Not everyone understands that their Church Leadership is good or bad unless they are spiritual and desiring to grow spiritually and believes the Church belongs to God and needs to be cared for properly.
I would like to share a message with you that I received … not to draw attention to my Daily Notes, but to show you what happens when spiritual people do not have the Church Leadership they deserve. The author of this message shall remain nameless, though he is a dear brother whom I have known for easily 30 years. “I am enjoying and learning a great deal in your message regarding leadership in our churches. You really touch on every quality that a leader has to have and that is not easy. We are all sinners and it is a great responsibility many leaders don’t realize that they are taking on. At “X” Church we had leaders that did not come to church every Sunday, did not bring their families with them when they came and did not attend Bible Studies. This resulted in the Church having no discipline and I was uncomfortable in church and couldn’t concentrate on the sermon as I was uncomfortable and getting upset with the way the service was being led. I had no option than to leave the church. I felt guilty about leaving because it is a poor church and I was one of the few members financially contributing to the church. I prayed about this and now reading your messages I am sure it was God’s will that I moved on.”
In no way do I advocate leaving a Church until you have prayed like this brother. Leadership is so important! As a reminder, we have been looking at:
Ac 14:23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church.
These Churches were at Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. After spending many days building a basis to come to grips with the role and function and qualities of elders, we have come to:
1Ti 3:1 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. 4 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?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
Today we pick up the next qualifications of elders …
1) The elder must be self-controlled. To be “self-controlled” means to be “of sound mind”. The total opposite of “self-controlled” is:
Lk 8:27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. … 29 For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
This man was out of control … out of his mind, yet once Jesus cast out the demons he was self-controlled. Our text in Luke shows us his previous mind. He was intellectually disarranged. Once healed he was intellectually sound. He was rational without illusion. His now rational mind caused moderation and discretion. The reason for sighting “Legion” is because an elder needs to have a mind that is intellectually sound. There must be no illusions that cause temper tantrums, ranting or incoherence. He needs to use discretion when speaking or responding because he is the Lord’s servant … in fact, his speaking and behavior requires moderation. The under pinning concept of “self-controlled” is that and elder is a teacher (ruling or teaching elder). He may not behave in an irrational manner before or when leading the flock of the Lord. Again, this does not mean he won’t have ups and downs, highs and lows or feel emotionally happy or sad at times. He is human … but he needs to be sound of mind. Be cautious of leaders who are excessive in their speech and behavior.
2) The elder must be respectable. It is easy to be “respectable” in front of others! The word as used here however means one who has so disciplined himself under the eye of the Holy Spirit that he is “morally respectable”. If it was used of a lady it would imply “modesty”, though an elder needs to be modest in the presentation of himself to the point where he is well mannered. The spiritual exercise of training with moral respectability in mind is said to be “measured in movements”. From this comes control of the body and its movements and impulses. This is interesting … because moral respectability requires the will to adjust the mind, actions and feelings (desires) in such a way that God is glorified and His people are safe and secure in the elder’s presence. Hear what the Holy Spirit says through Paul:
Eph 5:3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Moral respectability falls into the bracket of “holy”. This attribute needs to shine through the eldership because they are servants of God who says:
Lev 19:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
Moses was the leader. He needed to be holy to be able to declare God’s Word to the people … “‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.'” How much more ought the elder to be because of the Gospel? Although we have only dealt with another two attributes required of an elder, we are able to see how separated from the world, the mindset of the world and the sinful self if he is to lead the people of God towards spiritual growth, service and preparation for heaven. We ought to realize that he cannot be what God requires without us, his congregation, praying for him and his holiness daily!
Father, help me to remember my Church Leaders regularly in prayer. Help them, sustain them, mature them and cause them to drink heartily from the Rivers of Life found in Your Holy Word. Amen.