Eldership Requirements

Alright, so we are going to be speaking, or I'm going to be speaking on the qualification of elders this morning.

! And one of the things that is especially pertinent to us as a church plant is we are still in a position of needing to appoint elders.

Josh is the church planter, he planted this church, he's the apostolic church planter, but at this point we still have yet to appoint elders.

And even though that's a very rare thing by way of congregations in this day and age, some of the passages, as you guys will see, is this is a very common thing in the New Testament.

Both of the main passages we're going to be reading from, one to Timothy, disciple of Paul, another one to Titus, disciple of Paul,

are both instructions so as to clarify to them who were the men that they should be appointing in these many different flocks and congregations that still needed elders in them.

When the word of God went forth after Jesus died and was raised from the dead in Pentecost, there were many, many converts, and there were just a massive need for the appointing of shepherds and elders over these flocks.

So one of the things that benefit to us is we have very specific passages that really, really pertain to exactly a need we have right now.

You know, there's many different passages in scriptures that refer to many different struggles we may have in life. Some are ultra specific.

Fortunately, these are ultra specific to us.

It's especially important in the day and age that we live in, where there are many ways that a person can acquire the title of pastor.

And there's a great degree to which very few, I would say that one of the big needs in the church more broadly, is to have more reference towards what the Lord considers a qualified person, rather than the methods of men.

We even have the title of pastor. It has been set up as something that is entirely a career path.

You can go to school for it, graduate school, and as a result of a diploma, you now you make yourself eligible to be hired.

Which is, I would say, an exact example, as we'll get to, of what the Lord condemns and says not to do.

Okay.

We are not talking about hired hands.

We are talking about men who shepherd the flock of God.

I think by way of analogy, you can even think of this as there's a massive difference between a mother and her relationship to her kids, and a nanny and her relationship to those kids.

One of them is hired, and only there because they're being compensated.

And the other one, this is their very children. This is their very life.

And there's an extent to which the relationship with an elder or pastor in the flock is something of a familial relationship.

And so, if we get it wrong, it can feel like a hired hand. It can feel and be like a stepparent, like not an actual legitimate relationship of pure ownership, where you are mine and I am yours.

And you get this right. It's actually a very, very powerful role.

One of the things my father-in-law said one time that really stuck with me is he said,

Fathers and pastors have an ability to wound people incomparable to other roles.

And I think part of that is because there's a little bit of a mystery and that the Lord, there is something about the character of the Lord that can be demonstrated through fathers and subsequently be demonstrated to the fatherly role of the pastor.

And so, one of the great edifiers, builders up, sanctifiers of the church is when we get it right in terms of appointing men who are actually qualified for the Lord,

rather than going the Lord's way on this, rather than going maybe some of the other ways in which these things are done in this day and age.

With that said, there's a big distinction between people who have a title versus people who have been appointed by God.

And what my hope is, by the end of this, we will really be built up in how the Lord views these things and maybe even dispel.

One of the things that was really powerful for me in my mid-20s, I was really disillusioned by the church

because of a lot of the church leadership I'd been under, I would say, more of like step-parent vibes rather than legitimate parent vibes.

Like a lot of wounding.

One of the things that was really helpful for me is when I dug into the qualification of elders,

I realized that a lot of those people were actually just never qualified in the first place.

Like a bunch of people gave them that title.

They were actually never qualified for the Lord.

And it freed me up actually how we have more forgiveness towards them because it was like they were never a legitimate parent anyway.

You know what I mean?

I was expecting something from them that the Lord, the Lord hadn't appointed them to that position.

A bunch of people just didn't type.

They freed me up.

But with that said, on the flip side, it's a really good thing for us to get right.

And I think that there are also, there's also another ditch.

There's one ditch which is using a way of qualifying people that isn't pertaining to scripture.

But on the flip side of things, this is a very high bar and we are still appointing real people, real men.

You know what I mean?

And there's an extent to which we can pendulum swing from maybe some of the ways in which a,

there's almost like a worldly way in which we can qualify elders just like, you know, men who went to seminary, things like this.

But also you can pendulum swing and be so perfectionistic in your examination of people that no one's like you would never approve anyone.

You know what I mean?

And the reality is Jesus is our chief shepherd.

Jesus is the good shepherd.

And real men are shepherds of real flocks.

You know what I mean?

Real broken men.

And so we're going to go through these passages and hopefully be built up.

And hopefully, yeah, hopefully this will make a deep imprint on all of us so as to be able to do these things in a way that is the Lord's way and not man's way.

Even as you were talking about sacred versus secular.

You know what I mean?

So I'm going to try to say, you know what I mean?

Less.

Less.

I usually, I'm usually about 20 times, about like once every other kind of guy.

I'm trying to read it in.

All right.

I'm going to start in John 10.

This is Jesus talking about the good shepherd.

John 10, starting in verse 1.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in another way,

that man is a thief and robber.

So there's a way to be in proximity to the sheep that is the right way.

There's another way that is skirting over the right way.

But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

To him, the gatekeeper opens.

There's a gatekeeper for the right way to be in the fold that a shepherd takes.

The sheep hear his voice.

And he calls his own sheep by name and leaves them out.

So he has a familiarity with them.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him.

They know his voice.

One of the things that happens when a mother first gives birth to a child is that child already has one skill in their tool belt.

They already recognize their voice.

There is a nearness.

There is an appropriate pastoral nearness that sheep should have.

They should know his voice.

Again, intimacy.

This is near.

This is a man who is near.

A stranger they will not follow.

This is a person that is not a stranger, though.

A stranger they will not follow.

But they will flee from him.

For they do not know the voice of strangers.

This figure of speech Jesus used with them.

But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So Jesus again said to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

All who come before me are thieves and robbers.

Are thieves and robbers.

But the sheep do not listen to them.

I am the door.

If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.

And will go in and out and find pasture.

The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

I want that to be crystallized in our mind.

In the manner of speaking, this is the definition of a shepherd.

It is he who lays down his life for the sheep.

This is actually extremely masculine.

This is very, very similar to the commandments to husbands to lay down their life for their wife.

This role, this role of being a shepherd, and in many ways, obviously exemplified by Jesus,

is a call to willingly and selflessly lay down your life.

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep,

sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.

The wolf snatches them and scatters them.

He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd.

I know my own, and my own know me.

Just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.

I lay down my life for the sheep.

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.

I must bring them also.

And they will listen to my voice.

So there will be one flock and one shepherd.

For this reason, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

I want you guys to remember this, because it's going to come up again in multiple other passages.

But there is a willingness.

Jesus displays a willingness to lay down his life.

He is not being coerced into this.

He willingly and eagerly pours out his life for the sheep.

He willingly lays down his life for the sheep.

The Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

This charge I have received from my Father.

So this is something of a prophecy and a definition of good shepherd that comes from Jesus.

And the reason I read this passage is it, to some extent, actually captures what Jesus is talking about when he's talking about shepherd.

It kind of defines the role of a shepherd over a flock.

And it also is a prophecy, not only about the good shepherd lays down his life, but it's also a prophecy that he will lay down his life and take it back up again.

What happens is Jesus actually goes to the cross.

Right before he goes to the cross, though, he reiterates the same point.

Peter says, surely you're not going to die, Lord.

The Lord corrects him.

And then also, Jesus tells Peter that he's going to deny him.

Because Jesus, again, gives another prophecy.

He strikes the shepherd, and all the sheep will scatter.

Peter's like, of course I wouldn't.

But then Jesus tells him, before the rooster crows, you have denied him three times.

Peter's like, of course, then.

What happens?

Jesus goes to be crucified.

And Peter does, in fact, deny him three times.

So now I'm going to hop down to, this might be all over a surprising passage, but I think it ties into the whole theme of shepherding.

This is John 21, starting in verse 15.

This is after Jesus has risen from the dead, and he's appearing to the disciples.

This is his appearing to Peter.

John 21, starting in verse 15.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

He said, yes, Lord.

You know that I love you.

And he said to him, feed my lambs.

He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

He said to him, yes, Lord.

You know that I love you.

And he said to him, tend my sheep.

Then he said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he said to him a third time, do you love me?

And he said to him, Lord, you know everything.

And you know that I love you.

Jesus said to him, feed my sheep.

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted.

But when you were old, you will stretch out your hand, and another will dress you and carry you where you will not want to go.

So this was said to show what kind of death he would glorify God in.

And after saying this, he said to him, follow me.

So one of the things that happens here is Jesus, to some extent, is inquiring, do you love me?

And Peter's answering sincerely.

And his response is an interesting response because he's wanting him to actually care for his sheep.

Demonstrate your love for me in that I want you to tend the sheep.

I want you to feed the sheep.

There's something of a pastoral mantle that's being given to Peter.

One of the things that's interesting about Peter, of the apostles who write New Testament books,

he identifies himself multiple times, not by using the term apostle, though he was, but actually the term elder.

He had a strong identity as an elder and as a shepherd.

And the reason I bring this up is Jesus is pointing out, or Jesus is emphasizing to Peter, even as Peter is receiving this pastoral mantle,

that the reason, the genesis of this mantle and calling to Peter is because Peter actually does love the Lord.

I think that one of the things that needs to be in place is that a lot of the heart of laying down your life for the flock

needs to first come from your genuine love for the Lord.

That is who the Lord is calling.

Those who actually love him.

Right?

Now turning to 1 Peter chapter 5, starting in verse 1.

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

I'm doing all of the passages that are not the normal passages on this first.

Then we're going to get to the ones you guys all know.

Ten to three times.

Okay, so 1 Peter chapter 5, starting in verse 1.

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ,

as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed.

Speaking to elders.

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you.

So he is tying in here the term elder and the term shepherd.

Shepherd these terms are used synonymously in the New Testament.

And before I continue with this passage, the term elder is not only used in the New Testament,

it's also used in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament the term elder means beard.

Which is another way of saying a mature man.

That's the way the term is used in the Old Testament.

In the New Testament the term elder is used as well.

In the New Testament the term itself means senior or mature or veteran.

The term elder that then Peter is tying in here to shepherd is by definition people who are mature in the faith.

One of the things that Paul says to Timothy, who is an elder,

Paul says to Timothy, don't let people despise you for your youth.

The term elder is a reference to maturity.

It's not necessarily a reference to age.

It's very associated with age.

But it's distinctly referencing a mature believer rather than an immature believer.

It's distinctly referencing a veteran of the faith.

Someone who is a senior, not a junior.

An elder, not a younger.

Also, even as the term means beard or man, mature man,

Jesus' definition, what is a good shepherd?

He who lays down his life for the sheep.

There is something distinctly masculine about the definition of good shepherd

that is also tied in with the definition of being an elder.

There is an aspect of masculinity when it matures that is able to willingly lay down its life.

That's why husbands are called to lay down their life.

And shepherds are defined as those who lay down their life for the sheep.

Almost all of the qualifications we're going to go over, actually I would say basically all of them,

are either qualifications that pertain to sin issues or maturity.

And I think this should be an encouragement to any of you who aspire to this.

That's really good news.

Because it means that both of those things we can trust the Lord for.

We can trust the Lord to mature us and we can trust the Lord to sanctify us and set us free from sin.

None of these things are unachievable qualifications.

Right?

None of these things are you have to have blue eyes.

Right?

None of these things are things that like, unless the Lord endow you with some unique attribute,

none of these are you have to be thus and so tall.

It's all sin or immaturity.

And I also would say that even if you don't aspire to be an elder,

this list of definitions and qualifications really pertains to the maturity of all men.

I think all husbands and all fathers, it is a good thing to examine yourself

by way of defining what it means to be mature in accordance with the faith.

Even if you don't want to, even if you do not have eagerness towards the call of being a shepherd,

you are still called to shepherd your wife.

You are still called to shepherd your children.

Okay?

All right.

As well as partakers of the glory that is to be revealed.

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you.

Exercising oversight, not under compulsion.

This is exactly, this is the same exact idea that Jesus talked about.

No one was forcing him to lay down his life.

He did it willingly.

Not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you.

Not for shameful gain.

Again, this is going to come up multiple times here.

There are ulterior motives for why we would be in this position.

There are ulterior motives that have driven many people to acquire the office of eldership without the qualification of eldership.

Because there is like many, many people want to be the guy who's recognized on stage.

Many people want the prestige.

They actually did a survey.

Actually, I meant to look this up before I'm pretty sure.

But they just did a survey.

There's like some psychological survey of behavioral disorders in career paths.

And they did a survey of narcissists.

And they found that being American pastors is one of the most highly, the likeliest career paths that a narcissist would take.

Why is that?

It's for the glory.

There is very selfish reasons why people can acquire these positions.

I've seen this.

I've seen this.

It's called shameful gain.

Not for shameful gain.

But eagerly.

Not domineering over those who are charged.

But being examples to the flock.

Peter is defining the primary mode of influence shepherd to flock.

It's not using your office to lord it over people.

It's by being an example to the flock.

Okay.

This is why it's so important, these character qualifications.

Because even in our own lives, isn't it more persuasive when someone just is an example of something?

Rather than someone who's constantly giving us maybe even true counsel.

But actually not having the character displayed in their own life.

Being an example to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears.

Okay.

I like that term chief shepherd.

And when the chief shepherd appears.

You will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Likewise, you who are younger.

So this is the contrast here.

Be subject to the elders.

So there's a contrast here between people who are young in the faith and people who are more mature in the faith.

And it's saying specifically, those who are younger or more immature be subject to the elders.

You might ask the question, wait, shouldn't everybody be subject to the elders?

There is a manner of speaking that we are commanded to submit to our elders, obviously.

but you do not need to babysit an adult.

We do need to know where we are in the faith

and there is a place where we need to,

even as Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ.

There is stages of faith.

There is a need for discipleship

for those who are weaker and more immature

and there is a way in which they need to distinctly

be, what is it, how does it say it?

Be subject to the elders.

We want to exalt those by way of example

who are more mature

and we want those who are more immature

to be looking to those people more specifically, right?

It's a beautiful thing.

This is how the body is built up and matured.

Close yourselves, all of you,

with humility towards one another.

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

All right, now we're going to go over to 1 Timothy 3,

starting in verse 1.

This is a trustworthy saying.

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer,

he desires a noble task.

The term overseer and elder is used interchangeably here.

Therefore, actually, and one thing to note here,

it is a noble thing to aspire to eldership.

It is a good thing.

For anyone who does aspire to it,

you need to hear that.

It's actually really a good thing.

I think one of the things that can happen sometimes

when we read through these qualifications

is there can be a level of discouragement.

I actually would say to you men who do aspire to these things,

it is a noble thing to aspire to,

and it's actually a really powerful thing for us

to examine our lives with humility before the Lord

that the Lord would build us up,

even irregardless of if we are qualified

and appointed as elders,

just for our own maturity and sanctification in the Lord.

It's a noble and good thing to aspire to be an elder.

And I would just encourage you guys

who are feeling that eagerness to rise to the occasion,

to embrace it as a challenge.

All right.

Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach.

This term is used both in Paul's letter to Timothy

as well as in his letter to Titus.

Above reproach can sound like he must be perfect.

What that's specifically referring to,

another translation is,

he is without legitimate charge.

This is a catch-all for Christian sin.

If we have ongoing sin in our life,

if we have skeletons in the closet,

we are disqualified as an elder.

This does not mean no one ever has anything bad against you

or no issue against you, period.

It's that there's no legitimate charge again of,

there's no legitimate charge of persistent sin in your life.

There's no charge of broken relationships in your life.

This is a catch-all for just Christian expectation.

You know, there's no area where you distinctly are needing to,

like you have bondage of and you need to be free of,

distinctly, right?

There's no legitimate charge that can be brought against you.

Now, I will say that it is almost entirely the case

that perhaps anyone who is brought before the church as an elder,

there will be people that just don't like them

or have things they don't like about them.

That's why in the definition of this term,

there's no legitimate charge.

It's not to say there aren't people who don't like you.

Probably if there's no one who doesn't like you,

you're probably just a massive people pleaser,

which is probably also disqualifying.

The reality is you can be in a position of being above reproach.

There's no legitimate charge that can be brought against you.

The husband of one wife.

Duh.

Some of these I'm just going to go through, guys.

All right.

Sober-minded.

So, yeah, being someone who's not tossed around in their mind.

Someone who has a groundedness in the way that they think about things.

Who's so reminded.

Who's self-controlled.

I actually love the term self-control.

One of the things that on the more reformed side of things,

you'll hear people say is people talk about being,

have not have self-control, but have God control.

But it's interesting.

The fruit of the Spirit actually says self-control.

It doesn't say God control.

The Lord actually has made us and fashioned us in such a way

that our hearts can actually be purified and be so much like Him

that actually it's part of His character displayed

that we actually have self-control.

Also, that mature aspect of the Holy Spirit

is something that is a qualifier of being an elder.

Not only is it an attribute of the Holy Spirit,

self-control doesn't say God control, it says self-control.

But also, it's a qualifier.

We need to be self-controlled in order to be qualified as an elder.

Respectable.

And then, this is one of my favorites.

There's a handful of things that are stereotypes of pastors

that are actually disqualifying.

And this is one of them.

It uses the term hospitable.

Okay, so when we say hospitable,

a lot of times what we think is southern hospitality

and the ability to host.

What this word means,

and actually hospitality essentially exclusively in Scripture means,

is being a lover of strangers.

That's what it means.

This is entirely talking about your relationship to strangers.

There's a stereotype of American pastors,

ivory tower pastors,

there are men who are inaccessible,

except for those who are like in the in crowd.

Okay, that is disqualifying.

Okay, you should be a lover of strangers.

This is a good question for us even who do aspire to ask ourselves.

For the strangers in our life,

how would they describe us?

Would they describe us as someone who loves strangers?

Right?

It's a good challenge.

Spiritual hospitality,

the kind of hospitality the Lord calls us to,

is something that takes strangers

and welcomes them into the family of God.

Okay?

It isn't just,

it's not,

it's not that small town mentality

that's like stranger danger.

I care about all the people

that I've spent a lot of time with

in this small town that I know,

but like,

you know,

stay away from a stranger.

That's disqualifying.

Okay?

Hospitality.

Able to teach.

I feel like,

again,

this is one of those ones where

it's probably the most emphasized attribute

in American pastors.

This is actually one of the things I think

that really failed in the Acts 29 movement,

like Mark Driscoll's movement,

is they put such emphasis on having

what they call a strong pulpit.

They just really found men

who were just really compelling speakers

and ignored all the other qualifications.

And the reality is,

the scripture actually doesn't say

be excellent in teaching.

It doesn't say being,

you know,

this person who is uniquely gifted in teaching.

It just says able to teach.

And I think there's something

that's also achievable about this.

I think virtually any man,

maybe not any man,

but the vast majority of men

can actually acquire the skill

of being able to teach.

And as husbands and as fathers,

we're already called to teach.

Now,

there are some people

that are such poor communicators

that they just,

it's like,

oh man,

I just,

I never understand.

I want so much to learn from you,

but you know,

and you know what?

We should be able to teach,

but it actually is not giving

a super high standard

in this qualification.

It's just saying able to teach.

It's like,

are you able to drive?

So my daughter is not able to drive.

But Sam,

are you able to drive?

Yes,

you're able to drive.

Okay.

It's not saying,

you know what I mean?

You don't need to be qualified

as a NASCAR driver.

You're able to.

Hopefully,

hopefully safe.

Hopefully,

safely able to drive.

All right.

Not a drunkard.

Also,

duh.

Some of these are maturity issues

and some of these are sin issues.

Not violent,

but gentle.

I think this is also

a really powerful attribute.

There is,

maybe not a full-on stereotype,

but there is an association

with men and authority

and not being gentle.

This office requires gentleness.

This office requires gentleness.

Again,

I think this office

is very fatherly.

A lot of these descriptors

are very fatherly.

You know what I mean?

You might not want

a general in the military

to be distinctly gentle,

but a father does need to be gentle.

A husband does need to be gentle.

A pastor does need to be gentle.

Not violent,

but gentle.

Not quarrelsome.

Again,

I think that there is

such a fatherly role here

in not creating

this contentious atmosphere.

Not this quarrelsome atmosphere.

Someone who's able to

speak the truth in love.

Someone who's able to

deal with issues,

but not create additional issues.

There's a quarrelsomeness

and a not gentleness

that actually creates

a lot of tension, right?

This is even a good question

for us in our homes.

How are we in our homes?

Is our home full of

tension and strife?

Or is it our home full of peace?

Are we able to facilitate

an atmosphere

where issues are dealt with gently?

Right?

And then also,

it says not quarrelsome

and not a lover of money.

I feel like this goes into

the whole hired hand thing.

The church I went to

in high school

was a bunch of career pastors

that were very well paid.

Well, actually,

no, not all of them.

But a lot of them were.

And a lot of them were on

like a,

there is a whole career path

that's associated with,

you know,

first you started out

as a youth pastor,

you know,

you have a seminary.

And then you climb

the megachurch ladder.

You know what I mean?

And a lot of these megachurches

are actually driven by money.

They're much,

they're much more similar

to a business.

And how the Lord

describes a church now,

it's not a dog on everybody.

You know what I mean?

That's not always the case.

And that's not even a dog

on having a larger congregation.

But it's very,

the scripture is covering

these things

because they're very easy

things to get into.

Right?

Not a lover of money.

He must manage

his own household well

with all dignity,

keeping his children

submissive.

For if someone

does not know

how to manage

his own household,

how will he care

for God's church?

So there's an extent

to which we're even

defining

good authority here.

You're someone

who distinctly

is leading

and having charge

of your home

and your home

is orderly

and your children

are under your authority.

This is again

one of those ones

where it is a stereotype

of pastors

for their kids

to be crazy.

Right?

That's one of the stereotypes

of American pastors.

The PK,

the PK stereotype

is kids who are crazy.

That is men

who are disqualified.

I wonder how,

I would love to see

how different

the stereotypes

were

if like

the Lord

just divinely

removed

the title

of every single person

who's disqualified

across the United States

and how different

the stereotypes would be

because the reality

is so much

of the stereotype

is actually

just disqualifying.

It's just revealing

that these men

are not actually qualified.

And the reasoning here

is so good.

If he cannot manage

his own household,

how will he care

for God's church?

Which is a giant

no-brainer.

It's obvious.

Very, very obvious here.

If you aren't able

to do this well

in your own home,

how can you do that

for the church?

Right?

He who is faithful

in little

will be faithful in much.

It's very tempting

for us to just

hop over things.

It's really easy

because I would say

the honor and nobility

of some of these

titles and roles

to do the thing

where

you're interviewing

for the job

and you're trying

to get away with

as much as possible

so you can just

land the gig.

This is before the Lord.

You can fool men

that way

and many men

do fool men

that way

but you're never

fooling God.

Right?

And I think that this

is one of those

categories of things

where we need to

actually do this

before God.

Right?

He must not be

a recent convert.

Again,

a reference to

immaturity.

He must be

an elder,

not a younger.

He must not be

a recent convert

or he may become

puffed up with conceit

and fall into

the condemnation

of the devil.

Moreover,

he must be

well thought of

by outsiders.

This is a really

interesting one

because it's really

easy in church culture

especially when

really tight

to have that

small town mentality

and not only have

like a little bit

of like the stranger

danger

but also

to care a lot

about the relationships

in your bubble

and care nothing

about the relationships

outside of your bubble.

And so the people

who know you at work

you do not have

a good reputation

for.

Right?

Because you care

a lot about

your reputation

and care a lot

about your relationships

with people

in your bubble

in your friend group

but outside of that

who cares?

This is disqualifying.

This is disqualifying.

We should have

a good,

not only that

we also,

I should say this as well,

we also should have

a relationship

with people

who are outsiders.

Right?

We should actually,

this is also assuming

that we aren't

in such a bubble.

We're not like

you know

some homeschool kid

who's never had friends

outside of

you know

family members.

Right?

We

who aspire

should have

a relationship

with outsiders

and it should be

a good one.

So that he may

not fall into

disgrace

into a snare

of the devil.

Okay, I'm going to

skip over to Titus now.

I was going to read

the end of Timothy.

One thing it does say

at the end of Timothy

is it says

to not be hasty

in the laying on of hands.

It's really important

that we do this right

and it's really important

to not be in a hurry

because

when we do this right

it's so glorifying

to God

and there is

an extent to which

it can be tempting

to just be hasty

and kind of get people

into the position.

One of the protections

for elders

as it says

at the end of Timothy

is to not be hasty

in the laying on of hands

and that's in context

to

Paul says to Timothy

that you should

rebuke an elder

openly

before the entire

congregation

that they may fear

but it requires

upon the testimony

of two or three witnesses.

So there's a high standard

for bringing an accusation

against an elder.

One of the reasons

we need to be

not hasty

in the laying on of hands

is that when we call

a qualified man

he would actually

be qualified

because once he's

in that position

there's actually

a pretty high burden

of proof

he's in this

until proven guilty

and we're not just

going to yank this person

out of that position

just because some people

don't like him.

You know what I'm saying?

Anyway, I just did it.

I just said

you know what I'm saying.

Shame on me.

That might have been

the only time I've said it.

That's improvement.

You guys can't see

you can mature.

All right.

So our last passage.

Titus 1

starting in verse 5.

This is why I left you

in Crete

so that you might put

what remained in order

and appoint elders

in every town

as I directed you.

So again

very similar here.

There's a bunch of churches

in these different towns

that don't have elders

and he has instruction

of how to interpret

and find these men

and appoint them.

Okay?

This very much pertains to us

in every town

as I directed you.

If anyone is above reproach

notice he says the same thing

first in both of them.

First and foremost

where are you with sin

as a believer?

Are you persisting in sin?

Are there any charges

that can be brought against you?

Do you have skeletons

in the closet?

First and foremost

where are you with sin

as a believer?

Are you someone

who continues in sin

or are you someone

who repents of sin?

If anyone is above reproach

the husband of one wife

yet again

one wife guys

and his children

are believers

and not open

to the charge

of debauchery

or insubordination

again

are your children

in order?

Is your household

in order?

There's something

about the sincere

faith of a parent

demonstrating

its authority

and influence

and being seen

in the lives

of the children.

We want to see

healthy children.

We don't want to see

insubordinate children.

Again,

stares up to the pastor's kid.

This is disqualifying.

We want to see kids

who's...

I think this is even

one of the things

that can happen.

Again,

this is kind of

reference to the narcissism.

The pastoral role

oftentimes is so image focused

that the kids

grow up

feeling like

their whole identity

is their image.

This is not

a healthy atmosphere

for acquiring

sincere faith

where everything's

just cleaning

the outside of the cup.

Is your faith

cleaning the inside

of the cup

or is your faith

cleaning the outside

of the cup?

Because that will

reproduce itself

in your children.

Are you being

an example to the flock

of sincere faith

or are you being

an example of insincerity

where you're just

cleaning the outside

of the cup

and just caring

what people think

all the time

and trying to acquire

the fame of the role

rather than being

someone who lays down

his life in the sheet.

These are very,

very different things.

Shows up in your children

and not over to the charge

of debauchery

or insubordination.

For an overseer

as God's steward

must be above reproach.

This is the third time

Paul has brought up

being above reproach.

He must not be arrogant

or quick-tempered.

Again,

the quick-tempered

a drunkard

or violent

or greedy for gain.

So this is another reference

to like selfish ambition

or shameful gain.

It is so easy.

Why are people

in these positions

that aren't qualifying?

Because of these things.

They have an ulterior motive.

They have an ulterior motive

for why they're in it.

Right?

Greedy for gain.

This is about them.

This isn't about laying down

in their life.

This is about something

they could gain.

They would not be so.

But hospitable.

Once again,

you're in this chip to strangers.

A lover of good.

Self-controlled.

upright.

Upright.

Holy.

And disciplined.

And this is really cool too.

He must hold firm

to the trustworthy word

as taught.

I think this,

I really like this.

Hold firm

to the trustworthy word.

This also is a marker

of maturity.

You can see people

who are young in the faith

and they don't have,

they are not able

to hold firmly

to the word.

They're still in the phase

where they are learning

from others.

There's also an extent

to which you can get

to a place

where you're not just

parroting what mom

and dad are saying.

You actually know

what the word of God says.

You know what God

himself says.

And you're in a mature place

where you don't need

to be fed milk.

You're on the meat.

You're on the meat.

And there is a trust.

He holds firmly

to the trustworthy word.

We,

a sign of maturity

in the faith

is when you are holding,

you are holding firmly

to the trustworthy word.

May we be there.

Now here's the thing.

With the qualification

of elders,

there is a contrast here.

There are people

who are young in the faith.

And they're not there yet.

That's appropriate.

That's appropriate.

You don't need to be

somewhere where you're not.

But when we're discriminating here,

we are looking

for these attributes.

Holding firmly

to the trustworthy word

as taught

so that he may be able

to give instruction

in sound doctrine

and also rebuke

those who contradict it.

This is someone

who is not parroting

other people.

This is someone

who is advocating

on behalf of the Lord.

And even one

of the interesting ones

is you have Paul

who is an apostle

but he's much less known

than the apostles

in Jerusalem.

And he returns

to Jerusalem.

There's a controversy

around circumcision

and Peter

was separating himself

and Paul had

so much confidence

before the Lord

that he rebuked Peter

who is perhaps

the most influential

of all the apostles

in the entire world.

He had the confidence

before God

because he knew

how to hold firmly

to the trustworthy word.

God is ultimately

who he was able

to hold firmly

to in those moments

and Peter humbled himself.

He was right.

There is a place

where someone

who is maturing faith

is accountable to God.

They're accountable to God

and they're able

to hold others

accountable to God.

They're able to

give instruction

in sound doctrine.

They're able to

advocate for sound doctrine

and also rebuke

those who contradict it.

These are markers

of maturity.

And so with all this

to say,

we are obviously

a church plant

and we're wanting

to appoint elders.

I would say

for you guys,

it's really good

for us to have

conviction around

what the scripture

says on these matters

and also have

a good enough

definition of

what the scripture

is saying here

that we actually

can be interpreters.

Okay?

When the scripture

says that a person

should be above approached,

you're one of the people

that needs to

raise your hand.

A lot of times

when these things happen,

there are people

that don't raise their hand.

That actually

is one of the things

that perpetuates

some of this

unhealth in the church.

We as a church

have an ability

to peer into these things,

have convictions

about these things

before the Lord

and actually be a part

of what Jesus said,

the gatekeepers

that allow

the good shepherd

to come in

and be part of the flock.

That's what we want.

Isn't that what we want?

Right?

Also,

I'll say

this is really good

for us to have convictions on

by way of rising

to the challenge

and rising to the occasion

and actually having that

acknowledging the calling

of an elder

as being a noble calling.

It is a noble calling.

We need to have convictions

about what the scripture

is even talking about

when it references that.

It's a good thing.

It's a good thing

for people to aspire

to eldership.

It's also something

that oftentimes,

most of the time,

there needs to be

a lot of maturing

and sanctification.

There needs to be

a lot of repentance.

I believe that

one of the biggest gaps

in the church

is good shepherding.

I also believe

that people way underestimate

how much the Lord

can sanctify

and set people free

and actually fill that gap

in good shepherding.

And my hope is

that some of this

will inspire you guys,

but also that you will have

belief in your heart

and confidence in your heart

that the Lord

not only can appoint these

in our midst,

but also can sanctify

for those of you

who are eager

and sanctify your hearts

unto these things.

There actually is hope

for being qualified.

This is not such a high standard

that it's unachievable

for the Lord.

It is actually

an achievable standard.

This is an achievable standard.

It's a high standard,

but it is an achievable standard.

So I'm just going to

go ahead and close

and pour.