Cultivating a Great Relationship Between the Church and Its Leaders

Paul finishes chapter 5 talking to Timothy about the importance of leadership in the church. Remember that Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus to help this church that has a lot of problems to become healthy again.

He makes it clear that a lot of the problem in the church is the leadership. As a leader, that’s hard to hear because I don’t like to hear that the problem is me. I’m like everyone else. I want to blame someone else. But, I never accomplished anything worthwhile blaming others for my failures.

And so, for the church to be healthy it is important for me to be a good leader. It’s important for all the elders, staff and lay to lead well.

The health of the church depends on my ability to lead it well. A hard lesson for me to learn was that when you stay at a church long enough, it will start to take the personality of its leader. So, now I’ve been here 12 years and I get upset about something that I see in the church, I usually look at myself and go, “Yeah, that problem that I see in the church is a reflection of a weakness that I see in me.”

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. And that is why putting a strong leadership team together that has different strengths and weakness is really important. Because no one is going to be strong at everything.

It takes us all working together using the gifts we all have to lead the church well. So, the relationship between the elders have to be good. But, as Paul is going to show us, the relationship between the church and i’s leaders is crucial to have a strong church.

That’s what Paul is talking about in this text. In what he tells Timothy, I believe there are 4 ways that he gives to cultivate a strong relationship between the church and its elders.

I. Treat Elders as Honorable (vv.17-18)

1 Timothy 5:17 ESV

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

I know that pastors don’t carry a lot of respect in the world at large. A read a study this week that said, “Among Americans as a whole, trust in the clergy fell to 37 percent, making it the eighth-most-trusted profession in the country—ranking below multiple medical professions, teachers, and police and just above journalists and building contractors.”

I don’t have any problem being listed behind doctors and teachers, but journalists. If our trustworthiness is just barely beating the press, something is wrong.

And something is wrong. Pastors are discredited all the time in the new due to some kind of moral failing whether it be a sexual failure of a financial one. And those are the one’s that are generally preaching with decent theology. Even the world can look at much of the theology coming from American pulpits and know that it’s a sham.

So, why treat elders with honor? Well, he tells the church to treat “elders that rule well” with honor.(v.17) If elders are honorable, treat them that way. I have met a lot of people that are going to take every shot at the pastors as they can just because they can.

People wonder why the average tenure of a pastor is generally so short in the SBC. It’s about 6 years now. That’s actually good. 20 year ago it was half that.

It’s because pastors don’t generally stay a long time in places they don’t feel like they are doing any good. Where they are not respected, they are not going to stay there lifetimes.

If you want your churches to be strong, the pastors need to stay. For your pastors to stay, you need to honor pastors who are seeking to live with honor.

*This is something that Mount Gilead does better than any church than I’ve ever been a part of. We have had incredibly long term pastoral tenure. In that last 50 years Mount Gilead has had 3 Senior Pastors. Our Worship Pastor is retiring at the end of this year after 37 years of service here. Bro. Bob and Bro. Jim retired over the last few years with having spent over 20 years here. Bro. Mike has been here over 11 years.

That says more about Mount Gilead than it does the pastors.

You treat us with honor and respect and it makes us want to stay and work hard and serve you well.

Paul mentions this issue of “double honor.” (v.17) What he is talking about paying the pastors. They word translated “honor” there can actually be translated “price”. This wording shows up with we pay a visiting pastor. We give them an “honorarium.”

Churches should pay pastors a fair wage. That’s what the “double honor” is. Paul says, “especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” (v.17) This shows how much pastors are to prioritize the preaching teaching ministry.

+So that’s why many churches have preaching elders that serve as the Senior Pastor and Associate Pastors who devote all of their time to teaching and leading ministries in the church.

He gives two illustration to show why God desires this.

1 Timothy 5:18 ESV

18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

In the OT, the law provided that the oxen who threshed the grain were entitled to eat of it. A muzzle would prevent them from being able to do that. If they were working for others to be fed. They ought be fed.

So pastors work with the gospel, the should be able to eat from that work.

The same is true with a laborer who deserves to be paid for their work. (v.18)

II. Require that Elders be Accountable (vv.19-21)

If they are going to be treated with honor, then they have to be accountable for living and leading with honor. But as Paul brings this issue up of accountability, he immediately recognizes how the enemy will work to destroy godly men through false accusations. The enemy has always sought to do this. Just look at the OT saints of Joseph, Moses, David, Jeremiah, or Nehemiah, or even the Lord Jesus Christ. All who sought to lead in the will of God and all of faced false accusations.

*The Puritan writer John Trapp described it like this, “Truth hath always a scratched face.”

So, he puts in place an principle of the OT (Deut 19:15).

1 Timothy 5:19 ESV

19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

The integrity and credibility and future ministry of a elder is too important not to require some substantial evidence. Having 2-3 witnesses doesn’t mean that the elder is guilty, but now it provides a base for the church to begin to investigate it.

It is a very serious thing to attack an elder whom God has placed. And before you accuse an elder, you need to keep that in mind.

David knew it. King Saul was unjustly chasing David to try to kill him. David was hidden in a cave and when Saul went in to use the restroom, David cut a piece of Saul’s robe off to show him that he could have killed him, but he didn’t. But even that act against God’s anointed so bothered David that the Bible says...

1 Samuel 24:5 ESV

5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

Psalm 105:15 warns

Psalm 105:15 ESV

15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”

We also see this principle when Saul was about to die in battle, he committed suicide. But an Amelekite saw this and thought he would win points with David by claiming that he had killed Saul. David had him executed because we are not to touch the Lord’s anointed.

I also can’t go past this without mentioning the prophet Elisha who was being heckled by a group of teenage boys.

2 Kings 2:23–24 ESV

23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.

Don’t mess with the Lord’s anointed…especially balding ones!

Now that brings up the issue of if after having investigated the charges with 2-3 witnesses, if there is merit to the charges, how should the sinning elder be handled.

So, it is a serious thing to bring accusations against an elder. The reason is that an elder living in sin is a very serous thing and Paul says should be handled severely in the church.

James 3:1 ESV

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Certainly that is true for our heavenly judgement, but it is also true here. If you remember in Matt. 18, the discipline process for a publically sinning believer is for 1:1 conversation seeking repentance. If they don’t repent, you bring 2-3 people to seek repentance again and to establish the witness. Then you bring the issue to the church so that they might seek repentance.

Now certainly there needs to be an ample investigation and proper evidence and an opportunity for repentance. But, if the accusations are valid, Paul says sinning elders are to be treated a little more harshly.

1 Timothy 5:20 ESV

20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.

When an elder sins, you don’t push it under the rug. Certainly, if they repent, you accept it. But we need to realize, depending on what type of sin that may disqualify them from serving any longer as an elder. And, that means anywhere.

+Pretty big news has made headlines where Catholic churches and Southern Baptist Churches that new about serious sexual sin among their leaders didn’t address it publically. And then these pastors ended up in other ministry positions in other churches that didn’t know anything about their past sins. Even the lost world knew that this was wrong. It hurt the church and the Kingdom of God. Paul says, if you deal with it publically that won’t happen. And, it will serve to help encourage other pastors away from sin.

Now is it hard to do this kind of thing? Yes it does. It is why the Bible calls us to have a plurality of elders. It is why we have both paid staff elders and lay elders from the congregation. It take strong leadership to address this kind of sin among an elder.

That is why Paul calls Timothy to have this kind of courage.

1 Timothy 5:21 ESV

21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

Remember God the Father and his elect angles are watching how we handle purity in church. This reminds us during difficult decision that we are not to fear men, but to fear God. It’s his church that we lead.

But this courage can come from what we know is true in this type of disciplining situation.

First, we know that we don’t have to make these kinds of decisions alone. It’s this context of discipline that the Bible tells us,

Matthew 18:20 ESV

20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Second, what we decide is a reflection of what God has already decided in heaven.

Matthew 18:18–19 ESV

18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

We also know that in this world, it’s easy to show favors to powerful people. Paul says that should not be an issue in the church.

1 Timothy 5:21 ESV

21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

No matter how popular a person is, we are not to play favorites with anyone. Because, holiness is important in the church of God.

III. Select Elder with Great Caution (vv. 22-25)

1 Timothy 5:22 ESV

22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

Laying on of hands is referring to the ordaining process of the church. It shows that the church believes that God has called this man out for service to the church as an elder.

This is a big deal. If it is a big deal to select the President of the United States for 4 years. It is a big deal to select a pastor of God’s church that may be serving the church for his entire lifetime.

*When we ordain deacons, it’s important because they are crucial servants. But, they don’t have the teaching ministry. So, much of that time in an ordination council is spent hearing their testimony and encouraging them. But I remember when we ordained Dustin Lee as to the pastoral ministry. I had a number of deacons come to me and say, “Bradley, you were brutal on him.” I asked, “Why?” Because you asked him really hard questions about what he believed about the Bible, Theology, Leadership, the Church, God, his commitment to holiness, how he would lead in certain situations. That was tough.

Here’s why. He’s going to serve the church of Jesus Christ. I have to make sure that he’s ready and will not harm the church. There’s enough pastors out there already doing that.

Notice that Paul tells Timothy, to not “take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.” (v.22). If I don’t do my job and his sins hurt the church. That’s on me. And I have enough already that I’m going to have to be accountable for.

Lastly Paul gives four observations to be aware of when evaluating candidates for eldership.

1) Some people are clearly disqualified. (v.24a)

1 Timothy 5:24 ESV

24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.

There sinful lifestyle is obvious and judgment is coming.

2) Some people are disqualified, but only after evaluation. (v.24b)

1 Timothy 5:24 ESV

24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.

3) Some people are clearly qualified. (v.25a)

1 Timothy 5:25 ESV

25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

4. Some people that you might not think are qualified (v.25b)

1 Timothy 5:25 ESV

25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

So, don’t discount someone that God is calling just because you don’t immadiately see it.

Personal note on legalism.

1 Timothy 5:23 ESV

23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)

Timothy is so devoted to helping the church and holiness he has taken a vow against all alcohol. But, this is hurting him. Paul says don’t set unbiblical standards of legalism. That don’t help you and they really don’t help the church.