Word of Salvation – Vol. 43 No. 23 – June 1998

 

Ten Commandments for Christian Leaders

 

Sermon by Rev. Prof. S. Voorwinde on 1Timothy 3:1-13

Scripture Readings: 1Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Not all of us are called to Christian leadership, but we should all know what a Christian leader looks like.  If we are called upon to cast our vote, that vote should first of all depend not on personal preferences, but on biblical principles.  Here is a process in which most of us will be involved at one point or another.  Let me give you some examples.

You are a member of a vacant church and you need to call a minister.  What sort of person should you be looking for?

Or the time has come to enlarge the Session.  Your church needs another elder or another deacon.  What are the biblical standards that such a person needs to meet?

Or you’re on the board at the Christian school and you need to appoint some new teachers for next year.  Apart from the academic qualifications and the practical experience, what qualities should you insist on?

Or again, you’re working at a Christian counselling centre.  There’s a position open for someone who needs to deal with some very delicate situations.  Obviously a wise selection will need to be made.  What are some of the factors you should take into account?

So, whatever the precise position may be – a minister or an elder, a missionary or a teacher – the would-be leader must be asked the same question: “Are you qualified?  Do you meet the biblical criteria for Christian leadership?”

In 1Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9 Paul provides a list of a total of 47 qualifications for three groups:

i.          the overseers or elders,

ii.         the deacons,

iii.        the women (whether they are the deaconesses or the deacon’s wives is still a moot point of interpretation).

Whatever the official position of these people may have been, their qualifications overlap considerably.  For example, more than half the qualifications of the deacons overlap with those of the elders.  The qualities of the women likewise are very similar to those of both the elders and the deacons.

Once you have taken this overlap into account, you are left with 36 separate qualifications.  To simplify matters further I have boiled these down to what you have below, “Ten Commandments for Christian Leaders”:

1.         You must have the desire to lead;

2.         You must have a good reputation;

3.         You must display a holy, gentle and self-controlled Christian character;

4.         You must have a healthy family life;

5.         You must not abuse alcohol;

6.         You must have a proper attitude towards money;

7.         You must be able to teach:

8.         You must know how to control your tongue;

9.         You must not be a new convert;

10.       You must be trustworthy and dependable.

Now as soon as I use the term ‘Ten Commandments’, I leave myself open to a serious misunderstanding.

When you read the Ten Commandments from the laws of Moses, you are meant to say, “I have failed, I have tried, but I can’t do it.  Again I must flee to the cross and beg Christ for forgiveness.  This is God’s holy and perfect law, and without Christ I am doomed.”

But that’s not how we are to read these “Ten Commandments for Christian Leaders.” That’s not how we are to read Paul’s lists to Timothy and Titus.  Of course, there may be areas here where you as a leader need to repent.  There may be parts of your life that you need to clean up.  That’s true.  Maybe these passages in the Pastorals convict you of sin.  Maybe the Holy Spirit will use them to pull you into line.  That’s good.

But if you were to say, “Paul is setting such a high standard; I can’t possibly hope to live this way; that’s just beyond me…!” – if that’s your reaction, you’ve seriously misunderstood what Paul is saying.  These are some very down-to-earth requirements.  He is giving Timothy and Titus some very practical rules to work with.  He is setting standards that every mature Christian should be able to attain.

So perhaps we should see these ‘Ten Commandments’ as ten tests for Christian leadership.  But what do you need to do to pass the test?  Is a pass 50%?  or 60%?  or 90%?  it’s 100%!  You really need to get 10 out of 10.  Anything less and you’re disqualified.  Don’t even bother applying for the job – no matter how many ‘positions vacant’ signs there may be!

So, if we’re looking for a perfect score, we’d better be pretty sure what the Bible really means.

1.  You must have the desire to lead.

All of Paul’s directives are based on this premise: “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task” (1Timothy 3:1).  Obviously it’s unwise to force anyone into Christian leadership against their will.  Sometimes the way we get people to serve on Session is less than biblical.  The nominations and elections are at times set up in such a way that a man cannot say “no” without serious loss of face or damage to his reputation.  This is not right and can spoil the atmosphere at Session meetings.  Better to have a smaller Session of willing and capable men, than to have people who have had to have their arms twisted rather strongly.

The same applies to the call to the ministry.  If you’re going to be a minister you must want to do it.  It’s because you want to, because God put that desire in your heart, not because your parents think it’s a good idea or because your minister talked you into it.  It must be your own growing, personal conviction.

I’ll never forget the answer my minister gave when I asked him whether I should go into the ministry.  He said, “To people like you I always say ‘No!’  Then later on you can’t blame me – and if you want to do it, you’ll do it anyway.”  That was very wise advice.  And even though I love the church and enjoyed my years in the pastoral ministry, the last thing I’d ever want to do is talk anyone into becoming a minister.  Why?  Because you set your heart on it and it’s to be your God-given desire.

2.  You must have a good reputation.

In his lists Paul mentions this test no less than seven times!  Christian leaders are to be “above reproach,” “respectable,” and “blameless.”  This seems like a pretty tall order.  It sounds like the counsel of perfection.  But remember, Paul is speaking about a leader’s reputation.

Blameless cannot mean sinless.  Rather we are looking for a man who, though indeed a sinner, habitually strives to walk by the rule of God’s Word.  A blameless man will not be found doing what he knows is plainly wrong.

That reputation must extend beyond the walls of the church.  Of the elder Paul says that, “he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap” (3:7).

But can you have a good reputation among pagans?  Is a Christian leader to curry favour with the world?  Isn’t that the hallmark of a false prophet?  One commentator has given a wise answer.  He sees this requirement as a way of protecting the church against abuse, and against unnecessary persecution.  Then he continues: “…the non-Christian world has generally respected the noble ideals of Christian character, but has persistently condemned professing Christians, particularly ministers and leaders, whose practice is at variance with their profession.”

It sometimes seems that the world (and particularly the media) enjoys nothing more than catching Christians in hypocrisy.  Think of the coverage given to the fallen televangelists of the 1980s.

Think of the exposure given to the Christian Brothers who were found to be guilty of molesting young boys.  Think of the Sisters of Mercy whose disciplinary measures appear at times not to have been all that merciful.

The result is disgraced Christian leaders who have fallen right into the devil’s trap.  This is disastrous for the church – the whole Christian church and the best protection against it is leaders who are above reproach and who have an impeccable reputation.

3.  You must display a holy, gentle and self-controlled Christian character.

The elders that Titus is to appoint in Crete are to be holy men.  Paul describes them as “upright,” “devout,” and “loving what is good.”  Because of the nature of their work elders are to be men of a gentle disposition.  Therefore, they must not be violent, quarrelsome or overbearing.  Or, as the apostle Peter was to say, “they must not lord it over the flock.”

Another commentator has this helpful insight:

“An elder must not be self-willed, stubborn, arrogant, or overbearing.  And sadly, many such men have occupied the office – though they often describe themselves as ‘firm and uncompromising.’  How do we spot this type of person?  Look for the man who, when his mind is made up on some difficult and complex subject, takes the attitude that anyone who questions his conclusion is questioning God himself!  Somehow people of this stripe seem to have a pipeline to heaven that the rest of us have missed!  Paul’s alternative is the gentle, patient man, the one who is fair-minded, fully willing and able to understand a different point of view – even when he disagrees with it.  He is firm when he knows he stands squarely on the Word.  But he is always open to being convinced from the same Word that his opinion is wrong, and when convinced he does not find it hard to say he was wrong.”

So, a Christian leader is to have a character that is holy and gentle.  At the same time he should also be self-controlled, disciplined and not quick-tempered.

Anyone who cannot control his temper is unfit for Christian leadership and will be a disaster as a leader.  Arguments, tempers flaring, people storming out of meetings can only harm the cause of Christ and hurt the church.  Those who do such things should never have been given leadership in the first place.

If you want to be a leader and have a temper problem, you’d better work on it now.  Life doesn’t get any easier in leadership.  Stress, frustration and fatigue come with the territory.  So if self-control isn’t your strong point, you’d better do some spiritual work-outs, and develop the muscles of discipline, control and gentleness.  How?  Confess your weaknesses to God.  Then tell someone else about your problem and ask them to hold you accountable.

4.  You must have a healthy family life.

This is the area to which Paul gives more attention than to any other.  It’s not hard to see why.  There’s a very basic principle at work here and Paul states it very simply: “If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?”

Like charity, leadership begins at home.  How do you know whether you will be able to exercise leadership in the church?  How do you know whether another person, a candidate for the ministry or a prospective elder or deacon, will be able to exercise leadership in the church?  Look at his home life!  How does he run his family?  How does he get along with his wife and children?  If he doesn’t make the grade there, he certainly won’t make it in the church.

But precisely what grade does he have to make?  Let’s look again at 1Timothy 3 and Titus 1:

i.          Three times Paul says, “He must be the husband of one wife.”  He says it twice for the elders and once for the deacons.  But what does this mean exactly?  Can a single man hold office?  Can a divorced man be an elder or deacon?

The simplest explanation is that if a man is married he must be faithful to his wife.  It doesn’t prevent single people from serving.  After all, Paul was single and he is writing to Timothy who was also single.  Even a divorced man is not disqualified, so long as his divorce was on biblical grounds.

In the early church a church leader was required to live an exemplary married life.  He had to be faithful to his one wife in a culture in which marital infidelity was common, and at times assumed.

The situation is still much the same today.  A happily married man is the exception, rather than the rule.

ii.         Then what about the children?  Again, a leader doesn’t have to have children, but if he does, what are they to be like?  They are to obey him with proper respect.  Moreover, the elder “must be…a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient” (1:7).

Again this raises all sorts of questions.  Must all the children be Christians?  What if they’ve grown up and left home and are living their own lives?  Imagine some excellent elders, dedicated, committed men.  They have sons who are great guys, honest and friendly people, and prominent in the community.  But they aren’t Christians.  Does that disqualify their fathers from office?  Here is a helpful answer:

“…we must guard against adding to God’s requirements as much as taking away from them.  It is sadly true that the children of some very godly men grow to an adulthood of unbelief and rebellion against God.  Is a man to be disqualified because his children have not been born again?  I think not.  All that Paul requires is that these children, while in the home, are to be in submission to their father, and that they do not behave in the community so as to be a scandal against the name of Christ.

Allow me one further point.  To be a godly father takes time.  There are no short-cuts.  There is a myth about today that says all we need to do is to spend ‘quality’ time with our kids.  But that’s a bit of a slippery concept.  Who defines the quality?

At one of our Synods some 10 years ago there was a pre-Synod conference with discussion groups where some of these issues were raised.  I was in a group with a minister who had just come from another country.  I think he was impressed with all the hard work and the diligence, but then he issued a timely warning: “If we continue like this we will be building for only one generation.”

Fathers, spend time with your kids.  Every good hour that you spend with your kids is an investment in the future!

Someone has put it like this:

“When my relationship with my wife is what it ought to be, I can minister to my kids.  When my relationship with my family is what it ought to be, I can minister to others.”

It’s precisely here that a word should be said about hospitality.  The hospitable man is one whose heart is open to the lonely, the rejected and the stranger.  But what good will the hospitality do if his home is in turmoil?  A house full of wild, disobedient and disrespectful children will hardly adorn the Gospel.  Effective hospitality depends on a healthy family life.  Without that, it is as good as useless.

5.  You must not abuse alcohol.

Obviously for Paul, this was another area of vital concern.  In every group this qualification is mentioned.  Whether it be Timothy’s elders or Titus’ elders, the deacons or the women, they are all alerted to this issue.  They are to be temperate and not given to much wine.

In the Presbyterian congregation I served in America there was a deacon who had carefully studied Paul’s words to Timothy.  He took comfort from the fact that in his English Bible the elders were not to be addicted to wine, while the deacons were not be addicted to much wine.  Unfortunately for my deacon the Greek expressions are pretty well synonymous.  Elders and deacons simply cannot afford to indulge in alcoholic beverages.  Paul is not telling them to be total abstainers, although we must regard abstinence as a viable Christian option, especially in a society like ours.  But how much is he letting them drink short of getting drunk?

The context would suggest that the use of alcohol by Christian leaders is to be modest at most.  How much can you drink and still keep your reputation?  How much can you drink and still maintain your self-control?  Get just a little tipsy and you could do damage that may take years to repair.

So any Christian leader must be careful with alcohol.  Too much is at stake – his own reputation, the church’s good name and the honour of  Christ.  If there are those who like the occasional drop, they had best leave it at that – the occasional drop.

6.  You must have a proper attitude toward money.

Elders and deacons must not be lovers of money or pursue dishonest gain.  Financial integrity and accountability are ever so important.  This is another area where the world is always watching.  They have seen too many doing well out of doing good.  Again and again it’s financial sins and sexual sins that scandals are made of.

7.  You must be able to teach.

This is one area where the duties of elders and deacons are somewhat different.  The deacons are not required to teach, but even they “must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience” (3:9).  The elder must be prepared to take matters a step further: “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” (1:9).  So notice that the elder’s teaching role is both positive and negative – he encourages and he refutes, he exhorts and he corrects.

Now this does not necessarily mean that the elder has to be a gifted public speaker.  That would certainly be an advantage.  But at the very least, an elder must be able to deal with people on a one-to-one basis and apply the Word to the needs of the individual.

8.  You must know how to control your tongue.

A Christian leader is not to be “double-tongued” (3:8).  In other words you don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth.  Sincerity in your use of language is all important.

Neither should you be a malicious gossip.  Few sins are more divisive than gossip.  A slanderer can separate even intimate friends (Proverbs 16:28).

If you are a Christian leader, people must know that sensitive information is safe with you.  Few things can be more detrimental to church life than a leaking Session.  So watch your words.

9.  You must not be a new convert.

Paul is quite explicit about this in his words to Timothy about the elder: “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil” (3:6).  New converts are often a sheer delight.  They are fresh, keen and enthusiastic.  For any church it is therefore a great temptation to give them more responsibility than they can handle.  But to do that is to play right into the devil’s hands.  You run the real danger of swell-headedness.  The results of that could be disastrous.

10.  You must be trustworthy and dependable.

This was the final instruction to the women who were told to be “trustworthy in everything” (3:11).  That really sums it all up.  You are to be trustworthy and dependable: – in the way you lead your family, – in your attitude towards money, – in your use of language, – in your teaching, – in your behaviour; in short, in your whole way of life.

So, as you look back, how did you do?  Do you pass the test?  Remember, the pass mark is 10 out of 10!

It reminds me of some friends of ours who have a daughter studying to be a nurse.  She had a maths exam for which the pass mark was 100%.  That sounded pretty unreasonable till we heard what the maths exam was all about.  She had to measure the amount of medication patients were to receive.  In cases like that it’s not good enough to be right 95% of the time.  At that rate one out of every 20 patients would be in serious trouble every time you did the rounds!  You need a perfect score because the stakes are just too high.

It’s the same with Christian leadership.  Fail on one point and you’re disqualified.  Say you could get 100% except that you get drunk on New Year’s Eve, or you occasionally beat your wife, or you sometimes lose your temper at meetings!

A Christian leader can’t afford those mistakes!  So, whether you’re selecting a minister, an elder or deacon, a teacher, a counsellor, a missionary, make sure that in God’s test for leadership, they get a perfect score!  Anything less, and you’re asking for trouble!

Amen.