Jun 20, 1999 9 min read old-sermon

Two Lost Arts (1 Timothy 3:1)

it’s 64 AD – only about 30 years after Jesus left the earth
all over the Roman Empire, churches are starting
the growth of these churches is in many cases explosive
within a few short years, there are believers in major cities all over the Empire
but there are problems
many within the church are baby Christians
to make it worse, there is no Bible as we know it now
the apostles, who are recognized as having more authority, are infrequent visitors, and are only able to write occasionally
false teachers are present within the church
how is the church going to grow in a God-honoring and truthful way?
how is the church going to protect itself from false teaching?
the clear answer in Scripture: godly leadership within the church – people who are entrusted with watching over the church
people who will have to give account to God one day for their administration and leadership of the church
in Acts 14:23 we read:
(Acts 14:23) Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Paul and Barnabas literally risked their lives to return to churches where they had been threatened and even attacked
why?
to organize the churches’ leadership
to appoint elders within the churches, to keep those churches on a God-glorifying path
Paul’s normal course of action in every city was to establish a group of elders after the church began
Paul even instructed his representatives, such as Titus, to appoint “elders in every town”
it appears from a number of Scriptures, such as Philippians 1:1, James 5:14, and 1 Peter 5:1-2 that there were elders in every church in existence at that time
what are elders?
how do they relate to our current system of deacons and pastors?
there is a lot of confusion about church government, and especially about the role of church leaders
this is perhaps heightened in congregational systems of government like ours, in which leaders can become hamstrung by popular opinion within the church
so let’s look tonight at two lost arts – the art of eldership, and the art of what I will call followership
and, in a few weeks, we’ll look at the art of being a deacon
1 Timothy 3:1 reads
(1 Timothy 3:1) Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.
(1 Timothy 3:2) Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
(1 Timothy 3:3) not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
(1 Timothy 3:4) He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
(1 Timothy 3:5) (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
(1 Timothy 3:6) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
(1 Timothy 3:7) He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT ELDERS:
first, what are they?
let’s get the terminology clear first
1 Timothy 3:1 calls them overseers or bishops – episkopos in the Greek
but other passages talk about elders
are they the same thing?
well, Paul is writing to Timothy, and Timothy is in Ephesus
from Acts 20:17-38 we know that there are elders at Ephesus
in fact, in this passage Paul calls the same group of people elders and overseers
and in 1 Timothy 5:17 we discover that elders are ruling over the church in Ephesus
again, in Titus 1:5-7, Paul uses the terms interchangeably
it appears that whenever the Bible talks about bishops, overseers, and elders, they’re talking about the same thing
it’s ironic that the term least used to describe elders is the one in use today – pastor
in fact, it’s found only once in the New Testament to describe this office, in Ephesians 4:11
it’s clear from 1 Peter 5:2-4 that Peter regarded pastors as the same as elders
so whenever the Bible talks about bishops, overseers, elders, or pastors, the Bible is talking about the same group of people
how many are there?
it’s interesting to note that there is a consistent pattern of plural elders as the main governing group of New Testament churches
the church doesn’t have just one overseer
there are some who both teach and direct the affairs of the church, and there are some who lead and direct but do not necessarily teach
but what are they to do?
what is the job of an elder or pastor?
I think you’ll agree that if we ask the average person in a church what a pastor’s job is, you’ll get many different answers
but the Scripture outlines their roles fairly clearly
one of their major roles is to govern the church
(1 Timothy 5:17) The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
Paul also wrote:
(1 Timothy 3:4) He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
(1 Timothy 3:5) (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
1 Peter 5 encourages elders to rule over the church without domineering
it’s clear that they have a leadership role in overseeing and directing the church
there are some who attempt to emasculate the role of pastor
they try to make it a teaching-only role, with no leadership component
but biblically speaking, the role of an elder is to lead
but another one of their major roles is to teach
in Ephesians 4:11, elders are referred to as “pastor-teachers”
in 1 Timothy 3:2, an elder must be an “apt teacher”
in 1 Timothy 5:17, Paul seems to imply that there is a group of elders who give more of their time to preach and to teach
so the two major roles of elders are to lead and to feed
contrast that with the expectations of elders today
there is a danger today of expecting elders to be program directors or CEO’s of the church
we’ve adopted business models into the church to our detriment, to the point that we see the pastor as an executive, getting by on his charismatic personality or through a forceful personality
we also expect the pastor to be in charge of all the programs of the church
some churches just expect their pastors to teach, and to stay out of the way otherwise
and then there’s the chaplain role of the pastor: to preach, and then to cater to the needs of the congregation throughout the rest of the week
to visit and to meet people’s personal needs
many churches have got to the point where the pastor is a hired hand
the members’ role is to pay his salary
and his role is to do the ministry
but that’s not what the Bible says about the pastor
his role is to lead and to feed
and, I believe, we could add two other things to leading and feeding: equipping the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12), and to intercede on behalf of the church and its ministry
that’s the role of the pastor
let’s begin to talk about how all of this applies today
next time we meet, we’ll look at the qualifications of an elder, in which personal character is of utmost importance
le t’s acknowledge that we’ve lost something by our one-pastor model in most Baptist churches today
the Bible never talks about solo pastors
theologian Wayne Grudem writes, “No passage suggests that any church, no matter how small, had only one elder. The consistent New Testament pattern is a plurality of elders ‘in every church’ (Acts 14:23) and ‘in every town’ (Titus 1:5)'”
if someone were to plant a church, I’d suggest that they start with two pastors
why?
it’s biblical, and for very good reason – you need the support of another in leadership
you lose something when there’s only one pastor
let’s also realize that there appears to be different types of elders

how this can work in today’s church is to realize that those who are given the responsibility of spiritual oversight in the church are elders
some elders are paid – as in the case of pastoral staff
but some elders are unpaid
for instance, in what we currently call the board of deacons, some of those men are gifted as spiritual overseers, and in essence are serving as elders within the church
many churches have a recognized elders board, with some elders as volunteers and some as full-time pastoral staff
I’ll say this much: there is little Scriptural support for giving the task of spiritual oversight to deacons
if we give people the job of spiritual oversight, it’s probably a much better idea to actually call them elders
that’s a little about biblical eldership
we’re going to talk next time about the qualifications for eldership
1 Timothy 3:1 tells us that it is a good thing if one aspires to be an elder or a pastor
there might even be some people here who are aspiring to the role of the pastor
you feel God’s call on your life to be an elder
if so, you’re aspiring to a good thing
there’s nothing I’d rather be doing
but I feel I can’t end tonight without talking about the flip side of godly leadership
AND THAT IS THE ART OF GODLY FOLLOWERSHIP

we live in an individualistic age in which it is fashionable – even within the church – to refuse to follow leadership
we derive great pleasure from bashing our leaders
this extends to the church, where a “free for all” attitude can develop
I even hear well-meaning comments that people who don’t like the direction of the church should join and vote to go in an opposite direction
now, I’m not here to tell you that you must always agree with the leadership of the church
I’m not here to say that leaders of the church have always proven themselves worthy of being followed
I’m not advocating blind leadership, but I am advocating what the Bible commands:
(Hebrews 13:17) Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
the writer’s point is: cooperative followers are a joy to godly leaders
God has appointed leaders in the church, and they must one day give account to God for their oversight
are you following the God-given leaders in the church in such a way that their ministry is not burdensome to them?
I’ve noticed that many sheep are reluctant followers
many churches don’t let leaders lead
God has gifted some with the gift of leadership within the church, and the church has appointed certain people with positions of leadership
within a congregational structure, it’s extremely easy to refuse to get behind these leaders, or to frustrate their direction
I was a member of a church in which the deacons and the pastor came to the congregation with a significant proposal
the proposal was presented in an appropriate way, with adequate communication and a clear rationale
but slowly, the tide of one particular meeting began to turn
it became a free-for-all, in which everyone felt free to express their opinion
and the unanimous recommendation of the deacons and the pastors was defeated
now, that is the right of any congregation within a structure of congregational government, but let me tell you what happened
the church took a major step backward
the leaders had received a clear vote of non-confidence
the pastor soon found himself on a leave of absence due to stress, after which he soon resigned
that church was one in which you’d have to come early to find a seat, but to this day – ten years later – it still hasn’t fully recovered
all of which is to say: it is your right to refuse to follow
it’s not biblical, but it’s your right
but be aware that there are consequences when the art of followership is lost
when leaders aren’t allowed to lead
that’s a key area that we need to recapture within the church
if God has given someone the gift of teaching within the church, let them teach
if God has given someone the gift of mercy within the church, let them be merciful
if God has given someone the gift of service within the church, let them serve
and if God has given someone the gift and office of leadership within the church, let them lead!
we’ll return to this passage in a few weeks
but let me close with a challenge
is there anyone you ought to encourage to become a leader?
if you have leadership gifts, set your heart on being a leader
we need people like you
if you don’t sense that you are elder material, then follow confidently
pray for your leaders, make sure they’re Scriptural – but then follow them
get behind them, and obey them so that their work is a joy, and not a burden

Darryl Dash

I'm a grateful husband, father, oupa, and pastor of Grace Fellowship Church East Toronto. I love learning, writing, and encouraging. I'm on a lifelong quest to become a humble, gracious old man.

Toronto, Canada

Darryl Dash

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