This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
(I Timothy 3:10
For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. (I Timothy 3:13)
The brief letters to Timothy and Titus known as the “Pastoral Epistles” are Paul’s last words to leaders at the young churches in Ephesus and Crete. These Epistles are books of “know-how” for conduct in the local New Testament (I Tim. 3:15). A study of these books will help us be better Christians and, therefore, better church members.
Paul instructed his preacher boys Timothy and Titus how to select and how to be reliable leaders.
- How To Select A Leader (I Timothy 3, Titus 1)
(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) (I Timothy 3:5)
In both I Timothy and Titus, Paul described the qualifications and responsibility of church leaders. They are to manage (take care of) the church (I Tim. 3:5). They are to be entrusted with God’s work (Titus 1:7). They are to both encourage sound doctrine and to refute those opposing it (Titus 1:9). In essence, leaders are responsible for both the beliefs and the lifestyle of the local Christian community as well as for the communication of the faith.
What sounds foreign to us about Paul’s guidelines for selecting these leaders is that he did not stress academic or intellectual equipment. True leaders must “hold the mystery of faith in a pure conscience” (I Tim 3:9; Titus 1:9). The leader to “preach the Word…reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine”(II Tim. 4:2). The apostle stressed most of all the character or quality of life of the leader. There are 28 characteristics found in the Bible of a spiritual leader read: Titus 1:1-5; I Timothy 3:1-7; I Peter 5:1-4.
Qualities such as these, rather than verbal skills, success in business, or the capacity to preach a good sermon, are to be given first consideration in selecting local church leaders.
- How Leaders Teach
“Teaching” in the Biblical sense is not “teaching” as we know it in secular education, for a Godly lifestyle must be taught and demonstrated by the Christian leader’s life.
Paul taught Timothy to “follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace” (II Tim. 2:22). “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of” (II Tim 3:14). Timothy was not only to command and teach truth; he was to “be an example of the believers” (I Tim. 4:12). He was to give himself wholly to his ministry and to “take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine” (I Tim. 4:16).
The lesson to learn is an individual may express information brilliantly, but only a person who lives the Christian life can lead others into the lifestyle that truth produces.
- Are Leaders Alone In These Requirements?
A godly, exemplary life and sound doctrine are requirements of Christian leaders. Are leaders alone in this requirement? The Bible says that each of us is to communicate our faith in exactly the same way – by Wordand by life.
In the Old Testament, Scripture commands parents to communicate the reality of God to their children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). The teacher (parent) is to have the word “in thine heart.” Parents are to be daily examples of the faith, as well as to teach the faith to their children (Ephesians 6:4).
It is the same in communicating our faith to unbelievers. We are “to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts first then be ready to give an answer to every man” (I Peter 3:15). It is clear that Peter expected the Christian’s way of life to stand out as salt and light and to raise questions from unbelievers.
In the home, in the world, and in the church, people young and old are to live exemplary lives that match the doctrine that they believe with the doctrine that they teach. It’s clear that the system of communicating the Christian faith described by Paul is not limited to leaders alone. Our personal character is very important if we want to live for Christ. We only have two ways to reach the lost world, and both are needed. We can’t have just one or the other. They are 1.) our life’s testimony and 2.) The Word of God.