Leadership in the Church

1 Timothy 3

1-7If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.

I love the plain speaking style of The Message. If anyone wants to provide leadership then GOOD. We need leaders. Note not just A leader but leaders. Perhaps as we consider the qualifications of those who would be leader, we should consider ourselves. Are we willing to lead or just take shots at the leaders? If we would lead, do we qualify?

As we consider the qualifications of 1 Timothy perhaps what is most interesting is what is NOT listed. We are not told that leaders need to be pretty with nice hair. We are not told that they need to be smooth talkers or particularly articulate. We are not told they should be of a certain age but it seems to be assumed that they are good family men. Paul does seem to assume they are men, but I haven’t got the strength to tackle that one today.

It seems leaders should be men of character and able to take care of business. Not pushy or money hungry. It seems most TV evangelists don’t qualify.

A good bottom line seems to be if you are a good family man, committed to your wife, having the attention and respect of your children, and those who know you, having your affairs in order, with some experience with Jesus, you can be a leader. That says a lot. It takes a good man to be a good family man. You have to be cool and collected, accessible and hospitable.

Maybe the commitment part is key. To be a good family man you have to be committed and focused on that job. You have to know some stuff including knowing that you don’t know it all. You have to want to provide leadership. You can’t be satisfied with letting anyone or anything else take the lead.

Sounds like a pretty good church leader to me.

Be blessed.

Nick

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