The Qualities of a Godly Leader
1 Timothy 3:2-7
July 26, 1998
Morning Service
Introduction
The King of the jungle
1. The lion goes and asked the animals of the jungle who was the King
A. Bypasses the smaller animals and goes straight to the bear: The lion asks the bear who was the king, bear says you are of course, lion roars
B. Tiger: Lion asks the same question with the same response,
C. Elephant: Lion asks the elephant, the elephant wraps his trunk around the lion, slams the lion into a tree, throws him against the ground a few times and then dunks him in the watering hole
D. Lions response: Beaten, bruised and battered - struggles to his feet, looking at the elephant through sad and bloody eyes, the lion says: “Just because you don’t know the answer is no reason to get mean about it.”
2. Everything rises and falls on leadership
A. John Maxwell: Everything rises and falls on leadership, leadership determines the direction and course of the church, everyone is a leader in some way, we all have different ways that we lead, some are quiet and do background work, others are more vocal and lead at the front of the pack, still others sit and wait to find someone to follow
B. What does it take to be a godly leader?: There are many excellent examples of leaders throughout the Bible - Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Nehemiah, Peter, Paul and of course Jesus, God raises up people to be leaders and expects them to follow His direction and guidance, the church depends on good leadership both human and divine, So what does it take to be a godly leader? one of the best sources of advise comes from the apostle Paul, he wrote it to Timothy, his son in the faith, nearly 2,000 years ago but it still rings true today,
Body
I. The overarching requirement of a godly leader - Being above reproach
A. The need of being above reproach: It is a must and an absolute necessity for every leader, Living a life without blame, one that lives as a follower of Christ, this would seem to be obvious and matter of living as a Christian
B. The concept of reproach: The Greek term - “not able to be held”, legal term that referred to the ability to hold in prison, the committing of a crime, literally meaning that nothing against, this does not mean that they have not sinned but rather that they no longer live by sinful standards, thus they can set the model of proper behavior for the church, the leader then gives no reason for anyone to attack his reputation,
C. Reasons for being above reproach
1. Leaders are targets of Satan: Satan will assault the leaders because it is the best way to destroy the church, just as he did in the days of Jesus, Satan will work to create a corrupt leadership, those who are in leadership positions will bear the brunt of spiritual warfare
2. Leadership that falls will cause greater harm: Leadership that falls devastates the church, it produces great harm throughout the church,
3. Leadership has a greater knowledge of the Truth: The knowledge of the Truth creates greater accountability and chastening when they sin
4. Leader’s sin is more hypocritical: The leaders are to have a deep understanding of the Word and teach it, they then become hypocritical when they commit those sins that they are to be against
II. The moral character of a Godly leader
A. Husband of one wife
1. Key subject of infidelity: The concept Paul presents is being with one person, namely your spouse, this points to specifically the sexual behavior, the aspect of being sexually pure,
2. Sexual purity: If a person is devoted to their spouse - it is in the heart and the mind, this is a call to full sexual purity in conduct,
B. Temperate
1. Primary focus on wine: The chief problem of Paul’s day was wine, it was used in a variety of ways and was a staple in ancient diets, the whole point is that wine and its abuse leads to a loss of the senses, this leads us to conclude that this prohibition would include all things that cloud the mind
2. Things that effect the mind: If we are unable to keep our mind focused, we will never be able to keep focused on God,
C. Prudent
1. The ability to order priorities: The leader must be able to order their own mind well, thus they must have a well disciplined mind, this comes into play in all areas of life, the person who can not order their mind can not effectively lead the church
2. The ability to keep focused on Christ: The leader must be able to keep focused on Christ, if their mind draws them away from Christ they will not be able to function properly in the church,
D. Respectable
1. Well ordered life: The leader must be able to not only order their mind but also their life, they must have a well disciplined life, they must not have a chaotic lifestyle but an orderly one
2. Personal life begins discipline: When the person lacks discipline in their own life, it will carry over into the church, the person who can not order their own life will not be able to order the church life
E. Hospitable
1. Hospitable is a compound term: Combination of two Greek terms - 1. “To love” & 2. “strangers”, thus to be hospitable is to have a love for strangers, this is not entertaining friends but being open and loving to strangers,
2. The aspect of travel: In the early church there were many Christians traveling, they were running from persecution or traveling orphans or widows, hospitality was something of a necessity
F. Teaching
1. The one key function that requires giftedness: Leaders are to be able to reproduce themselves in other people, the only way to do that is to teach other people, we are called to mentor and raise up leaders from within our midst, this takes some giftedness in the area of teaching, everyone who is a leader is a teacher of some sort, some teach in the Sunday School, others teach and instruct by example
2. The criteria of a teacher
a. The leader must have the gift of teaching
b. The leader must have a deep understanding of doctrine
c. The leader must have an attitude of humility
d. The leader must live a life of holiness
e. The leader must be a student of the scripture
f. The leader must avoid error in their teaching
g. The leader must have strong courage and consistent convictions
G. Addicted to wine
1. Personal problem: In the ancient days wine was a staple of the diet, much of the time it was used to purify water and was mixed, this did often lead to a great deal of drunkenness - when not held in check, the concept Paul presents here is that leaders were to obstain from wine to not fall into the trap of drunkenness,
2. Personal Reputation: When wine interferes with the persons ability to focus on christ they can not lead the church, their focus is removed from its right place, the person also jeopardizes their reputation in the community, they open the door to criticism and strife in the church, also they set a poor example to follow, others may be led astray by their drinking of wine,
H. Not pugnacious
1. The root term: Word is derived from the Greek word that gives us the English pugilism, the term is negative here - to not strike, leaders are not to seek to settle their differences through violence,
2. The need to be gentle: Leaders need to be gentle and courteous to others, considerate of others, gracious with people, no list of wrongs - does not hold grudges
I. Does not love money
1. Money and ministry do not mix: One can love money and also love God, no one can serve two masters, leaders who focus on what they can get out of life rather than what they can give will come up short in the end, leaders then need to not become greedy or stingy in their character,
2. Paul’s example: Paul told all of the Ephesians that he envied no ones possessions while in Ephesus, the riches of God’s blessing will supply what money could never buy, riches in heaven
III. The home life of a leader
A. Manages the household
1. Direct Connection: Leading in the home and leading in the church, both are connected - one cannot be in peril without effecting the other
2. The aspect of household: All of the family affairs, good steward of the house, finances and all of the people and resources
B. Management of children
1. The concept of authority: Parents are in charge, too many times parents fail to take charge, they are to raise their children in such a way that honor comes to the family and to God
2. Keys to producing honorable children
a. Parents exercise authority that makes it advisable to obey
b. Parents have enough wisdom that makes it reasonable to obey
c. Parents must show love that makes it delightful for children to obey
d. Parents must show children the proper understanding of the Word to obey
C. Major point
1. The care of the house: The matters of the personal family pass to God’s family, a leader cannot neglect his own family and expect to properly care for and lead God’s family, visa versa
2. The common challenges: Leading people to God, teaching holiness and obedience to God, conflict resolution, building unity and serving one another
IV. The spiritual maturity of a leader
A. New converts: The language used here is also used of a new tree, one does not plant a new tree and not care for it, the same is true of new converts and the care they need is to be properly discipled, Paul is pointing to the early church process of discipleship = Conversion - training in the Word - baptism - member, Paul is referring to someone who has no undergone the faith process
B. Becoming conceited: Paul states this to protect both the church and the converts, leaders who were new converts could be victims of spiritual pride, one of the key faults of Satan
V. The public reputation of a leader
A. The basis for reputation: The reputation of a leader effects their witness in the community, the Greek term Maturia is used here, we derive the English martyr, people who are leaders must maintain a Christian presence in the community, this gives us a positive testimony to the outside world
B. The reason for reputation: Satan is targeting leaders of the church, he knows that the easiest way to destroy a church is to destroy the leadership, once the leadership is gone there is no one left to guide the flock, Satan would like nothing better than to discredit leaders of the church
CONCLUSION
I. The Lion King
A. The negative state of the land: The ground s of the Pride land were desolate, what was once green and growing was now dead and withered, tress were barren of vegetation, the ground that once rumbled with hooves of antelope and wildebeest were now silent, skulls and bones lay everywhere picked clean by hyenas
B. The responsible party: One lion was responsible for the devastation - Scar, he had taken the throne when had murdered King Mufasa and drove ,the cub, Simba away, he had given free access of the land to hyenas - the lions enemy, they destroyed the land, it was their reward for helping to kill the King,
C. The return of the leader: The adult Simba stood over the pride land, seeing the destruction caused by Scar and the hyenas, the real king had returned, the true leader had returned to reclaim the land, to do that he would have to face and challenge Scar
D. Our own problems: The church is in a similar situation, we have a large problem to face and challenge, it is going to take real leadership to claim victory, we have to face our problems head on rather than run from them, your leaders need your support and your prayers,
