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111023 we need more shepherds part 1
- 1. Ten Questions for Prospective Elders (Part 1)
- 2. 1. Are You Respected in the Community? • “Above reproach”, literally “not able to be held” • “Good reputation with outsiders” • An elder with a tarnished reputation hinders the mission of the church. • We need leaders who are a compelling commercial for Christ.
- 3. 2. Are You Committed to Your Wife? • “Husband of but one wife” (NIV84) is literally “a one-woman man” • “Faithful to his wife” (NIV) • A man completely devoted to his wife not only in body, but also in mind and heart. • Not about past history, but present character.
- 4. 3. Do You Make Wise Decisions? • “Temperate” means “clear-headed” • “Self-controlled” means “prudent, thoughtful” • A man who has his head on straight. • Elders must often think through thorny relational, financial, and doctrinal issues • “Elders” suggests significant life experience. • Mature enough to avoid shoot-from-the-hip, impulsive, or careless decisions.
- 5. 4. Do You Keep Your Temper in Check? • “Not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome” • Elders will face volatile situations in which a soft word will turn away anger, but a harsh word will stir up wrath (Proverbs 15:1). • When conflict and criticism arise, the man who will make a good elder will have a tough skin, a tender heart, a short memory, and a long fuse.
- 6. 5. Are You Willing to be Inconvenienced for Others? • “Hospitable” is not dinner and conversation. • The word pictured someone opening his home for guests to stay days or even weeks on end. • Hospitality involved sacrifice and cost a great deal in time, space, money and effort. • Paul’s question is: will this man think of others before himself?
Editor's Notes
- Bishop, overseer, episcopate, presbyter, elder…all come from two Greek words presbuteros and episcopos. Used virtually interchangeably in NT to designate what this church refers to as elders. Historically, Jesus appoints the Apostles and the Apostles appoint elders. In Acts 15 we see that the elders are already moving into a place of prominent leadership, Paul establishes elders at the churches he plants (Acts 14:23) and orders Titus to do likewise (Titus 1:5). These men were placed to govern & guard the church. Plurality in every church, not a delegate or a singular leader but multiple leaders for every church. Why? Because these men were godly and they knew God’s will, but as importantly they knew their church and community. So, they were the best equipped to handle problems in the church God’s way.
- Above reproach (ἀνεπίλημπτον), literally “not able to be held.” If charges were leveled against this man, he wouldn’t even be held for questioning because his reputation is so solid. He’s Teflon, not Velcro. His integrity is such that accusations just won’t stick.In verse 7 Paul bookends this list with another call for a good reputation with outsiders (μαρτυρίαν καλὴν ἔχειν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν). Why this emphasis on how well others think of a man? Simply this: the reputation of Christ is tied to that of the church, and the reputation of the church is tied to that of its leaders. Lynn Anderson tells of a church visitor who remarked, “So Jake is a leader in your church? Well, if Jake is an example of what Jesus does to people, you can color me Buddhist.”An elder with a tarnished reputation hinders the mission of the church. We need leaders who are a compelling commercial for Christ.
- A husband of but one wife (μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα) literally reads “a one-woman man.” A.T. Robertson (in RWP) says: “One at a time, clearly.”NIV 2011 says “Faithful to his wife”It describes a man completely devoted to his wife not only in body, but also in mind and heart. Why is this important? A strong marriage helps protect an elder from moral failure, provides needed support when he faces draining church challenges, and offers a powerful example to younger believers (1 Peter 5:3).On Father’s Day, the Sunday school teacher was helping her class of 5-year-olds make homemade cards. “Why don’t you draw a picture of something your father likes?” she suggested. “Maybe golf balls or a fishing pole or a pet.”Little Gus raised his hand, “May I draw a picture of my mom? My dad sure likes her a lot!” You’re looking for an elder with a marriage like Gus’ dad.Not about past history, but about present character. Experience changes people, sometimes for the better. I’m better for having gone through divorce; don’t even like the man I was before.
- Temperate (νηφάλιον) means “clear-headed,” and self-controlled (σώφρονα) could actually be translated “prudent or thoughtful.” Picture a man who has his head on straight. Why? Because an elder must often think his way through thorny relational, financial, and doctrinal questions—all of which can have eternal consequences. (Perhaps this is why spiritual leaders are called “elders,” suggesting a certain amount of life experience. Wisdom doesn’t always come with age, but it rarely comes without it.)Look for a man mature enough to avoid shoot-from-hip, impulsive, or careless decisions. Dr. Carroll Osburn, who grew up in the rural South, says “an elder in the Black River bottoms of Arkansas would not likely command much respect unless he owned high-class coon dogs. If a man didn’t have enough sense to know good dogs, how could he possibly have enough sense to lead a church?”Whether you call it common sense, horse sense, or “coon dog sense,” you want your spiritual leaders to demonstrate wise decision-making.
- Paul describes an elder as a man who is not violent (μὴ πλήκτην - not combative), but gentle (ἐπιεικῆ - forbearing) and not quarrelsome (ἄμαχον – not contentious). Church leaders will face volatile situations in which a soft word will turn away anger, but a harsh word will stir up wrath (Proverbs 15:1). If a man is known to have either an explosive anger (“losing it”) or a slow, simmering anger (“carrying a grudge”), the church will suffer.I’ve seen too many churches debate one man’s eligibility for elder because of a past divorce, or the present condition of his children, without ever discussing another candidate’s habitual anger pattern through the years. When conflict and criticism arise, the man who will make a good elder will have a tough skin, a tender heart, a short memory, and a long fuse.
- When we hear hospitable (φιλόξενον – fondof strangers), we picture inviting someone over for an evening of dinner and conversation. In ANE, where inns were notoriously filthy and even dangerous, the word pictured someone opening his home for guests to stay days or even weeks on end. Hospitality involved sacrifice and cost a great deal in time, space, money and effort. In other words, Paul’s question is: will this man think of others before himself?After all, an elder is to shepherd the flock of God, and if you haven’t been around sheep, I can tell you these frustrating animals need constant care. Their problems always seem to come at inconvenient times. Plus, they smell baaaaad. In other words, sheep require unconditional love.Does this sound familiar? Having worked in churches for decades, I know that church folk need constant attention. I know their crises rarely come at convenient times. (I’ve received the 2 am phone call from a church member about domestic problems. Dean Wiseman would have coffee ready and be back in the field at sunup.) A good elder recognizes, however, that these frustrating folk are loved by God and are “bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).That’s why good elders “smell like sheep”—they’re out among the flock, giving them the care God wants. That kind of selfless love makes for a good leader.
- Is this man capable of teaching Scripture to others? An elder must be able to teach. Why? Biblically, the primary strategy for personal and corporate transformation is not excellent programming or even quality relationships, but rather the patient teaching of Scripture (2 Timothy 4:2).Is Paul telling Timothy to look for effective public speakers? Not necessarily. While delivery matters, the first requirement of a good teacher is not presentation skills, but mastery of content. Has this man given himself to study of Scripture and to filling himself with the Word of God?Some of the finest elders I’ve known were relatively uneducated farmers who were soaked in Scripture. When they spoke, you could tell they had been with Jesus.You’re not simply looking for a man who knows how to say something, but rather a man who has something to say—something from God.
- Has this man established wise personal habits? The word respectable pictures a man who is self-disciplined and orderly in his behavior. It describes the ancient church father who once prayed, “Father, help me be master of my self that I may be servant of others.” To serve the church, an elder certainly must not be given to drunkenness, but he must also avoid other habits that can damage reputation and distract focus—workaholism, gambling, smoking, overeating, or even watching too much television.Ask of a potential leader: Do his habits reveal a man who is able to supervise his own life well? Self-control is not only the fruit of the Spirit, but also the mark of a good elder.
- Does this man have a strong sense of stewardship? Phrased differently, he is not a lover of money. Phrased positively, he is a lover of God with his money. Paul is describing a leader whose life will be marked by generosity and simple contentment. (See 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19.)Why? A man who lives under the love of money might let in the door of his life such sins as embezzling, extravagance, or even hoarding, and I’ve seen spiritual leaders who then let these sins in the door of the church. On the other hand, a man who lives under the love of God will steward his own money and the church’s finances with God’s glory and the church’s mission always in mind.
- Does this man have a track record of discipling others? Has this man shown the ability to lead others to greater maturity in Christ? To answer that question, look at his family first. When Paul says an elder must manage his own family well, he means a man’s family is his first little congregation, and “whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). But if three of his four children have no use for the church, what does this say of his spiritual leadership?By the way, does this mean a man without a family cannot serve as an elder? I’ve known churches that passed by some great spiritual leaders because they & their wives couldn’t have children. I’ve known some of those, like Leveritt Stone, at Columbus Avenue in Waco, who had been like a father to so many students from Baylor University that they all regarded him as their spiritual fatherSpiritually, Leveritt was the father of a multitude. We’re looking for a man who’s got a track record of leading people closer to Jesus.
- Has this man been a Christian long enough to maintain humility? Paul says he must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited. The chief occupational hazard of spiritual leadership is pride, and too much visibility too soon in a man’s Christian pilgrimage can inflate his ego.Howard Hendricks says that man is the only animal that, when given a pat on the back, experiences a swelling of the head. You’re looking for a man who won’t believe his own church newsletter press clippings and instead has the humility that comes when you’ve walked a ways with Jesus.Neil Lightfoot is a man like that. A scholar of the first order, with books and articles that have been published and studied far beyond our fellowship. But I don’t recall ever meeting a man who is more humble and down to earth than he.That’s the kind of leader we’re looking for.
- At the end of the day, the good news is this: everything rises and falls with one Leader, and while we may fail, he never does.Jesus was the perfect model of a servant leader. Each of us should aspire to serve, and if we serve well, God may well call some among us to be servant leaders.The best advice I could give to any who aspire to lead is the advice Paul gave to all Christians:1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV84 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.