Requirements for Leadership

This summer at church we are in a series through Paul's letters to church leaders. It's been really great and challenging to preach.

When developing a sermon on leadership and looking at scripture, one must do some self-evaluation to be sure that your own life matches up with what you're preaching. I thought I would share from my message yesterday. You can listen to it here as well.

A pastor said: “You need to join the Army of the Lord!” The man replied, “I'm already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor.” Pastor questioned, “How come I only see you a few times a year?” He whispered back, “I'm in the secret service.”

We laugh at this little joke but there is a reality here that we can’t ignore. God has a plan and purpose for everyone and that includes having a place in the Body of Christ and in the local church, serving and leading others so that they can grown in their faith and become disciples. There are many ways to do this from volunteering to organize meals, to signing up to serve at a special event, maybe you volunteer to be in the nursery rotation or to even lead a group.

In case you weren’t already aware, God doesn’t have a secret service that you can be a part of. He has a front line offensive and that line isn’t just made up of pastors and evangelists and missionaries. No, every single one of us have a spot. Unfortunately, there are a few ministry/church leaders who have a hard time with this and have created issues along the way. We even see this in scripture. In Exodus, Moses is exhausting himself trying to be everything the Israelites needed when his father-in-law, Jethro, noticed and told him that he needed to find a better way. But we also see this happening in Acts when the church is just growing beyond what the Apostles can handle. You can read the account of Moses and Jethro in Exodus 18, and about the Apostles in Acts 6.

The idea to delegate and build a team of leaders to assist in the every day needs and activities of the “the church” are nothing new! And if Moses needed help and couldn’t do it all on his own, and surely if the original 12 Jesus had personally discipled and taught recognized the need themselves, then sure it would be insane for anyone today to believe that one pastor could do it everything for the church on their own.

Moses and the 12 didn’t just choose random people to fill the spots needed to help the ministry function effectively. They prayed and asked God for wisdom and used guidelines for their decisions. Paul writes to Timothy and gives him a list of qualifications and requirements and these overlap with what we read in Exodus and in Acts. Thing is, it's important to study scripture in context so, before I jumped into the full message, I took a moment, and will do the same here, to explain two things that many get hung up on from Paul.

—Women can be called and equipped to lead and serve. According to the position papers of the Assemblies of God, to begin, we read, “Phoebe, a leader in the church at Cenchrea, was highly commended to the church at Rome by Paul (Romans 16:1,2). Unfortunately, translation biases have often obscured Phoebe’s position of leadership, calling her a “servant” (NIV, NASB, ESV). Yet Phoebe was diakonos of the church at Cenchrea. Paul regularly used this term for a minister or leader of a congregation and applied it specifically to Jesus Christ, Tychicus, Epaphras, Timothy, and to his own ministry. Depending on the context, diakonos is usually translated “deacon” or “minister.” Though some translators have chosen the word deaconess (e.g., RSV, because Phoebe was female), the Greek diakonos is a masculine noun. Therefore, it seems likely that diakonos was the designation for an official leadership position in the Early Church and the proper translation for Phoebe’s role is “deacon” (TNIV, NLT, NRSV) or “minister.”

Moreover, a number of translations reflect similar biases by referring to Phoebe as having been a “great help” (NIV) or “helper” (NASB) of many, including Paul himself (Romans 16:2). The Greek term here is prostatis, better translated by the NRSV as “benefactor” with its overtones of equality and leadership.

Junia was identified by Paul as an apostle (Romans 16:7). Beginning in the thirteenth century, a number of scholars and translators masculinized her name to Junias, apparently unwilling to admit that there was a female apostle. However, the name Junia is found more than 250 times in Rome alone, while the masculine form Junias is unknown in any Greco-Roman source. Paul clearly was a strong advocate of women in ministry.”

In other words, it is safe to believe Paul truly was speaking to both male and female leaders.

—As far as the drinking side goes...I’m going to let God sort that out with you. I choose to not drink because we know personally the devastating effects alcohol can have on a person and a family. I also would never ever want to be a stumbling block for someone who is seeking Christ and as an Assemblies of God minister, I agree to the position we hold in that as pastors we will abstain from alcohol and tobacco. But as an article shared by a friend on FB stated, why is alcohol the only drug people have to defend their reasons for not using?

ANYWAY, more important is to study scripture and context and look at what is really being said there. I love my Fire Bible’s commentary here.

“It is obvious from scripture (both OT and NT alike: that no follower of Christ—much less a spiritual leader—should be prone to drunkenness. This does not seem to be Paul’s point here. The phrase (GK mē paroinon, from mē, meaning “not,” and paroinos, meaning “at, by, near, next to or with wine”) is literally translated “not by, near or with wine” or “not being beside wine.” In others, a minister should not be associated with or enticed by alcoholic drinks (see Pr 23:31, note). (1) Abstinence from intoxicating wine was the standard for kings and judges in the OT (Pr 31:4-7). It was also the standard for all who pursued the highest levels of devotion and service to God…(2) Those who lead in Christ’s church certainly should not have a lower standard. In addition, all followers of Christ in the Church are called priests and kings in their service to God and as such should live by God’s highest standard…”

I feel like the old NBC jingle should be playing right now with the star shooting across the screen . . .

I believe we can sort this qualities out into a few categories that may help us to examine ourselves so that we know where we are in our qualifications to serve God’s people.

Are you a person of Integrity?

Merriam Webster defines integrity as:

1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : INCORRUPTIBILITY

2 : an unimpaired condition : SOUNDNESS

3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : COMPLETENESS

Biblical integrity is honesty, being well-respected, responsible, faithful to God and to your family, and self-controlled—just to name a few. If you want to have a place of service in the house of God, in The Church, you must be a person of integrity.

David, although not a man without flaws, was called by God Himself, “a man after God’s own heart.” Why? Because he turned his heart towards the Lord and was tender to God’s word, purpose and plans.

In 1 Chronicles 29, David is offering a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings of the Lord and he says in verse 17, “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.”

He offers up a prayer again in Psalm 25, this time out of desperation, “May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord,[c] is in you.” Proverbs 11:3 offers us another look at integrity along with the result of not walking in it. “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

God doesn’t need a single one of us to do the work of the Kingdom yet He chooses to use us. Why? He loves us! He desires for us to come alongside of Him and be His witnesses and lead others to the saving knowledge of His Son. How can we do that if people can’t trust what we say or do? How can we impact those around us if we aren’t respected? What do we expect to happen if we are irresponsible with the resources we have personally or at work/school? What person is going to run to us for advice if we aren’t faithful to our word, our spouses? And good grief…who wants to listen to someone who has zero self-control and can’t seem to stop finding themselves in awkward, or inappropriate, or harmful situations?

I am going to attempt to tie a nice little bow around this point with this statement that I am sure many of you have heard before.

Live your life in such a way that when someone speaks badly of you, no one will believe them.

That is integrity.

Biblical wisdom

It is unmatched by anything this world offers and anyone desiring to be a leader in The Church must pursue it. My goodness…there is an entire genre of writing that is included in the Bible that is all about wisdom. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs are all books that have been written with the intent to help readers gain understanding, knowledge, experience—wisdom.

Biblical Wisdom: Capable

Resolve Conflict

Able to Teach

Mature in Faith

Honest with Money

Leaders in The Church need to be capable to handle and address the many aspects of Christian life from a place of reliance on the Lord to provide the answers, but not just to provide the answer, to understand and know how to walk in it.

When Solomon became king, he asked for one thing. 1Kings 3:4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.

Church leaders cannot effectively serve the congregation if they are always striving to lead from a human perspective. We can’t do it. As my friend Travis said multiple times this past week at camp, “wenotgonmakeit!” We are too flawed to be wise enough to lead people well on our own. But God tells us He will give us what we need if we seek Him. James writes in chapter 1, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Wisdom is also proof of maturity. Some positions in the church can be filled with newer converts because it will give them opportunities to grow and learn—to be discipled. I am all for plugging people into those opportunities who are new to faith but when it comes to leadership, I want to find those who are mature in their faith and walk with God. There is no reason not to expect to see evidence of wisdom in their lives.

Wisdom will take you farther and higher than good luck. Proverbs 3:13-14 tells us how important it is to have wisdom, “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.”

There is a great reward for wisdom. Daniel 12:3 makes it clear how being wise will make us effective in leadership and in evangelism. “Those who are wise[a] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

Do you spend time with the Lord, seeking His supernatural wisdom in your life? Do you walk in the wisdom of the Lord every day or are you simply living your own way, doing what you do, rarely thinking about God’s plan and purpose for whatever season you are in?

Hospitable

Here I come with the definition, again…but look!

Hospitable means:

given to generous and cordial reception of guests

promising or suggesting generous and friendly welcome

offering a pleasant or sustaining environment

readily receptive : OPEN

I am pretty sure that being gentle and not violent or quarrelsome fall right here into hospitable. They are listed separately in the scriptures telling us about leadership qualities but I believe they go together more than we think, right?

I am going to tell you a secret that may shock you…are you ready?

NO ONE WANTS TO BE AROUND A JERK!

I know! Crazy.

We’ve all heard stories about the church who had a brawl in the parking lot between church members or the one church that split because the people couldn’t agree on the carpet color.

People, CHURCH, we need to get it together. We need to be hospitable! You know the old saying, we catch more flies with honey!

In 1 Peter 4:9, we read a challenge to live this way. “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

Romans 12:13 takes it a step farther and says to, “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

This is why we want smiling faces at the doors, in the coffee shop, on the platform and why we do a greeting time at the beginning of our service. Maybe your church has a parking lot ministry as a part of the hospitality team...regardless...We want guests who come to feel loved and welcomed and cared for.

Biblical leaders will be people of hospitality.

Spirit-Filled Life

There are a few elements of living a spirit-filled life. One is being full of the Spirit and the other is in-filled with the Spirit. It is possible to lead from a spirit-filled life but there is something unique and empowering that comes from leading from an in-filled life.

“The phrase, “full of the spirit” expresses a continuing character quality or condition within a Christian’s life that results from an overflow of the Spirit’s presence and power in his or her life. This fullness enables the person to serve God with great effectiveness and to speak by the inspiration of the Spirit in a way that honors Christ and convinces others of the truth of His message.” **

Being filled with the Spirit indicates a person has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit as an empowerment and enabling to speak under the impulse of the Holy Sprit, also a general prophetic ministry under the inspiration of or empowerment by the Holy Spirit.

"After receiving the baptism in the Spirit, individuals who faithfully follow the Spirit’s guidance and continue to demonstrate the Spirit’s power over their sinful human nature may be described as “full of the Holy Spirit.” **

**Fire Bible Commentary, Acts 6:3, page 1526

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit places a seal on our hearts, marking that we belong to God. This, as we grow in our relationship with Jesus, is partially what we mean when we talk about being full of the Spirit. The relationship begins and as we grow, that Spirit-filled life becomes stronger and stronger because we tune our hearts to His and become more sensitive to His leading. This is huge in our sanctification journey as we work in tandem with the Holy Spirit to die to ourselves and become more like Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Paul writes, 21 Now, it is God himself who has anointed us. And he is constantly strengthening both you and us in union with Christ. 22 He knows we are his since he has also stamped his seal of love over our hearts and has given us the Holy Spirit like an engagement ring is given to a bride—a down payment of the blessings to come!

Sadly, many people stop there, either presuming that’s all there is or in fear of what more looks like. But there is more. And it is good.

The Holy Spirit can also fill us, meaning He is in us so it seems safe to say that we not only have the Spirit in but also on us. And if the Spirit of the Lord is ON me and IN me then not only do I have the freedom He gives but I also carry it with me wherever I go.

Picture someone carrying something...what do you see? Maybe it’s in their hands, in a bag over the shoulder, in a back pack...the point is that you tend to notice it. As we go about our lives, carrying the Spirit with us, people are going to notice and they are going to wonder about and even encounter this. We can’t conceal the Holy Spirit in us! He makes Himself evident by how we communicate with and treat others around us. Those people will see that there is something different about us and we can help them find the same freedom because the Lord is in and on us and where He is, there is freedom!

WE MUST BE PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT.

Committed to our faith in Jesus Christ and living a life that is in accordance with God’s word, all the time. Every day. Every minute.

So, why the stress of holy standards on church leadership? Aren’t all Christians to live the same standards that some of these leaders should have? The answer is yes. All Christians are to be holy and grow in Christ and reflect many of the standards that Paul describes for bishops and deacons. However, even though Christians have a universal call to holiness, there are specific and important roles in the church that must be addressed.

Leaders in the church shepherd God's people and teach, counsel, and lead God's church in the world. They should embody the most important aspects of Christian character and life. While all Christian are to be holy and reflect Christ, church leaders must truly “walk the walk.” N. T. Wright says, “The reason they must keep to these standards is because this is what God longs to see all his children being like” (N. T. Wright, The Pastoral Letters, 30).

Nothing can tear down the cause of Christ more than when a minister is caught in some form of immorality. The late 1980s saw the downfall of televangelists to sex, money, power and fame. The story of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker was one of the worst.

Leaders are to reflect righteous standards in a world that can be hostile toward Christianity.

Church leaders are role models. If they cannot live the standards of Scripture, how can other Christians? Leaders are role models— especially church leaders. Are you worth following?

Whether you “want” to be in leadership or not, we all need to be living our lives by standards here in this passage. But I know many who may read this would say they feel called into ministry. It’s time to get it together. Figure out life. Know the word of God.

Live it.

I am calling all of us to a place of repentance and to reset our hearts and attentions on our Father who loves us all and has called us according to His purpose.

Would you be so bold as to approach the throne of grace, heart bowed low, and ask the Lord to check your heart and motives? Would you be willing to let the Holy Spirit do the hard work of cleaning out the areas that don't measure up? Would you be humble enough to submit to fellow believers and walk in accountability?

This is what The Church needs in its leaders. I'm all in. How about you?