CHOOSING ELDERS AND LEADERS

CHOOSING ELDERS AND LEADERS  Matt Proctor

     If it’s true the redemptive drama being played out here hinges on the quality of the church’s leadership, then each congregation must pay close attention to what makes for a good church leader. A fresh look at 1 Timothy 3:1-7 is needed.

     In that hope, I’ve tried to summarize Paul’s description of the ideal spiritual leader in a list of 10 questions a congregation could ask of potential elders. Keep your Bible open to the text as you read through the following descriptions. As you seek those men who will lead your church, perhaps these questions will serve as a helpful test:

     1. Is this man respected in the community? The first quality listed is above reproach, literally meaning “not able to be held.” In other words, 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.

     By the way, in verse 7 Paul bookends this list with another call for a good reputation with outsiders. 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.

     2. Is this man committed to his wife? A husband of but one wife literally reads “a one-woman man.” 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).

     3. Has this man shown wisdom in decision-making? Temperate means “clear-headed,” and self-controlled could actually be translated “prudent or thoughtful.” These words 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 evidence that a man is mature enough to avoid shoot-from-hip, impulsive, or careless decisions.

Whether you call it common sense, horse sense, or “coon dog sense,” you want your spiritual leaders to demonstrate wise decision-making.

     4. Has this man shown the ability to keep his temper in check? Paul describes an elder as a man who is not violent, but gentle and not quarrelsome. 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. 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.

     5. Is this man willing to be inconvenienced for others? When we hear the word hospitable, we picture inviting someone over for an evening of lasagna dinner and conversation. In the ancient world, 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 having raised sheep, I can tell you these frustrating animals need constant care. Their problems always seem to come at inconvenient times—I’ve spent a late night or two in the sheep barn. Plus, they smell baaaaad. (Sorry.) In other words, sheep require unconditional love.  A good elder recognizes, however, that these frustrating folk are beloved of God and are “bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

     6. 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?  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

     7. 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.

     8. 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.

     9. Does this man have a track record of discipling leadership? 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?

     10. 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.  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.