We now come to one of the several sections in the Pastoral epistles that looks at the qualifications for various tasks in the church. This section looks at overseers and deacons. Overseer is roughly equivalent to bishop. However, there it does not help to try and find a precise model for church governance, for there isn't one in the New Testament. The important thing is the principles.
First, to desire to be an overseer is to desire a noble task. Church leadership is important. However, character is vital. An overseer must be beyond reproach, ie not someone who can be easily accused of various things. He must be faithful to his wife, for if we are not faithful to our wives how can we be trusted to be faithful to the church. We need to be self-controlled, respectable and hospitable. Leaders, more than other church members, will be on public display. He must be able to teach. A leader needs to be able to instruct others in the faith, and to explain and defend the faith to the world.
We must not be lovers of money, and must run our own families in a proper way.
A leader should be established in the faith, not a recent convert. Pride is an enormous problem, and there is no point in exposing someone to the risk too early. The devil loves to trap leaders and so bring disgrace upon the church and upon the name of Jesus, so we need to be wise and vigilant.
No comments:
Post a Comment