ELDERS WHO ENABLE THE CHURCH TO EXCEL

A church cannot excel without elders. As long as we live in a fallen world, there will be a need in the church to, “set in order the things that are lacking,” as Paul puts it in Titus 1:5. It is the reason why Titus was placed in Crete—to “appoint elders in every city.”  John Maxwell’s axiom is true, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Over time, I have left my traditional understanding of a church with a single elder (pastor) to embrace what I consider a more truthful interpretation of a plurality of elders.  Notice that Paul uses the plural here—and we find it in other texts as well.  There is a strength that comes from the varied gifts, mutual encouragement, and joint accountability that comes from a group of elders which benefits the church more than a single pastor can.

The bar is set high in qualifying to serve as elders—as it should be. Some of the qualifications are stated in the positive and others in the negative in Titus 1:5-9.

HEALTHY TRAITS EMBRACED BY THE ELDERS.  There are six areas where positive traits need to be embraced for the health of the elder and the church.

Elders must be morally uptight in public demonstration.  The word, “blameless,” is used twice here. This does not mean we will be sinless, or none of us would qualify. It does mean that there is no scandalous sin in public life that would sully our reputation and dishonor our Lord and His church.

Elders must be faithfully devoted to family direction.  They are faithful in loving their wife, “the husband of one wife,” and devoted in leading their children, “having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.”  The home is life’s leadership laboratory. Shepherd our family prepares us for shepherding God’s flock.

Elders must be sacrifically surrendered  to church demands, “as a steward of God.”  There are three primary areas of stewardship: our time, our talent, and our treasure. In each of these it will require a sacrifice of what we desire for what the church demands.

Elders must be compassionately minded in community devotion.  We are, “hospitable.”  The home is open as a Gospel lighthouse to our neighbors who are lost. Our arms are open to comfort those who are hurting. Our guidance is given to those seeking counsel. Our table is shared with those who are hungry. People know that a knock on our door will find one offering hope and help on the other side.

Elders must be seriously focused in personal discipline.  Several terms describe this, “a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled.”  In his heart he loves what is right, as “a lover of what is good.” In his head he concentrates on thinking right being “sober-minded.”  With his hands he is compelled to do right as one who is “just, holy, self-controlled.”

Elders must be steadfastly true to Bible doctrine, “holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”  He is a student of the Word. You cannot speak the truth and be a steward of the truth, if you do not study the truth. He is a speaker of the Word.  He wields the double-edged sword of the Spirit, in a manner that sometimes challenges with exhortation and at other times, confronts with conviction. 

HARMFUL TRAITS EXCLUDED FROM THE ELDERS.  There are five, “no nos” that are harmful to the elder and the church.

There must be no prideful insubordination, “not self-willed.”  This is the spirit of rebellion that turned an angel into the devil.

There must be no carnal agitation, “not quick-tempered.”  This is a fire that will ignite words you cannot retract and works you cannot remove, with the potential to burn the church down!

There must be no habitual intoxication, “not given to wine.”  You must be controlled by the Spirit of God and not the spirits of alcohol.

There must be no harmful instigation, “not violent.”  It is the fury that produced the first murder when Cain killed his own brother, Abel.

There must be no material infatuation, “not greedy for money.”  It is not so much a matter of the amount in your bank, but the attitude in your heart. A rich man may be generous and a poor man may be greedy, but the danger is in living for the material and not the eternal.

These are not suggestions, but qualifications. We may not always get it right, but there is no excuse for not aiming at the bull’s eye, so that even if you don’t hit it every time, you will at least be close.

THE CALL TO MINISTRY

In the dark night of my sin, the light of Christ broke into my life, and a new day dawned. I have never been the same. The grace of God that redeemed me from sin, also redirected me into service. As new doors opened, I joyfully walked through them. After all that Jesus did for me, how could I do anything else?

Yet, there seemed something more—a nagging sense that another step needed to be taken. Was I being called to gospel ministry?  I will never forget that summer night, in an open air auditorium, set amid mountain splendor, and the pointed call of Dr. Stephen Olford to absolute surrender. My wife and I made the commitment, “Lord Jesus, anything, anywhere, anytime, I am ready.”  We have never looked back.  In the words attributed to William Borden, who left behind a life of luxury to die a missionary, there has been, “No Reserve; No Retreat; No Regrets.”

Consider what Paul said of his call to ministry here.

He points to GOD’S ENABLEMENT, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me”.   Gospel work is God’s work. It is a natural man given supernatural resources.  It is not our talent—though God can use it if taken to the cross—nor our intellect or charm. It is the enabling power of God’s Spirit at work in us and through us that means we can do that which is beyond our own ability.  With God’s calling comes His enabling. 

Paul next speaks of GOD’S JUDGMENT, “because He counted me faithful”.   Now, there was a sense in which Paul’s personality was one given to a determined direction. He was full bore in whatever he did. This brought him to become a Pharisee—the most zealous of all religionists. Not content with that, he became a leader among the group. Still more, in his commitment to his religion, he was willing to kill for his convictions!  When he met Christ, the Lord sanctified him and would count him as one who would be faithful to truth once delivered from error. Jesus does not see just what we are, but what we will become through His grace.

Then, the Apostle concludes with GOD’S ASSIGNMENT, “putting me into the ministry.”  We are reminded that the call to preach—to feed and lead God’s flock—is not a vocation that we have chosen, as one considers an array of employment possibilities and we say, “I think I would like to be a pastor.”  Now, this does not mean we have to run from the call—though some do—but may run to the call—I certainly did. Yet, it must be a call from God. There must be that sense that this is an assignment from heaven. The church will recognize it—and that is the point of them “laying on hands,” in ordination, as we note in the New Testament.  That is the affirmation of His assignment.

Now, I have been directed into  a different dimension of service.   People ask, “How is retirement going?”  Retire? I am not retired, but redeployed!  While I am no longer standing in the same pulpit week after week, I am helping shepherd the ones who do, as an Associational Mission Strategist for the 62 Baptist churches in Haywood Association.  From the burden of duty of a single congregation, I can feel the weight of what Paul described, “what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches,” (2 Cor.11:28b).  When we come to the end of our assignment may we be able to write in our Bible, “No reserve, no retreat, no regrets.” 

THE REJECTION OF OUR MESSAGE

We might pray that all our preaching will be received—and we should. We may present the truth with sincerity, clarity, fervency, authority, and urgency—and we ought. We can do all that in our preaching and yet there will be those who will not, “receive the love of the truth.” 

It is possible, of course, that the preacher may fail to speak the truth in love—and there must be that balance of conviction and compassion.  We love the TRUTH and so cannot compromise the content. We LOVE the truth and so must demonstrate our care for the listener.

Yet, there will always be those—no matter how faithfully we discharge our duty—who will not receive the love of the truth. The failure is not in the speaker, in this case, but in the hearer.  

Why?  When by receiving and believing the truth of the Gospel, “that they might be saved,” why would they refuse?  The mind of man is darkened by deception. The heart of sinners is depraved in passion. The will of man is directed by rebellion.

Thankfully, there will be those who respond to the Gospel—as its power in the Holy Spirit’s activity—opens their blind eyes, unstops their deaf ears, and break their hard hearts. By God’s grace, they repent—turning from the world and to follow the Lord.

Sadly, there will be those who perish for rejecting the message. That is not our choice, but theirs. We will give an answer as to whether we spoke the truth in love, but they will be held accountable as “they did not receive the love of the truth.”  Such cannot be saved. That ought break our hearts now. Their weeping and wailing will be for eternity.

DRESSED FOR DUTY

 

This world is not a playground, but a battleground. Preacher, put your armor on!  You better be dressed for duty. There is never a time for “playing church.”  We have a deadly enemy, bent on our destruction. Yet, we have a Sovereign—the Lord of Hosts who leads us. Pastors have been appointed as field commanders, serving under His direction.

Paul stresses the three great virtues of faith, hope, and love repeatedly in his writings. These must be the focus of our ministry. All we do is to help the church to be a people of faith, hope, and love.  Through the preaching of the Word of God, faith is developed, hope is strengthened, and love is nurtured.  Here, this holy trinity of Christ-like character is depicted as pieces of armor for the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged. 

There is armor to guard our heart: “the breastplate of faith and love.”  The two halves of the chest are protected by faith on one side and love on the other.  Our heart is the seat of our affections. Faith enables us to experience the power of God, while love equips us to express our devotion to God. Whether on the march to assault some enemy stronghold that can be conquered by faith, or standing our ground in loving commitment when the foe sweeps in like a flood, we wear the breastplate.

There is armor to guard our head: “and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”  Our head is the place where Biblical information is stored and Scriptural conviction is formed. The hope of salvation encases our minds with an assurance that wards off doubt, lest we waver in our doctrine and wander in our decisions. 

Never let us shirk our work to equip our band of believers for battle. May we exemplify what it means to be dressed with faith, hope, and love, then to expound the Word in such a way that we help them to be armed likewise as they go into the world.