Jump Start # 2123

1 Timothy 5:19 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.”

These past couple of days we have been looking at the topic of shepherding. The role of elders is a valuable and important part of God’s church. Every church ought to work to develop men who are willing, capable and able to serve and lead the people of God. This is incredible work.

There is one component that needs to be mentioned, found in our verse today, the accusations against an elder. Those in the role of leading God’s people are in an honorable position and we are to respect the that. We recall the time when David was hiding in a cave from wicked King Saul. David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he wouldn’t. He respected the position of God’s anointed. Although Saul was a terrible and selfish leader, the position is what David honored. The role of elders is something chosen by God through the Scriptures. We need to respect and honor that role as well.

So, in our verse, Timothy, the preacher, is told not to receive an accusation against an elder unless there is proof by several witnesses. This is a common idea seen in the O.T. It keeps one fool from making false and empty charges. He best back it up and he best have some proof. If an elder has sinned, it will be dealt with. There is a Biblical manner for this in the following verses.

Now, peel the layers off here. Timothy was not to receive accusations without witnesses. DO NOT. How many times has this been violated. Get a group of Christians together in the home, and after dinner, the conversation turns to how wrong and how terrible the elders are. No one brings a formal accusation. They just turn the moment into a feeding frenzy. How excited everyone is to jump on the pile and to add their own complaints. “We don’t like this,” and “we don’t like that.” Not once, never does the DO NOT command of this passage enter anyone’s mind. They mock and trash talk men who are giving up hours of their time to help these very people get to Heaven. No one thinks to say a prayer in their behalf. No one thinks to spend the time complimenting these noble men. No, it’s dump time. These things happen all too often.

Here are some things to keep before us.

First, often, very often, there are many, many things that have taken place that the eldership is involved in and the rest of the congregation has no clue. This is not like the Mueller investigation in which all the reports and all the papers are to be shared with the public, especially the media. The elders are working with people. Many times they are working through problems. We hear only part of the story. We may hear what a weak Christian who is not serious about things says. He’s upset. He unloads on any listening ears. These godly men are trying to protect both the church and the person that they are working with. Most forget this. And, there we sit on a Friday night with our friends, some of whom are not even Christians, and we shoot down the elders without even knowing what we are talking about. The church is not a democracy. Some things are not our business. The reason why the elders are in the roles that they are is because we trust them to be godly, spiritual men who are experienced. It is so easy to be a back seat driver or that arm chair quarterback. We sit at home watching a ballgame on TV and we rant and rave about some player when we can’t even get up and get to the frig without becoming winded. Be careful with what you say. Hurling darts discourages others. It hurts the church. It puts you in the realm of a gossip. It will never bring someone to Christ. And, it’s wrong!

Second, we must pay closer attention to this DO NOT that is attached to our verse. If an elder sins, there is a path to follow. These verses lead up to that. This is connected to the witnesses to verify what is being charged. But without those witnesses and without any sin being committed, most often our grumbling about the elders comes from nothing more than “I’d do it differently.” And, much too often, we see things only from our own perspective and we fail to consider all the others that are involved. The elders haven’t failed to see that. They are mindful of everyone. Those that are so quick to shoot down elders, I have found, are the very ones who never teach, never volunteer, and never do much of anything. They are quick to shoot off their mouths but they do very little to add value to the kingdom of God. They are discouragers. And in violating this DO NOT, they are sinning. God protects His leaders. He will not tolerate us taking cheap shots at them. Do we realize this is wrong? This needs to stop.

Third, Proverbs tells us that one of the things God hates is those that sow discord among brethren. God hates that. Discord spreads the fastest when a group gets together to sing the sad song about how terrible everything is. One thing I have noticed about every church building I have ever been in, and I have been in tons of church buildings, is that they all have a front door. If you are not happy, leave. Don’t sit around and try to make others miserable with you. Don’t try to get a club of disgruntled folks to follow you. That’s discord. That’s bordering on division. The sins are starting to accumulate.

When a person is violating this DO NOT, they need to be warned. They are disobeying God. If they persist, their name ought to be taken before the church publicly. If they persist, fellowship ought to be removed. Do you see how serious this is? For decades, we have remained silent about this. We probably would have thrown the spear at Saul, had we been in David’s shoes. We have not honored God’s anointed. We have thrown elder after elder under the bus. We have encouraged others to join us in disobeying this command. DO NOT means DO NOT.

If there is a problem, deal with it in a Biblical manner, according to the Biblical pattern. If one will not do that, then hush. If they will not hush, then they ought and should reap the consequences of disobeying God’s command.

Could it be that some do not desire to be elders because they have witnessed this command being violated over and over. They have sat and heard how others have talked so cruelly about their fellow brethren and God’s leaders. Could it be that they want no part of that because of the harsh and mean way brethren have talked about their leaders? It’s time for all of this to end. It’s time we got our lives right with the Lord. This sin, yes, it is a sin, may keep you from Heaven.

Instead of insulting God’s leaders, why don’t you help them? You help them by believing in them and trusting them. You help them by ending all of this ugly talk about them. When you hear someone starting, remind them, you best have witnesses and you best take it to the preacher as the Bible says, or you are sinning. If they persist, remind them that you have an obligation to point out sin. You help them by praying for them. You help them by living as we are supposed to. You help them by encouraging them. You help them by using your abilities to strengthen the kingdom. You help them by letting them know you stand with them and you support them.

May God forgive us for the times we have violated this DO NOT passage. May God forgive us for speaking wrongly about things we do not understand. May God forgive us for hurting the very people who are trying to help us. May God forgive us for being discouragers rather than encouragers.

DO NOT—do you think you get this?

Roger

Jump Start # 2122

1 Timothy 3:1 “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

Yesterday we shared some thoughts from this passage about the need for leaders in the church. We took a look at the concept of desiring or aspiring the grand work that is before us in helping people live righteous lives. It is one of the greatest things a person can do in this life. More need to give this serious thought.

But there is another side to this desiring the office of overseer. It’s a negative side. It’s not pretty. Some see this as a position of power and authority. Finally, they think, they can run things the way they want. And, to be sure that they get into this position, some politic. They do favors for others, hoping to win their “vote” in the process. The whole thing stinks to high heaven of arrogance, misunderstanding what is involved with shepherding and why one wants it in the first place. It’s not a badge of honor. Rather, it’s a roll up your sleeves and get busy helping people. I knew one church who appointed a man to be an elder and he made the claim, “I don’t like people.” That’s like a mechanic who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty or a doctor who doesn’t like to see sick people. Shepherding is about people. It’s about us, all of us. Some of us are pretty easy to take care of. We are serious about our faith and our walk with the Lord. We want to help out where we can and you’ll find us at worship when the doors are open. Others seem to struggle more. Family problems pulls them down and away. Messy marriages, where trust and communication seem to fail. Problems of addictions, whether gambling, alcohol, porn or drugs. Each of these impacts lives and families. Then there are the financial issues. Some folks just haven’t learned how to budget and say no to their buying habits. They spend more than what comes in. They’d probably make pretty good congressmen, but running a household like that doesn’t work well.

Shepherding is about working with people. It’s about helping people. It’s often dealing with people when they are at their worst or when the bottom seems to have fallen out in their lives. It’s not running the corporation. The church is not a corporation. It’s not about barking out demands and ordering others around. The church isn’t a military, even though some act that way. Shepherding isn’t even about getting your own way. Like most decent fathers know, taking care of others often means missing the ball game you really wanted to see. It means doing things for others that you probably would never do on your own. It’s sitting through recitals, watching the same Disney movies over and over and over. Dads do that because that’s bonding, connecting and doing things that are meaningful for the little ones. Shepherding is like that. It’s putting the people first. It’s listening to people complain about things that really do not matter, but it does to them. It’s trying to keep folks calm and focused.

Philip Keller wrote a masterpiece book years ago about Psalms 23. Keller was an English shepherd and he made brilliant parallels between tending real sheep and tending people. He pointed out that sheep don’t do well if any of three things occurs. They don’t like bugs in their ears. They don’t like to be hungry. They don’t like tension in the flock. So, the shepherd not only had to be watching for those three things, he had to be the solution. With bugs, sheep can’t scratch their ears like a dog can. So, the shepherd had to put his fingers into the sheep’s ears and pull out any bugs. UGH. Disgusting. That’s shepherding. He had to recognize what pastures were best for feeding the flock. Some fields had weeds that were harmful to sheep. The shepherd had to be able to recognize those. He had to watch for dangers, such as cliffs, fast moving water. Then, he had to watch for friction in the flock. He had to separate some sheep. He had to see who was being the bully. This was constant. Overseeing wasn’t letting the sheep loose on a field and then spending the rest of the time on your phone playing games and texting. His eyes were always on the sheep. Wolves love sheep. The shepherd had to watch for tracks and signs of wolves. Sudden storms could scare the sheep into running. The shepherd had to watch the weather. Day dreaming shepherds wouldn’t do well. Those that didn’t like to be around sheep wouldn’t do well. After a while, the shepherd smelled like sheep. I knew a guy years ago who was a pig farmer. He smelled like pigs. He kept a bottle of Brute cologne in this glove box. He poured that Brute on. He smelled like a pig wearing Brute. When you are around something a long time, you just pick up that smell. Shepherds are around sheep. They smell like sheep.

Shepherding isn’t about running the church. It’s about helping God’s people to become strong spiritually. It’s moving us out of our comfort zone and out of complacency. Shepherding is about listening to others. It’s having a heart of compassion. It’s knowing the Scriptures and how to use the Scriptures to help others.

I have been around all kinds of shepherds in the church. Some have been disastrous and nearly ruined the church. Bossy, mean, uncaring, harsh, the people worshipped in fear. There was little joy in that church building. I’ve seen others who were good men, just not leaders. They didn’t like confrontations and they didn’t like problems. So problems came and they stayed. They never went away. And, I have seen men who have the heart of true shepherds. They are compassionate about the work that they do. They are serious, godly and brilliant leaders. Today, I am among some of the best shepherds I have ever seen. Compassionate, concerned, visionary, helpful, thoughtful and godly. These men are doing things that most would never do. They continually go out of their way for the Lord. They would and have fallen on their swords for the sake of the kingdom. I wish others could see what a blessing these men are. Our lives are better because these men surround us.

A church should never appoint a man to the leadership role with the hopes that he will step up his game spiritually. If a man isn’t attending as he should, he needs to be taught, not appointed. A man who has shown little concern about the church should never be appointed a leader. A man who sees the role of overseer as a stepping stone to the top should never be appointed. He misunderstands the work he is to do.

I have found that as hard as it is to find men to be elders, it is even harder to get one to step down who isn’t doing the job right. Some are abusing their roles. Some show little compassion. Some are making a wreck of things. The church would be better off if such men were not in those roles, but there they are, and there they will be until death comes. And the church suffers. It becomes stagnate. It drifts under the heavy hand of someone who has no idea what he is doing. What can be done? In some extreme places, all the other leaders resigned, forcing the one abusive elder to have to resign as well. But teaching is always the solution. Study shepherding. Invite men in who have studied and taught this well. There are several men that come to my mind that really understand this Biblical concept of leading. Have them over for all day sessions on learning how to be better at what you do.

My wife is a nurse. She’s been nursing for a long, long time. Yet, she still has to take educational classes to keep up with things. It’s required if she wants to keep her license. Yet, many men who are serving as elders, have never looked deeply at what they are doing. They do not keep up with leadership ideas. They don’t read books about spiritual vision. They got in and they haven’t grown in their roles. It shouldn’t be that way. Once a year, the shepherds of a congregation ought to spend a day together talking, sharing and learning about how to be better at what they do. They ought to be reading material and keeping folders on all kinds of ideas. They ought to talk and listen to others. Learn. Be better. We do this in every aspect of life, but leading in the church. A guy proudly told me, “Once in, I know all that I will ever need to know.” I shook my head and walked away from that closed minded person who was clueless to all the wonderful things he could learn and help others with.

Desire the office. We ought to have that, but we ought to have it for the right reason.

Roger

Jump Start # 2121

1 Timothy 3:1 “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

Leadership in the church. Few things are more important. Far too many congregations are drifting with no one at the helm. Things that ought to be done, don’t get done. It’s just the basics and the necessities of surviving, such as paying the bills, finding a preacher and loading him up with keeping the place going, that is accomplished.

Our verse today seems to the giant hurdle that trips up so many today. If any man aspires, or desires, as other translations word it, is the problem. It’s a two-sided problem.

First, many do not want to be overseers. The overseer, bishop, or elder are different expressions for the same office of leading. These are not different levels of organization. He is spiritually experienced, thus an elder. His work is overseeing the church or flock. Thus, he is an overseer or bishop. Then there is the word, shepherd or pastor. He cares for the flock. His interests are in the well being of each member of the church.

These differing words define the work that is to be done. And, herein lies one of the problems in finding men to step up. It is a work. Our verse today describes it as a “fine work.”

Some just don’t want to do it. They work all day and they want to come home and stay home. And, by in large, they should. If a person doesn’t see the enormous good that comes from leading the people of God, then he may lean toward the selfish side of things. Sure it’s a work. Sure it takes time. Sure it gets messy. But consider David leading the people of God. Consider the apostles working with the people of God. What greater thing can one do with his abilities than to be entrusted in helping people spiritually. And, we need help.

There are those who need to be encouraged. Some are so up and down spiritually, one never knows from week to week if they will even show up at the church house. They need to be strengthened and taught. Some are upset and discouraged. Their feelings have been hurt. Things haven’t gone as they expected in their life. They need to be calmed, reassured and encouraged. Some are sitting on the sidelines of life, like at a parade, just watching everything go by. They need a gentle kick in the pants to get them up and engaged in the kingdom.

Sure there are headaches that come with leading. Every leader, whether in schools, sports, politics or in the kingdom of God, faces critics who think things should have been done differently. They get complaints from back-seat drivers who would never themselves take the effort to lead, but certainly have no trouble in pointing out every fault or disagreement that they have. There are heartaches that come with leading when some simply will not follow. Spiritually it leads to eternal death if they do not turn their lives around. There are hours of prayers and countless one on one discussions that the church never knows about. There are so many powerful things that they do to not just keep the place running smoothly, but to keep it on course with God and to point it in a direction that the future looks strong and bright.

And, some don’t want any part of that. They want a church that is growing, strong, and friendly but they don’t want to be part of shaping that. They want to jump in, enjoy the ride, and then jump out when it has taken them as far as they wanted to go. They are like the hitch-hiker of long ago. He adds nothing to the ride.

Across this country, there are so many who could and should step up to leadership in the kingdom but they will not. It may be that they have witnessed bad experiences with shepherds in the past. It may be that some abused this position and never fully understood that they are leading the people of God, not running a corporation. The old model of leading the church took the form of management in a corporation, where the elders looked more like CEO’s than shepherds and deacons were the hands on managers carrying out the orders of the “bosses.” There was little contact with the sheep and little knowledge of what was going on. In this old model, the work was taking care of the church building and running a budget. Big decisions came down to who to hold next year’s Gospel meetings. The members were left dying right in the pew and these leaders never realized it. As long as there wasn’t any major battles going on among the members, they felt that their work was done.

Today, many are seeing that the business model is not the Biblical model. Shepherds are to be among the sheep and their role is not budgets, buildings and bank accounts, but rather, helping each individual member become a success spiritually. Many have never seen this form of leadership. They have never experienced it done right.

Another reason some may not desire the work is because they have never developed themselves. We’ve ignored the consequences of the one talent man in Matthew 25 who buried his talent in the ground. He was proud to show the master that he still had what was given to him. He didn’t lose it. He didn’t waste it. But, he never used it. It was buried. We use our talents to lead in sports as we coach our kids. We lead in the community as we volunteer for different projects. But the greatest area of life, spiritually, we fail to see the value, importance and the need. Have we buried our talents?

Congregations need to develop men to become leaders. It begins at the wedding. Men are to lead their families. This has been a colossal failure in too many homes. Men work. Men come home. But the woman leads the family. The woman decides what will be done and the man has become the mute puppet who goes along. Society has pushed women to the forefront so much that men have become silent in the home. This is not as God arranged things. Men are to lead. The family is his own little flock. It is his job, his example and his role to get that family to Heaven. He will shepherd that family, in a small way, just like elders shepherd the church. It’s not paying the bills and loading the car for vacation. It’s strengthening your children, caring for your wife spiritually. It’s conversations and connections to the word of God. This is where leadership begins. From this, it’s a natural step to expand what a man has already done, to now lead the people of God. But before us are too many who have never lead at home. They have no clue as to what to do. They have had others tell them what to do. They don’t know how to lead and they don’t know where to begin.

Classes, sermons and special men studies on leadership ought to be offered yearly at the congregation. How else are men going to desire the work if they do not understand what the work is. You see a sign in a store window, “Help Wanted.” The first question is, “What kind of help?”

Aspire…desire…want to. Do you want to see the church do well? Do you want to see the church being strong and powerful for your children someday? Do you want the church to do what is right? Why don’t you want to help with that? Why don’t you want be a part of that? Not all can serve as overseers. There are some strict requirements. They follow our verse. But the spiritual desire ought to be running strong within every Christian. The desire to lead people to Christ. The desire to do what I can to help out. The desire to work with the Lord among His people. Could anything be better than that?

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the other side of this. Some want to serve because they want power.

Roger