By Matt Proctor
Mark this down: Everything rises and falls with leadership.
When leadership is strong, an organization will flourish. When leadership is weak, an organization falters.
John Maxwell calls this the “law of the lid”: “Leadership ability is always the lid on organizational effectiveness.”1 If your leadership rates a 9, your team can become an 8. But if your leadership is only a 4, the team”s effectiveness will never be greater than a 3. When it comes to choosing leaders, then, the stakes are high.
The Most Strategic Organization on Earth
Nowhere is this truer than in the church. God has entrusted the powerful message of Christ and the powerful presence of the Spirit to only one entity on earth: the church. What a life-or-death stewardship! Will we leverage these divine gifts for maximum impact?
That”s why we need 1 Timothy 3:1-7.2 The church at Ephesus was a mess””arguing over foolish matters, neglecting the needy among them, a little too impressed with wealth, and infiltrated by false teaching. If the congregation in Ephesus was going to reach its full redemptive potential””to win as many as possible in their generation for Christ””they would need their very best men leading the way. So Paul writes to the young minister Timothy with a description of the kind of men who can lead the Ephesian church back to God”s agenda.
Paul lists 15 qualities to look for in potential leaders. In 3:1, Paul reminds Timothy that an elder”s task is full of great dignity (“noble”) and great difficulty (“task”). Since this is work of the highest order, Timothy must search for men of the highest caliber.
A Guide to Selecting Your Leaders
If it”s true the redemptive drama being played out here hinges on the quality of the church”s leadership, then each congregation must pay close attention to what makes for a good church leader. A fresh look at 1 Timothy 3:1-7 is needed.
In that hope, I”ve tried to summarize Paul”s description of the ideal spiritual leader in a list of 10 questions a congregation could ask of potential elders. Keep your Bible open to the text as you read through the following descriptions. As you seek those men who will lead your church, perhaps these questions will serve as a helpful test:
“¢ Is this man respected in the community? The first quality listed is above reproach, literally meaning “not able to be held.” In other words, if charges were leveled against this man, he wouldn”t even be held for questioning because his reputation is so solid. He”s Teflon, not Velcro. His integrity is such that accusations just won”t stick.
By the way, in verse 7 Paul bookends this list with another call for a good reputation with outsiders. Why this emphasis on how well others think of a man? Simply this: the reputation of Christ is tied to that of the church, and the reputation of the church is tied to that of its leaders. Lynn Anderson tells of a church visitor who remarked, “So Jake is a leader in your church? Well, if Jake is an example of what Jesus does to people, you can color me Buddhist.”3 An elder with a tarnished reputation hinders the mission of the church. Your congregation needs a leader who is a compelling commercial for Christ, a winsome witness to a watching world.
“¢ Is this man committed to his wife? A husband of but one wife literally reads “a one-woman man.” It describes a man completely devoted to his wife not only in body, but also in mind and heart. Why is this important? A strong marriage helps protect an elder from moral failure, provides needed support when he faces draining church challenges, and offers a powerful example to younger believers (1 Peter 5:3).
On Father’s Day, the Sunday school teacher was helping her class of 5-year-olds make homemade cards. “Why don”t you draw a picture of something your father likes?” she suggested. “Maybe golf balls or a fishing pole or a pet.”
Little Gus raised his hand, “May I draw a picture of my mom? My dad sure likes her a lot!” You”re looking for an elder with a marriage like Gus”s dad.
“¢ Has this man shown wisdom in decision-making? Temperate means “clear-headed,” and self-controlled could actually be translated “prudent or thoughtful.” These words picture a man who has his head on straight. Why? Because an elder must often think his way through thorny relational, financial, and doctrinal questions””all of which can have eternal consequences. (Perhaps this is why spiritual leaders are called “elders,” suggesting a certain amount of life experience. Wisdom doesn”t always come with age, but it rarely comes without it.)
Look for evidence that a man is mature enough to avoid shoot-from-hip, impulsive, or careless decisions. Dr. Carroll Osburn, who grew up in the rural South, says “an elder in the Black River bottoms of Arkansas would not likely command much respect unless he owned high-class coon dogs. If a man didn”t have enough sense to know good dogs, how could he possibly have enough sense to lead a church?”4
Whether you call it common sense, horse sense, or “coon dog sense,” you want your spiritual leaders to demonstrate wise decision-making.
“¢ Has this man shown the ability to keep his temper in check? Paul describes an elder as a man who is not violent, but gentle and not quarrelsome. Church leaders will face volatile situations in which a soft word will turn away anger, but a harsh word will stir up wrath (Proverbs 15:1). If a man is known to have either an explosive anger (“losing it”) or a slow, simmering anger (“carrying a grudge”), the church will suffer.
I”ve seen too many churches debate one man”s eligibility for elder because of a past divorce, without ever discussing another elder candidate”s habitual anger pattern through the years. When conflict and criticism arise, the man who will make a good elder will have a tough skin, a tender heart, a short memory, and a long fuse.
“¢ Is this man willing to be inconvenienced for others? When we hear the word hospitable, we picture inviting someone over for an evening of lasagna dinner and conversation. In the ancient world, where inns were notoriously filthy and even dangerous, the word pictured someone opening his home for guests to stay days or even weeks on end. Hospitality involved sacrifice and cost a great deal in time, space, money and effort. In other words, Paul”s question is: will this man think of others before himself?
After all, an elder is to shepherd the flock of God, and having raised sheep, I can tell you these frustrating animals need constant care. Their problems always seem to come at inconvenient times””I”ve spent a late night or two in the sheep barn. Plus, they smell baaaaad. (Sorry.) In other words, sheep require unconditional love.
Does this sound familiar? Having served as an elder, I know that church folk need constant attention. I know their crises rarely come at convenient times. (I”ve received the 2 am phone call from a church member about domestic problems.) A good elder recognizes, however, that these frustrating folk are beloved of God and are “bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
That”s why good elders “smell like sheep”””they”re out among the flock, giving them the care God would if he were in their shoes. That kind of selfless love makes for a good leader.
“¢ Is this man capable of teaching Scripture to others? An elder must be able to teach. Why? Biblically, the primary strategy for personal and corporate transformation is not excellent programming or even quality relationships, but rather the patient teaching of Scripture (2 Timothy 4:2).
Is Paul telling Timothy to look for effective public speakers? Not necessarily. While delivery matters, the first requirement of a good teacher is not presentation skills, but mastery of content. Has this man given himself to study of Scripture and to filling himself with the Word of God?
Growing up, I always knew where to find my dad at 6:30 in the morning””in his chair with his Bible open on his lap. While he was an executive in the business world, I think the leaders at my home church asked my dad to be an elder because he was soaked in Scripture.
You”re not simply looking for a man who knows how to say something, but rather a man who has something to say””something from God.
“¢ Has this man established wise personal habits? The word respectable pictures a man who is self-disciplined and orderly in his behavior. It describes the ancient church father who once prayed, “Father, help me be master of my self that I may be servant of others.” To serve the church, an elder certainly must not be given to drunkenness, but he must also avoid other habits that can damage reputation and distract focus””workaholism, gambling, smoking, overeating, or even watching too much television.
Ask of a potential leader: Do his habits reveal a man who is able to supervise his own life well? Self-control is not only the fruit of the Spirit, but also the mark of a good elder.
“¢ Does this man have a strong sense of stewardship? Phrased differently, he is not a lover of money. Phrased positively, he is a lover of God with his money. Paul is describing a leader whose life will be marked by generosity and simple contentment. (See 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19.)
Why? A man who lives under the love of money might let in the door of his life such sins as embezzling, extravagance, or even hoarding, and I”ve seen spiritual leaders who then let these sins in the door of the church. On the other hand, a man who lives under the love of God will steward his own money and the church”s finances with God”s glory and the church”s mission always in mind.
“¢ Does this man have a track record of discipling leadership? Has this man shown the ability to lead others to greater maturity in Christ? To answer that question, look at his family first. When Paul says an elder must manage his own family well, he means a man”s family is his first little congregation, and “whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). But if three of his four children have no use for the church, what does this say of his spiritual leadership?
By the way, does this mean a man without a family cannot serve as an elder? Charles Greer, the chairman of the elders in my first full-time ministry, never had children, but he and his wife had discipled so many university students through the years in that college town that a whole generation in the church actually called them “Ma and Pa.” Spiritually, Charles was the father of a great multitude. You”re looking for a man who”s got a track record of leading people closer to Jesus.
“¢ Has this man been a Christian long enough to maintain humility? Paul says he must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited. The chief occupational hazard of spiritual leadership is pride, and too much visibility too soon in a man”s Christian pilgrimage can inflate his ego.
Howard Hendricks says that man is the only animal that, when given a pat on the back, experiences a swelling of the head. You”re looking for a man who won”t believe his own church newsletter press clippings and instead has the humility that comes when you”ve walked a ways with Jesus.
Bill Troester was an elder in a church I served. So trustworthy was he that when a prayer warrior in the congregation named Maurice Lam died, Maurice willed his most valuable possession””his prayer list””to Bill. He knew Bill would faithfully keep praying for those on the list.
Had that level of trust been shown to a lesser man, it might”ve caused him to think a little more highly of himself, prompting a moment of self-congratulation for his apparent reputation of integrity. But Bill Troester never told anyone””I only know the story because Maurice”s widow told me. Bill just humbly took the list and prayed. That”s the kind of leader you”re looking for.
A Final Word of Challenge
“The local church is the hope of the world, and its future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders.” If it”s true that everything rises and falls with leadership, then as your congregation selects its elders, you”ll want to take a close look again at this picture of a spiritual leader in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. The work of the church is too critical, the stakes are too high, the consequences are too eternal for a congregation to choose its leaders hastily (1 Timothy 5:22). Choose poorly, and the church will miss opportunities to build the kingdom.
But if leaders are chosen wisely, the church will flourish. And when the church flourishes, the gospel is preached, the lost are found, souls are saved, sin is confronted, children are taught, marriages are mended, addictions are broken, the hungry are fed, the grieving are comforted, the lonely are embraced, the wounded are healed, the community is transformed, and the nations are reached with the good news of Christ.
When the leaders are at their best, the church will be at its best, and when the church is at its best, it is breathtaking to behold. Look out world!
With all that said, I cannot close without a final reminder. Remember: this picture Paul provides in 1 Timothy 3 is a sketch, not a snapshot. As you search for leaders, you”re looking for a great resemblance, but you may not find an exact likeness.
Keep in mind that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Look for excellence in character, but apply these standards with grace. You can (and should) find men who have learned to sin less, but you will never find men who are sinless.
At the end of the day, the good news is this: everything rises and falls with one Leader, and while we may fail, he never does.
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1John Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 8.
2Titus 1:6-9 contains a similar description of elders.
3Lynn Anderson, They Smell Like Sheep (West Monroe: Howard, 1997), 59.
4Ibid., p. 133.
Matt Proctor serves as president of Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri.
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