Qualities of a Leader in God’s Church
1 Timothy 3:1-7
Bill Hybels writes the following in his book, ‘Courageous Leadership,’
Ten years ago I sat in a
little restaurant during my summer study break and wrote these words; The local
church is the hope of the world and it’s
future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders.
For the first time, I realized that from a human perspective the outcome of the
redemptive drama being played out on planet earth will be determined by how well
church leaders lead. Many churches are filled with sincere, talented, godly
people who would love to leverage their spiritual gifts in order to impact the
world for Christ. The question is this: Will the men & women who have been
entrusted with leadership gifts take their gifts seriously, develop them fully,
and deploy them courageously, so that the willing and gifted believers in their
churches can work together to make difference in the world?
James Hunter in his book “The Servant” presents a powerful picture of what it really means to be a leader/servant.
He shares: leadership is ultimately rooted in our will. Not forcing our will on others, but demonstrating our will to serve. There is a big difference between leading through power and leading through authority. Many people can simply force people to do what they want because they have the power to make them. However, few people like to be forced to do anything. Eventually such “power driven leadership” destroys relationships.
On the
other hand, some have the ability to lead through authority. Authority is
different than power. Power is something you have and force on people. Authority
is something you gain – it’s given to you by the people you lead. How does one
gain authority from those they lead? Only through service and sacrifice. When
people see that you have their best interests at heart, when they see you are
willing to sacrifice and serve them they will be willing to follow. That’s
servant leadership, that’s authority.
Today we are going to look at the first of two sermons on leadership in God’s Church.
The issue of leadership is a very important principle to understand.
Great things do not happen without great leaders.
I believe any organization will only rise as high is it is led.
I have
been in many churches where the selection of leaders was not taken seriously.
A church
can have a lot of good things going for it,
but if it has poor leadership, the church will not go far or be effective in it’s ministry.
This church has been blessed with a heritage of strong leadership.
Because
the bulk of the ministry in a typical church depends on volunteers, leadership
may be even more important in the church than your typical organization.
In the
first of this two part message,
I want us to focus on the qualities church leaders should
posses.
Leadership is influence.
A leader is able to influence people to do things, they did not think
they could do.
British Field Marshal Bernard
Montgomery, is credited with the following statement concerning
leadership: Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a
common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.
These two messages are important for our church to grasp.
We need to understand what kind of men God wants leading His church and secondly,
one day, we will need a new generation of leaders.
I hope these messages will give all of us some things to work on in our lives
so that we
will be ready to answer the call when it comes.
I. THE DESIRE OF A LEADER.
1
Timothy 3:1 (NIV) Here is a trustworthy
saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.
In verse 1 we are told that if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it’s a fine work he desires to do.
The word “overseer” is also translated as “bishop” and “elder” in the N. T.
The function of the office is emphasized by this word.
To oversee the work of the church.
Next week we will look at what that
encompasses.
Without going into a long discussion on church government,
the New Testament churches were led by a plurality of elders.
Paul tells us that one of the first qualities of a leader, is a
willingness and a desire to lead.
The word “aspire” means to stretch out the hands
after.
This is not an issue of selfish motivation.
It is a desire to lead.
In the early church, leaders were targets of persecution.
If you can hurt the leaders, you can hurt the organization.
Today it means a great deal of sacrifice of time.
It is a good thing to grow up wanting to be an elder in the church.
The last thing a church wants to do is beg a person to be a leader.
For a person to reluctantly accept a position of leadership
would be bad for both the church and the person accepting
the position.
Young men, now is the time to start looking at the qualities of a leader
so you can begin preparing yourself now.
Wives, now is the time to encourage your husbands to be working on
these qualities.
As we turn to the character of a leader, realize these character traits are something we should all be working on.
In the leader, they should be very evident!
II. THE CHARACTER OF A LEADER.
1
Timothy 3:1-3 (NIV) Here is a trustworthy
saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.
2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife,
temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given
to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
Leadership begins with who we are, not what we do.
A lack of integrity among leaders, quenches the flow of the Holy Spirit,
and removes God’s hand of blessing from the church.
In verses 2-3 of this chapter, we have 13 qualities of a leader mentioned.
For Paul to mention 13, in two short verses, speaks to range of qualities.
ABOVE REPROACH.
This literally means, “nothing to take hold upon.”
Not one of us can be sinless, but we can be above reproach or blameless.
Our lives are lived in such a way, accusations cannot stick.
BLAMELESS.
It means that it’s impossible for a charge to stick or be taken
seriously.
THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE.
This means being a one woman man.
TEMPERATE.
Calm, one who controls their tongue, temper and other emotions.
It was used of one who stayed away from wine.
SELF-CONTROLLED:
Common sense: Level-headed.
Not given to sudden impulses.
RESPECTABLE.
Good behavior, orderly conduct.
HOSPITABLE.
Being willing to open the home, open to strangers.
Never meeting a stranger.
ABLE TO TEACH.
Does not mean you are a teacher,
but that you posses the knowledge base,
that will enable you to encourage believers, and point out false teaching.
Verse 3 deals with the overall temperament of the leader.
NOT GIVEN TO DRUNKENNESS:
The phrase originally meant, “one who sits long beside his wine.”
Later, it dealt with one who became quarrelsome after drinking it.
Wine was used for medicine back then.
This phrase does not prohibit wine, but it is a very strong warning.
After all, what redeeming quality (other than medical) comes from alcohol?
We are
better steering clear from it because of the effects.
NOT VIOLENT.
Literally means a striker, one who hits.
One who uses physical force to get their way
GENTLE.
James Hewett says, “Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.”
Gentle means power under control.
It was used of tames horses.
The horse chooses to be tame and under control.
NOT QUARRELSOME.
Church
leaders are not to be contentious.
They are not to be the kind of people that are always picking a fight.
Instead they are to be peacemakers.
Working to bring people together instead of setting them at odds with one another.
NOT A LOVER OF MONEY.
This deals with not only the love of money, but questionable means of getting it.
Your motives have to be above reproach when it comes to
dealing with money.
III. THE HOME OF A LEADER.
1 Timothy 3:4-5 (NIV) He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)
Notice verse 4 says He MUST manage his own FAMILY.
Since an elder is going to be set over, preside over the church,
what he does with his family is a good barometer as to the
job he will do.
In Thayer’s Greek definitions, to “manage” means - “to set before”, “place before”, “set over” to “be over”, “to superintend”, “to preside over”, “to be a protector or guardian”; “to give aid”; “to rule”, “to care for”, “give attention to”.
The word emphasizes the leadership role of one,
who has been placed at the head of the family or church,
and who is therefore responsible to, “rule, direct and lead.”
The
secondary meaning of the word means,
“to
be concerned about”, “to care for”.
Men, bringing home a check is only a PART of managing your household.
Too many men are absentee husbands and parents.
Too many of men have advocated their responsibility to manage their own homes.
Does this mean we do it all?
No.
Does the manager of a baseball team play first base, pitch and play the outfield?
No.
He directs others to do their job, he even has
other coaches who help him.
Does a football coach play quarterback and do the kicking for the team?
No.
A good coach knows his team, and knows the strengths and weakness of the team. He know who needs to do what, for the good of the team.
Does the team manager or coach go out fishing while the team is playing?
Does he blow off practice to sleep in or to do something more fun and exciting?
He spends time with his team.
He teaches, rebukes, protects, and delegates responsibility.
If you cannot manage your home,
or you leave it all up to the wife to do it,
you will not make a good leader at this time.
The second part of verse three, speaks of keeping his children under control with PROPER RESPECT.
We do not beat our children into submission;
we discipline and train them with PROPER RESPECT.
We treat them with honor and respect.
Our children will be under control,
even when we are not around because they respect us,
not because they are scared for their lives.
Ephesians 6:4 (NLT) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
Children NEED and WANT reasonable rules and discipline.
Share in the responsibility of raising your children.
Titus 1:6 (NIV) An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
I believe if we handle things in a proper way with our children,
if we are good example of what Jesus is,
they will want to follow the God we follow.
IV. THE
REPUTATION OF A LEADER WITH OUTSIDERS.
1
Timothy 3:7 (NIV) He must also have a good
reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the
devil's trap.
President Theodore
Roosevelt stated: The
most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get
along with people.
Non-church members will often judge the church, by the lives of its leaders.
If their lives are not above reproach,
the careless living will become a stumbling block,
that potential converts will use as
an excuse, not to give their lives to Jesus.
We are trying to win the lost to Jesus.
If a potential leader does not have a good reputation with the community,
it will hurt the ministry of the church.
If I am a shady businessman,
the community will look at the church that I am a leader
in with suspicion.
If I am writing bad checks around town, and I am a known leader in the church,
do you think the church I serve,
will have much of a chance reaching people who
know I am bouncing checks?
1 Peter 2:11-16 (NIV) Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
Next Slide:
When we live carelessly, we fall in the snare Satan puts out for us.
We will fall into reproach.
The reproach in this context,
would be the accusations the community would make toward the guilty party,
as they mocked him to his face about being a
church leader.
CONCLUSION
These qualities are qualities EVERY Christian should posses and be striving for.
However, for the leader these qualities must be evident in their
life.
Being a leader in the Church of God, means
you must live a Godly life,
you must trust God in your life,
you must obey God in your life.
you must serve God with your life,
you must be humble before God in your life.
Being a leader in the Church of God is
leading people by example.
It’s inspiring others by your life to
Trust in God,
Be obedient to God,
Serve God,
And be humble before God.
Being a real leader is more than having a title;
it’s being able to inspire others to follow you.
Richard Halverson the former chaplain to the U.S. Senate wrote,
“Whether a man likes it or not—if he’s in a place of leadership—he will be influencing others. He has no right just to consider himself. He must think in terms of his influence. This is part of the price of leadership! Not just the man himself—but what happens to those who follow in his footsteps—is the serious responsibility of the leader….”
There are many “leaders” who have no following.
Character, reputation in the community, and the home life,
all can have an impact on our ability to lead.
Next week we will look at the work of a leader in God’s church.