Characteristics of Cat Herders
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Introduction
Introduction
To illustrate that church leadership is a thankless task with unreasonable demands but insubordinate people, use two illustrations.
Read “The Perfect Pastor” to illustrate the unreasonable expectations of congregants.
Show “Herding Cats” video as a symbol of the nature of leading volunteers. Use some humour to show that Jesus compared spiritual leaders to shepherds leading sheep, but most congregations are not composed of sheep, but of cats.
Transition to as the text that gives the qualities and requirements for church leaders. It speaks about two categories of ministers:
Overseers
Deacons
We do not really know what deacons did, but these seem to suggest two categories of ministers in a congregation: those with governmental authority and responsibility and those without it.
The nature of the lists: The items on the list are transferable, meaning that what is said of one group mostly applies to the other too.
Overseers
Overseers
Overseers are cat herders with governmental authority. That means the cats follow their instructions. (Roll eyes and shake head to show sarcasm.)
Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
The noble task
The noble task
What is an overseer?
The NT uses three terms to refer to the same office: (a) overseer, (b) elder, and (c) shepherd [pastor]. (Hint: Pastor is the Latin word for shepherd.) The three terms depict difference facets of the person’s role.
Overseer: the person is responsible for giving oversight to a congregation.
Elder: the person is a senior, wise, mature member of the community.
Shepherd: the person is to lead, feed, and care for “the cats” (I mean “sheep”).
Essentially, then, an overseer is an elder and a shepherd. He carries the God-given responsibility to govern the church wisely and lovingly.
Why is it good to desire to be an overseer?
Sarcasm: Everyone in the church will love you and look up to you. (Roll eyes and shake head.)
The passage gives two reasons; it gives them as boundaries around the qualifications for elders and deacons.
They perform a noble task (v. 1). The Greek literally says, “good work.” In other words, serving as an elder (or a deacon) is an opportunity to do good, to serve, to protect, and to nurture the flock of God.
They please a noble taskmaster (v. 13). Serving faithfully gains us excellent standing and great assurance in our faith in Christ Jesus. In other words, it pleases the Lord and builds our own relationship with him.
The noble elder
The noble elder
In verses 2–7, Paul lays down a variety of qualities that should characterise overseers. The first one functions as an umbrella term: The overseer must be above reproach.
What are the character requirements?
Five Virtues
faithful to his wife
temperate
self-controlled
respectable
hospitable
Four Vices
not a lover of wine
not violent but gentle
not quarrelsome
not a lover of money
What are the competence requirements?
1. He must be able to teach.
I had a pastor who explained this to me. This is what he said, “It does not say that he must be able to teach well, just that he must be able to teach.” (Roll eyes and look heavenward.) Surely Paul did not mean, “He must be able to teach badly!” Any clown can teach badly. If you advertise for a worship leader and state the competency as “must be able to sing,” you don’t mean “out of tune.” Even I can do that.
From the parallel account in Titus, we learn the point of this “able to teach.” Elders must be sufficiently studied to recognise and refute error.
2. He must be able to parent.
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
The key word here is manage (προιστημι). .....................
The key word here is προιστημι,
What are the community requirements?
There are two requirements that speak to the overseer’s position in the community. They both point in the same direction: an overseer must have a proven track record that commands respect.
He must not be a recent convert.
He must have a good reputation.
Deacons
Deacons
In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
Do you notice the phrase Paul used to switch from one group to another? It is “in the same way.” The Greek word is ὡσαυτως. He used the same phrase in chapter 2. In verse 8, he speaks to the men. “I want the men to lift up holy hands in prayer,” he said. Then he switches to the women by saying, “in the same way, I want the women to ...”
What are deacons?
There NT never tells us clearly what deacons are or what they do. The word simply means “someone who serves.”
. The service can be anything, from practical tasks like distributing food to widows to powerful proclamation of the gospel.
Perhaps the best clue comes from contrasting deacons with elders. Elders govern the church; deacons lead and serve, but they do not carry the governmental responsibility.
What are the qualifications of deacons?
The passage lays out four qualifications for being a deacon.
1. Godly character
1. Godly character
In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
2. Depth
2. Depth
They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
3. Probation
3. Probation
They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
4. Family
4. Family
A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well.
What about verse 11?
You may have noticed that I skipped verse 11. This is how it reads in the NIV.
In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
The problem is that we do not know which women are being addressed here. There are two possibilities: (a) the deacons’ wives or (b) the deaconesses. I find the evidence for deaconesses more persuasive.
“In the same way” is Paul’s way of introducing the next group.
There is a resumptive point of departure at the start of verse 12 that suggests a return to “deacons.”
What is the reward for serving as a deacon?
Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
We might wonder, “Why bother?” I need to best scrutinised and then serve in a role that has no power. “Why bother?” Paul has gives two reasons to serve.
You gain an excellent standing for yourself. The word translated “standing” has the sense of a “step” or “rank.”
You gain great assurance in your faith. This seems counter-intuitive at first, but you really get to know God when you step out in faith to serve him.
Application
Application
Let us summarise.
To serve as an elder or a deacon is a noble task. Whether herding sheep or cats, the role affords the opportunity to do good, gain honour, and grow in faith. The noble tasks require noble character—a lifestyle that is above reproach.
Now let’s ask, “So what? What are we to do about this?”
Paul gives us some of the answers to this in chapter 5. He tells us three things about relating to our leaders.
1. If they serve well, they are worthy of double honour.
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”
1 Tim 5:17-
2. If they have not sinned, do not entertain or spread gossip.
Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.
1 Tim 5:
3. If they have sinned, the church should correct them publicly.
But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.
:20
4. Do not appoint leaders hastily.
He cautions the church not to … slander … gossip, etc. double honour.
Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
Invite the elders and deacons to stand.
These are our “cat herders.” If their lives are unworthy of the noble task they perform, such as if they are heavy drinkers or flirtatious, we should ask them to step down. But if not, we should honour them. We should protect them. We should make their work a joy.