MPC 22nd April 2007.April 22 - 1 Timothy 3 - "Lessons for Leaders"
Phil Campbell MPC 22nd April 2007.
In his book Point Man, Steve Farrer tells the story of a local high school that invited three military officers to come and address the senior class. The principal wanted the students to hear of the career options available in the different branches of the military. So they invited an army rep, a navy rep and a Marine Corp rep to come and address the school assembly.
The assembly was to be 45 minutes long and it was agreed that each speaker would get 15 minutes to make his pitch about why their particular section of the armed forces was the best option. Well, the army rep went first and got so worked up telling the students about what a great and fulfilling and rewarding career that it was, that he went hopelessly overtime. The Navy rep, not to be out done, did the same. Going point for point with the army guy, spelling out all the reasons why a life in the navy was best; all the attractions and positives of a life at sea.
And so by the time the representative from the US Marines got on stage, there was only 2 minutes left for the assembly. What could he say in 2 minutes to convince this auditorium full of senior students that they should join the marines in preference for the others. The recruiter walked up on the podium and stood there for the first 60secs in silence. He looked around the students, sizing them up and down. And then, after what seemed like an eternity, he said, "I doubt whether there would be two or three of you in this room who could cut it as a marine. I want to see those three men as soon as this assembly is dismissed." And he turned on his heel and sat down.
You can imagine which of the three got the most inquiries after the assembly. The marine guy was mobbed with blokes who reckoned that had what it takes.
Good story, isn't it? For one thing, because the guy was obviously quick on his feet and he pulled off a very clever technique in order to get the most interest for his profession. But I also like it because in one sense it's exactly the way Jesus spoke to the people he came across. Not that Jesus spoke so as to manipulate people into taking a interest, the way the marine did. But Jesus was similar in that he never seemed to bother selling Christianity, of making it sound glamorous. In fact, just the opposite. Jesus never held back on telling people the challenges that following him would involve.
I mean you listen to the tele-evangelists and it's all about accepting Jesus and you'll have a fulfilled life. Become a Christian and be healed. Follow Jesus and become part of warm and supportive fellowship. Trust Jesus as your personal Saviour, which I guess is something very much like having a personal trainer. On tap 24/7. It's all about what Jesus can do for you. Which in some senses may be true.
But have you noticed in the gospels that Jesus himself hardly ever sounds like that. Jesus instead usually talks about what we should be doing for him. Saying things like, "Look if you want to follow me you must deny yourself take up your cross and put me first; if you want to follow me you have to be willing to suffer persecution, to make some sacrifices, go through some inconveniences."
One time Jesus calls on one man to follow him and the man says, "Ok but just let me bury my father first," and Jesus says, "Look, go home and don't come back. You haven't got what it takes." Another guy - rich and important, the kind of guy you'd love to have on board, he says to Jesus, "how can I have eternal life?" Jesus doesn't say "That's great, let me take you through this Alpha course and let's pray this prayer of dedication together." Jesus says, go away and sell everything you've got and then you'll be ready to follow me."
And time and time again, Jesus says that sort of things: basically saying, "Look if you want to follow me you'd better be made of the right stuff. I'm not interested in pew warmers and nominal Christians who want to play church. I want people who are going to be committed to me fully. And if you can't handle that, if you're not up to that, then you're having yourself on."
Now if you reckon that's tough, what if you're recruiting a Christian leader?
It's interesting as we come to 1 Timothy chapter 3 on this morning where we'll be inducting Rob McCall as an elder, the apostle Paul wants to tell us that leading God's people is not for wimps. He says, leading God's people is in face a noble task. Worth committing your life to.
Here's a trustworthy saying, says Paul in verse 1. "If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task." Paul uses the word overseer interchangeably with the word elder. And the fact is, he says, being an overseer, being one of the group that overlooks the life of the church, being an elder of God's people, it's a great thing to set your heart on. We live in a world where by and large the honour you get is proportional to your billable hourly rate. But if you want to aim for a really honourable job, here it is. Overseeing the people of God.
If you set your heart on that, it's a great thing. But of course the fact it's such an honourable task means you need honourable people to do it. And that's what Paul goes on to say as he spells out to his assistant Timothy the sort of personal qualities to look for in anyone he's going to appoint as a leader in the church.
So imagine for just a minute that it was up to you to recruit some church leaders. I'll give you a little over two minutes. But let's take a look at the sort of qualities that mark out a suitable elder.
Good businessman? Popular? Knows all the rules and regulations of the Presbyterian Church? There are plenty of those. What are you going to look for? What sort of qualities are you going to look at if you're trying to weigh up whether potential elders are suitable for the job? How high are you going to raise the bar? Because as you know, a little bit later this morning, we're taking a step that's very hard to reverse. Of actually appointing the overseer that we elected back in March.
"Now the overseer," says Paul, "must be above reproach."
You know, if you were a fan of the West Wing on TV you'll still be grieving that last night was the final ever episode. Such an apparently realistic picture of what goes on in the White House. You know, as the Presidential elections played out on West Wing, there was a constant tension. Not just about the politics. But about the integrity of the candidates. And whether anyone was going to dig up some dirt. To bring Matt Santos or Arnie Vinnick's campaign crashing down. As one of the advisors said, better that it comes out now. Before they get the job. Because the last thing you'd want is something to bring their leadership undone at a time of national crisis.
Paul says, no less among the people of God. When it comes to appointing overseers, look for the someone with a track record that's above reproach. Whose lives aren't going to bring Jesus and the church into disrepute. It's a tough line, isn't it? Because we're talking about a noble task. Choose carefully. Which is why for two weeks we publicly asked for objections to the life and doctrine of Rob McCall. And nobody came forward.
As we follow through the passage you'll see the next phrase is "The husband of but one wife." And there's some debate about what Paul actually means. There are three or four options, but here's the one I reckon makes the most sense.
There's a sad old country song called You're a One Man Woman that said this: I'm not going to sing it. But here are the words...
You caught me fooling around with somebody new
You caught me fooling around now I'm losing you
'Cause you're a one man woman
You're a one man woman... But I'm a two timing man
Sad little song. Because it's all about a faithful wife, who's being cheated on by her two timing husband. Paul says an elder has got to be the sort of guy his wife can rely on. As faithful as the day is long. Which is why he says an overseer has got to be a one woman man. And not a two timer.
An overseer has got to be different to that. A man who sets an example in his faithfulness to his wife. It's a tough standard, isn't it? Because it's a noble task. In any sort of Christian leader, the first faithfulness check is to be a faithful spouse.
Because the fact is, your family life is the clearest indication of the kind of person you really are. They way you treat your wife, the way you bring up your kids, it says a lot about the way you'll lead a church.
Which is what Paul says in verse 4. The fact is, church is a family. And your own family at home is a small scale model. So he says an elder must be a person who manages his own family well; who knows how to teach his kids to be obedient and respectful. Because, he says in verse 5, if anyone doesn't know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church? If you can't run your family right in the small scale, what makes you think you can lead the family of God? Elders model their leadership at home.
Well, there's a whole bunch of other stuff we're meant to look for in our elders as well. Middle of verse 2, and you'll see the list. Temperate. And self controlled. Similar things. In other words, look for leaders who are ruled by their principles instead of their passions. Who've got enough self control to do the right they should do - instead of the easy thing their passions say to do on the spur of the moment.
Elders should be worth respecting, not just because of their position. But because their lives. The sort of people who are going to give the church a good name. Instead of bring it into disrepute.
Elders should be hospitable. That's next on the list in verse 2. The word literally means a lover of strangers. Pauline Hanson taught us that to be xenophobic means to be afraid of anyone different or foreign. The word Paul uses here in the original Greek is the direct opposite: xenophilic. An elder should be a lover of anyone different. With open heart and open home.
Well, we're still in verse 2. An overseer has got to be someone who's able to teach. Able to teach the word of God. It doesn't necessarily mean getting up the front to preach a sermon. But it does necessarily mean we need leaders with a good grip on the gospel fundamentals. It does necessarily mean having leaders who can teach the truth. An overseer needs to know exactly how to explain the basics of the faith. In a way that can be easily understood.
There's more. Verse 3. An overseer mustn't be given to drunkenness. It's an interesting thing, the Bible's actually got no problem with alcohol. But the bible has got a problem with people with an alcohol problem. So in spite of what a lot of well meaning Christians want to say, it doesn't say that an overseer has to totally abstain from alcohol. It says an overseer has to totally abstain from drunkeness. Because the first thing you lose when you're drunk is your self control. And then your respectability. And then your gentleness. And then the lot. This job is too important for drunkenness. So it's a disqualifier. From Christian leadership. In fact, if you're any kind of Christian. It's not on.
Well, Paul goes on to finish the picture. Not given to drunkenness, not violent, but gentle, he says there in verse 3, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. Which was a trap back then. And is a huge trap today. Because so often we're seduced by the sort of aspirational materialism that's never satisfied until it's got what the next person's got. We're talking about a leadership task that is way too important, way too noble, to go appointing someone in love with something as trivial as money.
Verse 6, not a recent convert, and verse 7, he's got to have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he won't fall into disgrace, and bring the rest of the church down with him. Because when you're leading the people of God, the devil's going look for every opportunity for bringing the church down by bringing you down.
Well, that's what Christian leaders are meant to look like. This is a noble task. With some tough sounding requirements. Self controlled, temperate, respectable, peaceful; faithful husbands, good fathers; able to teach, able to lead well.
But you know what? If you think it's maybe too tough and it's asking too much, I reckon you're wrong.
And I've got to say I've heard that said. Which misses the point that being a Christian isn't just fooling around. I mean, Jesus didn't call any of us to take up Christianity as a hobby, did he? And especially not leaders.
And the point is when you look at that list of qualities, there's only one thing that's any different from what's expected of every other Christian. And that's a bit of an ability to teach.
I mean, it's not rocket science. All Paul's asking for is leaders who are serious about demonstrating what the Christian life looks like. And if we've got none of those, then we've got a fundamental problem, haven't we? And we might as well all just sing the final song and go home. And not come back. Because what we're meant to be doing is playing a game of follow the leader. And that's what makes the elders so important. It's not that they're meant to be any different to everyone else. It's just that they're the ones setting the example for everyone else to follow. I mean, the qualification list doesn't ask for an MBA degree so you're a qualified business manager or a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology so you can be a Clinical counselor. All it's asking for is ordinary people who are prepared to live like ordinary Christians; and do it wholeheartedly. And so Elder or not, are you going to aim for any less? Than being a faithful spouse, than being self controlled, than not getting drunk, than being hospitable?
I'm not going to say to you this morning "I doubt whether there would be two or three of you in this room who could cut it as a marine." I'm going to say to you this morning, I reckon every person here could cut it with this stuff. Because by the Spirit that's the kind of life that Jesus wants to build in you. And if you're someone who's taken that step of commitment to following Jesus, that's the way your life is being shaped already.
And we're saying this morning, this is what we expect from our leaders. Because this is what we're all aiming for - as people committed to Jesus.
You know, the only reason you wouldn't take this stuff seriously would be if you figured church is not that important. Elect Bob at the bowling club because he's a good bloke, Ron at the Rotary club cause he's mates with Jim; Gwen's turn to be President at the garden club. But this is way bigger than that! I know a church where elders were appointed just to make up the numbers. I know a church where in the 50s and 60s, all you had to be was a business man or a bank manager in the town, and a Presbyterian - nominally. And you could write your own ticket as an elder. Which apparently was considered something of a status symbol. I know a church where one of the elders was known as the town drunk. And nobody held him accountable. Because apparently they thought it just didn't really matter. Friends, let me say we need to make our leaders accountable. We need to hounour our leaders and elders. But you need to choose carefully. And to hold us accountable as well.
Pick up in verse 14. And get an idea of the scale of what we're dealing with - if you're feeling casual about church. "Although I hope to come to you soon," Paul says to Timothy, "I'm writing these instructions so if I'm delayed, you'll know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household... God's family... which is the Church of the living God... the pillar and foundation of the Truth." That's what we are.
So can I say the way we conduct ourselves as the family of God, as the pillar and foundation of truth in our world, it's no small thing.
As we ordain and induct Rob McCall as an elder this morning, I'm glad I can say that as a church we've looked closely at Rob's faith and his life and his family; and we've seen him serve along with Christine in ways that give us great reassurance that he's a fitting overseer. The sort of person we want in the team that's steering our church.
And I want to take this opportunity to call on all our elders and our Ministry Team and our Growth Group leaders - because in a sense you're all overseers - I want to invite you to recommit. If your heart is set on being an overseer, that's an honorable thing. The most honourable task in the world. And worth doing with all your heart. So recommit to that kind of wholehearted service of your church family. With wholehearted integrity. Think through the areas you need to change. And do something about it.
And for everyone else, remember you're the ones who set the bar. I mean, we've got it here in black and white. But a church gets the leadership it deserves. So set your expectations high. Encourage your elders who are leading well. Honour them. And make it clear that's what you expect. Because if you're going to play follow the leader, you need leaders who know where they're going.