Bonafide Elders

God has called His church to be ordered and structured, and therefore, we need leaders to maintain that order and structure. Who are those leaders, and what are their qualifications?

Open with me to 1 Timothy chapter 3, and we'll find out. Good morning! Isn't it a great morning when you get an extra hour of sleep? Would you take out your Bibles with me and open them? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We are in the New Testament book of 1 Timothy, which is near the end of your Bible. Open to the very last book and then turn to the left. Eventually, you'll find 1 and 2 Thessalonians and 1 and 2 Timothy.

1 Timothy chapter 3 is where we are, and by God's grace, we're no longer in chapter 2. If you were here last week, you know why I'm saying that. So, 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1 is where we will pick it up. The Apostle Paul writes, "This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the Church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."

Father, as we consider this passage of Scripture, I ask that You would open our hearts, our minds, and our understanding so that we may comprehend what it is that You desire to speak to each of us individually. God, I believe You've brought us here this morning for that purpose. We come before You with open hearts and humble minds, ready for Your instruction by Your Spirit. We pray, God, that You would continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds so that in our lives—Monday, Tuesday, throughout this week, and throughout this month—we would be...

Showing in our conduct what is your good and perfect will among our co-workers, our families, and our neighbors, wherever you take us. So, Lord, we lift this time into your hands. We pray that you'd bless it in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

I imagine that many of you, like me, probably have a memory going back to your childhood—a very specific memory. Although it seems sadly that every single year that goes by, those memories kind of fall off the map, there is still this memory that is clear to me. It goes back to the time when I was about five or six years old, and it was the memory of what I wanted to be and to do when I got older. How many of you can still remember being a child and thinking, "This is what I wanted to be when I got older"?

For me, it was not very original. I had a nice red jacket and a nice red hat, and I wanted to be a firefighter. That was my desire as a little five-year-old kid. I would make my dad take me down to the fire station to see the fire engine and all that sort of stuff. That was what I wanted to do and to be—a firefighter.

Interestingly, over time, desires change. We all have that experience where our desires evolve. By the time I was about 14, I had moved from wanting to be a firefighter to wanting to be a pyrotechnician. If you don't know what that is, it's basically the complete opposite of fighting fires; it involves blowing things up and starting explosions. Of course, I became neither one of those things. The desires I had when I was younger were not fulfilled.

Some of you may have had the experience of actually becoming what you wanted to be when you were a kid, but for me, that was not the case. It is true that over time, our desires change. Not only does time change our desires, but if you're a Christian today and have put your faith in Jesus, you may have experienced that God begins to transform your desires. He changes the things that we desire.

Three thousand years ago, a songwriter we call a psalmist by the name of David, who was the king of Israel, wrote something that is a very important and interesting lyric.

For some of you, a favorite verse from the Bible is found in Psalm 37, verse 4. The lyricist says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." This verse is a favorite of many people; maybe you have even committed it to memory and thought about it before. On face value, it seems to be such an epic and awesome promise, and in many ways, it is.

There are many people who have taught, and maybe you've heard this teaching before. I know I've heard it on the radio and seen guys on TV preaching that this is what the promise means: that if you delight yourself in the Lord—whatever that may mean, as there are different explanations about it—He will give you whatever your heart desires. That sounds good because, I don't know about you, but my heart is like a desire factory. All day long, every day, it is continually developing and building constant desire.

We live in a culture that is created around drawing out your desires. I'll be driving around and see an advertisement for alcohol, and I think, "I really want a Tesla Model S." Then I'll see another advertisement and think, "I really want that." Sometimes I think that want and need can get messed up. I need an iPhone 10, and as I'm going along, I really want a caramel brulee latte, and ooh, I really want an apple fritter. I also want my kids to obey. All of those constant desires are there; our heart just manufactures desire from the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep.

So when we read a verse or hear the common interpretation of that verse—"Delight yourself in God, and He's going to give you whatever your heart desires"—people get really excited. Sometimes we think of God as like the cashier at In-N-Out, and we just go there and say, "I want this, and I want this, and this animal style," and He just says, "Alright, cool, got it." You delight in God, and I'm going to do all those things.

Here's the problem: that interpretation, although common, doesn't fit with the proper interpretation of Scripture, and it also doesn't fit with our reality.

Observation in our own lives and in the lives of other people provides a much better way to interpret the lyric "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." This can be understood as follows: as I begin to take delight in God, one of the transformations that happens when you become a follower of Jesus is that you start to delight in the good things of who God is and what He has done.

As you discover these things through the Bible and Bible teaching, you uncover all the amazing things that God has done for you and is doing in you. When you begin to delight in who God is and in what He has done, God gives you new desires in your heart. I would say that any Christian who has been walking with Jesus for any length of time has experienced this. As your delights begin to change, you find that God begins to give you new desires in your heart.

As I shift my delights, God shifts my desires. In another place in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote that it is God who is working in you, giving you desire. God works in His people, His followers, to give them new desires when we become followers of Jesus. I would say this is one of the earliest evidences in the life of a person who is a Christian. When you put your faith in Jesus and become a Christian, one of the earliest indications that you have been transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit is that your desires begin to change. You have new desires that have begun to be planted in your heart.

This leads us to point number one: God's saving power transforms our desires as well as our souls. The born-again Christian, transformed by the saving power of God, begins to experience God transforming their desires as well as their soul. He makes all things new, and part of the newness of the Christian experience is that God begins to transform our desires when we become followers of Jesus.

When you are born again, that is the experience the Bible describes as salvation. When you are born again, you become a new creation in Christ. Just like you had a desire when you were a child to be and do something with your life, when you begin to be an adult and become a new believer as a Christian, He gives you new desires to be and do something new with your life.

Paul speaks to this in 1 Timothy 3:1. It says, "This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work." In my observation, having walked with Jesus for many years and served in a church for almost 18 or 19 years, this is a natural shift that begins to happen in the life of a follower of Jesus. As they begin to follow God, they develop a new desire to serve Him. They see all the things that God has done for them, and a desire begins to well up within them.

It is natural and good for a Christian to desire to serve God. This brings up a challenging point. If today you would say, "I'm a Christian; I've put my faith in Jesus," but you don't have a desire to serve God, it might be a good idea to take some time this afternoon or maybe this week to spend privately in prayer with God. Ask Him, "God, would you search my heart and see if my delights are out of order? Maybe I'm focusing my attention, my passion, and my delights on things that have nothing to do with You, and as a result, my desires are in the wrong place."

If you're a Christian today and have no desire to serve God, that might indicate that something is out of order or off course in your life. It is a good indication that you need to spend some time with the Lord in prayer. One of the things that God's Spirit does in the life of His people is transform our desires.

The desire that Paul describes in 1 Timothy 3:1 is, as I have observed, a universal desire that develops inside the hearts of all Christians, both men and women. This desire to serve God and to be in a place of leading other people within the Church is a universally experienced shift in the life of the Christian. That is why many English translations of 1 Timothy 3:1 say, "This is a trustworthy statement: If anyone aspires or desires this..."

Despite my desires, this is a good thing. Maybe you've had that desire as well. You might object and say, "I have no desire to be an overseer, a leader, or an elder in the church." That's fine, but hopefully, there is a growing desire in your life to serve, just as God has done a good work of salvation in serving you. You now desire to have that service to the Lord in your life as well.

Of course, just because I, as a five-year-old, desired to be a firefighter, that did not immediately mean that I would be one. This brings me to point number two: desire alone does not qualify for service. You don't have a sermon guide, so you can note it down in your margin somewhere.

Desire is important and good. I think it's really important that if you are serving the Lord in some capacity in the church, there should be some sort of desire behind that. If every single week you get up and serve in children's ministry, hospitality, or some other area within the church, and you wake up thinking, "Oh goodness, I don't want to do this this morning," then don't. If you can't do it cheerfully and joyfully, I'm not sure that God is desiring you to serve in that capacity. If it's not a joy for you to serve, then perhaps it's time to reconsider.

One of the things I have seen in the transforming power of God is that many people over the years here at this church begin to serve in some area of ministry, and later they come back to me and say, "You wouldn't believe this! I used to hate children, and now I'm serving in the third-grade classroom, and I love it! I don't know what happened." I'll tell you what happened: God, by His power, has transformed you from the inside out. He has transformed your desires, and it's a beautiful and wonderful thing that God begins to do.

However, desire alone does not qualify for service. In 1 Timothy chapter 3, Paul gives us some qualifications for people who are serving within the church. There are two groups referred to as servants within the church. One group is referred to in this passage as bishops; other translations call them elders. So, you have bishops or elders, or some translations say overseers. In the passage that we will look at next week, verses 8 through 13, Paul talks about deacons, and that word "deacon" just means servants. Thus, you have those who are overseers or elders within the church, and then you have those who are deacons.

Deacons and elders are both servants within the church. However, the elders have a specific and distinctive task in overseeing the church, along with other unique qualities in their work. We will discuss these aspects in this passage.

In our church, we were birthed out of a movement called the Calvary Chapel movement of churches. Many of you have a background with Calvary Chapels, while some of you do not. We are still connected with the Calvary Chapel movement, but in recent years, we have also formed a partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention. In Calvary Chapels, we do not frequently use the terms "elders" and "deacons." However, if you came to Cross Connection Church from a Southern Baptist background, you have likely heard these terms for a long time, as they have deacons and elders within their churches.

At our church, we have individuals in these roles, but we do not always refer to them as such. Often, we simply call them servants, volunteers, helpers, or leaders within the church. Every church has these roles, though they may use different names. The basic point we see in 1 Timothy chapter 3 is that those who occupy these roles and perform these tasks need to be qualified leaders. They must possess certain qualifications, akin to a resume, with specific prerequisites attached to their work.

These prerequisites do not necessarily include formal training or a degree from a program designed to prepare them for this work. Instead, the enabling qualifications are much more about the work of God in them. They are transformative characteristics that God has instilled in them, and we should see these traits in the lives of those serving as overseers, elders, and deacons within the church.

As we approach this passage, we must remind ourselves of the context. Why is Paul discussing elders and deacons in this way? The context is found in the same chapter, 1 Timothy chapter 3. In verse 14, Paul writes, "These things I write to you." He states that he is writing this entire letter for a very specific purpose. He hopes to come to them shortly to discuss these matters in person, but if he is delayed, he writes to them so that they may know how to conduct themselves in the house of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of truth. This context is essential as we continue to study through the letter.

First Timothy, chapter 1, verse 2 to 3, discusses how Paul is writing to Timothy about setting up the church at Ephesus. The church is made up of people; it is not just a building. Paul emphasizes how the members of the church should conduct themselves. This context is crucial for understanding the message.

When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he found a church he had originally planted about a decade earlier. Although he had established it and set it on the right path, he discovered that, ten years later, the church was off course. They were not functioning as they should have been, which is why Timothy was left there. Paul essentially assigned him the task of ensuring that the church got back on track.

Paul writes to Timothy to help him understand what he needs to focus on in that city and at that church. It appears that when Paul and Timothy arrived in Ephesus, they found a church struggling due to a leadership problem. Many times, churches that are off course face similar issues stemming from leadership failures. This was likely the case at the church in Ephesus.

There are various leadership problems that can arise in churches and organizations outside of them. One of the most common issues I have observed is that individuals who are supposed to be leaders are not actually leading. This lack of leadership can cause a church or organization to stray from its intended course. When Paul and Timothy arrived in Ephesus, they found that no one was at the helm, which meant the church was not being effectively led.

Timothy was instructed to stay and lead. This is an important value in the text. Last week, we discussed the role of women in the church and in ministry, and now we are continuing to explore these themes. Men, if you are not fulfilling the role that God has called you to as a husband in the home, then you should...

Expect that you're going to have a problem as it relates to the way the home is running and whether it is on course or off course. God has called you men to be leaders in the house. As we go through the text of the Bible, both in this passage and in other places, we see that God has created an order and a headship in the home. He has called men to be responsible for that headship, and this principle is also found in the church.

We saw this in the text last week. Both in the church and in the home, there is a calling according to God's created order for men who occupy this role. However, when men drop the ball and do not fulfill the work that God has called them to do, you can be certain that a very capable wife will step in and start leading. What I have seen many times is that when this takes place, the wives are indeed very capable. This is not an issue of capability or incapability; women in the church are very capable of being leaders.

It is an issue of calling and created order. In the home and in the church, God has established a created order and a headship, and He says, "Guys, you have a responsibility to be the leader in your home." If you are not seeking to lead in the way that the Scriptures prescribe, one of the chief points of leadership that Jesus ordains in the Scriptures is what we call servant leadership. If you are not doing that, expect to have problems in your home.

I would say that probably nine times out of ten, when we have a couple come into our church for biblical counseling or marriage counseling, and they come in with conflict in the marriage, the husband often says, "She's not submitting; the Bible says submit." We just say, "Hey, listen, husband, are you walking in the way that God has called you to walk as a husband? Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. Are you doing that in the home?"

Above 90% of the time, there is a kind of sheepish look from the husband, while the wife sits there quietly, submissively, but she is thinking, "No, no." So, guys, you need to take this seriously. There is, of course, a problem when the husband is not providing the proper leadership that the Bible calls him to give. When the wife steps into that role, that is when you will have a breakdown of the way in which God intended it to be.

Conflict will arise, and there will be issues. God has established an order in His creation; therefore, He has called men to take the lead in the home and in the church. However, that evidently was not happening at the church in Ephesus, which is why Paul addressed the issue he did in the previous passage regarding women in ministry. There were clearly women in the church at Ephesus who were saying, "Hey, none of the guys are stepping up and doing what they're called by God to do." As a result, very capable women were stepping up to fill that gap. Paul was saying that this needs to be addressed, and it needs to be largely addressed by men occupying the roles that God has called them to occupy.

He states that if anyone desires to be an overseer—this refers to a bishop, elder, or overseer in the Church of God—anyone may have that desire, both men and women. However, the first qualification is given to us in verse 2: he desires a noble work. It is very clear, and this is the doctrinal position that we hold here at Cross-Connection Church. The role of an overseeing elder, as we will see through this passage, involves certain distinctive works and tasks that overseeing elders do in the church. We believe that the work of an overseeing elder is a role designated for men within the church; it is not a role for women.

If a man has this desire, it is a good thing for him to have. A quick sidenote: if you desire for your wife to follow you in the way that the Bible describes, you need to take the role of leader seriously that God has called you to. You need to consider what the Scriptures say about how to walk that out. If you say, "I don't know how to do that," come talk to us. We want to help you understand this and learn together. None of the pastors are perfect at this, but we are seeking to have the Word inform us about how we are to be husbands, fathers, and employees. The Bible speaks about all these things, and we need to understand them.

Paul states that there are qualifications prescribed for those who will be overseers within the church. Here are the qualifications from verse 2 of 1 Timothy chapter 3: "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the Church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil."

Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare.

Point number three: hopefully, you have an outline by now. The good work of elders requires qualified good workers. There are quite a few things listed here as qualifications for the elders, the overseers within the church. After this, we will get into the issue of deacons, servants within the church. We will address that in the next section.

Though I certainly could spend two or three weeks breaking down every single one of these qualifications, parsing the language in the Greek, and bringing up all kinds of different ideas and discussion points on all of the things that are listed here in this passage, I’m not going to do that. You are reasonable people, and the things that are here in this passage are not all that difficult to interpret.

If, at first reading, you find that there are some things you don't understand, then go and get one of the other ten different English translations that are freely available to you on the YouVersion Bible app. Read it in another translation. As you read it in the New Living Translation, the New International Version, the New King James Version, the English Standard Version, the Christian Standard Bible, or the New American Standard Bible, you will find that you are reasonable people and will be able to figure this out. You will say, "Okay, I get what that probably means."

When Paul says to Timothy that overseers in the church should be blameless, in this version, the New King James Version, another version would say they need to be above reproach. This means there is nothing in their life that could be rebuked. Essentially, they should have a good reputation. People who are leading within the church should have a good reputation; people should look at them and say, "This is a person who seems to be walking after the Scriptures."

When the Scriptures say that the person is temperate, another translation might say they have a good temper. How many of you have worked under a boss who just didn't have a good temper? They should not be elders in the church; they should not be leaders in the church. It should be well-known that this person is temperate and has a good temper.

It also says they should be sober. Another English translation will say they have a sound mind or are not impulsive. Impulsive people do not make good leaders within the church or within other organizations. Therefore, they should be even-keeled and not impulsive.

They should have good behavior. You don't need a master's in divinity to interpret good behavior; we can easily recognize good and bad behavior. It's very simple. Therefore, we don't need to go through every one of these qualifications in a heavy-handed way.

Hospitable means being generous with one's possessions. A person who is a miser and not generous does not make a good overseer within the Church of God. I won't spend a lot of time going through every single point, but I want to focus on four qualifications that seem to cause problems within churches. As you read through them, people often get stuck and wonder what they mean. Churches may even disagree on their interpretations. You might go to one church that sees it one way and another church that sees it differently.

The four qualifications that tend to trip people up are important to address. First, let's look at the clear point in this passage: qualified elders must display the fruit of the Spirit. This is the simple principle of this passage. If you've never heard that phrase before, it comes from another New Testament book called Galatians, chapter 5.

When you became a Christian, if you are a Christian today, the Spirit of God dwells inside of you. If you have the Spirit of God within you, certain things begin to be produced in your life—fruit that evidences the Spirit of God being in you. This includes love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and patience. All of these qualities should be evident in the life of a person who is a Christian and has the Spirit of God in them.

So, qualified elders must display the fruit of the Spirit. Now, let's address the first qualification that often causes confusion: a bishop or elder must be the husband of one wife. There has been some conflict within churches about what this means. It does not mean that it is a requirement for elders in the church to be married. Rather, it indicates that those who are serving in the capacity of leaders, overseers, or elders in the church should have a certain character and integrity in their relationships.

They need to be one-woman men. How do we know that marriage is not a requirement for leading as an overseer in the church? Well, for one, the Apostle Paul was not married, and I think we all would agree he was an overseer, an elder within the church. Therefore, it is not a requirement for those who are in the oversight position of the church to be married.

However, if the elder is someone who is married, then that individual needs to be committed to the wife he is married to. One commentator said this means that the biblical leader is not a playboy, not an adulterer, and not a flirt. He does not show romantic or sexual interest in other women, including depictions or images of women in pornography. The man who would occupy the role of an overseer in the church needs to be committed to his bride. That's what's being taught here in this passage, and it is an important value, a qualification for elders within the church.

Now, of course, one of the things that becomes clear in this passage as we study about elders is that this implies, once again, the value we hold that the role of the overseeing elder within the church is a role for men because of the husband of a wife. This is a role given for male leadership within the church. So, that's the first qualification that sometimes people get tripped up by.

The second qualification is where we read that a bishop or elder must be able to teach. He must be able to teach. This is not a requirement that an elder be a spectacular preacher or orator. Sometimes there has been this view that if you are not a spectacular preacher or orator, you cannot be an elder. Again, that would be a problem for the Apostle Paul because he tells us in some of his writings, most notably in First Corinthians chapter 2, verse 1, that he was not exactly a spectacular orator. He was really good at writing things; I mean, a third of the New Testament was written by the Apostle Paul. He was pretty good at that, but apparently, he was not a very good public speaker.

Can anyone relate to the Apostle Paul on this one? Come on, some of you can. He was not the best public speaker. How do we know? He said, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. I was with you in weakness and much fear and much trembling."

Trembling public speakers here today, a few of you can identify with the Apostle Paul. He said, "My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." So, Paul was not the greatest orator or public speaker.

What does it mean that the overseer or the elder within the church should be able to teach? One of the things this informs us about is that one of the distinctive tasks of an overseeing elder is teaching. Deacons, as we will see next week, are not necessarily set apart for the work of preaching and teaching. However, those who occupy the role of elder or overseer in the church do occupy this role of teaching.

Does that mean they need to be the most amazing public speakers? No. What does it mean? We are given more detail when Paul writes to Titus, one of the other pastoral epistles. He says, "Elders must hold fast the faithful word as they have been taught, that they may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

What does this mean? It means that elders and overseers in the church should know the Bible well enough to understand it soundly. When someone is out of order or off course in relation to the Bible, they can bring conviction. They can convince them of the truth by the Word of God. They can say, "No, this says right here that what you're doing is out of order." They need to know the Bible well enough that they can instruct other people in Scripture.

Elders need to be the husband of one wife, and they need to be able to teach. The third issue that challenges people is when we read, "A bishop then must not be given to wine." This whole issue has divided entire churches and movements of churches.

I'll tell you right now, the Calvary Chapel movement of churches is currently in an ongoing split. For the last two years, you may or may not know this if you come from Calvary Chapel. There has been a split in Calvary Chapel. The most well-known founder of Calvary Chapel was a man named Chuck Smith, who died in 2012. Since then, there has been a split, and one of the issues driving this split is the issue of alcohol and its use within the church. Some people say alcohol is forbidden for Christians, or they will say alcohol is forbidden for leaders, while others take a different stance.

No alcohol is okay for people to drink, so where do we fit on this? The Scriptures say that an elder should not be given to wine. Does this mean that alcohol is forbidden within the church? How do we understand this? How do we interpret this?

Well, first we need to look at the text. What does the text say? Again, when we're reading English translations, we should be very grateful we have multiple translations that give us a more amplified understanding of what the Scriptures say. The New Living Translation renders this as "he must not be a heavy drinker." The New International Version says "must not be given to drunkenness." The English Standard Version states "not a drunkard." The Christian Standard Bible says "not an excessive drinker," and the New American Standard Bible states "not addicted to wine."

So, is Paul forbidding alcohol and its usage within the church? Clearly, the text does not support that view. What is he saying? He is clearly stating that the person who is a leader, overseer, or pastor within the church should not be addicted to alcohol, given to drunkenness, or a heavy drinker. Does he forbid alcohol and its use across the board? No, but drunkenness is always forbidden in Scripture.

Of course, we know that Paul is not forbidding its use entirely because, in this very same book, two chapters later, we can see in 1 Timothy 5:23 that the author has not changed. Paul writes to Timothy and says, "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities." If Paul was forbidding alcohol usage, he would not prescribe the medicinal use of alcohol in this situation.

We will talk about this when we get into 1 Timothy chapter 5. Clearly, there were some implications about what he meant by this. If he is forbidding alcohol in its usage in chapter 2, he would not prescribe the leader or overseer of the church to drink some alcohol in chapter 5.

Logic supports the conclusion that Paul is not forbidding the use of alcohol within the church. Nowhere that I can think of in Scripture is wine or alcohol forbidden, but drunkenness or excessive drinking is always forbidden. Therefore, if you cannot drink in moderation...

Moderation is key when it comes to drinking alcohol. Let this be very clear: if you have a background before becoming a Christian and you were addicted to alcohol, what our society calls an alcoholic, and you really struggled with that, you still have the concern in your conscience that if you drink one drink, you couldn't stop. If you cannot drink in moderation without drinking to drunkenness, you cannot drink.

However, we need to understand that we can't be legalistic about this. There are people in the church who do not struggle with drunkenness; it's not an issue for them. Is it okay for them to drink alcohol according to the Scriptures? Yes, as long as they do not drink to excess and to drunkenness. That is our position at this church.

For years, I have had ongoing discussions with a number of pastors regarding their alcohol policies. When pastors ask about an alcohol policy, they are essentially asking how you govern your staff, your elders, and your leaders at your church. I've talked with many pastors, and they often say, "We have a rule that none of our staff can drink," or "None of our elders can drink," or "None of our deacons can drink."

Here has been my position on this: I will not prescribe any rule that would disqualify Jesus or Paul from ministry. Jesus drank. Did He drink to excess or to drunkenness? I'm hesitant to go too far on this because people accused Him of being a drunkard, so apparently, He was more liberal than I would probably prefer. However, He obviously didn't drink to drunkenness, as the Scriptures forbid drunkenness. Paul also drank alcohol, but not to drunkenness. Therefore, I would not prescribe any position that would disqualify Jesus from ministry.

Another example would be the requirement that elders must be married. This presents a problem because it disqualifies Jesus and Paul from ministry. If Jesus can't serve at your church, you might have gone a little too far with your requirements.

Moving on, I hope you understand this last point. Number four: what’s the next challenge for people? A bishop must have his children in submission with all reverence. What does this mean? Well, it is not a requirement, number one, for an elder to have children. Some churches have said you cannot serve as an elder in our church unless you have children.

To have a family, one must have children, as the Scriptures say. However, I would not prescribe any rule that would disqualify Jesus or Paul from church leadership, as they did not have children. This clearly indicates that having children is not a strict requirement.

Furthermore, this does not mean that a pastor must have perfect children. Thank God for that! It’s important to consider the challenges faced by pastors and their kids. I have four children, and our family ministries pastor has five kids. Our junior high youth pastor is expecting his third child. With so many kids represented by the pastors, there are unique difficulties.

One challenge is that my kids view this place as an extension of their home. How many of you remember when your kids were little, or if you have young children now, that they seem perfect in every way at home? Everything is calm and orderly. However, when my kids come here, they treat it like home, which means we often have to remind them that this isn’t our house. They need to calm down and settle. I have wild kids, but does this mean I cannot be an elder because my kids are wild? No, that is not what is being said. It does not mean that an elder must have perfect children.

Additionally, this does not imply that an elder must have children who are now adults and walking in righteousness. Some churches have required their leadership to step down because their adult children are not walking in the faith. Ideally, as children grow, they would continue in their faith, but we all understand that our children, as they become adults, are free moral agents. They will make decisions that we may not always like or agree with, and sadly, they may not even attend church.

So, what does this mean? It means that overseers within the church should be striving to be good fathers in their homes, as well as leaders within the church. There should not be a duplicity between their roles at home and in the church. They should seek to govern their homes in the way that the Scriptures prescribe. As Paul says in Ephesians 6:4, "And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord."

Thus, it is not a requirement for an elder to have children, perfect children, or adult children who are walking in righteousness. What matters is that he is actively seeking to fulfill the biblical role of a father in the home.

He leads the Church of God if he is not leading his home well first. Now, there are a whole bunch more qualifications I could discuss, but these are the four that tend to challenge people and become a discussion point.

Let me conclude with this, because I don't have a lot of time. If there are qualifications for someone to become an elder, then we must understand and accept point number five: by their conduct or misconduct, elders can be disqualified. Sadly, there have been elders who have been disqualified, sometimes in very public ways. We often see it in the news; rarely does a year go by without some well-known elder or pastor in our nation being disqualified from the work of the ministry due to adultery.

They have not done well in being a one-woman man, or they have failed in self-control or have been greedy, taking from the church. There are also issues of simply being a jerk. Some pastors have been removed from ministry because they are not temperate or nice people; they are rude, obnoxious, and mean. They exhibit more of the works of the flesh than the fruit of the Spirit. After a while, people begin to think, "Maybe you shouldn't be an elder because you have disqualified yourself from that work by your conduct or your misconduct."

This reminds me, as an overseeing elder, and should remind us as a church with leaders and elders, that the position of an overseeing elder is an honorable position that should be held in honor by the people occupying it. If it is not, they shouldn't be in that spot. Just as there are qualifications for someone to enter that position, once they get there, they cannot simply cast everything off and say, "Yeah, I have arrived." No, because you can be disqualified.

Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, says, "I work so hard in my private life so that after I have preached to others, I would not be disqualified." Therefore, the leaders of the church should seek to maintain conduct that aligns with the qualifications of elders, as this is an honorable position.

Lead as an overseer, as an under-shepherd under the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Amen. Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

Father, I thank you that you have taken the time to inspire Paul to write for us what the qualifications are for those who lead and hold oversight positions in the church. As we will see in the next section next week, those who lead in areas of serving within the church are also important. God, I pray that you would raise up from our church more deacons, men and women, and more elders who would lead and serve your church so that we would be able to fulfill the mission that you've called us to fulfill. Help us to maintain our course, to stay on course, and, Lord, to bring glory to you through the work of this church.

As Paul would often do, God, would you compel our church body to be praying for the leaders of this church? May we lead well, in a way that exalts and honors your name and your church. Pour out your Spirit upon us as a church body, we ask in Jesus' name. And all those who agreed said, "Amen."

Let's sing. God, we thank you that your saving power transforms our desires and our souls. We pray that this would be clearly seen in our lives this week. Lord, I don't know anyone aside from you, Jesus, who perfectly fulfills at every time all the qualifications listed here for elders or deacons. But God, by your grace, by your power, and by your Spirit at work in us, would you enable us to be those who, just a little bit more this week, in our conduct, in our thoughts, and in our words, bring glory and honor to you, our God?

If in any way our lives or our church are off course, would you, by your Spirit, help us to be on course to bring glory to you and to fulfill our purpose or mission?

Now, to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God alone who is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

If you need prayer today, our team leaders will be here to pray with and for you. Take some time to fellowship with and encourage one another. Have a great week, and we will see you next Sunday as we get into the qualifications of deacons. God bless.

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