Series Seventeen: Church Leadership

In this session, we will examine the convictions and character mandates that are necessary for men who enter the office of overseer in the church. The highest priority is the godliness of an elder’s life and his handling of God’s Word for God’s people. This requires great care, seriousness, and sobriety. Overseers are elders and pastors with a responsibility for leading the church. Graciously, God gave us specific mandates for overseers in Paul’s epistles to Timothy and Titus, as well as his letters to the church in Thessalonica. It is absolutely critical that we work hard and pay attention to these things. The scattering of shepherds harms God’s people, and Satan knows it.

1. The standard for the overseer is firm and established in the Holy Scriptures.
   1. The office of overseer is a fine work (1 Tim 3:1).
   2. This is not a man interviewing for a secular job.
      1. He desires to be a shepherd to see God’s people advance. It is a burden on his heart, so he buckles down to become an unashamed workman with God’s Word.
      2. He is willing to be tested by other leaders and shepherds who will affirm him as an overseer by the men who went before him.
      3. The giftedness of an overseer (or a calling from God) includes:
         1. a burden.
         2. learning the skill.
         3. testing.
         4. proven character.
         5. affirmation.
2. Blamelessness is a calling for all men in the church.
   1. Elders are required to be above reproach as examples (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6–7), but all men in the church must aspire to be blameless and reach for the same standard by imitation (Phil 3:17).
   2. If we are living by the same mandates, we will notice if a shepherd wanders.
   3. If elders go rogue, it is up to the congregation to notice it and step in.
   4. If they refuse to repent, it is the congregation that must remove those men and affirm others.
   5. If the men of the church strive in these things, the church will be healthy, even if some elder fails.
3. First Timothy 3:1ff. provides the qualifications for overseers.
   • Paul never says the man must be an organizer or strategic planner. He is not called because he is a natural communicator or has certain human relations skills. He is not called because he is a visionary leader, glib, Type A personality, or any of the things a leadership book will tell you is needed in order to build a business. Paul goes to the heart: he is concerned with a man’s character. Men can be disqualified as leaders if they do not remain faithful. Satan loves to tear apart a ministry from the top down.
   1. An overseer must be above reproach (1 Tim 3:2).
      1. He must be above legitimate question as to the patterns of his life.
      2. An easy way to remember this term “above reproach” is:
         1. Blameless; not perfect or flawless
         2. Blameless means he is above legitimate question.
         3. He cannot be held as a man who has a pattern of ignoring something sinful in his life.
      3. He is unreproveable because of neglect or hypocrisy in his life.
         1. Spiritual neglect will exasperate our children and the church.
            • He will always be teaching and shepherding those in his care.
            • His own sanctification is on display, and he is not neglecting it.
            • He is teaching his children, his wife, and those in his care.
            • He must be seen striving and gaining victory.
            • He must be striving in the Word of God, faithfully applying it to his heart.
            • It is not a person without sin struggles, he battles just like the flock. He knows the schemes of Satan.
            • He knows how to use the weapons of Ephesians 6.
            • Having battled, he has a pattern of victory by the Spirit.
            • He can show others where to put their feet to also walk in a pattern of victory.
            • He is not better than the flock or intrinsically more pleasing to God, he is just more mature in his walk.
            • He prays; he is dependent.
   2. An overseer must be devoted to his spouse/blameless in marriage (1 Tim 3:2b).
      • If you are not yet married, this passage is absolutely critical for you today. Every pattern you follow today will be taken into your married life.
      1. The language here is on devotion; singular/exclusive devotion (cf. Prov 5).
      2. In every way of their companionship, the man of God must be devoted to his wife.
      3. It should be obvious by the way you interact with her and with others that you cannot be held accountable to a pattern of wandering or coveting other things.
         • Coveting another spouse is the most grievous sin.
         • Adultery by an elder is a permanent disqualification from ministry. (Proverbs 6:32–33 is an implicit warning.)
      4. We don’t covet because we know the sobriety and sacredness of marriage (cf. Prov 5–7, Song; Eph 5:25–33; 1 Thess 4:1–8; 1 Pet 3:7).
         • Coveting is ridiculous when considering that we model Christ and His relationship to the church. Christ gave me this wife. He doesn’t make mistakes.
         • Christ never wants another.
         • Christ always does what the Father ordains.
         • The Father chose the elect, and the elect are those upon whom Christ sets His affection.
      5. We want to be above legitimate question because we do not covet outside of our marriage.
      6. Where the heart is tempted to do that, we go to war against the temptation with the power of the Holy Spirit to protect the exclusive devotion.
   3. An overseer must be temperate, prudent, respectable (1 Tim 3:2c).
      1. Temperate: not given to excesses
         • This is often applied to worldly substances.
         • An elder must have an inner strength and an inner regulation by precept from God’s Word.
         • He is careful and controls his passions.
      2. Prudent: well-disciplined thoughts
         • Has wisdom by applying truth with nuance in individual situations.
         • He is a steady thinker. He applies truth.
         • He brings biblical principles to bear on life’s circumstances with foresight on their longer-term impact.
      3. Respectable: worthy of imitation; illustrates a pattern to be followed
         • Good, steady, upright behavior; he is dignified.
         • He is disciplined. He is not disheveled, lazy, or immature.
         • He lives his life with spiritual altitude.
   4. An overseer must be hospitable (1 Tim 3:2d).
      1. He unselfishly serves and loves strangers and people in the body he doesn’t know well.
      2. He doesn’t gravitate toward those around whom he is more comfortable, those who are obedient and soft to the truth. He is deeply concerned about those who need ministry.
      3. When strangers who profess Christ come into the church, the people should reflect the leaders and greet them with open arms.
   5. An overseer must be able to teach (1 Tim 3:2e; cf. 2 Tim 2:24).
      1. He is as student of the truth, having a working knowledge of it.
      2. He understands it, believes it, meditates on it, and memorizes it.
      3. He is immersed in the categories of theology and doctrine.
      4. He understands how to defend the faith (cf. Titus 1:9).
      5. He has a practical ministry which helps others understand and obey the truth.
   6. An overseer must not be addicted to wine (1 Tim 3:3a).
      1. He is not one who consumes and abuses the things which would disrupt how the Holy Spirit controls his life (cf. Eph 5:18).
      2. He is not numbed by any substances.
   7. An overseer must not be pugnacious (1 Tim 3:3b).
      • He is not a bully who spoils for an argument, wanting to win at all cost.
   8. An overseer must be gentle (1 Tim 3:3c).
      1. His behavior and manner is fitting, moderate, and equitable.
      2. He is seasoned in responding wisely to trouble.
   9. An overseer must be peaceable (1 Tim 3:3d).
      • He is uncontentious, not given to stirring up strife (cf. Jas 3:17).
   10. An overseer must be free from the love of money (1 Tim 3:3e).
       1. He isn’t greedy.
       2. He doesn’t minister out of a desire for material gain.
       3. He puts himself at the disposal of the church. (The church should support its pastors, but that’s not the reason they do ministry.)
   11. An overseer must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (1 Tim 3:4–5).
       1. He must lead his own family.
       2. In doing so, he understands how leading his own family will help him lead the flock with love and encouragement.
   12. An overseer must not be a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil (1 Tim 3:6).
       1. He must not love power and prestige, due to immaturity in the Lord. The young are so prone to conceit.
       2. The church tends to love new teachers and elevate them too quickly.
       3. If he does not deal with conceit, Satan will exploit the weak link and hurt the church.
   13. An overseer must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
       1. The world is going to hate what he says.
       2. But the world cannot make a legitimate accusation against his character.