In the last post on the book of Titus, we examined the problem facing the church of Crete, namely that Judaizers were turning entire families in the church away from the truth of the gospel. The Judaizers, who were "in it" for their own self-aggrandizement, were the epitome of awful church leadership!
Today, let's look at Paul's proposed solution, in Titus 1:5-9 (NIV) - -
5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appointa elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believeb and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since 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. 8Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He 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.
Paul is not the first apostle to describe the characteristics of church leaders. Peter did also, and we will look as his list too. You'll see a good deal of overlap between the two church fathers.
Most of the time, the term "elder" is applied to the "senior pastor" (in our lingo) of the congregation. However, it can be generalized to apply to any adult leader in the local church, as well. The first thing that strikes me about establishing leadership in the church is the power of appointment. These leaders were to be appointed by other trustworthy leaders. Another translation of the word "appoint" is "ordain", which is why we have church ordinations for various church leaders. Ordination commemorates, conveys and convicts. The ceremony commemorates the beginning of the leadership position. It conveys trust and authority concerning the responsibilities of leadership. It convicts the leader of his ongoing Christian walk.
Argue about that as you will, but I have personally witnessed a strict "nomination/election" process in a large congregation and it was not pretty. The results were not great. People are distracted by the cares of life; therefore, they do not pay attention to such nominations. Out of a congregation of hundreds, it was common to find only a handful nominated for these key leadership positions. The congregation's attitude seemed to be, "Oh well, someone else will nominate and it will turn out allright." Well, it didn't.
My current church body uses a combination of appointment by the body of current leaders, followed by a vote of the church body, which I believe is a just way of doing things, in keeping with scriptural principles.
Secondly, let's consider the word "blameless", the title of this post. That seems like an impossibly high standard, doesn't it? Basically, it does not mean "perfect", since no one is. It does however mean "of high reputation in the community, especially the community of faith". In other words, those who know him best speak highly of his character, a character forged in the furnace of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work! Some of the other attributes of being blameless are given in verses 7-8.
Faithful to his wife is self-explanatory, but I would add a faithfulness coupled with expressed love. A cold, heartless "shackled to the old lady" is not what Paul was advocating here.....
Paul also emphasizes that church leaders are to encourage others through the active teaching of sound doctrine and to energetically oppose those who are teaching false doctrine. This is extremely important in every Christian congregation, and we know that the Cretan church was in great need of this kind of doctrinal warrior-leader. These kinds of courageous leaders are in extremely short supply, in many congregations, because to confront doctrinal error takes tremendous courage, being willing to "go against the flow" in just about every case. This is a type of spiritual warfare. Of course, before you can teach sound doctrine, you should KNOW sound doctrine. In other words, church leaders should be avid students of the Word of God.
With these characteristics from Titus/Paul in mind, let's look at the specifics of Peter's passage and mine out the traits needed for successful church leaders. In this way, we unite the Word of God around the teaching on this important topic.
5 Therefore, as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of the Messiah and also a participant in the glory about to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you: 2 Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
5 In the same way, you younger men, be subject to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because
God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time
1 Peter 5:1-6 (HCSB)
Shepherd the Flock
In this, elders follow the example of Christ, who is referred to as the Good Shepherd or the Chief Shepherd. How should they do this?
1. With humility - - - elders are not to view their roles as occasions for pride, which is the chief sin of the Church. Peter realizes this too, because he mentions humility repeatedly in this passage.
2. Without a lust for power - - - Peter mentions money in this context, which is analogous to power. Many church positions are unpaid, but those in them seek to accrue power to themselves as payment. A dead giveaway to this type of leader is the one who says, "My legacy ... " or (God forbid) "I ran that sorry preacher off!" Watch out for that type of church "leader". They are in it primarily for their own self-aggrandizement.
Some of the worst "Christians" I've ever seen are in positions of leadership in our churches! They use their position to disregard church by-laws and constitutions, to not follow proper procedures and to "get their own way".
We are not given positions of leadership within a congregation to create a "legacy" for ourselves. All glory from our service goes to the Lord, not to us. Leaders, do you desire that "unfading crown of glory" from the Lord? Then, don't seek to receive it in this life.
Be an Example
When you are offered a position of leadership in the church fellowship, fall on your face before God and examine yourself. If your heart is not right, then that is an opportunity for Satan to get in and to not only tarnish your ministry but, more importantly, to harm others spiritually. Some people are fond of telling other believers how to live the life, yet they don't live it themselves.
(This is how this blog got started actually. I was co-leading the college group in my home, and we were discussing daily Bible reading. I became so convicted because I was advocating that discipline for the young people, but was not doing it myself. I resolved, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to change that in my life. And, this blog, which is the outworking of my daily Bible devotional time, was born.)
In his admonitions to, his training of, young Timothy, Paul talked about how he as a church leader should be an example. These were the traits he mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:12 - - -
"...be an example for other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness and purity."
- It is no accident that the tongue is mentioned first here. Leaders in the church are to "put the quietus" on murmuring and backbiting and pot-stirring in the church, not be the instigators or the cause of it.
- The leader's behavior must be characterized by love, faithfulness and purity. The Message version puts it like this:
Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed - - keep that dusted off and in use.
Leaders: don't be lazy! We ought to see our elders praying, doing visitation, tithing, teaching, worshipping with the congregation, serving in church ministries, participating in many ministries of the church - - - and their spouses as well. If we don't, then something is wrong. And, any elder who cannot be loyal to his local church and its leadership, supporting it/them by being an example in these ways should resign.
Being called by God to a position of leadership in the local church is a fearsome responsibility. When we put on the robe of leadership, it has a bulls-eye on its back. Satan immediately elevates us as a prime target, marked for destruction. Each of us in leadership roles, each of us elders, should be constantly on our faces before God, asking His Spirit to examine us. God forbid that we should, by our position of influence, do anything to fracture the Body, to sow seeds of dissension, to dishonor Him.
After you have finished reading this post, please take a moment and pray for your church leaders today. Pray for them often, as a matter of habit. And, if you ARE a leader in your local church or in a para-church ministry, ask God to lead you with tenderness and mercy, so that you may do the same with those He has given to your spiritual care.
After you have finished reading this post, please take a moment and pray for your church leaders today. Pray for them often, as a matter of habit. And, if you ARE a leader in your local church or in a para-church ministry, ask God to lead you with tenderness and mercy, so that you may do the same with those He has given to your spiritual care.
