1 Timothy Chapter 3 Verse 1

•I love what Paul says here…, “If a man desires the position or office of an overseer or pastor, he desires a good title!” HA! Nope. He says, “Good work!” See that! Lazy leaders are the rot of any organization! Paul is continuing his instruction to Timothy in proper church administration and he says Timothy definitely, never, don’t ever place leadership upon a man that isn’t personally defined by persistent, consistent, diligent and relentless hard work!

1 Timothy Chapter 3 Verse 2a

•You know, God has specific qualifications for leaders in church. Leaders should not emerge in the house of God based on talent or popularity or even aspiration but rather based on their maturity in the Lord and their calling. You can have a calling and yet lack maturity…you’re not ready yet. You can have maturity and yet be called to the background…and you’ll be just fine with that.

•Physical maturity is measured in time. Spiritual maturity is measured in faith. And faith manifests itself always in obedience to God’s Word. And so God lays out specific qualifications that must be present in order for church leadership. And it’s a tall order! But the key is verse 16…, “Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness…” The key is to love the Lord…He does the rest…

•Blameless literally means that there’s nothing, no part of his life that someone can point to and those mature in the Lord would agree that it needs to be dealt with prior to leadership. Now, I say mature in the Lord because personal preference doesn’t count. To be above reproach doesn’t mean that people won’t dislike or even hate you for a myriad of reasons…it simply means that as the accusations hurl, the mature in the Lord answer readily with rebuke towards the accuser rather than the accused…

1 Timothy Chapter 3 Verse 2

•An overseer in the church can’t have multiple wives. Not so much an issue today but it sure was back then. He must be temperate…in other words, under control and calculated in his activities and reactions such that God is honored. Sober-minded. He must be mentally grounded upon the truth of God’s Word and not drunk with emotion or cultural undercurrent. Good behavior and hospitable…Good behavior is an interesting one…it literally means, “Well arranged,” and I like that. Orderly, life is in order…nothing to distract from the work of God and presents himself in an orderly way…I like that…and then hospitable.

•A leader in the church, especially a pastor should absolutely love to serve folks. Should absolutely love to share life with others and even have a depth of need to do so…and then able to teach. This is what is trained in Freedom Church at 6:30am on Sunday mornings. Well this among other things. Is he able to teach the Word of God? Chin told me once that when he came alongside of April and I in planting this church, he wondered, “Can this guy teach, though?” Major question…because an overseer, according to God’s Word, must be able to teach…

1 Timothy Chapter 3 Verse 3

•Notice Paul says, “Not given to wine.” And then later, about deacons he says, “Not given to much wine.” As the senior pastor of this church I believe it is best for me to stay away from alcohol completely. Can leaders in this church enjoy a pale ale with dinner without catching a verbal backhand from me? Absolutely. But as soon as it stumbles the least of these, it’s over…and the beauty of that is I won’t even have to tell them…

1 Timothy Chapter 3 Verses 4 – 5

•I love how Paul throws in, “With all reverence,” because there is a way to have your children in submission without it…for that matter even your spouse…How do you create submission without reverence? With cruelty. And this isn’t just on the males but you ladies, wives, male and female leaders you listen up to. Submission should not have to be requested or demanded or expected…it should just be. Why? Because submission is a natural by-product of love. My how this is lost in so many churches and homes for that matter…but we’ll concentrate on church for tonight.

•If submission must be demanded or even requested, it’s time to make a change in leadership. Why? Because there is a lack of love and without love how on earth are we to properly represent God? Now, if there is submission and love throughout the church and leadership team and yet there is one or two who are continually an issue…step them down! Release them. We do not have time to deal with issues within leadership for very long…we are here to serve the issues of the church, not ourselves…

•If love and submission are lacking in general in the church and the leadership team, perhaps it’s time for the senior pastor to step down…and the Board has the ability to accomplish that if the senior pastor is not in agreement…BUT, if we would just simply love God and love each other, we would have no issue with the thought, word, idea or concept and even the carrying out of submitting to one another in the Lord…but, hey, you can accomplish submission through cruelty…and let me tell you, whether you know it or realize it or not, any submission in your life that is not a product of your love towards them IS CRUEL.

1 Timothy Chapter 3 Verses 6 – 7

•Notice Paul uses the word “fall” here twice and the thing about a leader is that when they fall they take out so many with them. Think of Chess…you take out the King its check mate, you take out the Queen and the King is doomed! And Paul ties his warning to the “same condemnation as the devil” and the “snare of the devil.”

•First, new converts should not be rushed into leadership. And let me tell you there are Christians who have been saved for 20 years and are still in that new convert phase. Faith is there but it’s not the kind that holds up through tests…and there is a lack of knowledge and hunger for the Word of God. Place them in leadership and pride will be an issue.

•Now pride isn’t chest pushed out thinking they are something…pride is simply governing the church in an ungodly manner…it’s much more subtle than flat out stiff necked pride. But the end result will be a fall. Well why can’t it be my way!? God is the one that put me into ministry after all! And that heart proclamation will end in separation. Can’t do it…

•And the leader in the church must have a good testimony among those who are outside also, in other words with the world! Now does this mean that he has the approval of the world? Certainly not! But that even outside the walls of the church, character is consistent and if surveyed, the world would even testify of these things that we have covered…why? So that the snare of the devil is not accomplished through reproach.

•You know what the snare of the devil is? His trap. Traps all around me, all around you all of the time to have opportunity for reproach and then trip you all up. That’s what a snare does…while we are to run…

•How do we do this? Fill this tall order? The gospel, man. Great is the mystery but you will find yourself soaring on wings of eagles, running and not growing weary, food that satisfies that is outside of bread, man…and if that’s not you today, it’s not that you’re doing it wrong…it’s that you have yet to actually submit to God and His Word…received His grace…because once you do, all you do is love Him. And love never leaves…love never betrays…love suffers long and is kind…believes all things, bears all things, hopes all things, love never fails…