives to damage the people of God. To prevent Satan from having a foothold into the leadership of a church, we must determine to choose our leaders wisely. The health of our churches depends on it.
Based on a blog originally posted on Monday, October 26, 2015
