How to Build a Pastor Pt 2
Notes
Transcript
I want to start with a question…
When you invite someone to church what do you lead with?
What sort of information do you tell them?
Often times I’ve seen people invite their friends with an appeal to how great their pastor is. Sometimes these are good reasons for celebration - he helps them to understand and apply the Word of God, or he helps them aspire to be more like Christ. Both great reasons.
But in many cases, I have seen people celebrate their pastor for superficial reasons. They celebrate how gifted or relatable he is, they celebrate how funny he is, or even in one bizarre circumstance I remember someone celebrating how attractive their pastor was… it was not his wife…
I’ve heard people invite people to church because the coffee is good, or attend a church because the coffee is good, or the music is amazing, the sermon graphics and themes are cool, or the sermons are so real.
(All of those things are acceptable things for a church to have - but they are not good reasons for why one should choose a church.)
However, it seems that when people talk about what makes a good pastor it is often outside of what the Bible requires a pastor to be - and in many cases they actually ignore when a pastor fails to meet this qualifications because he excels in something like humor or relatability.
This text that we are looking at this morning deals with qualifications for a pastor. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this text gives us a place to pray for our church leaders (and other churches), it gives us a place to encourage and rebuke, it also gives us a guide for what to look for in a church, it aids us in what to look for in an elder in hopes of having additional elders.
This morning’s sermon serves as a part 2 to the sermon from two weeks ago. 2 weeks ago we looked at how the pastor’s home is a window into his life. The actions of a pastor’s wife and children tell of his life in a way that is difficult to cover up.
We continue through Paul’s instructions concerning the qualifications for the office of elder. As a reminder elder and pastor are synonymous in the New Testament. We will see that this text naturally divides itself in three aspects in relation to qualifications.
Disqualifiers
These are negatives. I verse 7, Paul lists five of these disqualifiers. These are the things that a pastor MUST NOT BE.
2. Qualifiers
Then in verse 8 he gives 6 essential positive characteristics in 8. These are the attitudes that a pastor MUST BE.
3. Essentials
This last category are essential actions. This is what we read of in verse 9, Paul gives a final instruction for what a pastor MUST DO.
So in addition to elders being local, plural, and men who maintain order and manage their household well as we read in verses 5-6 two weeks ago - they also ought to appropriately to have good character and good conduct.
7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,
In verse 7, Paul introduces another title for an elder here: Overseer. This tells us more a bout what a pastor ought to do, than what he should be called.
Bernhard Weiss rightly observed “Elder is the title, oversight is the function.”
The overseer - “the one who has the responsibility of safeguarding or seeing to it that something is done in the correct way. Guardian.” (BDAG)
Steward - manager of a household or estate, one who is entrusted with management in connection with transcendent manners. administrator (BDAG)
And this is similar to what Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:5
5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?
He ought to be able to manage his own household, and this is a demonstration if he is able to manage the household of faith?
Following this he again reinforces that the elder must be above reproach. He must be blameless. No scandals. No stains.
He led with that in verse 6, and he reinforces, and requires that of an elder here.
it is easy to see why it is essential for an elder to be above reproach. Consider how often we see a public scandal for a celebrity or a politician and it ruins their career, but also ruins the company that they work for?
Snow White…
But more importantly, if the church is the bride of Christ, who has been washed clean by the blood of Christ, then the overseer, a minister of the gospel should live his life in a holy manner.
While we tend to describe this text as the qualifications for an elder, Paul lists a series of disqualifiers as well. Following the reminder that it is essential for an elder to be above reproach he then proceeds to list 5 non-negotiable, disqualifying descriptors for a man who aspires to be an elder.
7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,
Disqualifiers
Disqualifiers
Disqualifiers - He must not be:
I could tell stories of pastors who were each of these negative things. And spend our whole time this morning doing that. I’ve seen pastors who are arrogant, those who think that they are God’s gift to the church - and the church needs them as much as they need Jesus. I’ve seen pastors who are hotheaded and blow up when things don’t go their way.
I’ve seen pastors who are bullies. They tell the other elders or the deacons what they want done and if doesn’t get done they yell and they slam their fist on the table until the others cave and make it happen. Or they threaten their staff and leadership that if don’t do what they want they will never be in ministry in any church again. I’ve seen pastors who were arrested for embezzlement as they stole money from the church for personal gain.
These disqualifiers all seem to be at least somewhat connected, and in many cases they begin with arrogance. He thinks too highly of himself.
arrogant - BDAG: self-willed, stubborn
No one really likes anyone who is arrogant. And in many cases, someone who is full of themselves is quick to be hotheaded toward others. Even a psychological study that I came across this week found a link between arrogance and anger. It seems that Paul was aware of that long before them.
Instead of being arrogant the pastor should model what Paul instructs in Phillipians.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Quick tempered - wrathful - BDAG - inclined to anger, quick tempered. Hotheadedness is a disdainful trait to find in a pastor. A pastor who quickly flies off the handle has either forgotten or does not understand the extreme patience that the Lord has shown toward sinners - namely himself.
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Rather than hotheadedness a pastor should be self-controlled and hospitable.
In the next disqualifier we see another one that often leads to problems.
drunkard - one who is given to drinking too much wine, addicted to wine. The word itself is a modifier of the word for wine to demonstrate an excess use of wine. However, this does not exclude other forms of intoxication, or addiction. The pastor ought to be filled not with wine, or weed, or whatever vice you want to place there… but rather he should be filled with the Holy Spirt.
And rare is it the case when someone is intoxicated that they make their best decisions. Rather they made the sort of decisions that deserve reproach. And I’m sure we have heard of, and some you unfortunately, have experienced the angry, violent drunk.
violent - πληκτην - BDAG - pugnacious, a bully.
Though violence is not exclusively found in drunks… but it seems that this next word may be best understood as bully.
It seems that abusive leadership has become the common theme of the day - whether in business, the church, or even in the home. However, this should is not an acceptable attitude for a pastor. We teach our kids to stand up to bullies in school, but when they come into the church and abuse the name of God far to often we make excuses for them.
greedy - shamelessly greedy for money.
I’ve found this often to be an odd characteristic for pastors to have. Seldom have I met anyone who said that they want to go into ministry because there is a lot of money in it. That being said, I have seen pastors greedy for dishonest gain. Embezzlement has been far to often the reason
A pastor who is a lover of money, opens himself up to a lot of problems. Paul in his letter to Timothy warns:
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
As I mentioned, we see many of these disqualifiers linked in the attitudes of fallen and disqualified men. In my preparation this week, I was reminded of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s fall from grace. Falwell Jr, the son of the well known pastor, evangelist and activist became president of Liberty University after his father’s passing. It was an extramarital affair scandal that led to his disgrace and dismissal, but his time at the university investigation bullying, intimidation, and abusive behavior were common. These disgraceful attitudes seldom exist in a vacuum.
Then in verse 8, Paul switches from negative to positive. Instead of the elder having these previously stated disgraceful attitudes - he should instead be…
8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
Qualifiers
Qualifiers
Qualifiers - He must be
There is an all encompassing aspect to these qualifications. It is not just external but internal. It is not just public but private as well. Though I’ve seen far too many examples of pastors living a separate life at home than at church the descriptors in this text ought to expose that.
Is he hospitable - a friend of strangers is the literal translation. How does he act around others? Is he kind? Is he welcoming?
Next - is a lover of Good - a lover of good would also be one who hates evil. One is loves good is also one who pursues good. Does he love the things that God loves? This is the opposite of the disqualifiers listed above.
self-controlled - being in control of oneself, prudent, thoughtful, self-controlled in relationship to one’s actions. And consider how self controlled compares with the disqualifiers in verse 7. All of those are the opposite of self controlled.
He then follows that up with the two similar phrases upright and holy. Upright meaning righteous - another statement concerning having good and appropriate conduct. Holy - the pastor ought to have purity in his conduct.
holy - this is a different word for holy than we normally see. Normally when we read the word holy there is this idea of being set apart, or separate from sin. And while the words for holy have a lot of crossover. Paul is getting at the idea of devout or pleasing to God. While the pastor should be separated from worldliness… this is suggesting a life of moral purity. He ought to be holy. He should be devoted to the things of the Lord.
disciplined - έγκρατῆ - having one’s emotions, impulses or desires under control. (same word as self controlled in Gal 5:23). A pastor cannot be an emotional basket case. In our day and age feeling is everything. You have to feel a certain way - we’re all looking for things that make us feel good or better - but feelings are deceptive. The heart is deceitful. A pastor cannot be driven by his feelings - but rather he must be directed by the word of God. This naturally leads us into verse 9.
9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Essentials
Essentials
He must do
Must hold firm to the word…
This might sound silly, but he must believe the Bible. There are far too many seminary grads who do not believe the Bible. They have made Jesus the subject of their study, but not the object of their worship. He must believe the gospel, and understand the Scriptures.
The pastor must know the word. This doesn’t mean he needs to have ever chapter memorized. The Scriptures are inexhaustible. Men who study them every day for their entire lives will continue to find new things to rejoice in even after decades of faithful study. But he must have an understanding of the grand narrative of Scripture and be a good theologian. Everyone is a theologian… The question is whether you will be a good one or a bad one?
An elder needs to be able to instruct in sound doctrine so he can teach it. But he needs to be able to recognize false teaching so he can rebuke it.
Much like a bank teller learns to identify fake dollar bills by studying real ones, and having tools to identify fakes, a pastor ought to know the word and sound doctrine well enough to recognize heresy, and false teaching.
It is the pastor’s job to give instruction in matters of sound doctrine - not to preach feel good sermons. It is more important that the saints hear sermons that lead them to be more conformed to the image of Christ.
instruction in sound doctrine and rebuking false teaching ought not to sound the same.
In his commentary on Titus John Calvin wrote: “The pastor ought to have two voices: one for gathering the sheep; and another for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves.”
If you have been in my office you likely have seen that I have an cartoon with that quote on it - it’s a reminder that it is the pastor’s job to feed the sheep, but to protect the sheep from those who seek to harm the sheep, or lead them astray.
Conclusion
The point of this text is not to draw attention to the pastor and say “wow! my pastor sure is something special.” If I am being honest, these qualifications aren’t all that extraordinary. Many of these qualifications, especially those in 7-8, are those things that all Christians ought to aspire to. While it may not be easy to find those who are above reproach, it is essential an elder is.
Rather the goal of this text is to ensure that the man who is proclaiming the word of God, who is shepherding and protecting the sheep, is not going to be a stumbling block to the the sheep. He is to be above reproach. But the goal is not to look to him.
But rather to look past them as they point you to Christ. Look to Christ.
John the Baptist models this well. His ministry was remarkable. People coming from all over the country of Judea to meet him out in the wilderness. When people came to him asking “Are you the one? Are you the messiah?” With humility he answers, no, no that’s not me. The one you are waiting for is much greater than I. I’m not even worthy to stoop down and untie his sandals. I baptize with water, he will baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit. And it’s the next day when John sees Jesus and points to him and says there “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” He points to Jesus and tells his audience “Don’t look at me. Look at him.”
Jesus takes away the sins of the world by his death on the cross. On the cross Jesus took our sins upon himself, he bore the full cup of God’s wrath for us, and then
All of us have sinned, even pastors in someway will sin and
And while breaking some of these statements here may lead a man to be unable to be a pastor, possibly forever, or possibly for a time, the blood of Jesus covers all unrighteousness.
John couldn’t do that. No pastor can do that. Only Jesus can do that.
As remarkable as John the Baptist was — the most remarkable thing he did was point others to Jesus.
My desire for each and every person who ever hears a sermon I preach is not that they would find me impressive… I hope none of you leave this morning thinking “WOW! Brian sure is qualified.” Instead I hope that I would help each of you understand the Bible better, desire to glorify God, and desire to be more like Jesus.
This sermon has been filled with what a pastor out look like, but first and foremost the pastor ought to look to Christ, and point you to Christ. That you look to Jesus and marvel at the wonderful savior - who saves sinners and is conforming them into his image.
Though the pastor ought to demonstrate these characteristics… it is ultimately Jesus who is the chief shepherd. He humbled himself by taking on flesh, he is never quick tempered, when he shows anger it is at exactly the right time. He never drank too much. He was not a bully - but he was bullied for us. He is not greedy, but generous. He welcomed others, he is especially hospitable to those whom the world shun. He is a friend to sinners. He is the perfect standard of love and of goodness. He is perfectly self controlled, perfectly righteous, perfectly Holy. He is the Word incarnate. He is the good shepherd of the sheep.
Pray for me that I might continue to model these characteristics, and further grow in them. But look to Jesus who has perfectly modeled all of them.
