Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb. 2007

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb A Biblical Examination Of How One Might Prepare Himself For The Eldership

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd If men are going to be the people of God, character is an issue God is a moral, spiritual Being Jn 4:24 Man is also moral, spiritual Gen 2:7 Eccl 3:11 12:7 Character is especially important re: those who would lead His people cp. Ex 18:21 Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd As it relates to him personally … Character Not greedy for money Not covetous Not self-willed Not given to wine Temperate Sober-minded Of good behavior Gentle Just Holy

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd Two areas where the Biblical qualifications address the shepherd & his character: Ê How he presents himself Ë How he interacts with others With those outside his family and with his own immediate family Character 4

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd Two areas where the Biblical qualifications address the shepherd & his character: Ê How he presents himself Ë How he interacts with others With those outside his family and with his own immediate family Character 4 To be discussed later

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ê Blameless 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6, 7 Other translations read “Above reproach” or “Irreproachable” or “Give no grounds for accusations but must be above reproach” or “To be of unquestionable integrity and is irreproachable” Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb “That cannot be called to account, unreprovable, unaccused; not apprenhended, that cannot be laid hold of, that cannot be reprenhended; not open to censure.” Thayer, p. 44

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb “It is not enough for him to be not criminal; he must be one against whom it is impossible to bring any charge of wrong doing such as could stand impartial examination.” Expositor’s Greek Testament, p. 111

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ê Blameless 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6, 7 Not to be “blameless” in the sense that no one ever brings any charges cp. Mt 5:11 1 Pet 4:4 The concern is that when such “charges” are levied, they won’t “stick” or be found true upon an honest examination Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ê Blameless 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6, 7 There is not to be any “irregular conduct” in his social contact with other people Consider the portrayals in Lk 20:20-26 & Jn 8:46 What if “spies” followed the prospective elder? Could the prospective elder be convicted of sin? Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ê Blameless 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6, 7 But esp. the elder as “God’s steward” Titus 1:7 Entrusted with the flock of God cp. 1 Pet 5:3 Character Required of all disciples Col 1: Tim 6:11-14

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ë One having a controlled temperament Elders face situations that no doubt try their patience because they deal with people Faithful shepherds remain under control, even when deeply frustrated or unfairly provoked They cannot lash out with either words or fists Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ë One having a controlled temperament A “Not quick tempered” Titus 1:7 Also rendered “Not soon angry” To not be prone to anger; one not marked by a hot temper and easily provoked to anger Consider the wise words in Prov 29:22 Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ë One having a controlled temperament B “Not quarrelsome” 1 Tim 3:3 To not be a brawler; to be uncontentious; to abstain from fighting Do not confuse with “contending for truth” Jude 3 Taught elsewhere in the N.T. 2 Tim 2:24 Titus 3:2 Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ë One having a controlled temperament C “Not pugnacious” 1 Tim 3:3 Titus 1:7 Also rendered “No striker” or “Not violent” One who is not a bruiser or one “ready with a blow” The use of force to achieve results cp. Rev 8:12 [root word] Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ë One having a controlled temperament This is not to be confused with anger over sin One can be angry & still not sin Eph 4:26 Jesus certainly did this Mk 3:5 11:15-18 Jn 2:13-17 Yet, He was not a crazed maniac or lunatic, creating havoc and upheaval with brute force Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ë One having a controlled temperament Obviously, this relates to self-control The young often show themselves to be very impulsive, impetuous…even out-of-control The older usually have learned to master their temperament to stay in control of situations Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ë One having a controlled temperament Character Required of all disciples Gal 5:23 2 Pet 1:6

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ì Hospitable 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:8 Compound word lit. “a friend to (of) strangers” One who shows an “open hearth” – a common practice in the first century cp. 2 Jn 10 This demonstrates his willingness to share what he has for the sake of others Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Ì Hospitable 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:8 Character Required of all disciples Rom 12:13 Heb 13:2 1 Pet 4:9 Obviously, this requirement is where his wife would be a tremendous help to him

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Í Loving what is good Titus 1:8 KJV has “men” but that is not the real idea Lit. “A lover of that which is good” One who “loves goodness” will encourage it in others, seek to have it found into his own life Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Í Loving what is good Titus 1:8 Character Required of all disciples Rom 12:9b cp. Phil 4:8 3 Jn 11

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Î Of good reputation w/unbelievers 1 Tim 3:7 Even how he is viewed by those who are not members of the Lord’s body is important Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb “A testifying; what one testifies – a testimony; …in an ethical sense, of testimony concerning one’s character.” Thayer, p. 391

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Î Of good reputation w/unbelievers 1 Tim 3:7 Even how he is viewed by those who are not members of the Lord’s body is important Other places in the N.T. where this word “testimony” or “report” is found Mk 14:55-56, 59 Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Î Of good reputation w/unbelievers 1 Tim 3:7 Why would it matter how he is thought of by those who are not even disciples of the Lord, or who are not even under his oversight? Because of potential damage to the cause of the Lord cp. Rom 2:21-24 Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Î Of good reputation w/unbelievers 1 Tim 3:7 Why would it matter how he is thought of by those who are not even disciples of the Lord, or who are not even under his oversight? Because of the “reproach of the devil” and the chance it gives him to “ensnare” others Character

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with non-family Î Of good reputation w/unbelievers 1 Tim 3:7 Character Required of all disciples 1 Pet 2: Thess 4:11-12

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd Having established where we find such a man, we now must examine him personally Areas where Divine revelation provides information that addresses who he should be  His character Ù does he possess the “moral fiber” necessary to serve?

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd Having established where we find such a man, we now must examine him personally Areas where Divine revelation provides information that addresses who he should be  His family Ù do his domestic successes or failures either qualify or disqualify him?

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb Where Do Elders Come From? Elders come from disciples of the Lord who are mature men with families However, what is under consideration is the type of family man he is A man’s family life has been the “proving ground” wherein he has demonstrated his aptitude to serve as an overseer

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with his family Ê Husband of one wife 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6 The way this requirement is worded is significant The Holy Spirit could have said… “The bishop must be married” Ù this would have allowed a polygamist to serve Family

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with his family Ê Husband of one wife 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6 The way this requirement is worded is significant The Holy Spirit could have said… “The bishop must not be a polygamist” Ù this would have allowed a single man to serve Family

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with his family Ê Husband of one wife 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6 The way this requirement is worded is significant The Holy Spirit could have said… “The bishop must have been married only one time” Ù this would forbid polygamy, but would not require a present marriage Family

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with his family Ê Husband of one wife 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6 The way this requirement is worded is significant The Holy Spirit did say… “The bishop must be the husband of one wife” Ù this requires a present marriage and also forbids the sin of polygamy Family

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with his family Ê Husband of one wife 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6 The issue is not simply that the bishop must be a married man The real issue is what kind of husband he is since the Holy Spirit requires him to be married to serve as a bishop Family

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb The Prospective Shepherd The shepherd interacting with his family Ê Husband of one wife 1 Tim 3:2 Titus 1:6 The bishop is one who is committed to the one he has chosen for a wife, and abides by the Lord’s teachings on marriage cp. Gen 2:18-24 Job 31:1 Mal 2:14, 16 Mt 19:3-9 Eph 5: Pet 3:7 Family

Eldership Preparation StudiesEastside church of Christ – Feb. 2007