THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR
SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
(Pt. 4)
(The Church – God’s Masterpiece – Pt. 17)
by Pastor-teacher Dennis Rokser
Years ago I heard some pulpit wit exclaim, “If it doesn’t work at home, don’t export it!” Yet ironically in many churches today, the PK (pastor’s kid) or MK (missionary’s kid) is an unholy, uncontrolled terror. Since the church is a family, this domestic problem leads one biblical scholar to conclude, “the man who is a failure at one (family) is thereby disqualified for the other (church).”[1]
Is this really what the Bible teaches? Is the pastor’s home truly that
important? Is this what God actually
requires for spiritual leadership in His church?
Having considered
some general observations from 1 Timothy 2:11-3:2 regarding the requirements
for the elder/pastor/overseer, we then began analyzing the…
SPECIFIC PASTORAL QUALIFICATIONS
1. As to his inner compulsion… “If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” (1 Timothy 3:1)
2. As to his walk… A bishop “must be blameless…” (1 Timothy 3:2a)
3. As to his marriage… “the husband of one wife,” (1 Timothy 3:2a)
4. As to his thinking… “vigilant.” (1 Timothy 3:2b)
5. As to his judgment… “sober.” (1 Timothy 3:2c)
6.
As to his orderliness… “of
good behaviour.” (1 Timothy
3:2d)
7.
As to his benevolence… “given
to hospitality.” (1 Timothy 3:2e)
8.
As to his ability with God’s Word… “apt
to teach.” (1 Timothy 3:2f)
9.
As to his self-control… “not
given to wine.” (1 Timothy
3:3a)
10. As to
his disposition… “no striker.” (1 Timothy
3:3b)
11. As to
his motivation… “not greedy of filthy lucre.” (1 Timothy 3:3c)
12. As to
his treatment of others… “patient.” (1 Timothy 3:3d)
13. As to
his getting along with others… “not a brawler.” (1
Timothy 3:3e)
14. As to his
finances… “not coveteous.” (1 Timothy 3:3f)
15. As to
his home… “One that ruleth well his own house, having his
children in subjection with all gravity;”
(1 Timothy 3:4)
Several aspects to this pastoral
qualification relative to his home are worthy of observation. First, he must be a man who “rules”
his home. “Rules” (proistemi)
carries the idea of “to preside over,” “to provide for,” “to care for,” “to
assist,” to be concerned about.” Paul’s
usage of the Greek word in this same epistle (1 Timothy 5:17), along with its
link between leading the home and leading the church (vs. 5), favors the
concept of “having authority over” in this context. The considered elder candidate must “wear-the-pants” by way of
governing and guiding his home.
Second, the potential elder must
not merely preside over his home; he must “rule WELL.” Kalos (“well”) carries the idea of that
which is aesthetically good, beautiful, excellent, correctly. Robert Milliman adds, “One who is fit to
lead the church is one who leads, guides, and teaches his children in a
protective and supportive manner.”2 If he is to shepherd God’s flock well, it
must begin and be demonstrated at home.
He needs to lead his children (like a good shepherd), not drive them
lest they scatter later. There should
not merely be parental expectations for one’s children; there must also be a
godly example. There ought to be
control coupled with compassion and care in “his own house(hold)“ on an ongoing
basis (note that “ruleth” is in the present tense).
Third, a practical manifestation
of his governing well his home is “having his children in subjection with
all gravity.” This assumes that he
has children though it does not require it.
Furthermore, this implies that his children are still at home under his
authority,3 though they may be older children as
Paul’s parallel passage on pastoral qualifications in Titus seems to indicate,
“having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.” (Titus 1:6b)
Milliman insightfully writes,
“…it is possible that Paul is
using the term [accused] metaphorically for an accusation brought before the
court of public opinion. In other
words, the potential elder’s children must not have a reputation of debauchery. This latter alternative seems more sensible
on the grounds that actual guilt and not just a charge (which could be
unfounded) would be a more likely basis for the disqualification of the
father. A reputation of debauchery or
rebelliousness are the disqualifying behaviors.”4
Gene Getz with personal insight
adds,
“Paul is
not speaking of a man who has a perfect family. There is no such thing. As there
is no "perfect church," so there is no perfect family. There is no
perfect husband or father, no perfect wife or mother, and certainly no perfect
children. All Christians have problems in their family life. Satan will see to
that. As long as we are in this world, we will be a victim of imperfection.
This does
not mean, of course, that we should not strive towards having a family that is
as free as possible from problems. But just as every Christian is in the
process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ, so should every family be
in the process of growing spiritually.”5
Yet, these children at home are
to be characterized by appropriate submission (“subjection”) with
proper respect (“with all gravity”).
Fourthly, the logical rationale for this
familial qualification is explained and emphasized in 1 Timothy 3:5.
“(For
if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the
church of God?).” (1 Timothy 3:5)
This
verse bears out the truth of the afore-mentioned quip. “If it doesn’t work at home, don’t export
it.”
“If a
man succeeds in his family, he is likely to succeed in God’s family. If not, he is disqualified.”6
“A
man’s home life reveals his character and leadership skills, skills that are
necessary to fulfill the role of elder.”7
“Caring
for the local church is more like managing a family than managing a business or
state. Therefore, a man's ability to
manage God's church is directly related to his ability to manage his own
household. A man may be a successful
businessman, a capable public official, a brilliant office manager, or a top military
leader, but a terrible church elder. In
the family of God, a man's ability to lead his family is the test that
qualifies or disqualifies a man to be an elder. An elder's relationship with his children will manifest itself in
his relationship with the congregation.
If he is too harsh with his children – rigid, impatient, insensitive,
permissive, inconsistent, or passive – that is how he will respond to the
congregation. If one wants to know what
an elder will be like, observe how he manages his children.”8
16. As to
his spiritual growth… “not a novice.” (1 Timothy 3:6)
Whether he is a successful, wealthy business man with a
magnetic personality or a well-educated, older man who is related to the
founding family of the local church, he must not be a spiritual neophyte. “Novice” (neophutos) literally means
“newly planted,” causing the NASB to translate this word “a new
convert.” This indicates the
opposite of spiritual maturity. One of
the follies of many evangelical churches is to elevate a zealous babe in Christ
to a leadership position in the local church.
The church leadership in essence says, “We’ve finally got a live
one! Let’s get him busy and keep him!” Apart from the important ingredients of
truth and time, no believer will learn to walk by faith and grow in grace. As a result, this new believer will simply
seek to crank out “service” to the Lord by his own human wisdom and out of the
flesh. The fleshly by-product will lead
to self-righteousness or despair.
This pastoral requirement is further underscored by the
warning, “lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of
the devil.”
“Lest being lifted up with pride” is the
translation of one Greek participle “tuphotheis” which is derived from a word
meaning “to puff up like a cloud of smoke.”
To elevate a new convert to a leadership position in the church would
cause him to be swollen or puffed up (passive voice) with pride, the very root
problem of Satan’s fall and condemnation (Isaiah 14:12-15). One commentator writes, “The church must
not lift up those whom the Lord will later have to cut down.” 9
Gromacki adds, “In like manner [as the devil], the prestige of the
pastoral office could so overwhelm a new convert that he could easily become
proud and eventually fall from his spiritual leadership.”10
Should it surprise us to find later in this epistle the
apostle Paul warning Timothy about the need for careful examination before
pastoral appointment when he wrote?
“Lay hands suddenly on no man,
neither be partaker of other men’s sins:
keep thyself pure. Some men’s
sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow
after. Likewise, also the good works of
some are manifest beforehand: and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.” (1 Timothy 5:22, 24-25).
17. As to
his testimony… “moreover he must have a good report of them which
are without.” (1 Timothy 3:7)
The prospective pastor’s spiritual maturity and
Christ-like characteristics must not only be manifested in his personal life,
in his church relationships, and in his godly home, but also in his Christian
testimony (“a good report”) to the unsaved community (“them which are
without”). This does not imply that
unbelievers agree with his doctrinal convictions and teachings. They may actually be very antagonistic
toward them. Yet their honest
evaluation and estimation recognizes him to be a man of integrity and
character. “What the candidate says
about himself, what the church sees, and what the unsaved report should all
agree.”11 One need not look far in our day to realize
or recall actual cases of pastors who have destroyed their testimony in the
community via financial mismanagement, sexual immorality, or bombastic
antigovernment behavior.
When this specific pastoral qualification is violated or
neglected, two serious problems may result.
First of all, he may “fall into reproach” or justifiable
criticisms by non-Christians. Perhaps
the unsaved know of something the church does not. Mal Couch writes,
“It frequently happens that
non-Christians with whom the overseer does business know a lot about his
character. Their judgment is important
because the body of Christ seeks to exert a godly influence for Christ upon the
world, leading sinners to Jesus. An
overseer’s bad reputation with the world will not be of any help in achieving
this purpose.”12
God declared King David guilty of this kind of disgrace of
in Israel due to his adultery with Bathsheba when He said,
“Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great
occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme…” (2 Samuel 12:14)
This reproach by unbelievers is also what the apostle Peter sought to circumvent when he wrote,
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: (1 Peter 2:13-15)
While Christians should rejoice and expect to suffer for
Christ’s sake, Peter also warns us,
But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a
thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let
him glorify God on this behalf. (1 Peter
4:15-16)
I recall Dr. J. Vernon McGee on his radio program, Thru
The Bible, wisely answering a young pastor, who was concerned about being criticized… He said in effect, “Don’t be worried
about being criticized. Just make sure
that the criticisms are not true.”
A second result – and reality which occurs when a pastoral
candidate does not have a good testimony towards the unsaved – is to fall into
“the snare of the devil.”
Regarding the meaning of this phrase, D. Edmond Hiebert writes,
“For one who has an unsavory
reputation in the community, to be placed by the church into a prominent place
of authority would be to draw upon himself and the church the reproach of the
world. The suspicion and censure thus arrayed against him and the church might
easily weaken and discourage the elder.
Thus weakened and disheartened he might readily fall an easy prey into
some skillfully laid snare of the Devil, who is here vividly pictured as a
hunter of souls. Such a fall would
cause great harm to his own soul and bring terrible damage to the church. The
enemy's aim has always been to destroy the leaders of the church. Hence great
care must be exercised in the selection of its leaders.”13
George Knight III remarks,
“Verses 6 and 7 seek to protect both man and the
church’s leadership from self-righteous pride and cowardly disobedience. To avoid both demands a mature believer with
an established reputation.”14
These are the seventeen specific qualifications of 1
Timothy 3 for a man aspiring to function as overseer in Christ’s church. The final qualification (“he must have a
good report of them that are without”) takes us full circle back to the
initial over-riding qualification of this listing (“A bishop then must be
blameless….”). These are God’s
requirements for spiritual leadership.
This is the divine list. This is
not to be discarded or compromised.
Yet, this can only be attained or maintained by God’s matchless grace
as.
Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it.
(1 Thessalonians 5:24)
Praise the Lord! ¢
13 Edmond D. Hiebert, First Timothy,
(Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1957), 68.
14 George
Knight III, Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans Publishing Co.), 161.
In the
next edition of the GFJ, we will consider a variety of conclusions and
implications regarding pastors, aspiring elders, missionaries, seminary
students, churches, the evangelical pastoral candidating process, etc. So don’t miss it!
Dennis Rokser has been involved with the Duluth
Bible Church for the last 19 years, serving as pastor-teacher for the last
sixteen years.
[1] Gordon D. Fee, New International Biblical
Commentary: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988), 82.
2 Robert Milliman, Missions For A New
Millennium, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2000), 348.
3 George Knight III, Commentary on the
Pastoral Epistles, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co.), 161.
4 Milliman,
(pgs. 352, 353).
5 Gene A. Getz, The Measure Of A Man (Glendale,
CA: G/L Publications, 1971), 158.
7 Milliman,
353.
8 Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership,
(Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth Publishers, 1988), 202.
9
MacArthur, 86.
10
Robert Gromacki, Stand True To The Charge, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House, 1982), 86.
11 Gromacki, 86.
12 Mal Couch, A Biblical Theology of the Church,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1999), 180.
14 George Knight III, Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co.), 161.