Thank you for selecting this message by Dr. James Hoffman. Dr. Hoffman preaches verse by verse through the entire book of the Bible. From all of us at Living Water of Lapine here in Central Oregon, we hope that it will encourage you and feed you spiritually. And if you would like to leave a message after the sermon, our contact information is found on the sermon page where you found this sermon. Now may God richly bless you as you listen. Why do we have leaders in the church? Why is it necessary for a few persons to hold positions of power? In his book, Up With Authority, Victor Lee Austin uses the analogy of an orchestra to explain why we need human authority. Orchestras need conductors because the musicians don't have a single right answer to questions like, what should we play at the concert? Or what should we practice today? Or how should we interpret this passage? Each musician must have a perfectly reasonable opinion, but their opinions will inevitably be different and will almost always be incompatible with one another. And it is no good for each musician to do what is right in his or her own ears. It won't do for the brass section to insist on playing a one musical piece if the strings have chosen to play a completely different piece. If the orchestra is to perform coherently, if the musicians want to perform music rather than just make noise, somebody has to have authority to decide. By submitting to the authority of a conductor, individual musicians attain musical expression they could never realize individually, or even as a collection of freewheeling players. Authority is necessary for classical musicians to bring musical fulfillment to others. Close quote. In other words, Victor Lee Austin, according to him, the conductor's authority yields a greater degree of human flourishing than we would have from the musicians separately or individually. You know what is true for orchestras? is true for human life in general. Leadership has been defined and new insights written about. nonstop in evangelical circles since the 1970s. I don't know if you've noticed it, I certainly have, that every month there is no shortage of books coming off the evangelical presses with these great new insights about leadership. Most of my fellow classmates in seminary wrote their dissertations on Christian leadership. Now, you would think that the evangelical church today should have a very good handle on the subject. We don't. But we certainly have well-informed understanding of it. For this very reason, I almost hesitate to read to you one of the countless definitions for it that abound. But I have one that I think is helpful to our passage this morning. Sir Michael Howard, a military historian, gives this one to us, which I think, in addition to military leadership, ultimately depicts the church leadership very ably. Here it is. Leadership is the capacity to inspire and motivate to pursue or to persuade people willingly to endure hardships, usually prolonged, and incur dangers, usually acute, that if left to themselves, they would do their utmost to avoid. It is a sober fact that as goes the leadership, so goes the church. It's generally true that if leadership is Bible-centered, the church will be Bible-centered. If the leadership is mission-minded, the church will be mission-minded. If the leadership is sincere, the people will be sincere. If the leadership is kind, the church will be kind. Now, this is also true negatively, perhaps to even a greater degree, maybe even exponentially. Unloving, narrow, stingy leaders beget unloving, narrow, stingy churches. As goes the leadership, so goes the church. And the church at Ephesus was in deep trouble. Certain elders in the church had members of the church very confused and believing false doctrines. They were false teachers. Now that raises a very frightening question. How did these men rise to such positions in the church? False teachers had become trusted leaders with authority. Can such a thing happen today? The sad answer is that in this fallen and broken world, some people are going to get through. There's no way you're gonna create a system that's gonna keep them all out. And after all, Jesus himself had his Judas. But that raises another question. Who should be admitted to the office in the first place? And so we have 1 Timothy chapter three, which we open today. Now, before I plunge into this text, it is worth reminding ourselves that the biblical terms overseer, shepherd, and elder are all synonymous. They are used interchangeably even within the same verse. We'll see when we get to 1 Timothy 5. A shepherd is an elder who is an overseer. Whenever we see these titles in scripture, they all are referring to the very same office in the church. So in scripture, we have an authority that is synonymously called shepherd or elder or overseer. But where do we get the term pastor? Is it a scriptural office of the church like elder and deacon? The verses that are going to follow our passage we're going to study today are going to discuss deacons. Today, we're going to talk about elders. Next week, we'll talk about deacons. But now, where do pastors fit in? Pastor is simply the Latin word for shepherd. That's all. It's just the Latin word for it. First Peter 5.2 tells us, be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers. So now biblically speaking, Jesse, Dave, and Harvey and I are all pastors of living water. Or you can just simply call us shepherds. And I kind of like that, shepherds instead of elders. They mean the same thing. It's okay if you want to call us elders. But you know, shepherds, it refers, it makes us think of the great shepherd, who is Jesus. And we're only under shepherds. And our role is to enforce and to enable and to enact what the chief shepherd wants here in this church. And so we have a chief shepherd, and then we have these undershepherds. Now, who should be admitted to this office of pastor, shepherd, elder, overseer? In January, church members are gonna be asked to affirm. Jesse and Dave and Harvey is being qualified and called to this office. They're gonna place their names before you and ask you to evaluate them by the standards that we are about to read right here in 1 Timothy 3, verses one through seven. So today, I wanna discuss with you and explain how we should use it. So here it is. 1 Timothy 3, verses one through seven. The saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. Now, let me begin with four very general observations that are very important as we dive in to these verses. The first thing that we ought to detect is this. Number one, it's the unexceptionable character of most of these entries. Look at that. You're not supposed to get drunk. Oh, great. Doesn't that sound like a very high standard? You're not supposed to be violent and beat up on people. You're supposed to know how to bring up your own family. You know, it's really quite a remarkable list for being unremarkable. Nothing here about stellar patterns of leadership. Nothing here about having a master's degree from seminary. Nothing here about stellar ability to handle both Greek and Hebrew. However, be patient. There is some convicting stuff to come. But what we must initially understand is how unremarkable all these entries are, that these entries are all ordinary. They're ordinary in the sense of being imposed on all believers. You might notice there are two entries here where in some measure you could say that they are not mandated of other people, but for the most part, they all are. But they're not ordinary in this sense of commonplace, because although they are imposed somewhere in scripture on all believers, they're not all that commonly followed. by all believers. That brings me to the second observation. Number two, the chief characteristic of the shepherd, elder, overseer, is that with his whole heart, he constantly endeavors to reflect the Christian virtues that are mandated for all Christians. Now, this is of fundamental importance because if somebody desires in their life to reflect one of these character traits, all of them, every single one of them, not just one, but all of them, this could be an indication of the birth of a call to eldership. Now, this leads to a third observation. Number three, we need to see this leadership as a calling. Church leadership is not a political position to be sought for oneself. It is a burden that God places on the heart of Christian men that they must accept. It is a pressing desire to reflect Christian virtues and to lead God's church. Leaders are not determined by popularity. They must be the kind of men profiled here by Paul to Timothy, and the church must recognize these characteristics in the elder. Number four, no shepherd ever feels that he is all he ought to be, that he meets all of these qualifications perfectly, and the rest of the church needs to pray for him constantly. While the job description doesn't call for moral perfection or superhuman spirituality, A leader must be one who strives to embody these qualities, and the church should be able to see that he is sincerely pursuing them for his own life. Let's go back now. Let's examine these virtues, taking them one at a time. Now, in verse one of 1 Timothy chapter three, it says this. The saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Now I'd like for you to know that aspire is the word that is used here. There's some interesting things about an aspiration that we ought to consider. They aspire to the office. Now, what kind of man doesn't want power and authority? Church leadership can attract people with mixed and sometimes outright sinful motives. The seeming prestige of spiritual leadership attracts some. The lure of power draws others. the spiritual directing of others' lives can be pretty heady stuff. Some, I think, like the idea of having access to the supposed mysterious inner workings of the church. But that is not God's call of an elder. God's call of an elder is not power and authority. Ambition is different than aspiration. Ambition seeks to gain and wield power for the sake of self. Aspiration, what we see here in verse one, on the other hand, cares less about the position than about becoming worthy of it. You see, the call of an elder is death. The call of an elder is sacrifice. The call of an elder is servant, slavery. In case you don't believe me, Let me call your attention to Matthew 20, verses 25 through 28. Jesus was teaching his disciples who got a little bit power hungry, and here's what he had to say. Matthew 20, verses 25 through 28, but Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 2 Corinthians 4.12, It says it this way. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Chuck Swindoll writes, do you hear the call? The call doesn't have anything to do with power. The call doesn't have anything to do with authority. Authority is, or is authority granted to the elders? Yes. Why? Because they're the type of men who so love the local congregation and have so experienced the grace and mercy of God, they're going, I'll die for these people. I'll sacrifice for these people. I'll give myself to these people. I'll lay down my preferences for this group. The type of man who makes a good elder is the man who has answered the call to come and die, to give himself to the church for the church, for the maturation of the people in the church, for the glory of God. The cynic in us would look at power structures and go, they can't be trusted. Life has taught you this? In the end, we've been trained to doubt authority. Believe unchecked power leads to those in power taking advantage of those who are under them. If he is not willing to sacrifice for you, he has no business. leading you. If he is not willing to give of himself so you might grow, then don't trust him. He has aspirations unto death, not aspirations unto power. A brother who wants to be in the elder room because he thinks it's going to get him power needs to get washed out in the process of a man becoming an elder." Close quote. And yet Paul says it is a noble work, an honorable work, which has definite dignity and attractiveness. Why? Because it's performed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the chief shepherd, and an elder is his under-shepherd. And he brings about the welfare of the whole church. Verse two, therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. Yeah, more is required of an overseer than a mere willingness to serve. He is to be above reproach. This word literally means nothing to take hold upon. That is, there must be nothing in his life that Satan or the unsaved can take hold of to attack the church. This requirement does not demand sinless perfection, or else we might as all just go home now. But you should be able to say to the church body, This guy is gonna be an elder. And have no one in the room think or say, no way. John Calvin paraphrased this qualification as not marred by disgrace. This character qualification summarizes all the other elder qualifications that will follow and the husband of one wife is next. Now, the phrase husband of one wife translates literally out of the Greek. He's a one woman man. One woman man. That's what the Greek says. Although there are arguments, I believe that this means an elder must never have divorce in their... No, I don't believe that. but many do. Many believe that, that that's what that means. Before I became pastor here, I was asked my view of what this qualification meant. One man on the pastoral search committee, I knew he graduated from the same seminary that I did. And he was adamant that pastors and elders could not occupy the office if they have divorce in their life. I reminded him that the Greek doesn't say that. And I reminded him that the qualifications of Scripture, all of them are character qualifications. Why do you want to lift this qualification out of its character context and make this one a historical qualification. Your history must have no divorce. You lower the bar of this standard almost to the ground with your view. You make it possible to have a skirt-chasing womanizer who has affairs with other women in this office so long as he doesn't have any divorce. When you make it a historical qualification rather than a character qualification. We gotta keep that bar high, folks. When we keep the context of character qualifications to this one, a one-woman man is dedicated to only one woman, his wife. He thinks about that one woman. He is for that one woman. He is with that one woman. He is not caught up in fantasies about other women. He doesn't flirt. with other women. He is a one-woman kind of man. Our next qualification is that the elder must be sober-minded. This means something like clear-headed, well-balanced, not an extremist, not constantly running off into some half-baked, hair-brained extreme. Temperate means he has discipline enough that he's not controlled by things, even good things. He's not a glutton, although he likes good food. He works out, but he hasn't built his whole life around getting six-pack abs. Desires don't rule him. His love for the Lord rules him. Self-controlled is our next quality. I probably don't need to say much about this one, so I won't, but it suggests being reasonable, sensible, having sound judgment. The next one, respectable, has some interesting nuances. The root of this word is cosmos. And yes, it is the Greek word for ordered universe. Carl Sagan, you might remember the agnostic scientist on his television show. There is nothing else that exists but the cosmos. His show was all about telling us how this universe works and the wonders and how orderly it is. Because this root word here that we see translated as respectable is the very same word cosmos, maybe a good word to use for this quality would be orderly. Orderly. An elder must be orderly. He should be organized in his thinking, in his living, and his teaching. Hospitable. That's the ensuing quality that comes now for an elder. The word implies far more than having friends over for dinner. The phrase hospitable means literally loving of strangers. He loves lost people. He loves to minister to people. All hospitality really is, I'm sorry, Martha Stewart, is saying, I have a genuine concern for your soul, and I'm gonna show it. I want us to connect. I want to know what's going on in your heart. That's hospitality. It has nothing to do with how you decorate the dining room table in season. Able to teach speaks of a leader's ability to handle the scriptures. This just means they can answer you from God's word. If you have concerns, if you have questions, they can open up the word of God and explain to you and show you why and how. They don't have to do this publicly in a class setting. It can be done in private. but they must be able to open it up and explain. And being able to teach presupposes two things. It presupposes some knowledge and an ability to communicate it. You see, some people have lots and lots and lots and lots of knowledge about the Bible, and their communication skills, though, are zilch. They are disqualified to be an elder. Now, four negative phrases follow, and we see them in verse three. Take a look at these with me now. Not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. Not a drunkard. It literally says, staying near wine. It describes someone who habitually has alcohol nearby or cannot be far from it. It sounds like a no-brainer, but apparently it needed to be said here. They cannot be addicted to wine. The fact that Paul advised Timothy to use wine for medicinal purposes in 1 Timothy 5.23 indicates that total abstinence was not demanded of believers. Sad to say, some of the members of the Corinthian church got drunk during church. It was at a love feast that accompanied the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians 11.21. The quality for an elder is that he is not to drink in excess, and always have to have it. The next words pretty much describe the same qualities, so I'm gonna take all of these words all together. They are not to be contentious. My Bible reads violent, but I think contentious is more of the idea here. but they are to be gentle, they are to be peaceable, not contentious. There are some who are very concerned to contend for the faith by being contentious about the faith. It's not only that they contend for the faith, They might actually even be largely right on the issues which concern them. However, they do it in such a way that at the end of the day, you have a sneaky suspicion that they just love to fight. What every church needs are men who don't like conflict, but aren't afraid to get into it if they have to. Are you tracking with me? They don't want confrontation, but they'll go to it whenever necessary. If you get guys who just love conflict, then you're gonna get the kind of elder who's more like a Gestapo, always looking at everybody in the church, waiting to pounce on them for imperfections. So no, you don't want that. But you don't want the other extreme either. If you get a guy who's so gentle that he won't shoot a wolf, the sheep are gonna get hurt. The church needs men who don't like conflict but are not afraid of it. That's what those words in verse three all put together mean. An elder will shoot the wolves, kick out the dogs, and love the sheep. The fourth negative we see in this verse is not a lover of money. This applies to anyone with a lot of money and anyone who doesn't have very much. Listen, it is hard to have a lot of money and not love it. but it is also very hard to be poor and not love money. Both the rich and the poor can covet it. This describes a disposition that is not overly motivated to pursue material wealth. An elder doesn't put confidence in wealth. Verses four and five. He must manage his own household well with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? Here's what the Bible teaches about the home. Are you ready? The home is a proving ground for ministry. Why? Because few things for a man, according to the word of God, are going to be put against his flesh like the call to be a godly husband or a godly father. Here's the proving ground of ministry. Success in a family may well indicate success in a church. And likewise, failure in a home raises a red flag about one's ability to lead in a congregation. But, but, but, Pastor, hold on. We all know that kids are their own persons. God gave them a free will and unique personalities. and they often rebel and spin out of control. Does a wayward child disqualify a man from being an elder? Maybe not. But if most or all of his kids turn away and live unprincipled lives, he probably is disqualified. We should ask, Does the man create a calm, structured home environment? Does he hold his children to reasonable expectations that instill a sense of personal dignity? Do most or all of his children esteem him and show him honor? Are his children on the right track to becoming fine young men and women, or do you see them headed for trouble? Verse six. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Satan really enjoys seeing a young pastor and the Lord succeed and get proud. And then Satan can tear down all that has been built up. I'm thinking of a young pastor, a man saved out of the world, who went to the same seminary I went to, and he went to Seattle and he planted a church. And before you know it, it took no time at all. It became Seattle's largest church. One of the largest churches in the entire nation, as a matter of fact. He had so much international attention. His church was so cool. This mega church had lots of ministries who wanted to copy everything he did. He was a good speaker. Everything about him just seemed to be turning to gold. Well, he was a guest speaker in one of my doctoral classes. He came and he was giving his presentation and I could not wait for it to end. I have never been around anybody so proud in all my life. He just reeked pride and conceit. Not long after that, he quit ministry. He'll probably never return. This quality in verse six literally means one newly planted, referring to a young Christian. Age is no guarantee of maturity, but it is good for a man to give himself time for study and growth before he accepts a church. The overseer's role calls for stability. Roots planted deep in the soil of God's word, nurtured by the Holy Spirit, tested by wind and seasons of drought. In other words, this proven ability to live the gospel and lead others in that life. cannot develop overnight. Verse seven. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. His reputation again. The final qualifications takes us full circle back to his reputation, where we began. So, does he pay his bills on time? Does he demand his rights, even when he's wronged? Is he patient and kind? Does he have a good reputation among unsaved people? even those who don't agree with his politics or moral convictions. You see, people outside the church appreciate honesty, fair play, integrity. You know what integrity is? Integrity is nothing more than being on the outside what you are on the inside. That's all it is. That is what Jesus is after when he insists that we be single-eyed. It is what James is after when he warns that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. We see people in the church, you know, who have an outward show of things, but on the inside, there's something else. They are a seething mass of lust, perhaps, or terrible greed, or they may be nurturing anger, harsh bitterness, but they look civilized. They are so restrained. Let me tell you who could sniff out hypocrites. It's the outsiders. Having a good reputation with those outside the church, generally speaking, says an awful lot about a person. Well, this is a very challenging list of qualifications, isn't it? I hope I did not mislead you when I said, hey, these look rather not common. What was the word I used? Unremarkable. But they still are very difficult. Now, as we close this morning, please allow me to consolidate all of them in just three considerations that we've got to keep in mind as we determine who God has called to be elders. First, does his inner life match his public image? A man can speak well in public, carry himself with impressive demeanor, but what about behind the scenes? Does he have a spiritual life that he is cultivating beyond public view? Second, would his wife and children verify that he is qualified? Would the suggestion of him being an elder in the church draw sarcastic chuckles from his family? or would they affirm him as a capable, authentic spiritual leader? Third, would the general public, his colleagues, business competitors, fellow gym members, affirm or express concern about him being an elder? This is not a popularity contest, but elders should maintain good rapport with those outside the church. It's not a good sign if a non-believer expresses concern about his honesty, his purity, or some other matter of his character. One more thing and then I'm done. Let's not just see these as qualifications. for an elder. These are Christian virtues that we are all to exemplify. Amen. Let's pray.