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God’s Blueprint For The Church

A Leadership Checklist, 1 Timothy 3:1-16

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

The Big Picture…

• The minimum requirements for spiritual leadership (Elders)
• The marks of spiritual maturity
• No glaring weakness, “above reproach” 

What’s not on the list… giftedness, spiritual power, theological training, religious disciplines, zeal

A Bad Translation, A Blind Spot & 3 Surprises:

A Bad Translation “Husband of one wife”

• Literally: “A one woman man”
• What’s the difference?

–It eliminates anyone single, divorced or remarried

–It contradicts the rest of scripture

–It focuses on marital status, not moral purity

-It makes the past more important than the present

The Blind Spot “Not quarrelsome” 

-If I am contentious for the right things, I’m still contentious!

• A family under control

1 Timothy 3:4-6

⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

• Not a recent convert

1 Timothy 3:6

 ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

• A good reputation with non-Christians 

1 Timothy 3:7

⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders,

Differences, Deacons and Deaconesses… 

⁸ Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ¹¹ Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. ¹³ For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

• Elder: Able to Teach and Correct, Leadership/Authority
• Deacon = Servant

¹⁴ I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, ¹⁵ if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. ¹⁶ Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: