Saturday, December 17, 2011

What does it mean to be “above reproach”?


Scripture Read: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 

Application: Whenever we read Scripture, no matter who it's speaking to in a specific context, we must be careful never to pass by quickly thinking it does not pertain to us. You have taught me many times Lord that the Scripture can always be taken by the Holy Spirit and applied in so many specific ways to my life. This is what we must do as we read this section of 1st Timothy, even though these qualifications are specific to eldership it is important that we look at each one of these discriptions and allow the Holy Spirit to bring the truth and personal application for that truth, of Scripture into our own lives. I'm sure that we will find many profitable lessons for own lives as we consider these qualities.

Paul states that an elder must be “Above Reproach”. What does this mean? In the original language this word means, “not to be laid hold of”. We know that, as we live in the flesh, it is impossible for an individual to live sinless. We must see the intent of the language meaning the person can have no obvious “vices” or “inconsistencies” that someone can bring against him. This term, above reproach, means ~ they have no public sin or lifestyle that would shame the name of the Lord or bring disgrace on the church, the leaders or the office of elder. It means that, even when the person does fall into sin they take responsibility ASAP, and the appropriate actions to correct the situation. Because of the characteristics of HONESTY, and VULNERABILITY, leaders are regular people, but they choose to act differently went they make mistakes or sin. . They don’t walk on water, for they cannot, however they commit to noy excusing or hiding their mistakes or sins when they are confronted about them. Instead, they do what their Lord would expect. Because this is in the scripture, we have the right to expect them to not live in open sin or have a life that is controlled by sin to the point that someone looking at their lives could bring an accusation against them of sinful living. Because they are like us, leaders may lose control of their temper at times, yet each time they do, they confess it and make things right if they hurt anyone, but a leader that habitually loses his temper, showing public outrage and is consistently not in control of his temper, unforgiving, refuses to resolve problems, that leader is not beyond reproach. If we are honest, this quality has many ramifications for our life. I personally, struggle with my weight. If I just gave up and ate whatever I wanted, did not exercise and let my body become an example of a person that does not care about his health, I would not be above reproach. So struggling with sin is not the issue, it is living contently with it. That is when we have let something lay a hold of us! 

Meditation Questions: If you struggle with a particular sin, are you not above reproach? What is the difference between someone that preaches how we all should live, but fails to do so and a hypocrite? How would you describe what the sin life of a person that really wants to follow Christ should look like? Do you have certain sins that are very difficult to over come? What are you doing about those? Which sins do you think are more dangerous, visible or those no one sees? Why? List the dangers of both.


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Thursday, December 15, 2011

The benefits of accountability


Scripture Read: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Application: Paul now introduces the list of qualifications that God has given for those men that desire to be elders in the Body of Christ. It is important that before we look at each quality that we consider why God has been so specific with this list of qualifications. God never does things without a purpose, He would not make a list of qualifications for no reason, our Lord expects the leaders of His church to be accountable to Him first, to their peers second and then to all the Body of Christ. This is what we call accountability. It is helpful for us to consider what accountability brings into the life of every individual. So even though this passage is specifically speaking to the office of eldership, the universal principle of accountability that applies to each one of us and why it is necessary is important to understand. Every one of us needs accountability in our life, but why? Is this some sort of control tactic used in some corporations or in cults to keep their members in line? No, this has more to do with freedom than control. The quality in our character that accountability produces actually gives us freedom to enjoy our relationship with our Maker and with each other better. It helps us to be real and honest as individuals, by removing façades and false self images, titles and outward appearances, the new creature God is creating us into, becomes evident. True accountability encourages people to be just who they really are, and keeps them from developing a public life and a private life that contradict each other. This is not only important for leaders, but for all of us. Here are some other outward benefits that accountability brings into the life of a Christian leader.

*Honesty it is what sets us apart from all else. It is what makes leadership authentic. Showing that, the standards that you are teaching is do able, and beneficial. It is easy to say forgive and love your enemies, accountability makes that a way of life.
*Vulnerability - Note - no one can keep you accountable if you do not let them into your life. Accountability is the bridge that God uses to help us open ourselves up to fellow believers that can come alongside us, encourage us and even confront us. This transparency is also vital in leadership; it allows those that we lead to know that we are just like them, sinners saved by grace.  

*Reality Life as it really is. When we share our victories and our defeats with those that we are teaching, leading, or walking along lifes path we show them we are susceptible to same life challenges, no pie in the sky, the victories are great but the war goes on. This helps every individual to realize that we are not here to hold onto life, to hoard our money, time or talents. We are to pour ourselves into the lives of others, there'll be great fruit and many victories, but there will also be disappointments and deep hurts, in other words - real life.

Meditation Questions: Do you have people in your life that have the freedom to encourage you? Counsel you? Confront you? What does your answer say about who you are? What do you feel when you are criticized? Do you seek to find out if the criticism is true? What does your answer show you? Do you have people in your life that you can mentor and guide? How important is that to you? What do you think Christ’s desire for us is? What are you doing to accomplish that?

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

Leadership is a combination of a call and a desire


Scripture Read: 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.

Application: Our enemy has used false modesty in the lives of believers many times to hinder ministry. Yes, we can never enter ministry to glorify ourselves, but we also must allow the Holy Spirit to show us our gifts, embrace them and then seek to use them in the work of the Kingdom. Here we see a very important ministry to the Body of Christ – Elder. Much will be discussed on this topic, but first we need to understand that this ministry is not for anyone that would pretend they did not want to be an Elder. Those that feel that way should either: 1. Stop lying and confess their false modesty so they can stand in this ministry with no reservation; no one put a gun to their head and made them do it, they wanted it. Or: 2. Admit they do not have the gifts, even though the desire is there, and step down and seek where God has gifted them to be in the Body.  As I stated, this is no place for false modesty nor is it a place for personal agenda. There must be a balance that is struck by the Holy Spirit. Our desire cannot become agenda, but desire must be a part of the formula. We need to understand that the emphasis is on the task here, not the person. This has nothing to do with seeking position or title in the Body of Christ. It has everything to do with functioning as a shepherd for the Lord and the flock. What is interesting is God used two different words for desire in the verse and as we consider them we will see how important it is that both must be present in any individual that is placed into Eldership:
ὀρέγω orégō  - Literally, to stretch out especially with the hands, to snatch. It describes external action, not internal motive

ἐπιθυμέω epithuméō - from epí in, and thumós the mind. The second means “a strong passion,” and refers to an inward desire. .[1]

As we put these two thoughts together we see a clear picture of the desire that must exist in a person that is elder material. He must outwardly pursue it, no back room politics. He pursues it because he is driven by a strong internal desire. This combination is what God uses to affirm to that man that he is not choosing the position alone, yes he wants it, but he wants it because God has placed in his heart a burning desire to serve the Body of Christ this way. It is no emotional joy ride to be a Shepherd, but the fruit is heavenly! Being what God made you to be is what fills that void that only real purpose can fill. All of us should seek to be what God wants us to be, then that restless itch dies and a sense of destiny enters. 

Meditation Questions: Do you sense that God has made you for a reason? What is that? What are you doing to pursue that? Do you desire recognition? What does that say? Do you have a ministry in a local Body? Does it energize you? What does that say? Do you do things in ministry that kill your energy? What does that say? Do you know your gifts? Are you trying to discover what they are? Are you trying to use and perfect them?








[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

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