Essentials Of The Faith / Adult Sunday School Class / Christian Leadership
Biblical Qualifications (Part 1)
SECTION SIX: THE BIBLICAL QUALIFICATION OF LEADERS
Question: Traditionally speaking, how are leaders placed in the church? On what qualifications?
In many churches today people are placed into positions of church leadership based on education, personality, or professional achievements. The problem is the Bible does not consider any of these as very important. Biblically an elder (the leader) was an older, mature adult who was recognized for his wisdom and experience. He was to be looked up to for advice and guidance. His character, not his achievements, was important.
I. Introduction and Background
Question: Where did the NT church get it's pattern for leadership?
Elders appeared in the church without any formal introduction, instruction on how they were to be selected, or qualifications being stated. There are two reasons for this:
1. Since the church had Jewish roots, it was already familiar with the idea of elders/Leaders and their qualifications.
Question: Who appoints elders (specifically) to leadership in the church?
Action: Read Acts 14:21-23, Titus 1:5
2. Elders/Leaders were appointed by either apostles, prophets, or teachers instead of selected by local congregations.
As the church changed from a Jewish to a Gentile majority, the need for an explanation of the office and its spiritual qualifications became necessary. That's when Paul wrote to two of his trusted coworkers, stating the qualifications for elders/Leaders.
Question: Where are the qualifications of leadership
found in Scripture?
In primarily what 2 texts?
The two lists of qualifications are found in (1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9)
II. 1 Tim. 3:1-13 & Titus 1:5-9 & Acts 6:3
QUOTES:
-The character and effectiveness of any church is directly related to the
quality of it's leadership.
-A leader is qualified because of who he is, not what he does.
-The spiritual qualifications of leadership are nonnegotiable.
A. Must be above reproach (Blameless)
Greek: Must = absolute necessity
Greek: reproach/blameless = not marred by sin, no obvious defect in
character.
-Current state of blamelessness. A current reputation for being
blameless.
-Past sins are not held against him. A sustained reputation for
blamelessness.
-No smear campaign or gossip could be started about him, it would
be proven false.
-Unimpeachable
Question: Why is this qualification important?
-Spiritual leaders are to be blameless because they set the example for the congregation to follow.
B. The Husband of one wife
Greek: gunaikos (wife) better translated woman
Greek: aner (husband) better translated man
Greek: the emphasis is on the word 'one' in this sentence.
-Therefor this is better translated: one woman man.
Question: What does this mean?
1. Not a polygamist: only married to one woman at a time. Not
likely: Polygamy was not regularly practiced in Paul's day.
2. Not remarried: A man can not be remarried for any reason. Not likely: Paul
made it clear God permits remarriage after the
death of a spouse. (1 Tim. 5:9-15, 1 Cor. 7:39; Rom. 7:2-3)
3. Not divorced: A man who is divorced for any reason can not serve. Not
likely: Paul teaches that God permits divorce and
therefore remarriage for two reasons: 1 Adultry (Matt. 5:31-32)
Abandonment (1 Cor. 7:15)
The phrase 'one women man' does not primarily refer to marital status but to the moral/sexual character of the man. Remember, character is of the essence in leadership. Sexual purity is the issue here.
Question: If divorce on the basis of adultery is legal
and dissolves the marriage so that the one divorced can marry another, is
the one remarried considered to be now "the husband of one
wife"?
It seems evident that legally such a remarried person is the husband of only one wife. He is not considered to have two wives. If this is true, then technically, he meets the requirements of the language of 1 Timothy 3:2.
Question: Does the Bible ever indicates that even though
he is the husband of one wife without any breaking of God's law
that he is still somehow disqualified as an elder.
I can find nothing that would support that. It would seem that if it was true, it would have been clearer in the qualifications. The conclusion is the man divorced on biblical grounds meets this qualification.
NOTE: While there may be technically an innocent party it is possible that he or she was not the faithful spouse that they should have been. Each case deserves investigation with regard to this qualification for eldership.
C. Temperate, Prudent, Respectable. ( These three word/characteristics overlap in meaning so will be taken together)
Temperate: Sober with respect to the use of wine.
-But because Paul talks specifically about the use of wine later,
here it probably means one who is serious minded.
Balanced, does things in moderation. One who denies any excess
that diminishes clear thinking and sound judgment.
Prudent: Refers to soundness of mind, sober in
judgment, self-controlled.
-It is a person who is serious about spiritual things.
-One who knows how to prioritize his life.
Respectable: Displaying good behavior, able to
manage all the outward affairs of life.
-It is a person whose disciplined mind yields disciplined behavior.
-It is one who sees a job through to it's completing.
Question: What are some other words that would describe these attributes?
Level headed, conscientious, diligent, dependable, even keeled
D. Hospitable
Question: What does this mean?
Greek: xenos = stranger and phileo = to show love or
affection.
Together it means to show kindness to strangers .....not friends.
(Lk. 14:12-14) It means one's heart is open to the lonely, the rejected, the
strange regardless of their situation.
Question: How would a leader display this quality?
E. Able to teach (Elder only)
Greek: didaktikon only used here and in 2 Tim. 2:24 and means skilled in
teaching.
Generally, the more doctrinal knowledge an elder has the more
skillful his teaching will be. Closely associated with knowledge is the need
for great humility in teaching. (2 Tim. 2:24-25) It is also important that a
leader who teaches, live his teaching as an example.
-He must practice what he preaches.
It does not necessarily mean the man has an ability to teach large groups but that he is able to take what he knows and explain it to others.
It may also be translated 'teachable'. Having a teachable spirit'. The Elder/leader must not be so narrow minded that he thinks he is right and correct about everything he knows. He must be willing to be open to the possibility that he may be wrong. And then must be willing to change, to accept the new found information and add it to his knowledge base.
This is the only qualification that separates the elder for the deacon/servant in the church.
Question: Does this mean that all Elders must be able to teach?
Yes. But not all will teach in a large group setting. It may be discipleship one on one or in a small group. It may be simply answering questions of people who perhaps missed something or didn't understand everything in the message or Sunday School class.
F. Not addicted to wine
This is perhaps one of the more controversial of the qualifications as
people have varying opinions on what this means.
Question: What does this qualification mean to you?
Greek: paroinos = one who sits long with his wine. Over
fond of wine.
It doesn't refer to a drunkard as that is clearly a sin. Nor does it
forbid the use of wine or drink. -It refers to one who has the lifestyle of a
drinker. The issue is the individual's reputation. Is he/she known as a drinker?
Judges 9:13, 1 Tim. 5:23, Prov. 31:6 speak of the beneficial uses of wine/drinking with moderation.
However, Scripture speaks out strongly against it's excess. Prov. 20:1; 23:29-35, Gen. 9:21
Certain Jewish leaders abstained from drinking alcohol. Lev. 10:9; Prov. 31:4-5; Num. 6:3
Question: What can we conclude for certain about this
qualification?