Tag Archives: pastor

Some Thoughts on First Timothy (6)

26 Friday Nov 2021

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Leadership

We are still in the context of the Holy Spirit’s exhortation (through Paul) to Timothy about how the church should be structured (3:14-15). In the Lord’s church, the church modeled after the New Testament pattern, those in leadership are called “overseers” or “bishops.” Before men can serve in this role the following must be in place: a desire to serve (not a despot), he must be married, self-controlled, discerning, respected, have a spirit of hospitality, competent to teach, not controlled by outside artificial influences, not quick-tempered, gentle, free from the love of money, and peace-loving (cf. Eph. 4:3).

A few additional thoughts on some of the above. Those who serve must be holy men (males only) of God, no holy women of God are authorized to serve in this role. The word “overseer” (bishop) is not a religious title, but a servant role, a work of God amid those living as saints of God. These holy men of God must be married (thus no unmarried male). Some try to mitigate the phrase “must be” in relation to marriage, but if that is so, then “must be” loses its force in relation to everything else in this context Paul says.

As a holy married man serves the church, he must first learn to serve his family. Again, he is not a despot, one who directs without regard to the sensibilities of his family. Too many churches have been irreparably harmed by men who want a title and not a work. Neither is the holy man of God to serve in leadership without experience in the Lord’s way. It takes time to learn to navigate one’s spiritual walk in a dark world. Having knowledge of the Lord’s will is one thing (and very important), but having experience in living that knowledge will go a long way in helping others do the same.

Acts 20:28

24 Tuesday Jul 2018

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ESV – Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

ASV – Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood.

WEYMOUTH –  “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has placed you to take the oversight for Him and act as shepherds to the Church of God, which He has bought with His own blood.

WILLIAMS – Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, so as to continue to be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.

Elders in the New Testament – so very important

  1. Paul spoke to Ephesians elders (also called bishops, presbyters, pastors and overseers).
  2. It was the Holy Spirit who put these men in position of responsibility; in the early church, as they were getting started, this was a miraculous endowment.
  3. As the church matured (Eph. 4:11-16), the Holy Spirit gave instructions pertaining to men qualified to serve in this God-ordained role (1 Tim, 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9).
  4. They were to shepherd, that is feed, the church that belongs to God, taking care of those souls “within,” resisting all error, making sure to pure word of God is taught by themselves and those in position of responsibility. The feeding in this context has nothing to do with physical sustenance, but spiritual.
  5. The church of the Lord belongs to no man, thus there is no man-made name given to the church; these came many years later.
  6. The Lord’s church belongs to the One who paid for it, and the price He paid was with His life (cf. Eph. 5:23, 25, 27).

Elders in the Baptist Church

29 Monday Jun 2015

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“What is an Elder? He is one of the spiritual leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ. In rank he is above a deacon but below a pastor or minister of the church” (God’s Answers to Man’s Questions, Alban Douglass, copyrighted in 1966, page 187). Following the above quote is a mixture of biblical passages and commentary. These remarks have as their intent both biblical justification and practical application. Strangely, in what follows, there is no reference to 1 Timothy 3:1-7, though there are a number of references to Titus 1:6-8.

What struck me as interesting is in its failure to follow the New Testament pattern. The New Testament does not speak of an elder as being below the pastor. In fact, the word “elder” is a different word for the same work of shepherding. W. E. Vine says of the word pastor: “a shepherd, one who tends herds or flocks, is used metaphorically of Christian ‘pastors,’ Eph. 4.11. pastors guide as well as feed the flock; cp. Acts 20:28, which, with ver. 17, indicate that this was the service committed to elders (overseers or bishops)…” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p. 849).

Whatever genuine interest the Baptist Church has in honoring God we can see that in this instance they do not. The New Testament is clear as to what an “elder” is and does—he is a shepherd (pastor). The word “elder” is not to be understood in contradistinction to the word “pastor.” For those who make this distinction they do so only on the basis of man’s opinion, which is without New Testament authority.

How can I be so certain? Trace the word in the pages of the New Testament in relation to the New Testament church. Do a word study of the words “elder” and “pastor” in relation to the context and one will see that the Baptist Church does not properly apply New Testament teaching to church organization.

Some of the duties of an elder in the Baptist Church include both biblical justification and matters relative to the local church. It is the following that I want to mention: “select a suitable pastor for the church,” “attend church regularly,”  “to supply the pulpit if the pastor is absent,” “to assist the pastor in dispensing Communion,” “to sit on church council,” and to “assist in examining candidate for baptism” (p. 188).

It has been my way-to-often observation that elders of a church patterned after the New Testament order can fall into an unscriptural approach to shepherding as the Baptist Church. Unscriptural in that it seems elders are more interested in local money matters than they are in seeing after the needs of the saints in areas of spiritual failings and difficulties. Whatever importance there may be to money matters there is far more importance to soul matters.

Thus, if criticism is leveled at the Baptist Church, let us make sure we are implementing the New Testament pattern for spiritual leadership.  RT