Contents
Summary of the Process ----------------------------------- 1
Suggested Pace ----------------------------------------------- 1 

	PART 1 Job Description
Chapter 1 What is Church Leadership? -------------- 2
Chapter 2 Feeding & Leading --------------------------- 7
Chapter 3 Protecting Pt.1 ------------------------------- 19
Chapter 4 Protecting Pt.2 ------------------------------- 28
Chapter 5 The Deacon’s Job Description------------ 37

PART 2 Qualifications
Chapter 6 Example --------------------------------------- 44
Chapter 7 Gender  ---------------------------------------- 53
Chapter 8 Marital Soundness--------------------------- 58
Chapter 9 Mental Soundness---------------------------- 65
Chapter 10 Hospitality & Doctrinal Soundness----- 71
Chapter 11 Temperance  -------------------------------- 76
Chapter 12 Patience & Contentedness---------------- 82
Chapter 13 Management -------------------------------- 87
Chapter 14 Maturity & Humility ---------------------- 93
Chapter 15 Reputation ----------------------------------- 96

PART 3 The Thesis
Thesis Guidelines ------------------------------------------ 100
Darrell’s Thesis -------------------------------------------- 106
	
Leadership Evaluation Process

	The Lord has set forth the highest standards for leadership in the church. Only God gifts and calls a person to that ministry, but it is the role of the church to evaluate and confirm that calling and giftedness. The following is the process for that evaluation.
•	Write the doctrinal position paper
•	Demonstrate faithfulness in ministry
•	Listen (or read) through the leadership series. Write down the areas you feel the least comfortable with in assessing your life. If possible, have your spouse also go through and identify areas of weakness that you have from your mate’s perspective. 
•	Commit to a high level of investing yourself at Agape. 
•	Agree to the separation from the world policy. 
	At this point the candidate will be eligible to be interviewed to become a deacon or deaconess. 
	The following will be required for those who desire to be interviewed to become a pastor:
•	Complete the hermeneutics class, and demonstrate your ability to interpret the Bible correctly on the hermeneutics exam.
•	Complete the teacher training course.
•	Demonstrate your ability to teach in a Bible study or class.
•	Serve faithfully as a deacon.
	Suggested Pace
	Week 1 – Complete your biographical sketch (3-5 pages)
	- Listen to (or read) Leadership Part 1
	Week 2 – Complete the Gospel statement. (1/2 page)
	- Leadership Part 2
	Each point on the EFCA doctrinal statement should include the EFCA statement plus an average of about 700 words. There is considerable latitude on this. The EFCA licensing guidelines call for a total of 15 pages.
	Week 4 – Complete your comments on the Scriptures
	-  Leadership Part 3
	Week 5 – One God &   Leadership Part 4
	Week 6 – Jesus Christ  &  Leadership Part 5
	Week 7 – The Holy Spirit  &   Leadership Part 6
  
Week 8 – Man’s Condition  &  Leadership Part 7
	Week 9 – Salvation &  Leadership Part 8
	Week 10 – Ordinances  &  Leadership Part 9
	Week 11 – The Universal Church  &   Leadership Part 10
	Week 12 – The Local Church   &   Leadership Part 11
	Week 13 – Leading  
	Week 14 – The Second Coming
	Week 15 – The Eternal State & Conclusion
	Week 16 – Spiritual warfare, Sexuality, and Life & Death. (1 - 1.5 pages)
	Week 17 – Alcohol, Women, Worship Styles and Conflict. (1 page)
	Week 18 –Divorce & Lodges (2 pages on divorce, one paragraph on lodges
	Week 19 – Spiritual Disciplines, Stewardship & Purity (1.5 – 2.5 pages)
	Week 20 – Drinking, Accountability & Family (1.5 – 2.5 pages)

Chapter 1
What Is Church Leadership?
(tape 32) 
	
Introduction
	The most essential qualification for a church leader is that he must be above reproach. That means they must be blameless – not open to any accusation regarding some obvious moral flaw. 
	During impeachment, the people who defended Bill Clinton did so with the following statements: 
“Nobody’s perfect.”  
“Every man in America does those things, so let’s cut him some slack.”
Or the old favorite: “A leader’s personal private life is none of our business, and has no bearing on his ability to lead.” 
	The President’s opponents in congress, for the most part, seem to have been persuaded by this reasoning, and focused mostly on abuse of power and perjury issues. A lot of Republicans were saying things like, “We have to be careful speaking against President Clinton for sexual immorality. If we set the bar that high, we will eliminate a lot of great Republican candidates.”
	The most troubling of all of those is the “Nobody’s perfect” excuse. That is becoming our country’s motto. Virtually any immorality is considered excusable under that reasoning. Unless you have committed murder, pretty much anything else is covered by “nobody’s perfect.”
	Somehow, some way, by some means…we must understand that there is a difference between “above reproach” and “perfect.”
	Is anyone perfect?  No. Are there men who have been faithful to their wives?  Yes. Are there men who are truthful – even when it hurts?  Yes. Are there men of integrity, men whose lives are impeccable, men whose lives set such an outstanding example, that most people would be doing well if they just became more like those men?  Yes. And it is those men, and those men only who are fit to be leaders in the church.
The importance of qualified leadership
	There are few problems that occur in churches that can’t be traced back to unqualified leadership. With few exceptions, the people will never rise above the level of the leadership. People tend to be like their leaders, and so leaders’ lives must be exemplary.
	In many churches, leaders are chosen by popular vote – the only qualification is you must be popular. Other churches have a certain number of leaders they want on the board, and they will place anyone in there who is willing to come and sit through frequent, long meetings. 
	The result: 
•	Decisions are made by men who have inadequate wisdom and Bible knowledge.
•	The leaders are not godly, and the people become like them.
•	The people who are beyond the leadership spiritually develop a contempt for the leadership.
•	Then the next time around, when it’s time to appoint new leaders, the pool to pick from is even worse than before.
	In an atmosphere like that, the people’s spiritual growth is stifled, and things like gossip, complaining, backbiting, anger, grudges, discontent, divisions etc. begin to flourish – and nobody knows why. 
  
WHAT is church leadership?

	What offices should we have? Various church traditions have numerous different positions (deacons, pastors, elders, bishops, archbishops, presbyters, popes, cardinals, etc.)
	The reason there are so many different approaches and so much controversy is simply because of tradition. Scripture itself is actually very clear regarding what offices we should have.
Php.1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons 
What offices should we have?  Overseers and Deacons.

Overseers  (KJV bishops)
The word is episkopas (skopeo means “to watch”, and epi means “over”)   The overseers are the ones who oversee the church.

“What about Pastors?”
Eph.4:11  It was he who gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, (The NIV translates the word “pastors,” but it is the normal, everyday word for shepherd)

“What about elders?”
James 5: If you are sick you should call the elders of the church.
1 Ti.4:14 It was the body of elders that appointed Timothy to the ministry.
Tit.1:5 Titus is told to appoint elders in every town. 
1 Ti.5:17 The ones who direct the affairs of the church are elders.
   The Greek word for elder is prebyteros. A “presbyter” is an elder.
   So there are Deacons, Shepherds, Elders & Overseers, yet in Php.1:1 we see only two offices (Overseers and Deacons). The reason for that is the terms Shepherds, Elders & Overseers all refer to the same office.
Titus 1:6-7   An elder must be blameless, ... 7Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless…
So we see that an elder is the same thing as an overseer.
1 Peter 5:1,2 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds (pastors) of God's flock …that is under your care, serving as overseers…
Here we see that an elder is the same thing as a pastor/shepherd.
	    In Acts 20:17 Paul referred to the same group with all three terms:   Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18When they arrived, he said to them… 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God
    God uses three different terms to highlight three aspects of the office. Church leaders are to shepherd (feed & protect), they are to oversee (govern, lead), and they are to be elders (spiritually mature leaders). We could call them leaders, feeders and overseers.

What will we call them at Agape?
	Pastor/elder/shepherd/bishop/overseer/presbyter is a little unwieldy. Most EFCA churches call them the board of elders. Which is fine. But then they call the preacher pastor. The result is people think pastors and elders are two different things. We don’t want to create confusion, so we will all be called by the same title.
	The Pastor’s Job Description
	Why do pastors exist?  Eph.4:11,12  The reason pastors were given was to prepare God’s people for works of ministry. That’s the pastor’s job. 
	Many pastors don’t have time to study, because the church demands that they do all the rest of the works of the ministry (win souls, visit people in the hospital, encourage those struggling, etc.). Those things are part of his role as a Christian, but that is not part of his role as pastor. 
Churches sometimes think the pastor’s role is to go around to people’s homes and keep them company. The word “shepherd” means “to feed.”  (When Jesus told Peter “Feed My sheep” in Jn.21:17, He used this word). The job description of the pastor is to feed God’s people the meat of God’s Word. Jesus said “Feed My sheep” not “pet My lambs.”  And if the pastor is going to have anything to feed the flock on Sunday morning, he has to spend his time on the weekdays digging it out of Scripture. 
	The work of the ministry is a huge job, and it requires the entire church and all their gifts. Obviously having a large group of people doing the work, each supernaturally gifted and called by God, coordinated by the Holy Sprit, and being trained taught by godly pastors is better than having  one man try to do 100 things he’s not gifted for. Churches who want to hire a pastor to do their work are lazy and foolish, and pastors who accept those jobs are guilty of being disobedient to their calling.
	Pastors are referred to as pastor-teachers in Eph.4:11. A pastor’s primary role is to teach. I once spoke with a pastor of a large church who said, “We can’t afford the luxury of teaching pastors.”  A non-teaching pastor is like a non-feeding shepherd. A non-shepherding pastor is a non-pastor.
        When churches hire pastors, they want men with great people skills, skilled in administration, skilled in management, etc. But in God’s list of qualifications – even though this is the most important office in the world – the only skill that is explicitly mentioned is skill in teaching. (1 Ti.3:2)
	What transforms lives is the week by week exposure to the life-giving sustenance that comes from the Word of God. And so that’s the pastor’s job.
	When I was in my first year of college, a pastor told me, “If someday you get to be the pastor of some huge megechurch, then you will have the luxury of studying all day, and you can hire other pastors to do everything else. But until then, don’t expect to get much time for study.”  We are not a megechurch, but I spend the majority of my time in study, and any full-time pastor we ever hire will do the same, because that’s a pastor’s job.
	Some have raised an objection at this point. 1 Tim 5:17 says The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
	The NIV interpretation of the Gree (“those whose work is preaching…”) implies that some elders did not have the task of preaching and teaching. Some have tried to use this passage to teach that there are two kinds of elders – teaching and non-teaching.
	The problem with that view is it would be the only place in the Bible that suggests such an idea, and it would seem to contradict everything we have just studied. 
	I believe the emphasis, however, is on the word labor. All elders preach and teach, and all who do their job well are worthy of double honor (pay) – and especially those who labor at it.
What is it that transforms people’s lives?  You can come up with wonderful programs that people really enjoy and that attract hundreds to your church, but after a while the people find they have the same struggles they always had. You can hold huge events, and have spectacular music and motivating speakers and get everyone fired up to get out there and turn the world upside down… but a month later most of those people find their lives are exactly the same as they were. You can give people a spiritual zap – lay your hands on their foreheads and send tingles through their bodies, but a week later they find they have the same problem controlling their temper or lustful thoughts as before.
	What does that mean?  It depends on how you interpret the word labor. The word labor literally means to exhaust or weary oneself. In fact, sometimes that word is translated, weary (Mt.11:28, Rev.2:3). So if we understand the word to be used in a very literal sense, the idea would be that the elders who rule well are worthy of double honor – especially if they labor to the point of exhaustion. 
	Another possibility is that the word means to earn a living at something. Paul often uses this word that way. 
* Acts 20:34-35  You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of labor we must help the weak… 
* Paul was trying to prove to the people in Corinth that he was not carrying out his ministry for personal profit, and so 1 Co.4:12  We labor with our own hands. 
* Eph.4:28  He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must labor, doing something useful with his own hands…(get a job)
* 2 Tim 2:6  The farm worker who labors should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
	So it seems that Paul sometimes uses this as a technical term to refer to work done for a living – that which a man does to gain an income. And every other use of the word in the NT refers to a ministry. Very often Paul says, I labored, speaking of his ministry.
	If we combine those two ideas, then the term is in reference to those who gain their income from their ministry – vocational ministry. 
	With this understanding, 1 Thes.5:12 makes a little better sense. There he is telling the people to respect the church leadership:  Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. (Taken literally, it would make it sound like church leaders are the only ones who work hard).
	Back to 1 Ti.5:17. Elders who do their job well are worthy of double pay – especially those who do it for a living.  Then v.18 makes sense. For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."
	So whether you take the term “labor” literally or in this technical sense – either way this passage is clear that the elder’s job is preaching and teaching. There are some other secondary duties around the fringes, but I believe any pastor who is spending less than half of his time in study and preaching and teaching is defaulting on his responsibility and is delinquent.   
	Some pastors just want to proclaim and never really teach. One Sunday the message is that you should share your faith. Next week he’s telling you that you should be honest. Next he’s telling you that Jesus died on the cross. Everything he says is true, and everything he says is out of the Bible, but you’re not learning anything – it’s all information you already know. And the people become spiritually malnourished. 
	It’s easy to become lazy. That’s one of the biggest temptations and most common sins of a pastor. No one knows about it, because it is hidden by busyness. Some of the laziest pastors work 70 hours a week at the church. 
	That’s why one of the qualifications for an overseer is that he must eagerly desire the work. (1 Ti.3:1) and do his job not to get money or because he has to, but because he is eager to. (1 Pe.5:2).
	So primarily, overseer’s job is to labor hard at the work of preaching and teaching. That’s what the ministry of the Word is. 
	But the ministry of the Word takes some other forms as well. There are other aspects besides formal teaching contexts.

	

Chapter 2
SHEPHERDING
Feeding & Leading
(Tape 32b)
	The word pastor means “shepherd.”  You can sum up the entire job description in that one word.
	WE ARE LIKE SHEEP
	Throughout Scripture, we are compared to sheep. We resemble sheep in that we need to be shepherded.
We all like sheep have wandered away… (Isa.53:6)
The LORD is my shepherd… (Ps.23:1) 
I am the Good Shepherd… (Jn.10:11)
	We are all helpless sheep, and God is our Shepherd. He cares for us, feeds us, protects us… But He does all that through the agency of human beings.  The Lord is our Shepherd, but He shepherds us through men He has called to serve as shepherds.
	There are various terms in the Bible for spiritual leaders, but the primary one is “pastor” (Remember, “pastor” and “shepherd” are the same word in the Bible). 
	Old Testament Uses of “Shepherd”
	Isa.56:10-12 Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; ... They are shepherds (pastors) who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, 
Those were the pastors of Isaiah’s time.
	In Jer.3 God is telling the people what it will be like someday after they are restored – after the judgment is over:
16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land…17 At that time …all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD…15 Then I will give you pastors after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.
	One of the ways God blesses His people is by giving them pastors who are after His own heart – they care for the people like God cares for the people, and they lead with knowledge and understanding.
	Jer.23:1-4  "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD. 2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: " … 4 I will place (other) shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD. 
	Jer.50:6  "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray 
	Ez.34:1-6 The word of the LORD came to me: 2"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?” 
	These are just a few of many examples of how prevalent the term “shepherd” for a spiritual leader was. They give us an idea why God chose that term – because it’s an excellent job description. The leaders of God’s people are to “shepherd” God’s people – feed them, lead them, protect them, and care for them.
	New Testament Uses of “Shepherd”
	Eph.4:11 tells us that God gave the church shepherd/teachers as a gift.  
In 1 Peter 5:1 we read: To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder…: 2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care
	
3 Ways Scripture Says We Resemble Sheep
	Scripture describes us as sheep. We are not like sheep in every way, but there are three very clear points of analogy Scripture gives. We are like sheep in that…
1.	we need to be fed
2.	we need to be led
3.	we need to be protected
	#1 FEEDING
	First and foremost, we need shepherds, because Sheep Need To Be Fed. (see ch.1)
	John 21:15-19  When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."  Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." 
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"  He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "shepherd my sheep." 
17The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"  …He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 
Then Jesus went on to explain that feeding the sheep would cost Peter his life. He would be one of those shepherds who ends up getting killed in the line of duty.
	The reason this job was so urgent is that sheep cannot find food or water by themselves. Most animals can feel the moisture of a nearby water hole and find their way to it. Sheep cannot. They have no capacity to find water, and will die of thirst even in close proximity to a water hole.
	Sheep are not able to find food either. After eating a range, they will eat the stubble and even dirt before moving on. And they are not discriminating eaters. Sheep cannot distinguish between poisonous or good plants. They are utterly dependent upon the shepherd.
	If sheep are not fed, they will die. That’s why the primary preaching pastor is usually supported full time. The average person does not have the time or resources to spend 20 or 30 hours a week in study. Everyone should be studying and learning on his own, but that is not enough. (Some people believe if they study on their own, they don’t need teachers.)  The Bible says “No, you are a sheep. You need to be fed by a shepherd.”
	Fed what?
	What do we give the sheep?  The Word of God. The shepherd doesn’t concoct his own special brew for the sheep – he just leads them to the food God has created for them.
	A pastor must be diligent in study – learning from the Bible each week (a shepherd doesn’t take the sheep back to the same old pasture every time – they will become malnourished).
	Fed How?
	It’s also the pastor’s responsibility to feed the sheep food they can eat – in a form they can handle. It has to be green grass – not poisonous plants. It has to be plush, but not too wet. The water has to be clean and pure and not stagnant, but not moving too fast – because if it doesn’t come in a form they can handle, it does the sheep no good.
	A pastor should spend plenty of time in study, but in addition to his study time, he should also spend time thinking about how to take those raw principles, and make them palatable, listenable, understandable. 
	He needs to illustrate the truths in a way people can relate to. If he teaches with terminology that no one understands, it does no good. If he mumbles – he can make the most ingenious point worthless. If he speaks too slowly, he can put the whole flock to sleep (some men can take a wonderful truth, and somehow make it so boring that it becomes impossible to listen). 
	So a shepherd’s job is to feed the sheep, and he feeds them the Word of God. That’s why Paul told Timothy, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” (1 Ti.4:13). That’s always the summary of the pastor’s job. 
	The Pastoral Epistles (Timothy & Titus) are instructions for pastors. I found 30 commands in those books. 
2 – setting a godly example
1 - treating people with respect
1 – staying pure
1 – avoiding arguments
25 – teaching and preaching  (almost 90%)
	Pastoral Exhortations:
	1 Timothy
4:6 - warn against false teaching
4:7   - train for godliness (through Scripture as opposed to human wisdom - 2 Ti.4:2)
4:11 - command and teach Scripture
4:12, 6:11 - set a life example
4:13 - read Scripture, preach and teach
4:14 - develop his giftedness
4:15 - perseverance in sound doctrine
5:1,2 - treat people with respect
	2 Timothy
1:8  - Testify about the Lord boldly
1:13,14 - keep the pattern of sound teaching and guard it
2:3 - entrust the Gospel to other qualified teachers
2:14 - Keep reminding the people to persevere and warn against sin
2:15 - Be an approved workman (one who correctly handles the Word)
2:16 - avoid godless chatter
2:22 - stay pure
2:23 - don't argue and fight
2:23 - be able to teach
2:25 - gently instruct your opponents
3:14-17 - continue in the Scriptures
4:2 - preach the Word, correct, rebuke and encourage
	Titus
1:13 - Rebuke false teachers
2:1 -  Teach sound doctrine
2:2 - Teach the older men how to act
2:3 - Teach the older women how to act
2:6 - Teach the young men how to act
2:9 - Teach the slaves how to act
2:15 - Teach, rebuke and encourage with all authority
3:1 - Teach the people to be submissive
3:9 - avoid arguments
	The only qualification for a pastor that appears 3 times is "able to teach" (1 Ti.3:2, 2 Ti.2:24, Tit.1:9)
	How do you know if a pastor is a good pastor? How do you evaluate a pastor?  Evaluate him the same way God does. 2 Tim 2:14  The only pastors who are approved by God, and who do not have to be ashamed of themselves are those who correctly handle the word of truth. 
There are constant surveys about what people want in a church. “How can we get more people?  What do they want?  More rhythm?  Softer seats?  Cooler AC?  Casually dressed pastor?  PowerPoint?  
	I don’t know who they are surveying to get the answers they get, but it seems to me whenever I ask someone why they like their church, the answer is almost always the same: “I’m being fed.”   Why did you leave that other church?  “I wasn’t being fed.”
	News flash – the sheep just want to be fed. There are so many shepherds who are trying to grow the sheep rather than feed the sheep. They have no success. Just feed them, and they will grow on their own! 
	For the life of me I will never understand why there are shepherds who will not feed the sheep!  “My job is to lead.”  Lead where?  From desert to desert?
	
#2 LEADERSHIP
	
Not every pastor preaches on Sunday morning from the pulpit, but every pastor is involved in the ministry of the Word. And the ministry of the Word has a broad application. It goes way beyond the pulpit. (the pulpit is the most important application of it, since that’s when everyone is there – but there is much more to the ministry). The ministry of the Word involves leadership.
Sheep need to be fed, but they also need to be led.  Sheep are actually intelligent animals, but without a sense of direction. The sheep is the only animal in the world that can be totally lost within a few miles of home. Lost sheep will walk around usually in circles, baaing in agitation and sometime panic. 
	They are especially vulnerable to being led astray, because they are natural followers. In New Zealand, about 40 million sheep are slaughtered each year. They are led into the slaughterhouse by a sheep they call the “Judas Sheep.”
	When people get off track doctrinally, they rarely do so alone. The Church always has a rich supply of potential Judas sheep (not to mention the false shepherds)
	Without a shepherd we go astray. 1 Peter 2:25  For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 
	Without a shepherd, we become scattered. Mt.26:31  Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "`I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'  
	Why are there so many different opinions about the Bible?  Because shepherds have not led. Jer 50:6-7  "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. 7 Whoever found them devoured them
	Can you imagine a shepherd doing that?  When a shepherd leads the sheep astray, they forget their own resting place. They become disoriented, and do not know the way home. This is the tragedy of pastors who are trying to be so innovative, they lead the sheep away from the green pastures and the quiet waters right into some human innovation that offers no nourishment. And only very rarely do churches recover from that.
	Church Government
	Being a pastor is not just a teaching responsibility, there is also a leadership role. It involves management.
	For hundreds of years churches have gone round and round arguing about what form of church government is best. Should it be congregational rule?  Elder rule?  Hierarchical government?  Committee rule?  Ruled by a senior pastor?  Ruled by the deacons?  
	We could research each form and attempt to decide which  would be best in every culture in every age in every size church in absolutely any and every context that has occurred and will occur before Christ returns. Or we could just forget about all our traditions and preconceptions, and just look at what the Bible says:
	1 Thes.5:12  the leaders are "over you in the Lord."
Ro.12:8  "If a man's gift is …8 leadership, let him govern” 
Heb.13:17  "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy…"
Who are these leaders?  1 Ti.5:17 speaks of "the elders who rule well." 
	The Bible says elders rule, 
elders are over the people in the Lord, 
elders govern, and
elders are in authority over everyone.
	The Bible never speaks of anyone else ruling, being over anyone in the Lord, governing or having authority in the church. So what form of church govt. does the Bible call for?  The church is to be governed and managed by the pastors in that local congregation – not by some external denominational hierarchy, not by the popular opinion of everyone in the church, and not by a committee.
	What about the congregation?  What about a democracy?  I haven’t found it in the Bible. Show me a verse in the Bible that talks about the congregation ruling the church by means of popular opinion, and I’ll embrace it. 
	Where did that come from?  Our culture – everything has to be a democracy. Parents abdicate their authority, and run the family by popular vote, and they want to run the church the same way.
	People want to do that for the same reason they want to do it with the government. They want to reserve power for themselves, because if the leaders have full authority, they might abuse that power. People think the same way in the church. They don’t want the leaders to have ultimate authority, because those leaders might abuse it, or make poor decisions, or do something foolish.
	Why do you think people think that way?  They think that way, because they have been in churches with unqualified leadership. When you are in a church where the leaders fit the qualifications, where they are men who are way ahead of you spiritually, who are mature, godly, sober-minded, wise, experienced, humble, gifted leaders – you are more than happy to let them make decisions, and you find that you are delighted to follow their lead – and you would even rather they make decisions than you, because they are so trustworthy.
	Also, I have found that most of the frustration that happens with major church decisions isn’t so much that people don’t get their way, but that there is poor communication.  Often boards of churches want to keep everything secret. “We will just tell them what we think they need to know.”  That won’t be our approach. Our attitude will be that it is our responsibility to communicate to everyone everything we are doing (unless of course it is some private, personal issue).
	At Agape we are committed to clear, open, redundant communication.
And not only will we constantly communicate to you both on major decisions, and the rationale behind them, but we will also be very open to input from everyone. Many who are not called to leadership are nevertheless very wise, and we would be fools not to take advantage of that. The people’s opinions and desires will play a very crucial role in what is decided. 
	Just as the husband is the head of the home, and is responsible to be in authority – but if he doesn’t listen to the opinions and desires and advice of his wife, he is a fool – so the congregation will be informed, they will have an opportunity to voice concerns and opinions, and then righteous, godly men who know Scripture will apply biblical principles to the question, and, taking into consideration the will and advice of the congregation, and immersing the whole process in fervent prayer, will arrive at a decision. 
	That’s the way God has chosen to lead the church – and if we are faithful to follow that process, He will guide us that way. 
	1 Ti.5:17 The pastor is to direct the affairs of the church. This word means to govern or manage (same word in 3:4,5 regarding managing his household), and to be in authority over (1 Thes.5:12 – translated over you). And this is to be done zealously and diligently. Ro.12:8  If a man“s gift is …8 leadership, let him govern diligently (same word).
	So does the ultimate human authority in the local church rest in the pastors?  Aren’t there any checks and balances?  Actually, the pastors are not the ultimate human authority. Ultimately, the final authority rests in the congregation. Paul advised Timothy, Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. (1 Ti.5:19).
	This is talking about church discipline. Everyone is subject to church discipline – including leaders. The final stage of church discipline is to put the unrepentant sinner out of the church, and it is the responsibility of the congregation to put someone out.
	So the leaders are under the authority of the congregation when it comes to church discipline.  In fact, leaders even more so than others. In the church discipline process, if at any stage the person repents, the matter is over and he is restored. Those who know about it have the responsibility to keep it quiet. But that is not the case for the leader. The leader who gets into sin, even if he repents right away when first confronted, is to be publicly rebuked.
	So in that sense, the highest human authority is the congregation. If you have a pastor who is sinning, the most insignificant, unknown, least respected member of the church has every right to confront the most powerful, established, popular pastor in the church. And, as long as there are 2 or 3 witnesses, that pastor will be publicly rebuked – even if he repents.   
	Also, the congregation has a role in the ordination of pastors. Whenever there is a man who seeks to become a pastor, his name will be announced, and there will be an examination period where the congregation will be asked to observe this man, and if they know of anything that might be a disqualification of any kind, they are to come to the leadership of the church and point that out. 
	They will observe how he acts in the grocery store, restaurants, video store, etc. Only after a man has gone through a period of testing, and nothing has been found against him, will he be able to become a leader. 
	So there are a couple of ways in which the leaders themselves are subject to the congregation. But the decision making, the management, and the leadership of the church is the responsibility of the overseers.
	
	How Many Leaders?
	Notice, it’s always, “the elders of the church,” never  “the elder of the church.”  You never see “the pastor” or “the shepherd” or “the overseer.”  In reference to the leadership of a local fellowship, it is always plural. You cannot find an example of any church with a single pastor, which is interesting in light of the fact they were house churches.
	We believe the ideal is a plurality of elders.
•		It helps provide balance.
Sometimes a particular leader will get so excited about some area of the ministry to which he is especially called that he will get out of balance and ignore other areas. Having a group of leaders will guard against imbalance. 
•		It helps provide continuity.
If the whole ministry revolves around one man, and he leaves, the ministry will undergo tremendous trauma. A plurality of leaders guards against this. 
•		It gives a pool of wisdom and gifts and passions.
Every leader has something unique to offer. A combination of gifts and passions will produce a product greater than the sum of its parts.
•		Different people identify better with different leaders
Regardless of giftedness, there are certain personality types that go together better than others. The more different leaders we have, the greater the chance each person will have of finding a leader he feels comfortable around.
	Agape has a very deliberate process for appointing elders and deacons. 1 Tim 5:22  Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands. A person will have a to go through a period of testing before becoming a deacon (1 Ti.3), and an even more rigorous process to become an elder (more on that later).
	*****************
What Kind of Leadership Ability is Required?
	It is the duty of the overseers to manage church affairs. But that is not in addition to the ministry of the Word – it’s part of it. It’s become more and more of a trend for churches to have two separate groups – teachers and leaders.
	I heard a speaker from the largest church in the U.S. who said they look for business majors to be pastors in their church. If a man went to seminary, that is a strike against him. They figure natural born leadership is the most crucial element (we can teach them about God later on).
	The following are usually considered essentials for leaders:
1.	visionary
2.	action oriented (involved, aggressive)
3.	courageous
4.	energetic
5.	objective-oriented, not people oriented
6.	ego-centric
7.	indispensable
	I find it interesting that there is none of that in the Bible. The only vital skill that is required is skill in the Word, and the only proof of your leadership skills that is required is success in leading the family. 
	Why?  Why doesn’t Paul throw in a chapter about leadership skills?  Because church leadership is very different from secular leadership. In the secular world, a leader has to have a big master plan, and take the organization in some clear direction.
	Some of that thinking has leaked into the church – “You have to cast a vision.”  “Without vision the people perish.”  “Vision is the number one qualification for a leader.”  “The pastor should primarily be a vision caster.”   If I had a dime for every time I was told I need to cast a vision, I would have enough money to hire a full time vision caster. 
	I don’t even know what that means. I’m supposed to cast a vision?  Make guesses about the future?  Am I supposed to take this church in the direction I want?  Should I think up some master plan of ministries and structure, and try and get all the people on board?   Is that the most important thing?  Is this church going to fail if I don’t push my agenda?
	If someone asks me if I have a vision for the future I say, “of course not.”  I can’t see the future. I have some dreams and desires, but I don’t have any idea what the future holds.
	The success of this church is in no way dependent upon my dreams about the future and whether or not they come true. In a corporation you may need someone like that, but that requirement is not in the Bible for church leaders, because that kind of leadership is not needed in the church. 
	Biblical leaders don’t need to be visionary, because Christ has already set the goals, the direction, and the means of getting there. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and He alone sets the direction. The last thing I want is to limit the ministry to my own imagination. I serve a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all I could ever ask or imagine or visualize.
	The world’s leaders are often great motivators. The church wants that too, so we have retreats and conferences that are clogged with motivational speakers. But that’s not how a shepherd leads. Spiritual leadership does not require the ability to whip everyone into a frenzy. A shepherd just quietly moves along, and the sheep trust him and follow him. We are to lead by example. (More on that later)
	Have you ever noticed that you can go hear a motivational speaker, and he can get you so excited you are practically frothing at the mouth, but after 3 days you are right back to normal (and you have 362 more days until next year’s conference)?  
	But if week-by-week you are in among godly, mature, Christlike men and women, who love God with all their heart, and are passionate about the things of God, the next thing you know there you are walking along in their footsteps.
	So if we do not lead through management skills and leadership techniques, then how?  Remember that management and leadership is part of the ministry of the Word. An overseer/pastor leads by applying Scriptural principles to every decision. The issue with church leadership is not management skills, it’s Scripture skills.
	We don’t need to develop a vision for the future. Just faithfully carry out the principles of Scripture, and God will see to it that we end up exactly where we need to be.
	Another reason why the qualifications for church leadership are so different from those of secular leadership is the absolute necessity of love for the sheep. A man can have all the SNL characteristics in the world, but if he doesn’t care deeply about the spiritual well-being of the sheep, he will never make a good leader.
	The pastor is to take care of the church in the same way he manages his family. (1 Tim.3:4-5)  The word translated take care of appears only here and in the story of the Good Samaritan. 
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. `Look after him,’ he said, `and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Lk.10:34-35
	As a pastor, you are to care for the people spiritually just as the Samaritan took care of this man physically. The primary meaning of the word is to meet needs. The pastor supplies people with what they need spiritually. That’s why the shepherd analogy is used 
	All of the ministry centers around feeding the flock, but the flock must be fed in a certain context. If there’s one thing a shepherd is not, it’s detached, aloof and condescending. A true shepherd loves the sheep.
	The overseer must have a heart for the people. He must have a passion to see spiritual growth. 
	He can’t be like some college professor who doesn’t really care about the students (“It’s not my job to make them learn – it’s just my job to provide the information.”)  Teachers like that will come into the classroom, dump a big pile of information on them, and then walk away.
	The shepherd loves the sheep – like a father and his children. The father doesn’t say, “I put food on the table, if my kid starves to death, that’s his problem.”  No, if your child loses his appetite, you take him to the doctor. 
	The pastor’s job goes way beyond providing information. The pastor elder must do what he does out of love for the people. No other motive will be enough. 
Money isn’t a strong enough incentive to do all that the Bible calls for. Prestige and respect isn’t enough. Not even a love for the work will do it. A pastor who is in the ministry with only those as motives will soon burn out – especially when he faces the painful struggles people have.
	A shepherd cares about the sheep more than anything. The pastor who constantly complains about not getting good enough treatment, always trying to get a raise, always asking for time off, always demanding more benefits – and when he gets it, having an attitude that he had it coming, rather than being grateful – that man is not suited to be a pastor.
	In fact, he is really suited to be a false teacher.
Jude 4   certain men … have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. 
8 these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. 
12These men are …shepherds who feed only themselves. 
	As a teen I didn’t have much of a love for people. I realized this was a problem not only for ministry, but for being a Christian in general. So I prayed fervently for love for God’s people. God’s answer over the last 10 years has been amazing.
	I can’t express how dearly I love each of the people at Agape. They are very precious to me. And not just them – any church. But especially Agape. I intend to pour out my life to care for them and to give them what they need, and to bring them close to Him. That is above anything else in my life. I really don’t care about anything in this world other than my family and the Church.
	What is the vision for Agape?
	If Christ is our leader, then, and He has already cast a vision,  what is it?  What direction does He want to take us?  What is His plan for Agape?  
	The answer is in Eph.4:11,12 – It was he who gave some …pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Christ’s “vision” for Agape is that we all become equipped and prepared, we carry out our ministries, and the Body ends up being built up and edified.
	But that’s not all. Look at v.13. That process of ministering to one another and being built up will continue until we all reach unity in the faith!
	On top of that, we will all reach unity in the knowledge of the Son of God.
	From there we will become mature – attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ!!!
	When we get to that point, we will no longer be vulnerable to error (v.14). Instead, we will all be speaking the truth in love. (v.15)
	In addition, we will all grow up into Him who is the Head – that is Christ.
	And in v.16 the whole body is joined and held together, building itself up in love, and each part is doing its work.
	How’s that for a vision?    
	How will all that come to be?  That’s the vision, but what is the means of getting there?  The answer is in v.11: He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.
	The writings of the apostles and prophets make up the New Testament. So the means of achieving Christ’s goal for the Church is the New Testament and the activity of the church leaders equipping the saints.
	Everything the church is supposed to become is wrapped up in qualified leadership. Why are there so many churches that don’t fit the description of vv.12-16?  Because they have altered or ignored the standards for leadership.

Chapter 3
SHEPHERDING
Protecting from Wolves  
(Tapes 33 & 34)
	
We are like sheep in at least three ways. So far we have looked at the fact that…
1.	we need to be fed
2.	we need to be led
	A third way we resemble sheep is 
3.	we need to be protected
	#3 Sheep must be protected
	The story is told of a town high in the mountains where there is a breathtaking view of a beautiful valley. People would stand at the edge of the precipice to see the valley, and would very often fall.
	The town developed a very successful ambulance ministry at the bottom of the cliff. It became the most prolific ambulance ministry in the entire area. 
	After a while, however, it got to be too expensive, and someone came up with the incredible idea of building a rail at the top of the cliff!  They did so, and it led to the demise of the ambulance ministry.
	Many churches are nothing but hospitals for crushed lives. Qualified spiritual leadership in the church acts as a rail at the top of the cliff.
	In Acts 20 Paul is speaking to the elders at Ephesus. In v.28 he gives them instructions about how to pastor the church.
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 
	When a wolf is around, if you are a sheep, you are in extreme danger. The flock is very vulnerable, and needs protection, and it is the shepherd’s job to provide it.
	What is the first step in protecting the sheep? Keep watch over yourselves. If you go down, they are really vulnerable.
	In what way is the pastor to guard himself? 1 Tim 4:16  Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
	2 Ways: Behavior And Doctrine
	#1 Watch Your Life
	The leader’s first responsibility is to watch over his own spiritual life, and that is not automatic when ministering to others. It is very easy to preach a sermon to others that you haven’t preached to yourself.
	Even when your work is in the ministry of the Word, spiritual growth is not automatic. In 1 Co.9:27 Paul said I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified.
	The term preached was the term used in the games for when the official would declare the rules. Paul says “even though I’m an Apostle – one who is authoritatively announcing the rules of Christianity – writing the NT – I am in danger of being disqualified (not for the prize, but from the whole game). 
	The word disqualified literally means to be found worthless and thrown out in the trash. Note some of the other uses of this same term:
Heb.6:7-8  Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. 
	Titus 1:15-16  To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. 
	2 Tim 3:8  Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth-men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
	Mt.5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, … It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 
	That’s why Jesus told the Apostles to watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation, because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
	Many pastors find themselves in spiritual ruin while very busy in ministry. The pastor must be in the Word, in prayer, committed to fellowship, and must be involved in continual worship.
	A pastor must live a holy life. This is not so much talking about being above reproach – that refers to external things. This includes that, but also covers secret sin.
	A sinning pastor is poison to the church.
	Hab.1:13  Your eyes are too pure to look on evil  When you live in sin, God has to turn away. God works through holy vessels. Sin clogs the channel. 
	Think of spiritual resources as water. An SNL is like a man with a large bucket of water. But a pastor who has a holy life is like a pipeline. On the other end of the pipeline is the reservoir of heaven (that’s why pastors don’t have to be SNLs – if you are a pipeline, it doesn’t matter how much water is in your bucket).
	But when you sin, you clog that pipe. You may have just as many people, and on the outside it may look like yours is the most successful ministry, but spiritually, nothing will be happening. Much sowing will be followed by little reaping. There will be a perceptible loss of spiritual force in your preaching and prayers.
	You will wake one day to find that your hands and feet are bound, and like Samson you will struggle to break the ropes, but your great strength has departed.
	A sinning pastor harms the congregation. All sin does that, but especially those of the leaders. If one person’s watch is off, it only affects that person. But if the atomic clock at the Bureau of Standards is off, everyone will be off.
	The consequences of a leader’s sin affect the whole believing community. In 2 Sam 24:12,13 David failed to trust God and put his faith in his army. As a result,  Gad the prophet came and said  `This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.'" 13 So Gad went to David and said to him, "Shall there come upon you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide…  
	Satan is a roaring lion looking to devour the sheep. When you sin, you invite that vicious lion right into the midst of the flock. You become a trojan horse – you carry into the flock the very thing that will destroy it.
	The sinning pastor will be tempted to alter the message. If I’m carrying on with some sin, what am I going to do when that issue comes up in Scripture?  When a pastor lives an unholy life, he only has two choices: 
* Be soft on that sin (which is like taking a warning label off poison), or 
* Preach against that sin, and be a hypocrite.
	The sinning pastor will be distracted from the ministry. 
	I think about my work day and night – every spare moment. If I am not right with God, I can’t go on with anything. Every time I sit down at my desk I ask the Lord, “Show me how I can bring these people closer to You – show me how to draw them in to righteousness and holiness.”  But what’s the point of that if I’m not willing to be holy?
	So for a pastor to carry on with some ongoing sin without repenting - the only way such a thing would be possible is if he completely shuts his mind off of the work of the ministry all day long.
	The sin of the sinning pastor will eventually come to the surface, and he will be exposed. He will have no better luck hiding it than did Cain. Nu.32:23  you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
	At that point he will be publicly exposed and rebuked in front of the whole church. 1 Tim 5:20  Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly. 
	The world will say, “See, I told you all those pastors were like that.” And you will give the world an occasion to blaspheme God.
	Ro.2:21-24  you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."  
	His wife will know, his kids will know, his friends will know…  He will be removed from the ministry.
	I think it’s interesting that there is a public exposure for pastors, but not everyone else. Why?  If it serves as a deterrent, why not have public exposure for everyone in the church?   
	The reason is, it’s too harsh. It may be too much for people to handle. They might become so crushed with shame and humiliation, that they just drop out of the fellowship and never recover.
	But couldn’t that happen with pastors too?  Yes, and that’s sad. But it’s necessary. It may totally ruin that man, but it’s still worth it to protect the flock. 
	Note the reason given in  1 Tim 5:20 for why pastors must be rebuked publicly:  Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. It’s important that the other leaders see that, and take warning. You see that happen to a man, and you will think twice about getting into sin.
	The bottom line is, the church is so precious, and so vulnerable, that even if a public rebuke plunges a leader into despair, it must be done for the sake of the church.
	 So pray for the leaders of the church. If godly spiritual leadership is this crucial, you can bet Satan will focus a high percentage of his effort on getting pastors to sin.
	Keep in mind that the shepherds are at risk, because we are sheep too. Even the Apostles were (“I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves, so be as shrewd as snakes…”). Satan is a greater scholar and a more clever debater than I. And he has great skill. So many times I saw neither the hook nor the line – just the bait. And Satan knows how to tailor the bait to your personality and temperament, so that your own strengths betray you.
	We are considering the fact that the leader must watch his life closely. Watching your behavior involves more than simply avoiding sin. 
Spurgeon: 
We are, in a certain sense, our own tools, and therefore must keep ourselves in order. If I want to preach the gospel, I can only use my own voice; therefore I must train my vocal powers. I can only think with my own brain, and feel with my own heart, and therefore I must educate my intellectual and emotional faculties. I can only weep and agonize for souls in my own renewed nature, therefore must I watchfully maintain the tenderness which was in Christ Jesus. It will be in vain for me to stock my library or organize societies or project schemes if I neglect the culture of myself; for books and agencies and systems are only indirectly the instruments of my holy calling; my own spirit, soul and body are my nearest machinery for sacred service; my spiritual faculties and my inner life are my battle axe and weapons of war.
Beyond simply avoiding sin, we must work to faithfully make full use of the tools we have been given. 2 Tim.2:21 says that if you cleanse yourself from being a instrument of ignoble purposes, you will become an instrument of noble purposes. 
	M’Cheyne wrote to a fellow minister and said, “How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword.”
	What are you doing to sharpen your sword?  There are countless ways to do that, but perhaps the most important is to be ever more skilled at Bible interpretation. If we misinterpret the Bible, everything else will be in danger.
	2 Tim 1:6  For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you. Interesting. The spiritual gift was in him, but it needed to be fanned into flame.  Our abilities come from God, but they do not activate themselves.
	So the first step in protecting the flock is Keep watch over yourselves…and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. (Always remember Who appointed you to this position)  Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 
	The last part of this passage is crucial, because it reminds us that the only strong enough motive is love for the church. You should love your enemies, neighbors, etc. But there should be a far greater love for the Church.
	When I’m dealing with someone who is difficult, or I’m not in the mood for ministry, or tired, or whatever – this always comes into my head: “This person cost Jesus everything.”  God has taken His most precious possession and placed it under the care of the pastor. 
	Suppose you were managing some rich person’s household, and he went on vacation and said, “I have liquidated every asset I have and purchased this rare plant. I want you to literally guard it with your life.”  Do you think you would wake up and say, “I’m not in the mood to water that thing – it will probably survive another day or so”?
	Nothing will improve your ministry more than a deep love for the Church, and an understanding of how precious she is to God. 
	
#2 Watch Your Doctrine
	This command is fascinating, because in order to even be an overseer in the first place you must already have sound doctrine. So these men all had sound doctrine. But Paul tells them to guard it.
	Just because your doctrine is OK now doesn’t mean it will always be. As you continually study the Bible, there is always a danger that you will misinterpret something. Virtually every heresy comes from the Bible. David Koresh had the entire Bible memorized. 
	Correctly interpreting the Bible is a skill that must be constantly honed and developed. And it’s easy to begin teaching error – so watch your doctrine closely. Be very careful.
	Scripture is very, very powerful. In one sense it’s kind of like dynamite – used correctly it is very helpful, but used incorrectly it can be dangerous. You can use the Bible to send multitudes of people to hell. 
	The purest water in the world, if it flows through contaminated pipes, will become contaminated, and make people sick. That’s why 1 Tim 4:16 goes on to say  Watch your life and doctrine closely.  Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. It is an awesome motivation to realize at the moment of temptation that the salvation of others depends upon my purity.
	I work during the week not to prepare a sermon, but to prepare myself. I let God’s Word have its effect on me, and then I just come and tell the church about it. That’s where the power in ministry is. That’s why I always urge people to minister out of their growth that week. (The same is true of leading in worship and prayer.)  The pastor who gets his sermons off e-sermons.com is not fit for the ministry.
	So keep watch over yourself. Only then will you be able to protect the sheep from other dangers.
	What are those other dangers?  What do sheep need to be protected from?	
•		 from Predators 
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 	
- Acts  20:28-31
	
Sheep are probably about the world’s most defenseless animal. You can determine fairly easily how most animals can survive.  They either have claws and sharp teeth, or they are fast, or they have a stinger, or they blend in to their environment, etc.
	But what natural ability do sheep to protect themselves?  They can’t kick, scratch, bite, jump, run, trample or even hide. They just stand there and die. 
	Sports teams almost always pick mascots that are animals. “We are the Bobcats/Panthers/Tigers/Lions/Bears/Grizzlies/Eagles/ Broncos...”  How many teams have you seen who call themselves  sheep?  “We are the fighting lambs.”  When you hear the word “lamb,” the first words that come to mind are “being led to slaughter” (or maybe “chops”) – either way, it’s not really the image you want the other team to have, because it communicates the idea of helplessness. 
	Paul said the wolves are savage. That word means “Vicious, fierce”  If you picture us like a little flock of sheep, and around us are wolves, don’t picture one or two – imagine hundreds.
	Where are they?  Could that be one driving by?  I doubt it, because the wolves are not out driving around on Sun. morning – they are teaching Sunday school classes, and preaching sermons.
29 … savage wolves will come in among you…
	False teachers constantly try to infiltrate. At Agape, we will deal very seriously with false teaching. We allow freedom on debatable issues, but on the essentials, we will take immediate action when there is false teaching. No church is immune, and the only way to protect ourselves is to be vigilant. 
	29 I know… 
	Paul knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt – not through prophesy. He saw it happen in every city.
	And he was right. Paul is speaking here to the Ephesian elders. Paul started that church, and this passage is his farewell after 3 years of working there. You can bet these leaders are top notch (obviously Paul knew the qualifications and wouldn’t have appointed unqualified men). This church had the highest caliber leaders.
	About 8 or 9 years later, Paul is sitting down weeping – writing a letter to Timothy. Timothy was the man Paul had to send to Ephesus to straighten out a huge mess in that church. They had gotten way off track already.
	How?  You don’t have to read very far in 1 Timothy  to know what’s going on. 1 Tim.1:3 – command certain men to stop teaching false doctrine…
	The wolves came. And it didn’t take long. Even though Ephesus started out with top flight leadership, after just a handful of years here they are. And young Timothy has the incredibly difficult job of deposing these entrenched leaders, and appointing new, qualified ones. That’s why Paul gives the list of qualifications in chapter three.
	Paul couldn’t have given Timothy a much harder job (that’s why he is constantly telling him not to be timid, or to let people look down on him...)  
	 In Mt.9:36 it says When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 	When people do not have a shepherd, they are subject to being harassed and helpless.
	The word harassed means “bruised, beaten, battered, exhausted, injured, wounded, devastated”  Helpless means  “thrown down with great force.”
	Even though the false shepherds abuse the sheep, harass them, smash them down to the ground, etc., the sheep don’t know they are following a false shepherd (obviously). They think he is from God. So speaking out against him can be a very unpopular thing to do.
	If you speak out against false teachers (wolves) – especially if you name names, you can really suffer. But a shepherd must be willing to protect the sheep no matter what the cost. Like David, you must be willing to attack the lion and bear yourself if need be. 
	That’s the attitude Jesus had. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 
- John 10:11-13
	You speak out against false teachers and you will be under constant attack. The most dangerous thing in the whole world is a false teacher. Nothing does as much damage, and no group of people receive a hotter hell.
	Again, this is part of the ministry of the Word. You protect the flock by teaching them enough truth, so they aren’t susceptible, and by pointing out the wolves – by name. The wolves must be identified. 
	Some people say you shouldn’t mention names. What does the Bible tell us to do?  Does 2 Ti.1:15 say “Watch out for a couple false teachers – and you would know their names if I said them…”?  No. It says Watch out for …Phygelus and Hermongenes.
2 Ti.2:17  their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus…
2 Ti.4:10 Demas abandoned me because he loved the world.
2 Tim.4:14 Alexander the metal worker did me a great deal of harm. 
	Why name names?  Vengeance?  No - Look at the next verse. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. Timothy needed to know exactly who to watch out for.
	Some argue that if you just preach the truth, the people will be able to spot error. The problem with that is false teachers gain a following by teaching mostly the truth. You have to listen a long time before you discover the heresy they teach, and by then it can be too late. 
	Verse 30 goes on  …and distort the truth. Literally  “speaking the having been distorted.”   They don’t just teach pure error; they start out with truth, and it gets twisted bit by bit. They teach mostly truth with little twists of error, and so they are hard to spot.
	We need someone to tell us, “Steer clear of T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Copland, Benny Hinn, Bob George, Paul Crouch, John Hagee, Robert Scheuller, etc.”
	When a pastor gets up and says, “A prominent preacher – and you would know him if I told you his name – is teaching this heresy…” what good is that?  That’s like saying, “There is a wolf in sheep’s clothing among you, and if I pointed him out, you would know him…”
	And not only is it important to name names, but also religions.  In our culture, that is anathema. You teach whatever you want, but don’t you ever even imply that some other religion is wrong. (Recently the world was outraged when they found out that the Southern Baptists intend to evangelize Muslims.) 
	A recent letter to the editor sought to rebuke anyone who did not approve of false religions. The writer said, “You should be more like Jesus – He never did that.”
	Oh?  By the end of the 1st C a religion had popped up called Nicolaitanism. When Jesus gave His message to the church in Ephesus did He say, “Don’t criticize the Nicolaitans”?
	No. He said you have this in your favor – you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans which I also hate. Rev.2:6. This is hate speech. Not all hate is bad. If you don’t hate that which destroys precious human beings, you are callous, immoral and perverse. We need to learn to hate what Jesus hates, and He hates the doctrines that ruin lives and keep people from God. 
	Jesus Christ hates the doctrines of Muslims, and the Hindus, and the Mormons, Jehovah’s (false) Witnesses…   He hates the concept of praying to and bowing before Mary, or statues of Him. He hates the false teaching that you can gain forgiveness of sins through rituals, ceremonies or sacraments. He hates the idea that you can earn enough merit to go to Heaven, etc. And we know He hates the doctrine of forbidding people to marry and requiring celibacy – that’s condemned in 1 Ti.4.
	He will commend us if we hate them too, and He will rebuke us if we fail to hate them.
	I want you to imagine something. A shepherd has a vast flock – millions, as far as the eye can see.  He divides them into small groups, and entrusts each little flock to a group of shepherds, and says, “Guard them with your life.”
	He leaves for a very short time, and returns. When he gets back, he looks over the miles of rolling hills that were covered with millions of healthy sheep when he left, but now…
	He comes back and sees his precious flock – that flock that cost him everything, ravaged!  There are sheep carcasses strewn everywhere. Blood and parts of the sheep’s bodies are smeared all over the hillside. 
	There are wolves – not hiding off in the fringes of the woods, but right in the midst of the sheep. The wolves are fat. 
	“Where are the shepherds?  Did they get killed or something?”  
But then he sees the most shocking thing of all. The shepherds aren’t dead. They are alive and well – and there some of them are…coddling the wolves!  Petting them, stroking them…
	And there’s a shepherd over there slapping a little lamb around, because that lamb was complaining about not being fed (“You should worry about what you get out of this – that’s selfish.”)
	There were a couple of shepherds who tried to drive away the wolves, but they were beaten to a pulp by other shepherds for being intolerant. 
	If you can imagine the tears in that shepherd’s eyes as he looks over that precious flock, and sees it decimated – then you have an idea what it’s like for the Lord to look across America today.
	And you also get an idea what it was like at the end of the first century. Within one generation of when those churches in Asia minor started, Jesus returns and this is what He sees – 7 churches ravaged by wolves.
	These men Paul warned to watch themselves and the flock in Eph, 20 years later, had lost their first love.  A few miles north, (Smyrna), the church is being attacked by the synagogue of Satan. (2:9)  Just north of there was Pergamum – and it’s called the city where Satan lives and where Satan had his throne.. The people in that church were literally being put to death. They had people in the church teaching Nicolaitanism, and Balamism. 
	Next door to Perg is Thyatira. They had a false prophetess in the church they were listening to. She was promoting idolatry, immorality, and she called her ideas the “deep truths.”  A few more miles and you hit Sardis. Jesus just said to them, “You are dead.”  In Philadelphia they were being harrassed by the synogogue of Satan. 
	And then comes Laodicea – lukewarm, worthless, nauseating, wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
	After less than one generation, Jesus looked back and found His flock had been brutally ravaged.
	Someone recently asked me, “How are you going to set things up so Agape never gets off track?”   It’s impossible. There is nothing you can do to guarantee this will never happen.  That’s why Paul says, “Keep watch…”  The only protection is constant vigilance on the part of the shepherds – the moment they relax, any church can go bad.
	Back to Acts 20. 	Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth (v.30)  Do you realize what Paul is saying here?  “Some of you are going to go bad.”  This is like when Jesus said “One of you will betray Me.”
	31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. Why is he crying?  Because he knew what would happen. 
	Again, this is another part of the ministry of the Word. You protect the flock by teaching them enough truth, so they aren’t susceptible, and then to point out the wolves.
	That’s why the entire book of 1 Timothy is dominated by commands like “Preach the Word…” and “Command those men to stop…”

	

	

	

Chapter 4
SHEPHERDING
Protecting from Going Astray & 
Getting Discouraged  
(Tape 34)
	
		If the false teachers were the only threat, the danger would be grave enough. But there are other threats as well. 	2 Tim.4 is the last thing Paul ever wrote that we know of. He knew he was about to die, and so he gives one final exhortation to the man to whom he was passing the baton. When a person is at the threshold of dying, that has a way of bringing to his mind that which is most important.
	In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. - 2 Tim 4:1,2
	Paul gives a charge in v.1, and then five commands in v.2.
	THE CHARGE
2 Tim 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead
Paul says, “I charge you in the presence of God to do this…”
	Archeologists have discovered ancient documents that were used to subpoena a person who was charged with a crime:  “The case will be drawn up against you in the court of Heroclopolis in the presence of [judge’s name].”
	Paul begins his exhortation to Tim. by using the language of a subpoena. “Timothy, you are hereby ordered to appear before the Court of God to answer for your actions in response to this command I am about to give. 
	The court date:  …and in view of his appearing and his kingdom…  This is the most solemn, compelling injunction imaginable. 
	COMMAND #1
Preach the Word  Again, this summarizes the pastor’s job.
	COMMAND #2
be prepared lit: “stand by” (be on call) v.6 “The time of my departure is standing by.”
	in season  euvkai,rwj Lit “good time” or “good season” (convenient)  Only here and Mk.14:11. Judas…watched for an opportunity to hand him over. 
	and out of season  avkai,rwj  The word is used in ancient literature of something that is ill-timed – something said at an inappropriate time. 
		Command #2 is that Timothy not pass up opportunities to preach. (One with a heart for preaching rarely will.)  I recently received a letter from a preacher who was informing everyone in the district that he was not longer available to preach unless he received a minimum honorarium plus 32 cents per mile. That is not the heart of a true pastor.
	There is no 40 hour week for a pastor. Those who require pastors to give an account of his hours don’t understand pastoral ministry. The ministry takes place all day every day.
	Some pastors isolate themselves from the people so much that you have to go through 4 secretaries before you can get to their voice mail.
Jesus wasn’t like that. Thousands of people had free access to Him. We see Him preaching even in His own home, and on vacation. (In Mark 6 – the feeding of the 5000). People came by the thousands and were personally, individually ministered to by Christ (he didn’t say, “have your people talk to My people”).
	Paul was a great man with a world-wide ministry and yet in Acts 20:20 we read, I taught you publicly and from house to house. Paul was not like many speakers today and require a guaranteed minimum in attendance before they will agree to speak for a huge fee.
	That’s why we published the phone numbers of our leaders. We will always be available. If someone in the church gets a group together, we will be more than happy to provide an elder to come into that home and teach. Elders are also available for counseling.
	COMMAND #3
Correct   e;legxon  To expose, convict or point out a person’s sin for the purpose of correcting it. It has the idea of exposing – demonstrating the wrongness of an act.
	Eph 5:11  Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them….13 everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 
	Matt 18:15  "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.
John 3:20  Everyone who does evil …will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed
	1 Tim 5:20  Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly.
	The pastor’s role in preaching is to make people aware of their sin. Often people are not aware of the fact that they are sinning. You can’t just tell someone “That’s a sin.”  You have to be able to make a coherent argument from the Bible that it is sin. So part of the pastoral ministry is the ministry of accusing and indicting. 
	“But don’t they feel bad enough already?  Don’t most people struggle with guilt?”  A person can have all kinds of guilt feelings, but still not understand the sin in his life. Often people feel guilty about things that aren’t even that bad, and they feel nothing over things they are doing which are grave offenses against God.
	“Doesn’t guilt create psychological problems and ruin lives?”  It only does that in the case of a person who 
#1 doesn’t repent or 
#2 Repents, but doesn’t understand forgiveness
	God never intended for anyone to have continual guilt. Guilt has a very important role – to drive people to repentance. People don’t like guilt. They can’t stand it, and will do anything to be rid of it. But that’s exactly the point of guilt. God made guilt to be intolerable, because it has to be in order for it to accomplish its work.
	Guilt is the pain of the soul. God designed pain so that it hurts – otherwise it wouldn’t do its job. When you put your hand on a hot burner, pain’s job is to get you to remove your hand immediately. To do that it has to really hurt.
	Guilt is the same way. God doesn’t want anyone to live in guilt. Guilt is designed to be miserable enough so that it will drive you to let go of that sin that is destroying you.
	That’s why it’s dangerous to assuage people’s guilt without dealing with the sin. In fact, sometimes, when you have a person who just lives with guilt year after year, it may be that were not made to feel guilty enough. There is a little pain there, but not enough to get them to let go of that sin that is destroying them.
	There is a negative side to our work. Alcibiades used to say to Socrates: “Socrates, I hate you, because every time I meet you, you make me see what I am.”
	James 1:22-25 teaches that the Word is like a mirror. Just as you look in the mirror in the morning to discover what flaws need fixing (such as messy hair), so you look into the Word to discover what is messed up in your soul. If that is the function of the Word, and the preacher’s job is to preach the Word, then the preacher’s job involves showing people what is wrong in their souls.
	Epictetus said the following about philosophers, but it applies to preachers as well: “The philosopher’s lecture is a surgery, when you go away you ought to have felt not pleasure but pain.”  (But if the surgery is successful, you are more than happy to endure the pain.)
	Some people compliment me on a sermon by saying something like, “Pastor, you just put me through a meat grinder – keep it up.”  The reason that is a compliment is because the person understands the value of the painful pruning ministry of the Word.
	Now, if you have a friend who is a surgeon, you don’t want him to open you up with his scalpel every time you see him, but when it is needed, you will even pay him thousands to do it.
	COMMAND #4
Rebuke  evpitima,w To rebuke, censure, warn or punish.
This is aimed more at the will (rather than the mind). It carries the idea of giving an order, and persuading the person to change. Rebuke is a command that calls for a change.
Mt.8:26  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 
Mt.12:15  …he healed all their sick, 16 ordering them not to tell who he was.
Mt.17:18  Jesus commanded the demon, and it came out of the boy 
	The pastor must not only point out sinfulness, but rebuke the person and command a change (This only applies, of course, if the person is not repentant.)  Sometimes the shepherd has to be harsh. Rev.2:27 talks about shepherding …with a rod of iron. Sometimes the shepherd has to use a rod. 
	The pastor is to admonish (to instruct or warn in an effort to correct behavior). 
1 Thes.5:12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you 
	This is the responsibility not only of the leader, but of every Christian: 
Ro.15:14  I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you … are …complete in knowledge and competent to admonish one another. 
Col.3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom
	How is it done?
Again, this is part of the teaching ministry of the Word. 2 Tim.3:16  all scripture is useful for …correcting and admonishing.
	
	What does it look like?
We have a great example of admonishing in 1 Co.4:14: I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn (admonish) you, as my dear children.
So admonishing is not the same as shaming – but it is similar enough that it looks and feels a lot like it (that’s why Paul has to make this remark).
What is shaming?  The word means to cause a person to look down on himself. Leaders who beat up on people are not fit for leadership. Some men, in the name of admonishing, just do nothing but make you feel miserable. They are not trying to restore you to righteousness, or to bring about repentance, they just want to make you feel bad. 
	Do you know someone like that?  They just have to point out that what you did was wrong. They have to let you know every time you make a mistake. 
	Rebuke is very important if you are dealing with someone who is unrepentant. But if you are the type who just has to point out every error, everyone around you will just be constantly defeated – you have the “gift” of discouragement, and you will sap all the energy out of everyone. Everyone will be discouraged. That is not leadership.
	So the overseer shouldn’t be the type to shame people. However, it is his obligation and responsibility to admonish people.  And that can look a lot like shaming. 
	Notice the harshness in Paul’s tone as he does not shame, but admonishes:
1 Co.4:7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And …why do you boast  
8Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings-and that without us! …10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! …13 Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. 
	That’s sarcasm. Sometimes admonition has to be very harsh in order to have an effect. Unfortunately this is occasionally necessary, but it should break the leader’s heart. Paul is able to keep it up for 7 verses., but by verse 14 he just can’t stand it any more:  I am not writing this to shame you, but to admonish you, as my dear children.
17 …I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus…  he can’t stand to rebuke any longer – he wants to correct their behavior by sending them a lovely example of they way they should live.
	This is the heart of a father. He loves them. He really just wants to embrace them. But he knows there are some times when some strong things have to be said. (Verse 18: Some of you have become arrogant..)
	There are times when we become so desensitized to the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit that NO gentle words can get our attention. Times like that we need someone to just come along and give us a kick in the seat of the pants.
	An overseer has to have the courage and strength to do that, and the wisdom and love to know the difference between admonition and shaming. 
	Warning
	The word is sometimes translated warn. That’s another part of what it means.  Admonition involves warning a person about the consequences he is in for if he doesn’t change. That implies you have tried other ways, and he is still persisting in the sin. At that point most people give up. But if you really love the person, you will keep trying. You will begin warning.
	Warning about future consequences is very helpful for the person caught by some sin, because when you sin, it’s because you lose your long-term perspective. Sin only rewards you on the short term – it can never compete with the rewards of righteousness on the long term.  When you warn someone, you point out the long term picture, and you make it easier for them to snap out of their foolishness.
	COMMAND #5
and encourage  The word is a very broad term that normally means “to urge.”  But it often means “to console or comfort.”   I believe here it is used in a general way – encompassing its whole range of meaning. It is a contrast to the last 2 terms. This is the positive side of the protecting ministry. The pastor must not only afflict the comfortable, but also comfort the afflicted.
	Another characteristic of sheep that resembles us is that sheep are emotionally fragile and need to be protected by the shepherd not only from predators and becoming lost, but also from discouragement. 
	Sheep are more vulnerable to injury than almost any other animal. They are unusual in that they lack a self-preservation instinct. If they sustain a painful injury, they will often give up. They have no will to fight and do not struggle to live.  
	I read that a lamb who has given up needs a shepherd to come pick it up. When the shepherd comes, if the sheep has been there for some time, he can’t just put it on its feet, because the circulation stops. If he tries to set it on its feet it will just fall over again. He may have to carry it around for as long as an hour.
	Many people struggle spiritually, and go by the wayside, because they become discouraged. They face some painful struggle that is just too much, and they lose their will to fight.
	So the shepherd sometimes needs to gently carry the sheep – to en-courage them. (What a great word – to impart courage into someone). They run out of strength, and so you carry them for a while on your strength.
	As our ultimate Shepherd, this is what God does. Ps.10:17  You hear, O Yahweh, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry 
	And it’s the duty of human shepherds as well. Titus 2:15  Encourage and rebuke with all authority. 
	…with great patience  
	This is the spirit that never gets exasperated, frustrated or bitter.  We need to be like the Lord, who is so patient with us.
The pastor will expose people’s sin, rebuke them, try to encourage them and motivate them, carry them on his shoulders, urge them, warn them, admonish them, beseech them, command them, rebuke them, comfort them, instruct them…but he won’t give up on them. As long as they have a repentant attitude, he will work with them as long as it takes.
	…and careful instruction. 
	When comforting someone, I am repeatedly told, one should not aggravate the person's mind with a bunch of doctrine. Don’t give them Bible verses. That’s shallow. Just be there for them. Don’t say anything, just give them a shoulder to cry on.
	But the Bible says encourage with …careful instruction.  When a person is struggling with the question “why?” - a shoulder to cry on doesn't give any meaning to what seem like senseless events. 
In fact, the Greek word for comfort or console (paramutheomai) literally means to speak toward or to speak along side.
Titus 1:9  An Elder must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, (why?) so that he can encourage others (how?) by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. 
	If I just go to a hurting person and give him a hug, that may be some comfort, but if I’m able to paint for him a picture of how God has been exceedingly faithful to care for His people in the past, that can be a far greater comfort. 
	That is the doctrine of God’s immutability. When people are suffering, what they need more than anything is doctrine – the doctrine of omniscience (what God is doing is infinitely wise), the doctrine of omnipresence (God is right here with you at this moment), the doctrine of justice (the guy who hurt you will not go unpunished), the doctrine of mercy (God has such overwhelming compassion toward you, He can’t wait to bring you relief as soon as the important purposes are fulfilled), etc.
	The thing that can carry a person through tragedy is not my arm around them – it’s the doctrine of the goodness of God. If I remind them that God will never, ever let any painful thing happen to you unless it is absolutely essential for some very important purpose – that can give the person strength and even joy.
	It's not cold or unfeeling to comfort someone with the truth. If you lost your wallet and were grieving the loss of $20, would you be more comforted if someone held your hand, or if she explained to you that you have just inherited $1,000,000?  
	Information can be a wonderful encouragement, and God’s Word can fill a person’s soul with joy.
	Now it’s true that if you just rattle off a couple obvious Bible verses without any compassion, you may do more harm than good. And, of course there are times when the best thing to do for a grieving person is to just listen to her or cry with him, but let's not forget that God's Word is a soothing balm to the hurting and a healing oil to the suffering.
	This is one of the skills the church leader must develop – the ability to offer people comfort from God’s Word that addresses their particular situation (and that is truly comforting – not just a platitude).
	My words of encouragement are worthless, because I can’t make any promises about the future. But God can.
	And this is also the responsibility of everyone in the church. Heb.10:25  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
But it is especially the job of the pastor/overseers, as well as those who have the gift (Ro.12:8).
	Most pastors fail to perform the negative side of the protecting ministry, but there are some who fail on the other side. Those men crush people’s spirits, and are essentially lying to people about the nature of God.
	The following is an e-mail I got several months ago:
I am sorry to bother you, I just have a few questions if that's all right. …I have seen the way just speaking about Jesus makes your face light up. I know how much you must love Him. This Christianity you speak about and the way you speak about God is so foreign to me. You appear to have such joy in your life and it seems to be so sincere, so much a part of your life. 
	The "religion"  I know is so different. The God I have come to know, does not seem to be the same as yours and each Sunday night I go home  wishing I knew the God you do. 
	Don't get me wrong. I know Jesus came and died in my place and I have accepted Him as my only way to heaven, but there seems to be so much more than that. I have walked the walk and talked the talk for so many years and filled the role so many people told me was mine. I can quote verses and lead someone to the Lord and I know all the right answers to the typical "religious" questions, but something is missing. 
	See, if the God I know is real, it would seem that life does not have a lot of hope or joy ahead for me or any of us. 
	I don't read my Bible much anymore because the thought of reading God's Word terrifies me and the thought of praying is even worse. It seems the times I have asked Him for help, usually more pain or confusion comes along. I know He promises He will not give us more than we can handle, but maybe sometimes He just forgets some of us. 
	I know I have been so far from faithful to Him, and I don't deserve for Him to even bother listening to me. And for the last couple of years that answer has been enough for me, but now, the slightest possible hope that maybe God isn't quite who I thought...I just can't pass up the chance to find out if that could be true. I am hoping with all my heart that there is something to this Christian life besides ritual and looking good on the outside to impress other people. That kind of life is so empty, but it is all that I have seen or know. 
	You are so much different from any of the pastors I have come to know in the past. You seem to really care about people's hearts, not just their outside appearance. I hope I am not bothering you, but I honestly want to know God, to truly know God and not have a debilitating fear that fills me every time I think of Him. Thank you for your time-
She was a victim of a pastor who failed to communicate the love of God.
	Each of these ministries in 2 Ti.4:2 are so crucial. To emphasize one over the others is to present a distorted view of God, and that will ruin people’s lives. Pointing someone’s sin, but not working to persuade him to change is useless. Continually scolding and rebuking, without affirming love and patient comforting can harden a person’s heart. Speaking of nothing but love and forgiveness without any warning or rebuke will keep people in their sin. And doing any of this without careful biblical instruction and teaching is worthless. 
	An illustration of all these elements…
	In 2 Sam.12, the king had taken a man’s wife while that man was away at war, and conceived a child with her. By the end of ch.11 the king had just murdered the husband for the sole purpose of keeping his sin from being exposed.
	God came to the prophet Nathan and told him to expose the king(!)
	Yahweh sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 
4"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him." 
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." 
	All that is the rebuking, correcting ministry. It’s all aimed at David’s will. He doesn’t just point out the sin. He does it all in a context that makes David hate the sin.
	7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!  (This is the exposing, indicting ministry) This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: `I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9Why did you despise the word of Yahweh by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.  You can’t mince words or soft-pedal the sin.
	Next came the warning part. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' 
11"This is what Yahweh says: `Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'" 
	Does it work?  Does all this bring about the ultimate goal (repentance)?
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." 
	Now that his attitude is right, it’s time for the comforting ministry. Nathan replied, "Yahweh has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 
	We are not prophets, and we can’t see into people’s hearts, so we can’t give these kinds of specifics. However, we can pass along the promises of Scripture to the repentant sinner.
	In this one rebuke we see Nathan rebuke and bring encouragement at the same time: convincing the mind, confronting the error, supporting the change process, being severe and firm but also patient and gentle. 
	The true shepherd must feed the sheep, lead the sheep, and protect the sheep…
-	from the wolves
-	from going astray (sin, injury)
-	from discouragement
	If we as Christians identified ourselves with a mascot, it would have to be a lamb. Scripture calls us sheep so many times, it seems like God created sheep just as an illustration of us. We are sheep, and without a shepherd,
* We are prone to getting lost and disoriented.   
* We can’t find nourishment 
* We eat the wrong things
* We follow those who lead us astray    
* We cannot defend ourselves
* We are extremely vulnerable   
* We are easily injured, easily discouraged   
* We need constant care and protection
* We lack willpower
* We are overwhelmed by pain
* And sometimes we just give up.

	
Chapter 5
SHEPHERDING
The Deacon’s Job Description  
(Tapes 34b)
	
As we saw in Php.1:1, there are two offices: Overseers and Deacons. The first four chapters have been a job description of the Overseer. There is much less material in Scripture regarding the job description of the Deacon.
	The office of Deacon seems to be a leadership role. It is an office mentioned with overseers, and the list of qualifications is basically identical. 
	Yet it is hard to imagine any leadership role not covered by the overseers responsibilities. What is left of the Deacons to do?  They seem to be leaders, yet they are never referred to as having any authority.
	The Title
There are several words for “servant.”  Some emphasize the idea of being owned, some the idea of service for hire, some the idea of service by obligation. This word emphasizes the idea of voluntary service out of love (for example, it is used of those at the wedding in Cana).
	The root meaning of the word refers to waiting tables, or serving food. The word “deacon” is a Greek word, not an English word. (It is a transliteration - each Greek letter is replaced with an English letter)
	If we translate the word into English, it comes out “Server.”  So Philippians was written to all the saints along with the Overseers and Servers. 1 Tim.3 gives the list of qualifications for the Overseers and for the Servers. There are two bodies of leadership in the church: the board of Elders and the Board of Servers.
	In some churches the title “deacon” is sought after as a matter of pride. Perhaps we would do well to return to the Biblical terminology and refer to those men as Servers (rather than the meaningless “deacon,” which, in our culture, does not communicate the idea of waiting tables). 
	On the other hand, other churches have assumed from that that since there are no duties outlined in Scripture for Deacons, it is an office of little consequence, and no big deal. Everything that is important with respect to leadership is the job of the overseers. Also, since they are called “servers,” maybe that means they are to just do the menial, inconsequential little tasks that have no real spiritual meaning.
	Many churches have a board of deacons whose responsibilities are so menial that it really wouldn’t matter much if they did a poor job. All they do is help with baptism, and collect the offering (or maybe communion). 
	The problem is, if that were what they were supposed to be, the only real qualification that would be required would be that they not be clumsy – able to walk down an isle without tripping and dumping the grape juice all over someone’s new dress.
	But 1 Ti.3 requires a list of qualifications that is commensurate with those of an overseer. No one is qualified to be a server unless he or she is a very godly, spiritually mature individual. One thing we know about the duties of a Server is that those duties require someone with an exemplary life. 
	So what do Servers do?
	Since it is a leadership position, and since they are always mentioned after the overseers, since the qualifications are very high, but not quite as high as for overseers, and since they are called servers – I think it is most likely that the Servers’ job is to simply assist the Overseers. 
	That would explain 
•	why no specific duties are mentioned
•	why they are called Servers
•	why the qualifications are so similar to an overseer.
	The Overseers have to spend a tremendous amount of time in study. That leaves them with limited time to do everything else. So the servers are a group of people who have the same level of godly character, and who are available to the pastors to carry out whatever leadership duties are delegated to them, in order to free the pastors to study.
	One difference we do see in the lists of qualifications is that while the Servers must hold to the deep truths of the faith, they do not have to be skilled teachers. They do not have as much of a formal teaching responsibility as do the pastors.
	The Servers in Acts 6
	Acts 6:1-4  In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ”It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
	These men are never called Deacons. The are not Deacons. They are a group of seven very special men who went around doing miracles and preaching the Gospel. They became known as “the Seven.”  At this point, there was no such thing as the office of Deacon.
	A close look at the Greek words, however, demonstrate the relevance of this passage for our discussion: (the Greek word for Deacon is diakonos):
v.1 their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution (diakonia) of food. 
v.2  It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait (diakoneo) tables.
v.4  and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry (diakonia) of the word.
	They were not officially called deacons, but they were originally put in place for the purpose of “deacing” (serving).
	The Apostles were called “The Twelve.”  The office of Apostle was not an ongoing office. It ended when those 12 men died, because their role was a temporary one: to serve as the foundation of the Church, to write the New Testament, and to perform miracles to prove the New Testament was God’s Word. Once the New Testament was written and proven to be God’s Word, there was no longer any need for that ministry.
	There was, however, an element of their ministry that was ongoing: the ministry of the Word (feeding the sheep, leading the sheep, and protecting the sheep). That responsibility was passed on – not to a succession of Apostles, but to Pastors. 
	I think it is reasonable to assume that just as the pastoring ministry of 12 was passed on to pastors, so the serving ministry of the Seven was passed along to the Deacons. 
	So the Overseers could get together and say, “X is an important part of our duty, but in this particular situation, it is so time consuming that it is requiring us to neglect the ministry of the Word and prayer. “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to do X.”  Just as the Apostles chose the 7, the church Overseers choose a board of Servers. 
	The Bible doesn’t catalogue a list of duties for the Servers, probably because their job is just whatever the Pastors need at the moment.
	There is a good reason to believe that like the 7, most of the time their job was comprised primarily of the service to the poor in the distribution of money, food and gifts. I say that because of the background the people were used to. The Jews had a very organized system for caring for the poor. Every Friday, those in charge of the Serving ministry went around to the people in the community (in the market and to homes) and collected money, food and other goods for the needy. 
	The money was placed in the hands of committees of 7 for distribution later that same day (they were not stockpiled). The donations were divided into two groups – the poor bowl and the poor basket. The basket was for the poor who lived in the area. They were given enough for 14 meals (2 a day for a week). 
	People who were from out of town, or who were having some special crisis were given resources out of the Bowl – that was a daily collection. In addition there were common meals and alms. 
	This tradition of being so careful to care for the poor came from the strong emphasis on caring for the poor in the Old Testament. That emphasis is carried into the New Testament as well, and so it is no wonder that this was one of the synagogue traditions that carried right into the Church.
	The modern church has become a bit haphazard about it. At Agape, we want to be deliberate in our care for the poor. Even in our first year while we were still being supported from the outside, struggling to pay bills even from last year in some cases, we have gave thousands to members who were in need. This should always be our attitude.
	We are not a business. Our objective is not to make a profit; it is to be faithful to our responsibilities. God has promised to meet our need. We want to be like the Macedonian churches. When Paul was raising money for the church in Jerusalem he wrote to the Corinthians:
And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. (2 Co.8:1-4)
	Part of the reason the modern church is not as systematic in its care for the poor is that in the United States, there is no poverty on the scale of poverty in the New Testament times. No one is in danger of starving from week to week. However, there are people who have genuine struggles and crises, and we seek to help them.
	So the role of the Server is to assist the Elders in whatever way is needed – especially in the matter of handling money.
	Now you understand why the qualifications for a Server are set so high. They have to be men who are every bit as spiritually mature and exemplary in their lives as the Overseers. In Acts 6, they were very, very careful whom they chose. And it ended up being men of the highest caliber (read about Philip in Acts 6 and 8). 
	So the Servers must be exemplary men. There are a couple reasons for this: 
1.		The last thing you ever want to do is get carnal, spiritually immature, earthly-minded people anywhere near the money. They will tend to hoard it, waste it, misuse it, and fight over it. 
Give them charge of the money and you will have widows filing bankruptcy while the church has tens of thousands in the bank stored away for a rainy day. You will have a youth group that can’t even help a low income kid go to camp, while the church spends thousands on new wallpaper.
And you can count on having constant fights, quarrels and disagreements on everything, and soon the people will stop giving, because they can’t trust the ones in charge of spending the money. (There is nothing worse than giving offering knowing it will be squandered).
2. They need to know how to apply biblical principles in giving.
	There are clear biblical principles that govern how the church’s offerings are to be used.
	* Widows really in need
	1 Tim 5:3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.
Proper recognition = financial support
Really in need = they don’t have a husband, father, children, grandchildren, or friends to take care of them.
	* Other poor churches
	A large percentage of what the New Testament says about giving is in the context of the gift sent from all the churches to the church in Jerusalem.
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (2 Co.9:6)
	Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Co.9:7)
	But just as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving.  I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Co.8:7-9)
None of those are talking about giving to the general fund, but to the benevolence fund in a special offering to be sent to Jerusalem.
	* Pastoral staff
	The passages the do speak of giving to the local church have to do with support of the pastors.
1 Co.9:14  the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. 
	1 Ti.5:17   The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 
	What is double honor?  The word can refer to respect or to money. V.18 tells us which it is:  the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages
	double honor = double salary. But this is only for those who excel in the work.
	* Missionaries
	When Paul went to preach the Gospel in Corinth, he was supported full time by other churches (not individuals) (2 Co.11:8)
	* Other expenses
	This is not a biblical command, but an obvious necessity – we have to pay our bills (rent, paper, ink, tapes, toys, communion cups, etc.)
	The Servers must be people who have a thorough knowledge of all these things, as well as wisdom regarding decision making. They must be good stewards. This is one reason why they must manage their own households well – to prove they can manage money.
	They need to be able to balance faith in God for future provision with a restraint that keeps us from making foolish decisions, or to have enough sense to spend a little now to fill the cracks in the parking lot, rather than spend ten times as much later on to repair severe damage. They need to have enough wisdom to seek out those in the church with expertise in certain areas to assist in decision making. 
	In addition, they must understand the various biblical principles governing giving. When the church supports people, Scripture teaches certain priorities. For example:
	1 Tim 5:3-6  Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. … 5The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
	Here we see that…
* We have a greater responsibility to those with no resources, such as widows.
* We have a greater responsibility to those close to us.
* We have a greater responsibility toward those who live godly lives. 
* With regard to men, we are not to give to men who refuse to work (2 thes.3:10). People like that come to the church all the time with tear-jerking stories, and the Deacon must have the wisdom and the strength to say “no”.
	So the offices within the local church include the Pastor and the Servers. Pastors shepherd (feed, lead and protect), and Servers serve the pastors (especially with spending money)
The Congregation’s Responsibility
	Chapters one through four outline the Pastors’ responsibilities, and this chapter describes the Servers’ responsibilities. Scripture also addresses the responsibilities of the people to the leadership. These principles apply to leaders as well, as they are each under the authority of the other leaders.
	Heb.13:17  Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
	Obey your leaders. the root verb means to convince or win over. The passive means to be won over to them i.e. to be a follower.
	It’s different than the normal word for “obey.”  We are called to obey govt. leaders in a strict sense – we do what they say. You may not like it or agree with it, you don’t necessarily have to be enthusiastic about it. Just do it. But your responsiveness to the pastors goes beyond that. The emphasis isn’t just on doing what he says (although that’s part of it), it’s on being won over to him.
	and submit to their authority. lit to them
	Why?  Because like them or not, they are over you in the LORD (1 Thes.5:13). You must submit to them not in proportion to how much you think they deserve it, but in proportion to how much Christ deserves to be obeyed (this is God’s command). 
	Wherever you are, you should let the pastors know that as long as he is faithful to the Word, you will be a follower of them. (That’s why it is so important to be very deliberate in checking out the leadership of a church before you join).
	One of the greatest temptations of a pastor is to alter God’s Word (mostly by omission) to avoid controversy. If you make him feel like he has to win you over, you just multiply this temptation times ten, and you produce a people pleaser.
Try not to think of him as an employee. In the kingdom of God, the higher you are in authority, the more of a servant you are. (The greatest will be the servant of all). So the pastor is a servant. He is the authority in the church, but he doesn’t act like someone in charge as people in the world do. In the world the one in charge has everyone serve him, but in the Kingdom the one in charge serves everyone. This may make it hard to think of him as an authority, but we must do so anyway.
	v.13  He is over you in the Lord, and for that reason you are to hold him in the highest regard.
	Both the terms respect and hold in the highest regard are used in an unusual way. And after the second one there is a phrase that means “beyond measure.”  The statement is very emphatic. Church leaders must be treated with the utmost respect and honor, and not begrudgingly just because you have to – but in love. It must be genuine. 
	“But what if I don’t care for his personality?”  What does v.13 say?  Does it say, “Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their personalities”?  No, it’s because of their work.. If God has called a man to that work, we are to give him that honor (out of respect for the One who commissioned him).
	“But what about when one of them offends me?”  Look again at v.12. These leaders are described as those who admonish you. You love your shepherd even when he is stepping all over your toes. In fact you love him even more when he does that, because it is that hardest part of his job.
	Whenever there is a command to submit, it applies to times when you disagree with the authority (otherwise it wouldn’t be needed). If it is a matter of sin, that is another issue. But if it is a matter of preference or opinion. submit. Don’t gossip or grumble. Maybe you didn’t get your way – you wanted a different carpet or a different worship style, and the leadership decided otherwise. Don’t complain. Trust the Lord to lead through those He has called to be leaders.
	But most importantly, submit to the preaching of the Word.
	I often hear that as a pastor I must earn the right to preach. With all due respect to those who say this, that is dead wrong. If I had to earn the right to give the kind of exhortations I give…  I COULD NEVER DO THAT IN MY LIFETIME. How could I possibly earn the right to command the kinds of things the Bible commands?  
	 If there are men walking around that think they have earned that right, they are delusional. As a pastor, it is my duty to command people to give up their lives for the cause I am advancing. It is my duty to command them to take up their cross – to devote their eternal soul to something. 
	There is one way, and one way only that a person could earn the right to make such demands on you – and that is by being your Creator. I am not anyone’s creator, and I don’t own anybody, and no matter what I do in my lifetime, I will never earn the right to make those kinds of demands on anyone.
	Yet, I do make those demands – as forcefully as I know how. But not out of some right that I earned. I do it because I have been commissioned by none other that the Creator Himself to do so. It’s an authority I have, but I didn’t earn it, I was given it, and that’s why people must submit to it.
	You submit to your pastor not based on what level of respect he has earned. You submit to the spokesman for God based on what level of authority God has granted him. 
	Back to Heb.13:17. Paul gives another reason to submit to leaders:  They keep watch lit for they keep watch (This is a reason why we are to submit)
	keep watch means to be awake. The idea is of one staying awake at night out of concern – like a shepherd watching for wolves.
	…over you lit your souls  They are concerned not just for surface things – they are concerned for the deep needs. There are not many people who are deeply concerned and actually lose sleep over the condition of your soul. Pastors are the kind of men who do, so submit to them.
	…as men who must give an account. Do you understand the gravity of that?  Your pastor must answer to God for how you turn out. So submit to him.
 …[Obey them] so that   (This is the goal) [their work] will be a joy, lit they may do it with joy  You fill your pastor’s heart with joy, and you are doing yourself a favor. 3 Jn.4  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 
	…not a burden, lit not with groaning  This term refers to a deep, unexpressed groaning. Very often no one knows, but it is crippling. Pastors have the highest occurrence of depression and burnout of any profession.   Not even Jesus was immune to anxiety and anguish over hard heartedness. 
	…for that would be of no advantage to you. (“If the pastor aint happy aint nobody happy.”)  I was told recently by a friend, “There is nothing more depressing than a depressed pastor.”  
	Part of the pastor’s job is to inspire you and encourage you and to have a contagious joy.
	Imagine a church where everyone strives to fulfill their responsibilities to one another. The people are ever responsive to the faithful preaching of God’s Word, and the leaders shepherd and lead through the ministry of the Word. Just imagine!

	

	
	
Part Two
Qualifications
	
	Chapter 6
Qualifications For the Pastor 
part 1
Example 
(Tapes 35)

The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by physicists. The element, tentatively named Administratum, has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of 0. However, it does have:
1 neutron
125 assistant neutrons
75 vice-neutrons
111 assistant vice-neutrons.
	This gives it an atomic mass of 312. The 312 particles are held together by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons. 
	Since it has no electrons, Administratum is inert. However, it can be detected chemically as it impedes every action with which it comes in contact. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Administratum causes one reaction to take four days to complete when it would have normally occurred in less than one second.
Administratum has a normal half-life of approximately three years at which time it does not actually decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which assistant neutrons, vice-neutrons, and assistant vice-neutrons exchange places. 
Some studies have shown that atomic mass actually increases after each reorganization. Research at other laboratories indicates that Administratum occurs naturally in the government and public and private work place. However, it tends to concentrate at government agencies, large corporations, universities and churches.
	Scientists point out that Administratum is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how Administratum can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising. 
	Bureaucracies are extremely inefficient, and yet extremely common.  The reason is bureaucracies are designed to enable an organization to operate regardless of the personnel. The idea is to create system of policies that addresses every possible situation, so that no employee has to have any wisdom at all – just follow the procedure. 
	The result is there are so many policies that the whole thing becomes incredibly inefficient. The people have no freedom, because everything is dictated by some policy. And even then there is no list of rules and procedures long enough to eliminate loopholes. 
	Some people want to run the church that way. But God has ordained a different system for leadership in the church. Instead of coming up with an endless list of policies and procedures to try to prevent problems, we are to appoint reliable, trustworthy, wise men, and see to it that those men watch carefully over their character. The bureaucracy is not needed, because the leaders can be trusted.
	If you have ever been an employer, you know what a wonderful thing it is to be able to just give someone a job, and have every confidence he will get it done, and do it well.
	In part one of this book, we examined the “what?” of church leadership (Church leadership is shepherding - feeding, leading and protecting). Now we turn our attention to the “how?”
	How Are Leaders to Go About Leading?
	We have found that the overseers are in authority over the people. How do those in authority get the people under them to do what they say?  How do they lead?  
	How do those in the world do it? Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. (Mt.20:25-27)
	The word translated lord it over is katakurieuo. It means to dominate or overpower. It is used in Acts 19:13-16 where some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered (katakurieuo) them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 
	The word means to overpower. That’s how authorities rule in this world. That’s how parents rule. If your 2-year-old disobeys you and starts walking out into the street, you overpower that little one – you carry him out of the street.
	The government has rules for you, and if you rebel they will overpower you. They will come to you with however many officers and guns are necessary to bring you to jail.
	Your boss at work gets you to do what he wants you to do, because he has more power than you. If you don’t do what he says, he can fire you.
	So that is the method the world uses. It’s the “Do it or else” method. When you read in Scripture that pastors are in authority and that you are to obey their authority, you might be confused, because you never hear your pastor say, “Do this or else I’ll punish you.”  (It’s the same way with husbands’ authority.)
	That’s because of the rest of the comment in Mt.20:26,27:  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.
	Peter made the same point: To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. - 1 Peter 5:1-4
 
There are two ways of leading people. You can coerce them into doing what you say by means of a power play – by gaining control over them in some way, or you can simply live it out, and then let them follow your example. The church leader is to take the latter approach.
	As Christians, our ultimate goal is to become like Christ. How is that done?  One way is to ask WWJD?  But a lot of times, that’s not all that helpful. Sometimes it’s hard to know what Jesus would do in a difficult situation. In those cases, however, it can be very helpful to ask, “what would my pastor do?” or “What would the most Christlike person I know do?”
	God knows this, and so He has given us people as examples. Someone may object: “But we shouldn’t be looking at people – we should only focus on Christ.”  What does the Bible say?
1 Co.4:16  I urge you to imitate me. 
Ga.4:12 I plead with you, brothers, become like me
Php.3:17  Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. (Try to be like me, and try to be like those who are being like me.)
Heb.13:7  Remember your leaders …Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
	This is why it is so crucial that leaders live exemplary lives – so if everyone just mimics them, they will be more Christlike. The reason the qualifications for pastors are so high is because they are to be examples. We only want to have elders who are such character, so that if the people in the church just become like the leaders, they will be doing well.
	Hos.4:9 says Like people, like priests. It’s inevitable. The people will never rise any higher than the level of the leadership.
	When studying these qualifications, no one should say, “Boy, I’m glad I’m not a leader – I wouldn’t want to live up to that standard.”  But the very reason the overseers are to meet these standards is for an example so that all the people can reach that level.
	1 Ti.3:2 says leaders are to be above reproach. Why? 1 Tim 5:7   Give the people these instructions, too, so that they may be above reproach. Leaders must be above reproach because their role is to bring all the people to a point of being above reproach. There is no double standard. God’s standards for moral character are identical for leaders and everyone else. The only difference is that for the people it is sufficient that they are on their way to being above reproach, but for leaders they must already be at that point.
	So the qualifications define the “who?” of church leadership.
	Who Is Qualified to Lead?
	There are two places where we see lists of qualifications: 1 Ti.3 and Tit.1. Timothy was supposed to remove the bad leaders, and appoint good leaders in their place. Titus was told to ordain elders in every city on the island of Crete. Both were to select leaders, and so both men were given the list of qualifications.
1 Timothy 3
	Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.
	It starts with the man’s desire. Paul doesn’t call for a search committee. He doesn’t call for a nomination process, or a vote. How does the process of bringing a man into a position of church leadership begin?  The man initiates it. That’s the only clue we are given as to how to know if you are called.
	The terms for desire are very strong. If you are wondering if you are called to church leadership, it’s really a question of what you are compelled to do. God calls a man to this work by planting in him a strong, compelling longing for the work.
	You may wonder if it’s appropriate for a man to seek a leadership role. Isn’t that egotistical?  Self-promotion?  
	Actually, those things are a real danger. But there is one key word in v.1 that helps in this matter: task. He desires the task, not the office. “Desire for office corrupts, but desire for service purifies.”  A man who desires the title, the office, etc. is not fit for the job. The way you know if you are called to be an overseer is if you desire the task (work). 
	I can testify to that in my life. Never in my life have I had any desire to be thought of as “reverend” or called “pastor.”  But from the time I was a young child the desire for the work has been the compelling drive of my life. Any time I am not able to teach, there has always been a distressing anxiety. But any time I have had a few people willing to get together each week whom I could teach, nothing else in life seemed to bother me. From childhood I knew I wanted to spend my life teaching the Bible. But the thought of being employed as a pastor never even occurred to me until high school.
	And it is indeed work – hard work. There are some offices that are more of a figurehead role (like the Queen of England) – a title or office with no real duties. Other offices are comprised of the actual “grunt work.”  The role of overseer is the latter. And unless you have a driving desire to do that work, you shouldn’t undertake it, because no other motivation will be enough to get you through the heartache that comes with the job.
	1 Peter 5:2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve
	The pastoral ministry requires men who do the work because they want to do the work. The type of person who always needs someone pushing him, holding him accountable, checking up on him, etc. is not cut out for church leadership. There is too much freedom. 
	Some churches require a pastor to turn in a time sheet. But a time sheet doesn’t tell you anything about his faithfulness. A log of hours says nothing about how fervent his prayers were. If a pastor does not have a compelling desire for the work, he will inevitably gravitate into spending all his time doing peripheral things – no matter what the human accountability. 
	On the other hand, if you have this desire, it is assumed that you should peruse the ministry. There are men who love to study and teach, and they have a passion to see people grow spiritually – but they think “I don’t like shaking hands, doing funerals, going to seminary, wearing suits, etc.”  
	Don’t worry about those things. The only question is, “Do you have the desire and ability to do the work of shepherding?”
	When a man comes to the realization that this desire in his heart is evidence of God’s call to this task, that is the highest accountability there is. It eliminates the whole problem of being intimidated by what people think, getting upset when people don’t show gratitude, being concerned about financial compensation, etc. This is something you are doing for God, in the presence of God, and your work will be evaluated by God (2 Tim.4:1).
	The man who sculpted the statue of liberty (Frederic Bartholdi) completed it in France in 1884. The Wright brothers developed the airplane in 1903. Bartholdi had no idea that anyone would ever see the top of her head, yet he sculpted it with the same exact excellence and precision as the rest of the statue.
	Why?  Those who make a great impact are almost always the type of men who give attention to excellence even in areas that seem to be unseen. In 2 Tim.4:1 Timothy is told to go about his work with the constant awareness of God’s evaluation, not men’s.
	Often there is a temptation to ignore the little things that no one sees. For example a grammatical difficulty – it will be a lot of work to figure it out. It won’t come up in the sermon. And even if it does – no one ever comes up and says, “Oh, your explanation of the grammatical rule just ministered to my soul – just knowing that verb is an epexegetical infinitive hendiades really saved my marriage…”
	Usually, if there is a grammatical difficulty, and there are two possibilities, either one is biblical and will preach fine. So if I skip the hard work, no one will know. But if I preach something that the text is not saying, I am misusing sacred Scripture, and I am being unfaithful. None of the people will know, but God will know, and I’ll have to give an account.
	In Acts 20:26,27 Paul declared, I am innocent of the blood of all men.  For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. The reason he was innocent of the blood of all men was only because he didn’t leave out the unpopular parts.
	What does v.26 imply?  He is not guilty of the blood of all those people, because he didn’t hesitate to proclaim the whole plan of God. So if a pastor hesitates to proclaim the entire plan of God, he is guilty of the blood of those who die!
	Is that a biblical idea? Ez.33:7-9  "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; ... When I say to the wicked, `O wicked man, you will surely die,' (Sometimes God wants His spokesmen to tell some people “O wicked man, you will surely die.”  But how often do you hear that?) and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself. 
	So if you ever think, “He won’t repent, so what’s the use?” – realize that even if he doesn’t repent, you still must do your duty. This is very serious language. If you don’t warn the sinner, his blood is on your head. 
	Heb.13:17  Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. 
	We need to preach the whole plan of God. When a pastor doesn’t do that – most people don’t even realize it, because everything he says is true and accurate, it’s just that he leaves some things out. The heresy is not in what he says, but in what he leaves unsaid.
	So the candidate for Pastor is to be a man who desires the work. The point of 1 Tim.3:1 is not to say that it is a noble thing to desire the task (although that is implied); the point is that the work is noble. The Church is the most powerful, influential, and important institution in the world. It’s a noble work, therefore, to lead it, and that is why those leaders must be above reproach.
	The first word in v.2 (NIV now) should be translated therefore.  The point is that since it is such a high, holy and important work, there are restrictions on who can be placed in that role. The word noble is the normal word for beautiful, or good. Noble work requires a man with noble character. If you don’t have the character, you can’t do the work – it’s not like other jobs. 
	A person could be a skilled mechanic and have poor character. But a man with low character cannot perform the task of caring for people’s souls – it would be like a blind man wanting to be a bus driver or a quadriplegic applying to be a carpenter.
	So the call is evidenced by a desire for the work, but the desire itself is not all that is needed. Not everyone who has a desire to lead is qualified to lead. 
	Leadership of the Church cannot be put into the hands of the unqualified. If we elect an unqualified man to be president of the United States, we can deal with that. But the Church is so much more important than the United States; so much more powerful; so much more influential that the standards have to be much, much higher. 
	General Blamelessness 
	above reproach, (blameless – Tit.1:6)
	Before getting into these specifics, Paul starts out and says the overseer must be above reproach. That is a general, all-inclusive term that summarizes the whole list. 
	In Titus 1:8, Paul says the elder must be upright, (that is, righteous) and holy. He is to be righteous in the sense of living in conformity to God’s standards, which is observable on the outside. He is to be holy (hosios, not hagias), which refers to an inner purity and cleanness. It means “uncontaminated.”  
So together, the terms mean he has to be someone who has good behavior on the outside and who is clean and pure on the inside. It is a description of total and complete godliness: outside, inside, actions, thoughts, conduct, motives. 
	The list that follows is not exhaustive. It is conceivable that a man could fit all the specifics in this list and still be disqualified if he is not above reproach in some other area in his life. In general, he must be a holy man. 
	You cannot expect people to be responsive to call to holiness if you yourself are unholy. Some time ago I took Tracy to a movie which I hadn’t checked out before going. It really wasn’t that bad a movie, but there was a bad scene that a Christian really has no business watching. What I should have done at that point is taken Tracy by the hand, stood up and walked out. I didn’t. I thought, “Maybe the rest of it won’t be bad.”  And it wasn’t. That was the only bad scene, but it was a lapse on my part nonetheless. 
	There was a couple in the church at that time who somehow knew we were at that movie, but they didn’t say anything at the time. 
	Much later, however there was a time when I was preaching and mentioned some point of righteousness that for that couple was a bit of a problem. It involved something that they would need to give up, that they didn’t want to give up. The next day he came over to my house and announced to me that they were leaving the church. He said, “You preach against this area and you want me to give this little minor thing up and you are off going to trashy movies.”  He couldn’t deal with that kind of hypocrisy and he left the church. And to be honest, I can’t say I blame that guy for leaving. That was a moral lapse on my part. 
	Can you see why it is so crucial that the leadership of the church be completely above reproach?  If there is some ongoing moral lapse anywhere in his life, and he’s preaching through Scripture and he gets to a point that addresses some sin in a person’s life, it’s going to be almost impossible for the person not to think, “well, he’s got that other thing in his life. We all have our weaknesses” and justify his own sin. 
	Titus goes on to say he must be one who loves what is good. You can tell the condition of your heart by what you love. And you can tell what you love by what you spend your time/money/energy on, what you spend your time thinking about, and whose company you enjoy. 
	Those things indicate whether or not a person is a lover of good – good things and good people. If the things that dominate the person’s life are excellent, beautiful, edifying and beneficial, and those are the things he craves – things that are important and eternal, then he’s a lover of the good. 
	The word translated above reproach means “Not able to be held on to” or “not criticizable.”  There is no obvious observable sin in his life that everyone can point to as a character defect.
	Inevitably, when someone is being considered for leadership, the question comes up: “He’s is so qualified in every other area, can’t we just overlook that one flaw?”  The answer is no.
	“But doesn’t this eliminate everyone?  And if someone claimed to be qualified, wouldn’t that me a mark of sinful pride?”  No. Keep in mind – this is an external standard. This is one of the very rare places in Scripture where the external is emphasized, and not the internal. 
	Why?  Because these are standards that Timothy has to judge. He can’t see in to the heart; he can only observe the outside.
	The rest of the list gives us an idea what above reproach means. 
	Richard Baxter 1656: Take heed to yourselves lest you live in those sins which you preach against in others. And lest you be guilty of that which daily you condemn. Will you make it your work to magnify God and when you have done what dishonors him as much as others?  Will you proclaim Christ’s governing power, and yet condemn it and rebel yourselves?  Will you preach His laws and willfully break them?  If sin be evil, why do you live in it?  If it be not evil, why do you dissuade men from it?  If it be dangerous, how dare you venture on it?  If it be not dangerous, why do you tell men it is?   If God’s threatenings are true, why do you not fear them?  If they are false, why do you needlessly trouble men with them and put them into such frights without a cause?  Do you know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, and yet you do them?  You who teach others, do you not teach yourself?  You who preach against adultery, do you commit adultery?  You who preach against stealing, do you steal?  You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?  What?  Shall the same tongue speak evil that speaks against evil?  Shall those lips censure and slander and backbite your neighbor that cry down these things and alike things in others?  Take heed to yourselves lest you cry down sin and do not overcome it. Lest while you seek to bring it down in others you bow to it and become its slaves yourselves. Oh brethren, it is easier to chide at sin than it is to overcome it.
	When your minds are in a holy, heavenly frame your people are likely to partake of the fruit of it. Your prayers and praises and doctrine will be sweet and heavenly to them. They will likely feel when you have been much with God. That which is most in your hearts is likely to be most in their ears. When I let my heart grow cold, my preaching is cold. And when it is confused my preaching is confused. And so I can often observe also in the best of my hearers that when I have grown cold in preaching they have grown cold too, and the next prayers I have heard from them have been too much like my preaching. Oh brethren watch therefore over your own hearts. Keep out lusts and passion and worldly inclinations. Keep up the life of faith and love and zeal. Be much at home, and be much with God. Take heed to yourselves lest your example contradict your doctrine. Lest you unsay with your lives what you have said with your tongues and be the greatest hindrance of the success of your labors.  One proud, surly lordly word one needles contention, one covetous action may cut the throat of many a sermon and blast the fruit of what you have been doing.
	
Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in light of this chapter:
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Chapter 7
	Qualifications for the Pastor 
part 2
	Gender  
	
	Before starting through the list, there is one more important observation from verse 1. Paul says if any man desire the office of an overseer…  He’s talking about a man. God calls men to be pastors, not women. All the way through this section every term is in the masculine gender. 
Why is that?  Why not women?  That question is answered in chapter two. 
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 
- 1Ti 2:11-15
	This passage is regarded by many as a problem passage, but not because it is unclear, has obscure words, difficult grammar or contextual difficulties. It is regarded as problematic because it seems to prohibit female pastors.
	In our culture that idea is offensive to many, and we see many female pastors, elders, teachers, etc. Why is this?
Among those who accept the authority of the Bible, there are two ways this passage has been interpreted in a way to allow women to be pastors today:
1.The passage is not for us.
2.The passage doesn't prohibit women preachers. 
	
1. The passage is not for us.
	This view says that Paul's words applied only to that culture. Women were basically uneducated and therefore easily deceived. Today the situation is different, and so this standard no longer applies.
	Problems:
Paul's reason for this command is Gn.2&3 - the creation order and the order of the fall. That is not cultural; it's universal. It's the same reason Jesus expected the Pharisees to know God's will on divorce.
	In fact, Paul’s standard is sharply opposed to the culture!  The Jews of that day had no concern for the education of women. Some rabbis said that to teach the Law to a woman is like throwing pearls to pigs. One rabbi is quoted as saying, “I would rather burn the Law than teach it to a woman.”  Their cultural mentality was to keep women ignorant. Paul rebukes that here with the imperative: let the women learn… (v.11).
	2. The passage doesn't actually prohibit women preachers. 
	Those who hold this view suggest that it must be the case, because of the Scriptural examples of female teachers and leaders. Aquilla taught Apollos, and Paul commended many women who held positions of responsibility in the church (Ro.16, Php.4:2, I Co.11, Acts 2).
	According to this view, I Ti.2:12 is just saying women shouldn't usurp authority over a man or to domineer. It is OK for women to preach as long as they are not in an authoritative position over men.
	
Problems:
- Note the word “or” in v.12. Both teaching and having authority are prohibited.
- The word translated have authority does not mean “usurp” or “domineer.”  It simply means to exercise authority over.
	What about the prophetesses?
	The pastor is different from the prophet in that the prophet speaks the words of God verbatim. The pastor interprets Scripture.
	When someone preaches, he is giving an authoritative explanation of what a passage means. You have to trust his judgment, to a degree, and submit to his authority. No one has the time to research and verify everything a pastor says. 
	It is not necessary to trust the judgment of the prophet, because he is not interpreting. Listening to a prophet is like listening to someone read the Bible word for word.
	That is why you see female prophets in the Bible, but nowhere in Scripture do you find a woman pastor, elder, or overseer.
	Both qualification lists have a special section for female Servers (a leadership role that doesn’t involve teaching), but no mention of female pastors or elders is made. Both lists assume they are men. 
	What about Priscilla?  This is a one-on-one encounter that took place outside the church. That is wonderful!  Of course women are to speak of spiritual matters and explain scriptural principles to whomever they can. 1Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are talking about roles in the church.
	The Natural Sense of the Passage
	The very fact that there are different instructions for men and women in this passage seems to imply that there are different roles. 
99% of the statements in Scripture apply exactly the same for men and women. The fruit of the Spirit, the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the gifts of the Spirit, faith, love, resurrection, Christian character - all are the same for men and women. 
	Women have played a crucial role throughout redemptive history. God has appeared miraculously to women, used them as leaders for His people, revealed important truths to them, etc.
	It is important to understand that men and women are equal spiritually - equal in value, in importance, in ministry capability, in the significance in kingdom of God, in ability and potential to glorify God. (Ro.16), in Scripture knowledge (Pr.6:20), etc. 
	According to Ex.21 the value of a woman’s life is exactly equal to that of a man (a very counter cultural idea back then). In Lv.15 we see that there is the same penalty for fornication for a man or woman, and on it goes. 
	However, in stark contrast to the rest of the Bible, there are nine places in the epistles where men and women receive separate instructions. All nine give instruction describing how people are to behave in the church or in the family. 
	1 Co.7 (family)
1 Pe.3 (family)
Col.3 (family)
Eph.5 (family)                                               
I Tim.2 (church)
1 Co.11 (church)     
1 Co.14 (church)
1 Ti.3:11 (church)
Tit.2:3 (church)
	Of course there are numerous passages in the OT that have to do with childbearing or sexual issues. These also are in the category of family roles. Beyond that, there are no other passages I am aware of that give different instruction to men and women.
	The fact that God intended women and men to have different roles in the family could not be more obvious. We can quote Gal.3:28 until we are blue in the face, and a man will never give birth to a baby. That is about as plain as something can be.
	Is that degrading to men?  If I preach that men are not called by God to give birth should the men protest and take offense?  After all, motherhood is such a profoundly important spiritual role (I believe it to be the most important role in the Kingdom of God), why should half of all human beings be excluded from it?
	Should the arm protest that it does not get to do the walking?  Is the eye dishonored because it can't hear or taste?  No - it is honored by fulfilling its role. 
	A woman's role is part of her dignity. It is crucial that we understand that women are in the image of God.  Take a moment and make a list of characteristics of femininity – or make a list of things you love about your mother or wife. Then examine the list, and you will find that you have just produced a list of the attributes of God.  
	Examples:
-  Beauty and loveliness - Isa.4:2 
-  Grace - Ex.34:6
- Tenderness - numerous Psalms talk of His tender mercies
-  Nurture - Psalms talks of sheltering under wings
-  Compassion - Ps.103
-	 Giving birth, nursing & caring for baby   Dt.32:18,10,11
-	  Advanced communications skills – the whole Bible
-	  Emotional (who has more extreme emotions than God?)
	If you want to see the image of God, it’s not enough to look at a man. To have as full a picture as we can have, we must look at a man and a woman. This is why we demean women if we press them into male roles.
	Ga.3:28 is talking about everyone’s equal value and status in Christ. It is not suggesting there are no differences in roles in the church or home (it also says there is no slave nor free in Christ, yet Christian slaves continued in their household roles).
 
Let the women learn (v.11)  The big command of this passage is not for women not to teach. The emphasis and the only imperative verb in the passage is this - the women are to learn. 
	It is essential that the women learn sound doctrine and know Scripture. For one thing, the future of the world rests in their hands. (That's why Pr.1:8 says forsake not the teaching of your mother.)  Such an enormous percentage of the real meaningful ministry in the church is done by women, they must have a thorough knowledge of Scripture. 
	…in quietness and full submission
What does this mean?  Total silence?  Can a woman say hello to someone in church?  Can she sneeze? or turn pages in a Bible?  Obviously not every sound is prohibited. So what does it mean?  And what about submission?  Submission to whom?  Is a woman to submit to everyone?  Is a woman under the authority of every man in the church?  Of course not - that would undermine the husband's role in the family. So what could this mean?
	Paul provides the answer in the following verse. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
Silence = not teaching
Submission = not being in authority
	We have seen that there are many contexts in which women are to teach. This is talking about the authoritative position in the Church. 
	The New Testament church invested much more authority in the pastor then we do. Paul even sanctioned the standard of his day for the teacher to punish those who don't obey. (I Ti.4:11, 5:1,2,  2 Ti.4:2, Tit.2:15, 3:10,11)  Beyond that, however, the teaching itself is an authoritative activity. The preaching of the Gospel must be done authoritatively – the authority is part of the message.
	At Agape we will have female Servers in leadership, however we will not have female pastors or Bible teachers who have an official teaching role in the church over adult men.
The Reason
	
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 
	By creating Adam first, God was giving him the role of leadership or headship in the family. So for us to give those roles to a woman in the church would confuse the entire system of roles.
	14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 
	Does this mean women are dumber than men, more likely to sin, etc.?  No. Women are not weaker than men are morally; they are differently weak.
	Both men and women fall into sin, but they take different routes, and the route women generally take is not conducive to spiritual headship in the church.
	Women tend to be deceived more often than men.  This is most often observed in my experience in relationships. So often women are deceived by men in romantic relationships. It is seen in other areas as well. Very often salesmen with scams focus on women rather than men. 
	Is this insulting to women?  Think about this - which is worse, sinning with knowledge or without?  Is it better to know what you are doing is wrong and do it anyway (like Adam), or to be tricked (like Eve)?  Obviously sinning with knowledge is far worse.
	So it is not a stigma upon women that they are differently weak than men. It does, however, make women better suited to the roles God has given them, and less suited to pastoral roles, where being deceived doctrinally can be disastrous for the whole church. This is why, while Paul allowed women to be prophets, they were to be silent when the time came to discern whether a given prophecy was biblical (1 Co.14:29-35)
	Verse 15 says that women will be vindicated from any stigma through childbearing. This is because motherhood is the highest calling of all. For 99% of people, the most important person in life is mom. Football players always look into a camera and say, "Hi Mom!"  
	God didn't just stick women in a subservient, irrelevant role. He gave them the responsibility of shaping and framing society, as well as reflecting a part of God that men do not reflect. This is a far more influential role than that of a pastor.

	
	
	Chapter 8
	Qualifications For the Pastor 
part 3
	Marital Soundness  
(Tape 35b)
	
	2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim.3:2-7)
	
MARITAL SOUNDNESS (FAITHFULNESS)
	
He must be the husband of but one wife (v.2, Tit.1:6) 
	What does the husband of but one wife mean?  Never divorced?  Not a polygamist?  One wife at a time?  
	There’s a lot of debate, but one thing not disputed is the fact that in this sentence, the word that is emphasized and emphatic in the Greek is the word “one.”  If you underlined the word one in your Bible three times, you would get the sense of how this comes out in the original language. 
	The point is not one of marital status. The point is one of character.   That’s true all the way through the list. 
	Not Divorced?
Some have suggested the phrase means “never divorced.”  But if Paul had wanted to say that, he could have use the words “never divorced.”  There is a Greek word for “never” and there is a Greek word for “divorced,” and Paul used both of them in other places. He does not use them here. 
	Besides that, Scripture allows for divorce in certain cases, and it allows for divorce in those cases with no stigma attached. That is, the person can be considered holy, even if divorced in the case of abandonment or pornia. 
	Married only once?
This is a very popular view among commentators. The idea is that he cannot remarry even if he is a widower. That became a popular interpretation in the early church and led to the celibacy requirement in the Catholic church. 
	But again, had Paul wanted to say “married only once,” he could have just used those words and said – “married only once.”  But that wouldn’t be a character test either. A man can be married to one woman, and his interests be all over the place. 
	
Polygamy?
I do not believe this passage is talking about polygamy. If a man had multiple wives, he couldn’t even be a member of the church. There would be no need to say that those people are disqualified from being pastors. 
-----------------------
	To understand the phrase, it is helpful to look at 1 Ti.5:9,14. There Paul is talking about widows, and he has a list of requirements for her character if she’s going to be put on the List of Widows. Verse nine says no widow may be put on the list unless she …has been a one man woman. The NIV translates that phrase exactly right:  “faithful to her husband.”  That’s the sense of the phrase. She’s just a one man kind of a woman. The phrase in 3:2 is exactly the same except with the genders switched. The overseer must be a one woman man.
	Obviously Paul wasn’t saying that we can’t put a widow on the list if she has multiple husbands. No widow has multiple husbands!  In fact no widow has any husbands. So the presence of this phrase in chapter five demonstrates that it is not talking about multiple spouses.
	It also implies that the phrase does not refer to being married only once in life. In verse 14 of chapter five we find that the younger widows (the ones under 60) are to marry and to have children. Paul urges them to remarry. Why would he urge them to do something that has some stigma attached to it and that would be a character disqualification for ministry when they are 60?  
	Several times Scripture allows for remarriage. In Ro.7 and in I Cor.7 we find that there is absolutely no legal attachment of any kind that binds you to your partner after death. There is nothing wrong with remarriage, and it is even urged in Scripture. 
	As the NIV translators correctly determined in chapter five, the issue is fidelity and commitment, not status. A one woman man means a one woman kind of a man. And just as the phrase was translated  “faithful to her husband” in chapter five, so it should be translated  “faithful to his wife” in chapter three. 
	
Winston Churchill was once at a formal banquet in London and someone asked this question:  “If you could not be who you are, who would you like to be?”  The various dignitaries gave their answers. And then it came to Churchill. Of course, everyone was interested to see who he would want to be. His answer was this:  “If I could not be who I am, I would most like to be…Lady Churchill’s second husband.”
	That answer captures the thought of the meaning of this phrase – a one woman man – focused only on his wife (assuming he is married).  So the elder must be devoted to his wife. He must have marital fidelity.
  
How Devoted?
I don’t think this is referring so much to overt sexual sin. Obviously, if a man were involved in adultery, sleeping around, etc., he would be disqualified. Timothy would know a man like that would be disqualified without Paul having to tell him. 
	I think what this is talking about is the borderline case – a person who is not clearly involved in any sin, but he seems to just be awfully close with other women. A little forward. He hasn’t really done anything crude or overt, but he just seems to be a little on the flirtatious side. He makes women a little uncomfortable with how close he stands or how he looks at them, or the way he hugs them.
	Maybe he doesn’t have an adulterous heart at all. Maybe that’s just the way his personality is - the way he grew up. There’s nothing really wrong with that as far as a moral problem in his heart. 
	But even though we can’t judge his heart, in a borderline case we don’t want to elevate a man like that in leadership in the church. The pastor must be a man about whom there is absolutely no question as to what woman he is devoted to. It should be crystal clear. 
	A man like I just described could be highly susceptible to getting into sexual sin. Maybe a woman would misinterpret those personality characteristics, start to respond to him, and lead him right into a problem. 
	General Faithfulness
So the leader of the church has to be a man who has the quality of faithfulness. He knows how to keep a vow he has made. He must be a man like the man in Psalm 15 who keeps his vows even when it hurts. 
	It is amazing to me how close Psalm 15 is to this list. 
Yahweh, who may dwell in your sanctuary?  Who may live on your holy hill?  He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous. …Who despises a vile man, but honors the Lord. (in other words, he loves the good) who fears the Lord, and who keeps his vow even when it hurts. That’s the mark of faithfulness. And if a man is not faithful to his wife, he’s not going to be faithful to his ministry or anything else. 
	A Strong Marriage
I think this would also imply that the man needs to have an exemplary marriage in general. Paul is just writing to some specific problems that were going on in Ephesus. In Titus, he’s writing to some other specific problems that are going on in Crete. That’s why there is a little difference in the lists. But in general, the man needs to be upright in the whole area of marriage. 
	Based on my experience as a pastor, I would say that most Christians have significant struggles in their marriages. Most!  It is very common to have struggles in marriage. And there are some principles from Scripture that are a tremendous help. An elder must be one who can explain those principles to those people - and not only explain them, but live them out as an example for people. 
	His married life has to be exemplary. And the standard for leadership in each one of these cases must be the ideal – not a borderline case. 
	The Importance of This Qualification
I think it is interesting that Paul puts this very first in the list. In both lists it stands first. It is so very important. The number one reason by far for men to be removed from the ministry is sexual sin. Hundreds of pastors every week fall out of the ministry because of an inability to be a one woman man. 
	I read this week in just one district of a conservative denomination 10% of the pastors had to resign because of sexual sin in the space of just two years!  Far more churches are sued over pastoral sexual misconduct than over church discipline or anything else. One in four pastors who responded to a Christianity Today survey admitted to being involved sexually with another woman while in the ministry. One in four!  Other studies show that the number is as high as 37 percent. 
	And the shocking thing in that Christianity Today survey was the number of churches who found out about the sexual sin – only four percent!  For each of the many, many stories we hear about men who get involved in adultery there are 25 we don’t ever hear about. It is an incredibly pervasive problem in our society. 
	Restoration
	What should we do in the case of a pastor who falls into sexual sin? For a full study of the restoration of a fallen pastor see the article “Restoration of a Fallen Leader.” 
	Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in light of this chapter:
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Chapter 9
	Qualifications For the Pastor 
part 4
	Mental Soundness  
(Tape 35b & 37)
	
	2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim.3:2-7)

MENTAL SOUNDNESS
	…temperate, self-controlled, respectable… 
	These three words fit together (and Titus adds a forth at the end of v.8: disciplined KJV – temperate). 
	temperate (KJV vigilant) “alertness”
	The overseer must be a person who is temperate. The literal meaning of the word is wineless. The best translation is the English word sober. Like the Greek word, the word sober can either refer to literal sobriety or figuratively to clear thinking in general. The idea here is clarity of thought, alertness, mental sharpness and control of one’s emotions (literal sobriety is addressed in verse 3). 
	Proverbs 31:4 says It is not for kings …to drink wine, not for rulers to crave strong drink. Men in leadership, obviously, must be clear in their thinking. They have to be in full command of their faculties because they are making important decisions that effect other people. 
	Drunkenness results in cloudy thinking and being overly governed by ones emotions. In contrast to that the leader in the church must be clear headed, alert and vigilant.
	Some men who want to be pastors are great people, but they are in such a fog theologically, it’s questionable if they could ever teach anybody anything. Their thinking is fuzzy and imprecise. They tell you something and two minutes later you can’t even relate what was said to someone else, because you’re not sure what was being communicated.  When men like that preach, at the end of the sermon people are wondering, “What was that sermon even about?”  
	It’s dangerous to have men like that in teaching positions, because very often people confuse that with profundity. They think, “I didn’t understand it because it was over my head. It was so deep, so profound that it probably just can’t be put into words.”  
	There is no thought so profound that it can’t be clearly put into words. What thought, for example, is more profound than the ones in the Bible?  In the Bible God explains His nature. What preacher has a thought that’s more profound than God?  
	If a thought in your head can’t be clearly put into words, it is not because it is profound. It’s because the thought itself is fuzzy in your head. 
	Not everyone can put all their thoughts into words. But the pastor has to be one who is clear and sharp enough as a thinker that he can describe the thoughts that he has in a meaningful way that makes sense to people. 
	You can’t teach a passage unless you have the ability to think it through. The pastor must be a sharp, disciplined thinker. He must be able to interact with dozens of other passages, thoughts and doctrines in the Bible. He has to be a man who can handle a complex of ideas in his mind and fit them together in a meaningful way. He has to be a man who can concentrate on something for more than 20 seconds at a time, and to think through the implications of something, and to have some command of logic. 
	He should be an independent thinker – someone who fully uses the thoughts of others, but who doesn’t ever let other people do his thinking for him. He knows how to consider other people’s ideas and integrate what is helpful into his own thinking, but he never just regurgitates other’s thoughts without processing them.
	He can benefit from personal criticism even when it’s petty or malicious, but he is strong enough to keep a steady course in the face of disapproval.   
	self-controlled (v.2, Tit.1:8)  (KJV sober) “sensible”
	While temperate addresses clarity of thought, self-controlled primarily speaks more of the connection between thought and action. The emphasis of the word is still on the thoughts and the way a man thinks, but it also has in view the way one acts as a result of the way he thinks. 
	A good translation is sensible. It does involve the idea of self-control in that the more sane, sensible and rational a person is, the less he’s driven by impulse. That’s why the NIV translators came up with self-control as a translation. A person like this isn’t driven by his impulse, because he’s sensible in his thinking. 
	This word group is used in Mark 5:15 when Jesus healed the demonized man who went around with no clothes and was a lunatic. After he was healed the people were amazed because there he was sitting there clothed and in his right mind (same word translated self-controlled here). He went from being driven by wild erratic impulses to being collected, calm and in control of himself. 
	The overseer has to be a man whose life is driven by sensible deliberate decisions, not by impulses. This is another contrast to drunkenness. The drunk makes decisions that are just foolish because he is governed by emotions and shallow thinking, and his impulses have far more influence than they should. 
	A pastor can’t be like that. He must not have knee jerk reactions. He is a man who doesn’t panic in a crisis. He can keep a cool head in a hot meeting. He can stay on an even keel and provide confident, calm leadership in time when other people begin to loose their grip on their emotions. 
	Both of these terms also carry the idea of seriousness. The man of God is not to be a clown. He should have a sense of humor, but he must be one who lives beyond the level of frivolity. When you are young you tend to have a tendency to turn everything into a joke. As you get a little older and see the world a little more and live in it, you begin to start to see things through the tears of Christ, and you start to think of the seriousness of everything we are involved in, the gravity of what’s going on, the inevitability of hell, the pain and the sorrow and the suffering and the life and death struggle that people are involved with spiritually; and you get to be a little more serious about what’s going on. You grow out of the silly kind of giddiness of youth. 
	You still have joy in your life, but the joy of a spiritually mature man comes primarily from the pleasures of the soul rather than the pleasures of the flesh. You are driven by the pleasure that comes from people, ministry, God and family as opposed to recreation, sports, television, eating, etc. 
Titus 1:8: disciplined (KJV – temperate)
 
The word literally means to rule one’s self. It refers to one who is in command of his impulses and appetites. When it comes to bodily appetites, some people give the orders to their body, and other take orders from their body. The pastor must be in the former group.  
	Paul said of the false teachers in Php.3:19 that their god is their stomach…their mind is on earthly things. If your god is your stomach and your life is ruled by your appetites, then your mind will be on earthly things and you will be utterly insensitive to spiritual realities and their importance.
	Many of us struggle with that – our stomach gives the slightest imaginable indication of hunger, and immediately drop everything and feed it. We can get to the point where we are literally driven by our appetites. In our wealthy culture, it is easy to slip into this, because we can afford to fulfill our appetites. 
But the leader in the church has to be in control of his appetites, because when you are dominated by your appetites, you are vulnerable. Satan has a sure-fire way to tempt you. It is no accident that all of humanity was plunged into sin through the desire for food. That was even the approach Satan took with tempting Jesus.
Satan wants to bring sin and chaos into the life of the church, and he wants the leaders to fall. Pr.25:28 warns: Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. When a man lacks self-control, he is vulnerable, and he puts the entire church at risk.
	One good question for someone aspiring to leadership is “Have you ever broken a bad habit?”  Or “Are you given to any excess?” Almost anything can be made sinful if it becomes an over indulgence or an uncontrolled habit. If the Devil can’t get you to do something bad, he will try to get you to do something that isn’t inherently evil, but try to drive you to excess. If he can’t get you to indulge in immoral behavior, he will try to get you to eat too much, drink too much, sleep too much, relax too much, work too much, read too much, talk too much….
	Moderation is a function of self-control, not just philosophy. You hear a lot about the importance of accountability for a pastor, but accountability is not enough. If a man is not holy when he is alone, he’s not fit for the ministry. He must be one who is controlled from the inside, not the outside.
	So we need to test ourselves with regard to self-control. The best way to do that is to pay attention to what comes out of our mouths. If a man is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man. (Jas.3:2)   If a man can control his tongue, he can control anything. But if he lacks self-control in his life, it will be evident in his speech (coarse language, gossip, inappropriate comments – the kind of guy whose wife is always embarrassed).
	Self-control is another area where many people struggle and feel hopelessly trapped by a habit. If they look to the leadership, and they are trapped also, the person will be driven to hopelessness. The pastor’s life should inspire hope of victory over sin.
	On the other hand, the pastor must also be transparent. Once you become the hero of all your own illustrations, and you present yourself in a perfect light, people will place you in some category that it is impossible for them to attain.
	Some have struggled to find a balance, but I don’t think you need to find a balance. Just live an exemplary life, and make your life an open book. People will see your weaknesses and faults and will be encouraged that you have the same struggles they have, but those things won’t be such serious areas of spiritual immaturity that they will lose respect for you or lose hope in the power of the Gospel.

respectable v.2  

	This word comes from the word KOSMOS (system). The word, “earth” refers to the physical planet, but “world” (cosmos) refers to the system – all the interacting parts that make up our world. The opposite of  KOSMOS is chaos.
	The overseer must be a man whose life wins respect from all because of how ordered and structured it is. The pastoral ministry is no place for the man whose life is a continual confusion of unaccomplished plans and unorganized activity.
	The whole reason God ordained leadership (not only in the church but in the family, goverment, among the heavenly beings – even in the Trinity) is because God is beautiful and complex, and so that which is orderly, structured and well-arranged glorifies Him. 
	Church leadership involves setting things in their place, ordering the priorities, administration, putting things in the proper place in time, priority, etc. A pastor must be able to do that. When a man can never get his life into any meaningful order, that man is disqualified for this work.
	But a man whose life is well-structured, efficient and systematized is a man who is respectable, dignified, poised, articulate, and worthy of admiration. 
	That kind of man wins people’s respect, which is crucial. Over the years I have had people who liked me and people who really didn’t. That goes with the territory, and it really doesn’t bother me much. But one thing I keep a sharp eye out for is why my detractors don’t like me. If it’s something I believe that rubs them the wrong way, there is nothing I can do about that. But if it is because of my life or my character, that is cause for alarm.
	
Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in the category of mental soundness:
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	Chapter 10
	Qualifications For the Pastor 
part 5
	Hospitality
 & 
Doctrinal Soundness
 (Tape 37)
	
	2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim.3:2-7)

 Hospitality
	hospitable  (v.2, Tit.1:8)     filo,xenoj   (filo, love  xenoj strangers – one who shows love to strangers) 
	This is not talking about having your friends over – everyone does that. That’s not a qualification for anything. This is talking about the man who is kind to people he doesn’t know. A stranger is someone who doesn’t know anyone, and doesn’t have anyone to take care of him. An outsider.
	The church leader must be a loving person - one who takes care of people who don’t have anyone else to take care of them. He will include an outsider.
	It’s a beautiful word. It is not the term “stranger” connected to the word “lodging,” but with “love.”  The idea is not just to give lodging to strangers, but love. 
	1 Peter 4:8,9  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 
	When the stay ends up being long, and you are cramped for space, and it is getting expensive – the Christian isn’t the type who will mutter to his spouse “Why do we get all the travelers?” or “When are they going to move on?”  
	Some people give, but they resent it. They regard the money and effort as ill-spent, and really wish they could have used it for something else. That’s not love. It is humiliating to be an imposition on someone.
	Sometimes you spend money on some sale, and come home thinking “What a great bargain!”  And you are thrilled to have used that money for that purpose. Hospitality is the attitude that responds that way when it has a chance to give to offer love to a stranger. 
	
How important would you say it is to include outsiders?  Is that just a nice little thing that we tell our kids to do at school?  Matt 25:34-46  "Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…
37"Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in…
46"Then [those who did not invite strangers in] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." 
	Heb.13:1-2  Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
	People who are qualified for church leadership are not the types who will have to worry on Judgment Day about having God ask why they left some angels out in the cold with nowhere to go. They will never hear the Lord say to them, “Why wouldn’t you take Me in?”
	One of the most obvious applications I can think of is when someone new comes to the church. You all tend to greet them, which is wonderful, but don’t mistake that for hospitality. 
	If you are a lover of strangers, you will draw them in to your circle of love and care. Don’t just think, “Well, it’s their responsibility to make friends and get involved.”  Breaking into an existing clique is next to impossible unless someone in the group draws you in.
	The primary application in that day was providing lodging for traveling Christians. Because of persecution and missions and poverty, many Christians were on the go. Hotels were extremely expensive, dirty and dangerous. 
	The heart of a Christian is to see someone in need and take them in. I know of someone whose friend was living with her boyfriend. She led that woman to the Lord, and then let her know that she had to move out. She went and helped her move…right into her living room!  That reflects the heart of God.
	As we have seen before, we have a far greater responsibility toward believers. If a person rejects the Lord, the Lord has not promised to provide for them. Ro.12:13  Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 
	This can be costly. Many Christians have lost thousands in their efforts to help people. That’s the risk you have to take. It’s always a risk to be kind to a stranger – that’s why the world doesn’t do it. We should not be foolish with our resources, but there is a degree of risk that is necessary. If you think you have to have an FBI dossier on anyone who spends the night at your house, you’re going to have a problem with this. 
	False teachers are always greedy for money. True men and women of God are generous. Hospitality is a mark of generosity. At the very least your grocery bill will go up. 
	Whatever your losses end up being, do you think the Lord will hesitate to repay you? Pr.19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. 
	If you do this, you are to be commended.  Just like Gaius. 3 John 5  Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. 

Doctrinal Soundness & Skill
	The one qualification that sets the overseer apart from the server is ablility to teach. The elder must be a skilled teacher. 
	The gift of teaching is the ability to explain things in a way that they listener can understand. That requires the ability to understand things clearly (see chapter 9). 
	I don’t see the gift as speaking skills. Public speaking is something most anyone can learn fairly easily. And rhetorical skill is not the primary thing that makes a person listenable or interesting, much less powerful. You cannot hold people’s interests with rhetoric alone (listen to a politician’s speak). What holds people’s attention is the content. 
	So he must not only be able to explain things, but he must have something to teach. That means he must have a command of hermeneutics. If he doesn’t know how to correctly interpret & apply Scripture, he is not ready. If people are not growing spiritually under him, he probably isn’t ready.
	Tit.1:9  He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
	The overseer must have a command of theology and know what the essentials of the Gospel are. He must know what the Bible says about major issues, and he must be able to spot error and skillfully refute it.
	
Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in the category of hospitality or ability to teach:
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	Chapter 11
	Qualifications For the Pastor 
part 6
TEMPERANCE 
(Tape 37)
	
	2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim.3:2-7)
	
This one may strike you as being a little on the obvious side. Did Tim. (a teetotaler – 1 Ti.5:23) need Paul to tell him that you don’t want some inebriated drunk like Otis on the Andy Griffith Show for a pastor?  Is that what is being forbidden here?
	Obviously it goes beyond that. 
	The phrase translated not given to drunkenness literally means “not near or beside wine.”  He must have an exemplary life in that area of alcohol.
	What does the Bible teach about drinking?
	Would Jesus drink wine today?  Some say we are absolutely justified in drinking whatever we want whenever we want, just as long as we don’t get completely plastered. They assume that because people in the Bible routinely drank fruit juices, and since they didn’t have refrigerators, all fruit juices must have been fermented.
	That is not true. Samuele Bacchiocchi has done extensive scholarly research into ancient practices regarding wine.  He found that the common words for wine (oinos in Greek and yayin in Hebrew) have been  used historically to refer to the juice of the grape, whether  fermented or unfermented. 
	“To my surprise I discovered that the ancients were far more knowledgeable in the art of preserving fruits and wines than is generally believed.  Contrary to popular opinion, the problems the ancients encountered in preserving fermented wine were as great as, if not actually greater than, those faced in preserving unfermented grape juice.” 
	Without sophisticated preservations measures, fermented wine would become acidic, moldy, or foul smelling. To prevent this, the ancients used a number of preservatives such as salt, sea-water, liquid or solid pitch, boiled-down must, marble dust, lime, sulfur fumes and crushed iris.  
	In comparison to preserving fermented wine, preserving grape juice unfermented was a relatively simple process. There were at least four methods: 
	1. Boiling down the juice to a syrup.
2. Separating the fermentable pulp (albumen) from the juice of the grape by means of filtration.
3. Placing the grape juice in sealed jars which were immersed in a pool of cold water.
4. Fumigating the wine jars with sulfur before sealing them. 
	This explains why we read of references to unfermented grape juice year round at that time.
	So when you see the word “wine” in the Bible, it could refer to either fermented or unfermented juice. 
	And when the wine did ferment, it was not like our wine. It was mixed with a lot of water. According to Aristophanes, it was three parts water and two parts wine. Other classical Greek writers spoke of other mixtures: Euenos—three parts water, one part wine; Hesiod—three to one, water to wine; Alexis—four to one: Diocles and Anacreon—two to one: and Ion—three to one. 
	Sometimes in the ancient world one part water would be mixed with one part wine; this was considered strong wine. And anyone who drank wine unmixed was looked on as a Scythian, a barbarian. 
	For example, Mnesitheus of Athens wrote: “in daily intercourse, to those who drink it moderately it gives good cheer; but if you overstep the bounds it brings violence.”  He then goes on to describe what was considered “overstepping the bounds”: “Mix it half and half and you get madness; unmixed—bodily collapse.” 
	Even the pagans believed that it was barbaric to drink straight wine. 
	Wine in ancient times ranged from 2.8 proof (which is like 3.2 beer mixed half and half with water) to less than 10 proof. Modern wine is between 14 and 48 proof. So they didn’t have anything like modern wine. And hard liquors (80+ proof) require distillation, which is first mentioned in the 10th century AD.
The only place where the Bible refers to unmixed wine is in Rev.14:10  the beast will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured unmixed into the cup of his wrath. 
	I also found one other reference in 3 Maccabees 5:2 where the Assyrians tried to exterminate the Jews by giving unmixed wine to elephants, and letting them loose on the Jews. The elephants ended up killing the Assyrians instead of the Jews (6:21).
	So you can’t defend drinking modern unmixed alcoholic drinks by referring to biblical accounts of people drinking wine.
	And when it says that the elder is not to be near or beside wine, it’s saying that the overseer is to be a man who steers clear of even those weak, diluted drinks!
	So why doesn’t Scripture just come out and forbid us to drink any alcoholic drink?  For one thing, there are some legitimate uses  (as medicine in 1Tim.5:23, which indicates that Timothy didn’t drink at all, and as a painkiller in Pr.31:6).
	So we can’t say categorically that it is a sin to swallow something fermented. As always, Scripture is concerned not with making a rule, but with establishing a principle. 
	If a Christian wants to drink alcohol, there are a number of factors to take into consideration:
1.		The risk of causing a weaker brother to stumble (Ro.14:20)
Any time there is a behavior that is closely associated with a sinful lifestyle – even if the behavior itself is not inherently evil, it becomes very dangerous.
	Suppose someone was involved in a riotous lifestyle before being saved. Now he has turned his back on that entire way of living, although he may still be tempted by it.
Now if he sees you, a mature believer, indulging in some aspect of that lifestyle, he may think, “Oh, I guess that’s OK for Christians,” and fall back into that life because of you.
	You never know who is watching (especially if you are a leader – a lot of people will recognize you that you don’t recognize). Weaker brothers do not go around with a big sign around their necks saying, “Caution, weaker brother here.”  For that reason, it is questionable whether a person should ever drink when there are any people around.
	It’s not worth risking someone’s spiritual well-being so you can drink liquor. And if you think it is, you do not have the spiritual maturity and humility required to lead in the church.
2.		It can be a poor witness
People in the world who associate drinking with the sinful lifestyle that generally accompanies it, if they see you drinking, may conclude that you are hypocritical. Unbelievers are not generally able to discern between gray areas and absolutes.
3.		Conscience (1 Co.8:7)
It is always sin to violate your conscience. If it seems wrong to you, it’s wrong for you.
4.		Temptation – habit (1 Co.6:12)
Alcohol is very habit forming, obviously, and you don’t know if you are predisposed to that, as many people seem to be. So in deciding whether or not you are going to be a drinker, you need to consider whether it is worth beginning a behavior that has no spiritual benefit, but that has a very real possibility of placing you into the bondage of a habit you may not be able to break.
	
5.	Stewardship (Mt.25:14-30)
Alcohol is expensive. In making the determination about whether or not to drink, you need to ask if it is worth the amount of money it costs. Scripture is clear that our money belongs to God, and that we are to manage it in a way that benefits His kingdom in the greatest way. Since we know it is possible to learn to enjoy almost any beverage, is it wise to choose one that costs five times as much as other options?
6.		Bodily harm inhibiting servanthood (Ga.5:13) 
We are stewards not only of our money but also of our bodies. The more a person drinks, the more likely he is to cut down his life span and increase the possibility of becoming unhealthy. 
	Since we are here to serve God and serve others, we are negligent in that responsibility if we indulge in things that will put us in a position that will require others to serve us. You are here to serve the Church, so if you ruin your body to the point where you can’t do that, you are robbing the Church.
7.		Warnings against strong drink in Scripture 
•	It distorts your perception of reality (Is  28:7; Pr.23:33)
•	It impairs your capacity to make responsible decisions (Lev 10:9-11)
•	It weakens moral sensitivities and inhibitions (Gen 9:21; 19:32; Hab 2:15; Is  5:11-12)
•	It causes physical harm (Pr.23:20-21;  Hos 7:5; Is 19:14; Ps 60:3) 
	The Holy Spirit works through your mind. So if you inhibit the ability of your mind to function, you are working against the Holy Spirit.
8.		Prohibitions against drunkenness. Eph.5:18
What is drunkenness?  The Bible doesn’t give a precise blood alcohol level, so how do we know where to draw the line?  
	Drunkeness refers to the altering of your mental or emotional state by means of the chemicals in alcohol, and it doesn’t say how much; it just says “Don’t do it.”  
	How strongly does it have to effect you in order to be wrong?  Usually people picture the most extreme drunkenness. Almost every Christian who drinks will admit that it is wrong to be drunk, but when they say that, they are generally picturing someone who is so plastered he can’t walk in a straight line. 
	Obviously that is wrong. A person who does that without repentance can’t even be a member of the church, much less a leader. The question is, is anything short of that wrong?  Where do we draw the line Scripturally?
Eph.5 contrasts drunkenness with being filled with the Spirit. The idea is that the kinds of influences people seek from alcohol should be sought from God. Instead of being influenced by alcohol, you should be influenced by the Spirit. 
	So where do we draw the line?  Anytime a person drinks to alter his mood, that is drunkenness. Any time the alcohol has a physiological effect, the person has crossed the line into drunkenness.
	If someone has a drink to help him relax, that falls in the category of being affected by the chemicals. A mature Christian should be able to properly relax without drugs (The fruit of the Spirit is…peace). If a man can’t find peace in God, he lacks spiritual maturity. 
	If a person uses alcohol in order to have fun, or to enable him to interact socially, or to alter his mood in any way, he is misusing alcohol and is in violation of Eph.5. (Another part of the fruit of the Spirit is joy. That is something we should seek from the Spirit, not from booze.)
	We should also keep in mind that the effect alcohol has on you is gradual, so it doesn’t become noticeable until it is somewhat pronounced. And since it dulls your thinking, it becomes even more difficult to notice (the drunk is often the last one in the room to realize he is drunk). 
	So if you drink until you notice a change, you have already gone too far. If you drink and don’t notice any change, it’s still possible that you have gone too far.
	
	Conclusion
	Can you see why God didn’t just lay down a rule saying, “No alcohol”?  God is not concerned so much with what passes through your lips. He is concerned with your heart. So He provides numerous principles that we are to apply in making decisions about things like drinking.
	Only that man who is capable of discerning these kinds of principles, and who is more eager to follow them than he is to enjoy himself, is fit for leadership in the church.
	
Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in the category of drinking:
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Chapter 12
	Qualifications for the Pastor 
part 7
PATIENCE & CONTENTEDNESS 
(Tape 37b)
	
	2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim.3:2-7)

not violent  plh,kthn
Not a giver of blows. They actually did have a problem with pastors striking people to punish them for sin (Barclay). 
	That isn’t an issue in our culture, but the character flaw still exists. Some people are all justice and no mercy.  They love to see people suffer the consequences of sin. And if they see someone who doesn’t seem to be suffering any consequences for his sin, they are happy to provide the suffering.
	A violent person is someone who beats people over the head with rules and law. 
	but gentle  avlla. evpieikh/ 
Those who are experts in Gr. say there is no English word that translates this word. It is a “sweet reasonableness.”  A gentle person is more concerned with people than with rules.
	This is the person who cuts people some slack. He understands human weakness. He is quick to forget past failures. That is an important quality. He can’t be a person who keeps a log of everything you have ever done wrong.
	not quarrelsome  a;macon   
Refers to a person that can’t be drawn into a fight. He is not provoked or easily offended.
	Any place where there are a lot of people, you will find constant friction in relationships. Have you noticed that there are some people who always seem to be involved, and others who never seem to be involved?  There are some people in the church who are always mad at someone. There are other people who never seem to be mad at someone.
	If you are one who is easily offended, ask yourself – what is it about those people who never seem to get mad at anyone?  Do you think that it’s just because they are never mistreated, but you are?  No. They have crummy things happen to them just as often as you do. 
	The difference is in their character. You can throw a match on gas or water – the match is just as hot either way. The result is determined by how explosive the thing is that the match lands on.
	So often people with a temper blame the circumstances. I once had jury duty in a case where a man was defending himself. The charge was disturbing the peace. His defense was that he was provoked. The judge kept telling him that provocation was not a defense in a disturbing the peace case.
	The man kept up with his defense, because he didn’t understand what the judge was saying. The judge’s point was that even when you have been provoked, it is against the law to disturb the peace. The same is true in the Church.
	The more spiritually mature someone is, the harder it is to offend him. He is offended if you harm others or dishonor God, but you can’t really do or say much of anything to him to offend him. It just rolls off like water off a duck.
	A man with a temper is disqualified. And if you wonder how to test that, just take a drive with him in traffic. (I heard of a pastor who wouldn’t put a fish on his car, because he didn’t want to be a poor witness when he flew off the handle. The problem in that case isn’t having the fish, it’s having the temper. If it is a disgrace to the cause of Christ for a pastor to have a fish on his car for any reason, he is not fit for leadership).
	Tit.1:7 not overbearing, not quick-tempered 
auvqa,dh from autoj (self) h`domai (to take delight, enjoy)
	This is the man who becomes consumed with his own importance, and begins to look down on everyone. His ministry revolves around him. In a sermon or counseling you get one part Scripture and ten parts him.
	He is very concerned with his rights. Whenever you see someone who is consumed with protecting his/her rights, you know you are dealing with this kind of person. 
	A humble, selfless godly person has a very faint concept of his own rights. He rarely if ever thinks about them, and when he does they are of little or no importance to him. 
	not quick-tempered
The words, overbearing and quick-tempered go hand in hand. People who are selfish have a temper, and people who have a temper are selfish.
	If you call a doctor on the phone and describe some symptoms, the doctor will almost never diagnose the problem over the phone. They need more information. But this is one diagnosis that is easy to make: if you struggle with your temper, that is a symptom of the disease of selfishness.
	Don’t try to solve the problem by addressing the symptom only.
	You get angry when something precious to you is harmed. That’s why anger is a very helpful barometer of your spiritual life - it accurately reveals what is precious to you and what is not.
	If you are watching a movie and God’s name is dishonored, and you enjoy that for entertainment, but when your name is dragged through the mud heads roll, what does that reveal about what is most important to you?
	Together these words describe a person who has sharp, rough edges. Whenever you come in contact you end up with lacerations and contusions on your spirit.
	CONTENTEDNESS
	not a lover of money avfila,rguron
	Greed is the #1 sign of a false teacher in the New Testament.   
1 Tim 6:3-10  If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, …5 think that godliness is a means to financial gain. 
	Just a few minutes of watching TBN is all it takes for you to know that it is a network of mostly false teachers. You don’t even have to scrutinize the doctrine. The obvious greed and love of money is all you need to know.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 
	So the opposite of loving money is contentment. 
	The word translated lover of money is only used one other time. Heb.13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  
	Greed is also an evidence of a lack of faith. It is the assumption that God will not provide.
	There is no place in church leadership for those who have the goal of getting rich. There are many in the ministry who think you can serve both God and money. And if you try to tell them otherwise, they will mock and sneer.
	Luke 16:13-14  "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.
	Paul goes on in 1 Timothy 6: 
9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 
	I spoke with a pastor in Oklahoma City who is paid $60,000 a year by the church and only works part time. The rest of his time he spends with his very lucrative roofing company. I asked when he would work full time for the church, and he said, “As soon as the church is big enough to pay me what I am accustomed to making.”  
	He went on to tell be about his contract. I had gone down there to seek advice from an older man in ministry, and his advice was to make sure I got a contract like his, which guaranteed him a $20,000 raise for every additional 100 people who joined the church.
	If your pastor asks you for a contract like that, you know right away that you have a man who is not qualified to be a pastor at all.
	I left Oklahoma City with a heavy heart. Here was a man who had the incredible privilege of devoting his full time to pastoral ministry, and he chose to spend his time nailing shingles to roofs. That’s the kind of dereliction of a man’s calling that comes from the love of money.
	
Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in the category of patience and contentedness :
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Chapter 13
	Qualifications For the Pastor 
part 8
MANAGEMENT 
(Tape 38)
	
	2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim.3:2-7)

family (literally: “house”)  Refers to all the resources under his responsibility. He may have all the moral qualities, but can’t live within his means, or is in extreme debt, or evidences some other inability to manage his area of responsibility, he is disqualified.
	The word manage is a strong term. It means to be in authority and rule. The man is the head of the home, and is responsible to lead.
	A family, especially one with children, is a pretty complex organization, and a poorly led family is guaranteed chaos. And the ultimate responsibility for a smoothly running family is on the father. 
	Obviously the wife also has a major role. 1 Tim 5:14  I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.
The word manage is  oivkodespote,w
Oivkoj house
despothj ”Despot” – master (used of slave owners)
	So according to 1 Ti.5:14 women are to be the masters of the home. That authority and responsibility, however, is under that of the husband. Eph.5:27 shows us that some day men will by held responsible for their wives.
	As a man, the ultimate responsibility is yours. If you dump it all off on your wife, you have abdicated a God-given responsibility and are negligent and delinquent before God.  
	A woman can often do a great job leading the family, but she shouldn’t have to. Sometimes you hear about the oldest child in an alcoholic’s family having to raise his siblings. He may do a good job, but it’s tragic that he has to. It’s the same of the wife who has to take leadership. The man should initiate things to enhance spiritual growth.
	A woman should take care of those things she is good at (which is usually most everything in the home), but the husband needs to keep his finger on the pulse of how she is doing. If she gets to the point where she is overwhelmed, he needs to step in. It’s not enough that you just earn a living.
	The man’s management of the home also includes leadership. It is the duty and calling of a man to be a spiritual leader for the family. If he is not ready to be a spiritual leader for the family, he is absolutely not ready to be married – and certainly not ready to lead in the church. 
	One of the most foolish (and yet most common) things a young woman can do is get mixed up romantically with a man who is not fit to be a spiritual leader. So many women think they can shoulder the responsibility of leadership long enough for him to change, and years later they are exhausted and loaded down with sorrow. God did not design women to be able to carry out their entire role, plus the man’s role as well. It can be done on the short term, but results in exhaustion. 
	A lot of people get confused about wives having to be submissive (they think it means being subservient). The woman is called to be submissive and responsive to his leadership. 
	“My wife is not submissive”  Are you providing leadership?  Or do you just want her to wait on you?  How about you wait on her – you wash her feet, you serve her, and then exhibit strong spiritual leadership in the home and see if she doesn’t follow. Do you want her to be more godly?  More understanding?  More selfless?  Teach her how to be like that by example.
	A man should lead his family into righteousness – he should be a purifying influence (it shouldn’t just be the wife’s job to set the limits on what is watched on TV, movies, etc.) – Eph.5:26 talks about the husband cleansing his wife by means of the Word.
	And the terminology used implies that the husband is to do so by means of words. Interesting, 1 Pe.3:1 says that wives are to influence their husbands without words.
	God made us, and knows our weakness and needs. Men are more influenced by their wives when methods are used that don’t involve words. Women are more influenced by words.
	Also, men tend to err on the side of not speaking enough, and women… well, let’s stick with men for now. For men, most things go without saying – or are better left unsaid. For many women, the phrase “goes without saying” is a contradiction.
	So it is important for men to lead their families, and that leadership should involve talking to them – particularly regarding God’s Word. Always be learning and passing on what you learn.
	and see that his children obey him 
This is in direct opposition to religious systems that advocate celibate leadership.
	This is active: “Keeping his children in submission…”  That is something that is within the realm of a man’s control. You don’t just have kids and hope they are obedient.  A man can bring that to be.
	1 Thes.2:11-13 you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God 
	urging To insist. This term reflects the father’s authority.
A father must have strong enough authority so that it is advisable for his children to obey.
	Where there is disobedience there must be immediate, consistent negative consequences. The only way to train a depraved person (which is what our children are) is to create pain associated with disobedience.  
	That always works if it is consistent. How often do your kids do something that means a guaranteed spanking?  Josiah will never touch something that is steaming, but he will sometimes not respond when I tell him to go get his pajamas on. The only explanation is that I’m not consistent enough in discipline in that area. 
	encouraging  This word carries the idea of reasoning or discussing. 
	
A father must have enough wisdom to make it reasonable to obey.
	When they are very young, discipline is pure authority. But when they get older, they need to be taught. You should not let your kids demand an explanation before obeying, but at some point you need to provide a reasonable rationale for correct behavior. 
	Teach them. Your child’s education is not the school’s job, the government’s job or the Sunday School teacher’s job. Deut 6:6-9  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 
	comforting   A very tender word – used for cheering someone up who is down. It’s a soft word that highlights a love relationship. 
	A father must have a strong enough love to make it delightful to obey.
	As your children get older, they should have the desire to obey because of how wonderful it is when all is right in the home. You can make it miserable when they disobey, but if it isn’t that great when they do obey, it won’t be very effective. 
	For a man to lead in the church he must have demonstrated in the home that he can exercise authority that makes it advisable for his children to obey, wisdom that makes it make it reasonable for them to obey, and love that makes it delightful for them to obey.
	The leaders of the church should carry some authority. They should deal sternly enough with sin so people are reluctant to get into sin. 
	That is missing in our culture. Pastors are so concerned about losing people from the church, they are always tempted to be to soft when they should be firm.
	But they must also be wise enough to present a strong enough case for righteousness so it’s clear to everyone why God calls for the behavior in Scripture, and why it’s to their advantage to do it.
	And most of all, he must be a man of tenderness, compassion and love. People will respond to authority and listen to reason if they know you love them. Before you can have much influence on people, they have to come to the conclusion that it is safe for them to entrust themselves to you.
	How do you know if a man will be able to do all that?  Look at his kids. If he does not have kids, it is much more difficult to determine if he possesses these abilities. 
	5 If anyone does not know how… 
It’s something that can be done, it’s just a matter of knowing how.
	…to manage his own family, how can he take care of
Managing is one thing. Taking care of is more difficult. If he can’t do the former, he won’t be able to do the latter.
	God's church?
Literally “a church of God” (a local congregation).
	He must keep his children in submission with proper respect (literally dignity). 
The experts tend to agree that the term dignity is most likely talking about the father, not the children. The idea, then, is that the father keeps the children in submission, and he is to do so with dignity. 
	If you are a parent, you know exactly what this is talking about. How many have lost your dignity in attempting to control your children?
	I found the following on the Internet: 
“Having faithful and obedient children (Titus 1:6) was easy in the ancient world. They had to attend their parents' place of worship and obey the rules or they got beaten mercilessly till they did. In our modern North American situation, where physical force is politically incorrect if not criminal, the only way to make children "faithful and obedient" is by the use of guilt, manipulation, and psychological pressure. My wife and I refused to do that, so two of our children adopted the anti-organized-church model that is very common in the younger generation.”  (In other words, he raised his kids without any discipline, and now they have rejected  the faith)
	This is an example of a man who has no clue about the meaning of keeping his children in submission with dignity. The only discipline he can conceive of is undignified and abusive.
  
The pastor should do everything in life with dignity (Tit.2:7). And parenting may be the hardest area.
	The following came from an anonymous mother in Austin, Texas.
	THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM MY CHILDREN 
(HONEST AND NO KIDDING):
 
1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. foot house 4 inches deep.
2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with rollerblades, they can ignite.
3. A 3 year old’s voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a superman cape. It is strong enough, however, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 by 20 foot room.
5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using the ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6. The glass in windows (even double pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "Uh-oh", it's already too late.
8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9. A six year old can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36 year old man says they can only do it in the movies. 
10.Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a four year old.
11.No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
12.Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
13.VCR's do not eject PB&J sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
14.Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
15.Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
16.Always look in the oven before you turn it on. Plastic toys do not like ovens.
17.The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
18.The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earth worms dizzy. It will, however, make cats dizzy.
19.Cats throw up twice their weight when dizzy.
	That’s all from one household. Anyone with young children can identify with that. In our house we learned that three year olds should use moderate amounts of water when washing a TV that is plugged in, getting a little girl’s hair too close to the beaters on an electric mixer will result in extra time wasted cleaning the batter for mom’s birthday cake off the ceiling. Three year-olds don’t necessarily have good enough aim to dump a box of cake mix into a bowl. Young children cannot clean makeup off a mattress even with several gallons of water.
	Coming home after a hard day’s work to a peanut butter and jelly  sandwich in the VCR, a cat in the dryer and your 4 year old swinging around by the ceiling fan can tax a man’s ability to maintain dignity. 
	But worse than all those kinds of things is disobedience. As long as you are significantly bigger than your child, you may be able to force them to comply with something you said, but raising a child to be respectful and obedient without losing your dignity is something completely different. 
	He must rule his house well  kalw/j
Lots of men manage, but that’s not enough. He must do it well (beautifully). There is something about smoothly-running, calm, organized, efficient home dominated by respect that is very beautiful.
	Note: there are some circumstances under which a man may have chaos in his home through no fault of his own. That is not a blight on that man’s character, but it is still a disqualifier for a leadership role in the church. 
	Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in the category of management:
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	Chapter 14
	Qualifications For the Pastor 
part 9
MATURITY & HUMILITY 
(Tape 37B)
	
	2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim.3:2-7)

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 
	recent is, of course, relative - in relationship to the other overseers and to the maturity level of the church. In a church of all new believers a man may be qualified to be an elder after being saved six months. In a church with mature believers, a man who has been saved ten years may not yet be ready.
	The general patter we notice in the Bible is that men usually didn’t enter leadership ministries until about the minimum age of 30. I think that is a good guideline for Agape as well. It is very difficult for a man to command respect as an elder if he is much younger than age 30.
	he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 
	The idea here is that if we elevate a man too quickly, we place him in grave danger of becoming proud. He won’t be able to resist thinking, “I’ve already reached the level of these older men. I must be exceptional…”
	same judgment as the devil  
	Many assume this to be a reference to the initial fall of Satan. Some have argued that Isa.14 and Ez.28 describe that fall. Whether or not those two passages refer to Satan is arguable (especially Isa.14), but even if they do, the information about Satan’s initial fall is very limited, cryptic, and far from being a major emphasis in Scripture. 
	On the other hand, the Bible does speak plainly about the judgment of the Devil, and when it does, it is always a future event. 
	John 12:23-38 Jesus replied, "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified…28 Father, glorify your name!" 
Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 
30 Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 
Then He went on to explain that He would die first.
	Ro.16:20  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. 
Again, the judgment of Satan is future.
	The final battle is described in Rev.12. Satan tries to devour Christ when He was born, but God protects Him. Then the Devil turns on Israel for 1260 days. Verse 7 picks up at the end of that time: 
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down-that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 
	After Michael and the angels oust him from heavens, the war is not over. Now he is on earth in a rage. Now it is Christians who have to fight him, and it is not an easy battle – they fight him at risk of their lives.
	10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!  But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short. 
	The reason Jesus cast out demons was to prove that He had the power to bind Satan. (Mt.12:28,29). While He exercised that power in a limited way in His earthly ministry, He will exercise it in a full way after the Second Coming, when He binds Satan for 1000 years. (Rev.20:2)
	Rev 20:7-10  When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth-Gog and Magog-to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 
	So a reference to the condemnation of the Devil is most likely a reference to the ultimate, eschatological damnation of Satan on the Day of the Lord. 
	So the point of 1 Ti.3:6 is if you elevate a new convert to leadership, you risk a horrible disaster for that man’s soul – the same awful fate the Devil himself will encounter.  
	The severity of this warning is frightening. One could scarcely think of a stronger, more drastic warning anywhere in the Bible. Is there any conceivable way Paul could have stated any stronger the danger – to be in the same shoes as the Devil on the final Judgment Day?!
	In the world, many people think a strong leader must be egotistical. But in the church, that would be absolutely the most catastrophic, disastrous thing that could possibly happen. 

Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in the category of maturity & humility:
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	Chapter 15
	Qualifications for the Pastor 
part 10
REPUTATION 
(Tape 38)
	
	2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim.3:2-7)

He must also have a good reputation with outsiders
	Nothing will drive people away from the church faster than hypocrisy – and it doesn’t have to be real. Any appearance of it will drive them away.
	This does not mean the world has to like him. If he is anything like Jesus, there is a good chance they will hate him. But if they hate him, it must be because of the Gospel and no other reason. He can’t be the kind of guy who would go to work the next morning and everyone would say, “You’ve got to be kidding – they made you an elder?”
 
so that he will not fall into disgrace (lit. which is) the devil's trap. 
	If he has developed a bad reputation with the unbelievers in the community, Satan will use that reputation to set a trap. It’s not that Satan will try to get him to fall into some sin (what sin could a person fall into as a result of a bad reputation?). 
	The trap is the Devil’s method of preventing the ministry of a church from being effective. The last thing Satan wants is spiritually strong, effective pastors running around out there on the loose snatching people out of the kingdom of darkness. If he can’t tempt the pastor into sin, the best he can do to try to limit his effectiveness is put him in a trap.
	When the world gets the idea that a pastor is a hypocrite, they heap extreme disgrace on him (it is a very strong word). They will get carried away, blow it out of proportion, and the next thing you know, that pastor is stuck in a cage. Try as he may to move out in ministry, he finds that he is stuck to his old reputation.
	Paul: if there is a man who will be vulnerable to being trapped like that, don’t even put him in leadership.
 
	In Tit.1:6 the statement about children has to do with reputation as well.
	having children who believe 
	
literally having faithful (pisto,j) children. The word faithful can mean “believing” (saved) or simply “trustworthy.”
	Most scholars agree that the word having implies children in the home. This is a standard for men whose children still live with him. The children in view here, however, are older children, as is seen in the next line.
	and are not open to the charge of being wild and not disobedient.
These are not the sins of young children.
	The word wild refers to a lifestyle that is wasteful, immoral, profligate and dissipate. It is used only three places in Scripture. In Eph.5:18 it is associated with the activity that accompanies drunkenness, in 1 Pe.4:4 it describes a dissipate lifestyle, and in Lk.5:13 it summarizes the riotous, sinful life of the prodigal son. 
	That’s why we know this is talking about older children. Three-year-olds don’t tend to get drunk and attend wild parties.
	Note that it does not just say wild, but not open to the charge of being wild. The idea is of reputation. Maybe the kid isn’t like that all the time, but he has been seen at those kinds of parties, or he is associated with that lifestyle in some tangential way. If he is open to any valid accusation of significant association with such things, his father is disqualified.
	This is the opposite of a trustworthy kid. A trustworthy kid you can leave home for the weekend without having to worry about some wild party.
	In 1 Timothy 3 we see that the obedience of young children is a test of the man’s management ability. This is different. The idea here is not obedience, but trustworthiness. He must have trustworthy children so that he will have the respect of the people. 
	and not disobedient  The words means “rebellious”   This is not just talking about disobeying his father, but being rebellious in general. 

There are men who came to the Lord late in life, or adopted children, are godly and of outstanding character, but are disqualified because their children are unbelievers who are into rebellion and wild living. Those men will be robbed of the respect that is necessary for him to carry out his duties.
	Again, the emphasis of this passage is on the man’s reputation. That is the point of the inclusio. The standard is sandwiched in between two statements about being above reproach: An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless…

	
Thoughts or concerns about my being qualified in the category of reputation:
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Guidelines For Preparing Your Thesis
	The following instructions will help you prepare a well-thought through and clear position paper. The document should communicate and articulate your convictions regarding both theological doctrines and issues, as well as your positions on current ministry issues and tension points. Do not copy material from a theology text. These instructions include the requirements set forth by the national EFCA Board on Ministerial Standing, but are supplemented by explanations and suggested questions to address throughout the body of the paper (page length suggestions are maximum).
	The Form Of Your Paper Should Be As Follows:
	1.	Not more than 30 pages total.
2.	Typed.
3.	If single-spaced, please leave room between paragraphs and between sections.
4.	Pages should be numbered.
5.   Each item of the Statement of Faith should be reproduced prior to your supporting and explanatory paragraphs.
6.	Do not write out your Scripture passages unless it is important to do so. Simply write the references at the end of your statements. We prefer the references to be in the text rather than included as footnotes. Reserve footnotes for comments.
7.	If quotes from theologians are important, please keep them at a minimum. We want to know what you think.
8.	Do not reproduce the following questions. These are offered as general guides. Simply answer them in your text. They are also not meant to be exhaustive. Please share anything you believe is pertinent to the subject.
	Most of all, we encourage you to make this a worship experience before the Lord Himself. Interact with God’s Spirit and God’s Word prayerfully as you think and write. May the Lord guide you well in this endeavor.

	
The thesis must include the following:
	
PART ONE:   Biographical sketch (3-5 pages)	
	1.	PERSONAL BACKGROUND
•	You, your mate, your children
•	Have you been divorced, remarried or married to a divorced person? If yes, was it before or after conversion? Explain. 
	2.	CONVERSION
•	Write concerning your conversion and your wife’s conversion to Christ.
•	Do you have assurance of salvation? Does your wife?
	3.	CALL TO MINISTRY
•	Write concerning your call to the ministry.
	4.	PREPARATION
•	Write concerning how the Lord has prepared you for full-time ministry, including your education and other important ministry training and experience.
	5.	RELATED ISSUES
•	Your rationale for seeking credentialing in the EFCA
•	Your personal devotional and prayer life and walk with God
•	Your attitude of support and involvement with the EFCA
		-      Harmony with EFCA principles and policies
-	Involvement and support for district and national ministries
•	Your willingness to surrender credentials if you change doctrinal beliefs or are in substantive disagreement with EFCA principles, policies & programs.
	
PART TWO:  Thelogical outlines (15-16 pages)
	1.  THE GOSPEL —   Provide a succinct statement of what you understand the Gospel to be, with appropriate Scriptural support (1/2 page).
	
2. THE EFCA TWELVE POINT STATEMENT OF FAITH -     
             Do the following with each point of the statement (15 pages):
A.	List the statement verbatim.
B.	Provide an explanation of it written by you which includes references of Scriptural support and any further elaboration about your understanding of its implications.
	C.	Address the questions which accompany each section, as 
		listed below
		1) Statement concerning the SCRIPTURES
a)	if you believe in inerrancy, what do you mean by the use of that word?
b)	What do you understand the phrase verbal inspiration to mean?
c)	What is the difference, if any, between the concepts of revelation, inspiration and illumination?
d)	How would you explain to someone the phrase “only authority for faith and practice?”
	2)  Statement concerning ONE GOD
a)	Give your understanding of the Trinity. Describe the character and attributes of each one.
b)   Distinguish between the roles of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as taught in Scripture.
c)	Describe your understanding of God the Father.
	3)  Statement concerning JESUS CHRIST
a)	How do you understand the expression “true God” and “true man” as applied to Christ?
b)	For whom did Christ die?
c)	What difference does His death make?
d)	What is the nature of Christ’s resurrection body?
e)	How did Jesus demonstrate His deity while on earth?
4)  Statement concerning the HOLY SPIRIT
a)	What does it mean that the Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Godhead?
b)	What is the role of the Holy Spirit today in the Church, in the individual and in the world?
c)  What differences do you see, if any,    between the following concepts?
- the filling of the Spirit
- the baptism of the Spirit
- the anointing of the Spirit
d)  State your views with respect to:
- the “sign” gifts (tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, and prophecy).
- define word of wisdom, word of knowledge, word of prophecy.
- the purpose and need for tongues today and how you might handle tongues speaking in your church.
- healing in the atonement
e)  The EFCA is not a charismatic denomination, nor is it anti-charismatic. We do not approve of the public promotion or practice of the “sign” gifts.” Can you, without reservation, support this position? Do you or your wife pray in tongues?
			
5)	Statement concerning MAN’S CONDITION
a)	Give your understanding concerning
-man created in the image of God
-man impacted by the fall
-man’s sinful nature
-man being eternally lost
b)	Are the heathen lost? To what extent?
	6)	Statement concerning the DOCTRINES OF SALVATION
a)	Define the phrase salvation by grace through faith.
b)	Define: repentance, justification & sanctification.
c)	What does it mean to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?
d)	State your position regarding the doctrine of eternal security.
e)	State your philosophy and practice regarding discipleship.
f)	Tell how you deal with the divergence in the church between those who hold to a Calvinistic view and those who hold to an Arminian view regarding predestination, perseverance of believers, eternal security, dispensationalism, covenant or reformed theology and Lordship Salvation.
	7)	Statement concurring the ORDINANCES
a)	How important are the ordinances and why? How often should they be observed?
b)	How do you respond to someone who insists that baptism is required for personal salvation? How would you respond to a request or demand for infant baptism?
c)	How do you handle Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; I Peter 3:21?
d)	How do you handle those who believe that baptism is not for this age?
	8)	Statement concerning the UNIVERSAL CHURCH
a)	When did the Church originate?
b)	What is the relationship between the local church and the universal church?
c)	Is there a difference between Israel and the Church? If so, what?
	
9)	Statement Concerning the LOCAL CHURCH
a)	What is the basis for membership in the local church?
b)	What are the qualifications and requirements for leadership?
c)	How should elders/deacons be selected?
	10)	       Statement concerning LEADING THE LOCAL CHURCH
a)	How does Jesus Christ exercise His leadership in the church?
b)	How is the church to function as a body of believers?
c)	Distinguish between the various kinds of church government.
d)	Do you support congregational government? What Biblical support do you see for it? How should the congregation relate to your major decision making boards? Which decisions ought to be left with the congregation, and why?
e)	State your view and practice of pastoral leadership & shepherding.
	
11)       Statement concerning the SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD
a)	Define and defend your personal position on premillennialism.
b)	Define and defend your understanding of the Biblical teaching with respect to the nature and timing of the Tribulation (i.e. Pre-, Mid-Post-, Pre-Wrath).
c)	Define your understanding of the word imminency.
	                       
12)       Statement concerning the ETERNAL STATE
a)	Where are the unbelieving dead at present? The eternal 
     state of the unbelieving?
b)	Define: 1) Hades (Sheol); 2) Gehenna
c)	What is your position regarding the doctrine of annihilation?
	**CONCLUSION — At the end of this section, please make a concluding statement regarding the level of your personal commitment to the doctrinal statement of the EFCA. Also indicate any reservations with any part of it.
	
PART THREE -  Biblical / Ministry Issues (5 pages)
	Please include your personal position, convictions and/or practices with respect to the following issues that Impact pastoral ministry today
	1.	The nature of SPIRITUAL WARFARE (i.e. angels, demons, Satan, possession, etc.)
2.	The challenge of ALTERNATIVE SEXUALITY (i.e. homosexuality, homophobia)
3.	The issues of LIFE AND DEATH (i.e. abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, mercy killing)
4.	The area of ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE (i.e. personal conviction)
5.	The place and role of WOMEN in the church (i.e. teaching, leadership, role, etc.)
6.	Preferences in WORSHIP STYLES (i.e. traditional, contemporary, liturgical, etc.)
	7.	Your style of CONFLICT MANAGEMENT (i.e. disagreements at the board/decision making level, handling personal criticism, counseling people who don’t get along)
8.	Your conviction and practice regarding DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE (i.e. marrying, leadership in the church, etc.)
9.	Your conviction regarding membership in LODGES (ie. masonry, etc)
	PART FOUR:  Personal Lifestyle issues 
(3-5 pages)
	Finally, please write concerning your life and walk as touching on the following:
            
1.	Spiritual disciplines
2.	Personal stewardship of finances and money management.
a)	How would you describe your attention to financial matters?
b)	Your attitude and practice regarding use of credit cards, debt, borrowing, etc.
c)	Your conviction and practice regarding tithing and giving?  Teaching others?
3.	Personal moral purity 
a)	What are some of the ethical standards and practices you are committed to in dealing with people and the opposite sex in particular?
b)	Is there anything in your past or present that, if it became known, would embarrass you, your church or the EFCA?
c)	Do you have a personal problem with pornography?
4.	Social drinking
a)	Do you or your wife drink alcoholic beverages?  
5.	Accountability to others
6.	Family priorities and enrichment of your marriage   

Darrell’s Thesis
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
	I was born December 28, 1967. After graduating from Bible College, Tracy and I were married August 18, 1990. Over the last ten years I have served as associate pastor in two churches, served in lay ministry in another church (Canon City Evangelical Free Church), served as solo pastor at Hillsdale Bible Church in Oklahoma, and as preaching pastor in our present church. Tracy is very supportive, helpful, encouraging and motivating in my ministry. Tracy and I feel that our marriage is now at its strongest point ever. 
	We have three children: Carolyn-Nicole (born 6-91), Faith (Born 9-92), and Josiah (born 5-96). Neither of us has ever been divorced, nor had either of us been married before this marriage. 
	CONVERSION
	I do not recall the moment of my conversion, as I was quite young. I do, however, believe that I (like all believers) was regenerated in a moment of time when the Spirit brought me to a point of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I understand I responded to a presentation of the Gospel in a Sunday School class.
	For as long as I can remember I have observed spiritual fruit in my life, and have been consumed with a desire to be more Christ-like. Throughout my life, by His grace, my spiritual growth has been relatively steady. 
	Tracy was a junior in High School when she was converted. She was attending a church youth camp in Wyoming. At the camp the Gospel was explained to her, and she prayed to receive Christ. She has made tremendous strides spiritually over the last four years. 
	We both enjoy full assurance of our salvation.
	CALL
	For as long as I can remember, I have had a strong desire to teach Scripture. I remember wanting to preach as far back as the third grade, when I remember taking notes on the Sunday sermon, and attempting to teach the kids at school on Monday what I had learned. I longed to teach God's Word, and would even sit sometimes and teach an imaginary group the things I had learned at church.
	When I was in seventh grade I got my first opportunity to teach. A group of high school and college students asked me to teach a Bible study. I taught this group once a week until I went to college. This was an expository, verse-by-verse study of Scripture. I also taught various Sunday school classes. 
	In college I preached in churches from time to time, and led several Bible studies. In all of these situations people expressed to me that they thought I was gifted in the area of teaching and preaching.
	Because of my intense, lifelong desire to study, preach, and minister, the many opportunities God gave me to teach Scripture, the opinions of many godly people in the churches I have been in that I was gifted as a preacher, and the confirmation within my own spirit; I am convinced that God wants me to be in vocational ministry. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind regarding the reality of my calling. It is the sole pursuit of my life.
	I also consider my role as husband, father, member of the community, etc. to be part of my calling. I believe God calls His children not only with regard to their roles in the church, but also in marriage (1 Co.7:20,27), and in society (v.21).
PREPARATION
	I cannot think of anything in my life that has not contributed to my preparation for ministry. Bible school, radio Bible teachers, and seminary gave me very helpful preparation, particularly in the area of the use of tools for Bible study. The training I received as I learned Greek and Hebrew, and my courses on Biblical theology were especially helpful. 
	My involvement in ministry in churches I have attended was a very profitable aspect of my preparation in the areas of loving and caring for people, and the many facets of ministry. Real exposure to people and their problems, successes, spiritual progress, crises, etc. has done more than anything else to awaken within me a genuine love and concern for people.   
	The most significant preparation of all, however, was my upbringing in a godly Christian home. Growing up in that context instilled in me many of the qualities that are required for qualification for church leadership. The more time goes on, the more grateful I become, as I see people struggle and struggle with things that are no difficulty at all for me. The reason they are no difficulty is not because of some great spiritual strength with in me, or because of anything I have done, but simply as a result of the upbringing I received.
	RELATED ISSUES
	I want to be credentialed with the EFCA, because it is the denomination with which I feel I am most closely matched in theology and practice. I not only agree with the doctrinal statement in all that it affirms, but also with what is emphasized, what is not emphasized, and with the fact that there is a distinction made between essentials and distinctives. 
	I believe many churches tend to be too detailed and specific in their doctrinal statements, without distinguishing between essentials and peripheral issues. The result is a diminishing of the unity of the body, because when there is the slightest disagreement on anything, instead of seeking to talk through the issue and reconcile, they simply part company and go to another church. As Christians, we have so much in common. We have all committed our lives to the same Lord, and have been saved through the same Gospel. There ought not to be so many divisions over relatively minor issues.
	It is always my goal to see to it that my devotional life encompasses everything I do. There are, however, special times when I give my full concentration to prayer and meditation. I change my routine from time to time, but right now I have two major prayer times. When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is spend some time praying about the coming day. After this I spend time in Scripture – a passage other than what I am studying for the sermons. At midday I walk two miles and sing and pray. This is my favorite prayer time. (In the summer I usually take the walk early in the morning.)
	My walk with the Lord, at this point in my life, is as strong as it has ever been. I feel I have made significant progress over the last four years especially. Recently I studied the Lord’s Prayer, and this has had a great impact on my prayer life. I have gained a new appreciation for the significance and primacy of the Kingdom of God in prayer.
	I am in agreement with and full support of the EFCA principles and policies (as far as I am aware of them at this point). While I am more passionate in my support of some than of others, I know of none that cause any conflicts in my mind or raise any concern in my thinking. 
	As for support for district and national ministries, I understand the value of the denomination and have the utmost respect for the leadership. On the other hand, I believe a pastor ought to have a high level of commitment to his home church. While I believe the pastor who imagines himself to be an island without any need for outside contact to be at risk of failure, I also would question those who would neglect their own ministry in order to gain prominence in the denomination. This is an issue that calls for balance. As I learn more about the workings of the EFCA, I will know more regarding my level of involvement.
	If the time came when I believed myself to be in disagreement with the EFCA on significant principles, policies, programs or doctrine, I would willingly surrender my credentials. I would seek to be as honest as possible in everything. I am also one who delights in submitting to authority, and have great respect for those who have been placed in authority over me.

	
	
	THE GOSPEL
	Every person is morally corrupted. We all do things we know to be wrong, think about things we shouldn’t, fail to do things we know to be right, say things that are wrong, violate our conscience, etc. The consequence of this rebellion is a just punishment. Since the crime of sinning against an infinitely holy God is an infinite wrong, it deserves infinite punishment. Since God is perfectly just, He will mete out that punishment on every person guilty of sin. The only hope of avoiding this punishment is forgiveness.
	God is not only just; He is also loving. He does not desire to punish anyone. He takes absolutely no pleasure in the suffering of even the wicked. This created a dilemma of sorts for God. While He loves us, and does not want to punish us, He would be a poor judge if He were to let the guilty free and allow the penalty to go unpaid.
	His solution was to pay the penalty Himself. So He became a man (Jesus), lived a perfect life, and then paid the penalty for all sin by dying on the cross). Three days later He rose from the dead. Since Jesus paid the penalty and died in our place, justice is satisfied, and God can offer forgiveness without violating justice. He freely offers everyone total forgiveness, but while it is free, it is also conditional. In order to receive this forgiveness, God requires that we have faith.
 
Faith involves both believing the truth about God the Father and Jesus Christ, and entrusting God with your life. Entrusting your life to Him means relying only on Him for eternal life (and not on any of your own efforts), as well as entrusting Him with your life on this earth. Those who truly believe give their lives to Him. 

	

THE EFCA TWELVE POINT STATEMENT OF FAITH
	We Believe: 
1.	The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and the Divine and final authority for Christian faith and life.
2.	In one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 
3.	That Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. Further, He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate. 
4.	That the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and, during this age, to convict men, regenerate the believing sinner, and indwell, guide, I-**nstruct and empower the believer for godly living and service. 
5.	That man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and is, therefore, lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained. 
6.	That the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and, thus become children of God. 
7.	That water baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances to be observed by the Church during the present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as means of salvation. 
8.	That the true Church is composed of all such persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the Body of Christ of which He is the Head. 
9.	That only those who are, thus, members of the true Church shall be eligible for membership in the local church. 
10.	That Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church and that every local church has the right, under Christ, to decide and govern its own affairs. 
11.	In the personal premillennial and imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this "Blessed Hope" has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. 
12.	In the bodily resurrection of the dead; of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord; of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.

We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and the Divine and final authority for Christian faith and life.
	The sixty six books of the Protestant canon are inspired, meaning they are God-breathed (2 Ti.3:16). This means Scripture is divine, and not merely human in origin (2 Pe.1:21). God saw to it that every word that was written, was indeed Scripture. He did not do this by dictation. He did not override the personalities of the individual writers. The various writers evidence different styles and personalities. They wrote according to their own will, but the Holy Spirit carried them along to see to it that what they wrote was indeed Scripture (2 Pe.1:21).
	The Scriptures were verbally inspired, meaning not only are the general ideas and teachings God’s Word, but every word, every letter – even the grammar is inspired (In Mt.22:31,32 Jesus makes an argument for resurrection based on a verb tense). 
	The logical conclusion we must draw from the fact that Scripture is God breathed, is the fact that it must therefore be inerrant. I cannot accept the idea that God would breathe out an error of any kind. The phrase, “in the original writings” simply means that absolute inerrancy applies only to the autographs, not all the copies. While all we have now are copies, we have sufficient MSS evidence to determine with extreme accuracy what the originals actually said. 
	The fact that Scripture represents the “complete revelation of His will” means it is complete. There is no other Scripture besides the present sixty-six books. The canon is closed. The Gospel was delivered in the first century in complete form (Jd.3).
	“Revelation” carries the concept of God making known truth to us that would otherwise be unknown. I believe there can be no knowledge of God outside of revelation (we are not capable of figuring out truth about God that is not revealed). Scripture is not all the revelation there is. God has revealed himself through creation as well (Ps.19). But Scripture is the most specific revelation, and is therefore the final authority. 
	
In this context, we use the term “inspiration” to refer to Scripture, not people. It’s not that the Bible writers were inspired in the same sense someone might say that Shakespeare was inspired, or that some experience was inspiring. By “inspiration” we simply refer to the fact that Scripture is God-breathed. The term “illumination” refers to us. We believe that God must open a person’s eyes in order for him to accept Scripture. This is illumination (1 Co.2:7-16).   
	Another logical conclusion from the fact that Scripture is God-breathed is the fact that it is the “final authority for Christian faith and life.”  We do not, with Rome, place the final authority with the Church. Since it is literally God’s Word, we must respond to Scripture the same way we would if God spoke directly to us face to face. Scripture is not just one factor in decision making, rather it is the final court of arbitration regarding anything it addresses. 

	

	

	

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 
	The fact that God is Creator of everything is the most basic truth about God we have. It is the first thing revealed in Scripture (Gn.1:1), it is the first point Paul made in His explanation of God to the Athenians (Acts 17:24), and it is the starting point for all knowledge of God. The fact that He made us implies that He owns us, and we are answerable to Him.
	His perfection means that He possesses every quality that is good to have to an infinite degree, and possesses no quality that is not good to have. This is true of Him by definition, since the only standard we have for good is God. 
	There is only one God (Dt.6:4), not three. He exists in three distinct persons (not three modes of existence for one person). The Father is God and distinct from the Son (Ro.15:6) and the Spirit (Jn.14:26). The Son is God (Tit.2:13) and distinct from the Father and the Spirit (Jn.15:26), and the Spirit is God (Acts 5:3,4) and is distinct from the Father and the Son (Jn.15:26).
	Each Person is fully God (not one third of God - see Col.2:9). The Godhead exists eternally in that God never came into existence and will always be (Gn.1:1, Rev.4:8). God is the only being that possesses the ability to exist in and of Himself without being dependent upon anyone or anything.
	The character of each member of the Trinity is identical to the others. This is also generally true of the attributes of each member (although Jesus possesses a physical body, while Scripture does not refer to the Father or Spirit having a physical body). Each member is worthy of the same homage, trust, and obedience.
	A good summary of the Father’s character and attributes is found in Paul’s speech in Athens in Acts 17: God is the Creator which means He is Lord (owner) of everything (v.24). He is not confined to a specific location, but is omnipresent, and is in no sense dependent on anyone or anything or any place (v.24,25). He is good and kind and beneficent toward all of humanity, and every person is indebted to Him (v.25). Every human is totally dependent upon Him (v.28). He is sovereign over history, and controls all the workings of men (human will notwithstanding), and orchestrates everything according to His plan (v.26).
	God desires that men seek Him, and Has arranged things accordingly (v.27). This is possible, because while He is transcendent and separate from the creation (vv.24, 29), He is also immanent and knowable (v.27). While God is forgiving and kind, He also requires repentance (v.30). This is because He is just, and will carry out His justice through Christ (v.31). God has provided adequate proof of who Jesus is by raising Him from the dead (v.31).
	We are careful when we speak about the different roles of the members of the Trinity, because there is such unity in the Godhead, that when one member does something, it can be said that the others did it. For example, in Eph.3:9 God is said to be the Creator (we take this to refer to the Father, as He is distinguished from the Son in v.11). However in Col.1:16 we find that Jesus created all things. In Isa.43:11 Yahweh states that He is the only Savior, but Tit.3:6 calls Christ our Savior.
	Nevertheless, Scripture does seem to point to some roles that are associated more with one member of the Godhead than with others.
	It seems to be the Spirit’s role, in a special way, to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn.16:8), to “carry along” the writers of Scripture (2 Pe.1:21), to baptize all believers into the Body (1 Co.12:13) regenerating them (Tit.3:5), to indwell believers (Ro.8:9), to seal believers and guarantee their redemption (Eph.1:13,14), to reveal the gospel (1 Co.2:10), and to teach believers (1 Co.2:13).   
	The role of the Son could be summarized in His role of revealing the Father (1:1-3), accomplishing redemption (Ro.3:24), and ultimately judging humanity (Jn.5:22).

	

We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. Further, He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate. 
	Jesus’ conception was miraculous and unique. Mary was a virgin until after Jesus’ birth. His sacrificial death is the one, true sacrifice to which all the sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed. While none of those ever actually paid for a person’s sins, Jesus’ sacrifice covered all sins (Heb.10:11-14, 9:28). His resurrection and ascension provide irrefutable proof of the validity of His claims (Acts 17:31). He is our High Priest and Advocate in that He intercedes with the Father on our behalf (Heb.7:25).  
	Jesus Christ is true God in every sense (Heb.1:6, Ro.9:5, Tit.2:13, 2 Pe.1:1, Jn.1:1-23, Isa.9:6, Jer.23:5,6, Tit.3:5,6, Col.2:9, Jn.8:24-58, Acts 3:15). He possesses all the attributes of deity, including non-communicable attributes (Heb.13:8, Rev.1:8,21:6, 22:12-16, Mt.28:20, Php.2:10, Heb.4:15, Jn.5:25, Lk.5:20-22). He never, at any time ceased to be God. He is true man also. He experienced hunger, thirst, weakness, fatigue and even temptation (Heb.4:15). He is one Person with two natures (human and divine).
	I believe the penalty Christ paid was an infinite one. Since Jesus’ life was of infinite value, there is no limit to what offenses it can cover. Jesus paid an infinite price. That payment, however, is only applied to those who believe. In 1 Tim 4:10 God is described as the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. I understand this to mean God is the Savior of all men in the sense that He has provided for their salvation, and He is especially the Savior of those who believe, because that provision has been applied to them.
	Without the sacrifice of Christ, there could be no forgiveness and no salvation. Those who suggest a universal salvation, or salvation by works, or salvation by any other means than that provided in the Gospel make a mockery of Christ’s death. If salvation could be attained by some other means, Christ died for nothing (Ga.2:21).
	The nature of Jesus’ resurrection body is a difficult question. Most of what is said on the subject is the result of inferences rather than direct statements in Scripture. For example, we notice Jesus’ ability to suddenly appear in a locked room. There is no statement, however, that suggests this ability is due to the nature of His body. Before the resurrection He walked on water. We do not assume from that anything about the nature of His body – it was simply a miracle. This may be the case in Jn.20:26 as well.
	It seems that people were not able to recognize Jesus unless He enabled them to do so. Again, we do not know if this is due to the nature of His body, or a simple supernatural act.
	We do know that after the resurrection Jesus’ wounds were visible (Jn.20:27) which indicates that it was the same body that had been crucified. We know that His body was flesh and bones, and not spirit (Lk.24:39). He had breakfast with the disciples (Jn.21:13-15), and appeared to be a normal person (Lk.24:15-31).
	In 1 Co.15 we find that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom (v.50), and that the resurrection body is a “spiritual body” (v.44). We must limit our speculations as to the precise meaning and implications of this, because in this very passage we are warned: “But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" How foolish!”  (vv.35,36).
	It is enough to know that the resurrection body will be the same body we have now, yet it will be as different as a tree is from a seed. The same must be true of Jesus (v.49). 
	While on earth Jesus demonstrated His deity by being born in fulfillment of prophecy, by living a sinless life in perfect obedience to the Father’s will, by performing more and greater miracles than anyone ever, by giving irrefutable claims of deity, and by raising Himself from the dead. While miracle workers of the past gave credit to God, Jesus claimed the power was His own. He never refused worship, and lived His life in fulfillment of prophecy.

	
	
We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and, during this age, to convict men, regenerate the believing sinner, and indwell, guide, instruct and empower the believer for godly living and service. 
	Although we call the Holy Spirit the third person of the Godhead, we do not do so to imply that He is lacking in any part of the divine nature. Scripture does not call Him the third person in the Godhead (although Scripture does mention Him third when listing the members of the Trinity. e.g. Mt.28:19, 2 Co.13:14. 1 Pe.1:2 is an exception.).
	We read explicit statements of the Son’s submission to the Father (Jn.6:38, 1 Co.11:3), and we observe the submission of the Spirit to the Father and Son (Jn.15:26, 16:7, 14:26). 
	The Spirit’s role in the Church is to baptize all believers into the Body (1 Co.12:13) regenerating them (Tit.3:5), to indwell believers (Ro.8:9) and fill them (Eph.5:18), to seal believers and guarantee their redemption (Eph.1:13,14), and to teach believers (1 Co.2:13). To the individual, the Holy Spirit gives the ability to understand the gospel (1 Co.2:10). In the world, the Spirit brings conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn.16:8).
	In Eph.5 the filling of the Spirit is contrasted with drunkenness. In order to have a meaningful contrast, the contrasted items must be in the same category in some way. It seems to me there are two points of connection between the ideas of drunkenness and the filling of the Spirit. First, both result in a kind of joy (v.19). Second, both describe a strong influence resulting from an intentional act to subject oneself to its influence.  Wine has a strong influence, but not until a person drinks it. Similarly, only if one exposes himself to the Holy Spirit’s influence does he become filled with the Spirit. Since the command is directed to believers, and it is a present imperative, it seems best to interpret it not as a one-time event, but as something for which we are to continually strive.
	
The baptism of the Spirit, however, does appear to be a one time event that happens at conversion (otherwise it could not be said that all believers have been baptized by the Spirit - 1 Co.12:13).
	The anointing is not defined in Scripture, but it is closely associated with the idea of having the truth and not needing new teaching (1 Jn.2:20,27). Apparently, the antichrists were trying to give some teaching beyond the gospel -- perhaps they called it the anointing. It appears to be something that is possessed by all believers. We are not told to seek it. Rather, conclusions are simply drawn from the fact that we have it. Perhaps the anointing is a reference to Scripture, or the Gospel, or the ability to understand the Gospel. At any rate, the anointing in 1 Jn.2 is not connected with the Holy Spirit.  
	I believe the primary purpose of signs is to validate revelation. This was necessary during the time of the writing of the NT. Once the NT was completed, however, the need was no longer present. The references to miracles in the NT seem to diminish in the later books, and are even referred to in the past tense (Heb.2:4). I believe God can act miraculously whenever He pleases, and does so from time to time. Miracles are not normative, however.
	The terms, “word of wisdom,” “word of knowledge,” and “word of prophecy” are not defined in Scripture. The first two phrases are found in 1 Co.12:8. The concept of wisdom is discussed at length in chapters one and two. The wisdom of God is the Gospel. The word of wisdom, then, may refer to the ability to proclaim the gospel.
	The term “knowledge” is used repeatedly in ch.8 to refer to understanding details about Christian freedom. Perhaps the word of knowledge speaks of the ability to teach about Christian living.
	Prophecy is the miraculous speaking of the words of God verbatim in direct revelation. The subject matter may be the past, present or future. The issue is not the time, but the fact that the person is acting as a mouthpiece for God. 
	I am not aware of a need for the gift of tongues today, however I suppose it is possible that there may be a need in some context I am not aware of. I would discourage those who thought they had the gift of tongues from speaking tongues in the church service, since I do not believe that which takes place in the modern Charismatic movement to be the true gift of tongues. On the other hand, I have no problem fellowshipping with Charismatics. Neither my wife nor I speak or pray in tongues, and we agree fully with the EFCA position. 
	There is one sense in which healing is included in the atonement. Jesus’ work on the cross is what provided for us to inherit all of the benefits of eternal life. One of those benefits is perfect health in heaven someday. Another benefit is salvation from sin. During our life on earth, we have been delivered from the power and penalty of sin, yet we still struggle with sin. The atonement provided us victory over sin, yet we do not receive that in a total way in this life. The same is true of healing. 

We believe that man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and is, therefore, lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained. 
	The fact that men are lost is the first half of the Gospel. If we soft-pedal the fact of man’s condemnation, we minimize the Gospel. One may think he is being kind by understating sin, guilt, punishment, and hell, but in reality that is one of the cruelest things we could do. If we understate the trouble a person is in, we not only misrepresent God and the truth, but we rob them of a strong motivation for repentance. 
	The fact that man is in the image of God means, first of all, that man is unique. Nothing else in creation is in God’s image. The contrast in the creation story between man and everything else is one of personhood: let it be...let it be...let it be...let it be...let it be...Let Us make. Until that point, everything that is created was for the man, but the man is for God. Man was created for the purpose of having an intimate, personal relationship and communion with God, and everything else that was made was made to make that possible.
	The most natural interpretation of the term “image” in Gn.1 is that of physical resemblance. That is, that man looked like God. While God is Spirit, and does not have a physical body like us, and while He is not visible to us, that does not mean He has no appearance at all. Scripture often refers to His appearance. Those who see Him fall down in fear. They must see something. The angels in heaven, when they look at the throne do not just see an empty seat – in fact the seraphim even use their wings to cover their eyes (Isa.6:2). 
	We resemble God in other ways too. Everything about man, as he was originally created, resembles God. This shows the dignity of man - all of man (not just part)
	Everything else is according to its kind but we are according to His likeness.   The only thing an animal is similar to is another animal of the same species. We are similar to God.
	We must not, however, take this too far. We are not gods. Kenneth Hagin says, “Man was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God’s presence without any consciousness of inferiority.”  That is heresy. The distance between man and God is infinite. He is Creator, man is a creature. He is infinite, man is finite.
	The fact that man is in God’s image is the basis for respectful treatment toward one another. (Jas.3:9, Pr.14:31, 17:5, Dt.9:6).
	It is also significant that women are in the image of God as well. I believe God’s image is not fully expressed by masculine characteristics. To have a full picture of what God is like, we must also consider feminine characteristics such as beauty (Ps.27:4),  graciousness (Ex.34:6), gentleness (1 Ki.19:11,12), tenderness (Lk.1:76), nurture and motherhood (Nm.11:10-12, Isa.66:13, Dt.32:18), compassion (Ex.34:6), etc.
	One way in which we do not resemble God is in the fact that we are fallen. As a result of the fall, all of mankind was plunged into sin (Isa.43:27) and therefore into death (1 Co.15:22). David even spoke of being sinful from conception (Ps.51:5). Imputed sin from Adam, however, is not all there is to our fallen condition. Everyone capable of sin has actually chosen to sin (Ro.5:12).
	As a result of his sin, man is lost. Since a sin against an infinitely holy being is an infinite offense, it calls for an infinite punishment. Since we are finite beings, and our lives have limited value, we cannot pay that penalty simply by dying. For us to pay an infinite debt, it requires that we suffer an eternal torment (Mt.18:8). The torment is just as eternal as the reward (Mt.25:46). The torment will be “day and night forever” (Rev.20:10).
	Scripture has revealed only one way to salvation (Jn.14:6), and for this reason the heathen are lost. Any attempt we make to think of a way the heathen may actually be saved removes our most powerful motivation for missions. The reason people develop theories for how the heathen may not be lost is because the thought of all those millions going to hell is so disconcerting. But it is that very discomfort that is the powerful force that drives godly men to give up everything and risk their own lives to reach the lost. Concern for the fact that those who have not heard cannot be saved is a Scriptural motive for missions (Ro.10:13-15). That passage makes it clear that unless they hear the Gospel, they cannot be saved.

We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and, thus become children of God. 
	There has been some controversy regarding the “shed blood of Jesus” being a ground for justification. My position on this is that the statement is correct as long as we understand that the term “blood” is a reference to the death of Christ, not merely to the physical fluid.
	Salvation is “by grace” in that it is unmerited. It is a gift, not a wage. It cannot be earned in any sense. God does require, however, that we do something in order to receive it. We must believe. While faith is also an unearned, undeserved gift from God, Scripture still presents it as something we can choose to do. This is a paradox (if we believe, God deserves all the credit, and if we do not, we deserve all the blame). 
	In presenting the Gospel, we require of people nothing other than faith. There is no ritual, ceremony or meritorious deed that is required. On the other hand, however, God does require genuine faith. For example, we do not tell people faith plus obedience is required. However, if someone claims to believe but has no intention of being obedient, it proves his faith is not genuine (Jas.2:14-26, Mt.7:21).
	One of the immediate results of true faith is repentance. Without repentance, no one is saved (Acts 3:19). Repentance is a turning from sin toward God. Some have suggested that it is possible to change one’s mind only – without it having any impact on one’s life – but I disagree. A true change of mind affects one’s life. Repentance is associated with behavior (Ez.14:6).
	“Justification,” in the context of conversion, refers to the declaration by God that a person is righteous on the basis of the legal imputation of Christ’s righteousness to our account (Php.3:9, Ro.4:3-5). It is a forensic pronouncement by God. Rome has objected to this definition, calling it “legal fiction.”  God, however, by declaring us not guilty, gives us a real (not fictional) position of good standing before God.
	God is concerned that we be not only positionally righteous, but also ethically righteous. For this reason He makes us righteous by conforming us to Christ’s image. He does so through a process that begins at salvation (1 Co.6:11), continues throughout life (2 Co.3;18), and is completed only in the next life (1 Jn.1:8, 3:2).
	Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ means believing His claims (Jn.8:24) and entrusting oneself to Him. Entrusting one’s life to Christ means placing one’s eternal fate completely in His hands (Jn.3:16). It also involves entrusting one’s earthly life to Christ (Mt.16:24).
	I believe true Christians should have a strong sense of security, since they have been provided with everything they need for life and godliness (2 Pe.1:3), and the Lord cannot be defeated by any foe (Jn.10:28, Ro.8:39). Still, Scripture warns us against falling from that secure position (2 Pe.3:17). Salvation, in this life, is conditioned upon faith. To remain saved, we must continue to believe (1 Co.15:2). In this life a person is able to change, and, if he does so, his past will not be remembered (Ez.33:12-20, 18:21-29, 3:18-21).  
	I believe it is the responsibility and privilege of every believer to reproduce himself. At the broadest level, this means evangelism and discipling (Mt.28:18). For those who have similar gifts and calling, it involves reproducing oneself in a more specific way (such as Paul with Timothy).
	I continually pray for God to bring into my life both mentors and disciples. My method of discipleship varies with the people with whom I am working. For some, a formal, structured format is best. For others, it is less formal. We spend time together, carry out ministry together, and he learns as an apprentice. I believe on the job training is often the best way to learn. The best way to become like someone else is to spend time around him. Godly characteristics, attitudes, reactions and habits tend to “rub off” on those who have a willing heart. 
	Most of the conflict in the areas of Calvinism vs. Arminianism arises out of statements that go beyond Scripture. I believe both systems tend to be correct in what they affirm and incorrect in what they deny. For example, the Calvinist who says, “God controls everything” is correct. But usually that is not what causes heated conflict. It is when he begins applying human reasoning, and goes beyond Scripture that people object.  Most agree that God is in control, but if we say, “God is in control” and then add “…therefore there is no such thing as human will,” that is when the conflict arises. 
	My approach is to preach strongly whatever is being taught in the passage at hand, but I do so in a way as not to needlessly offend. I have found that the truths on either side can be preached very strongly without offending most people, if the pastor will simply acknowledge the truth of the other side, and simply leave it as a paradox.
	The elect are definitely predestined (Eph.1:11), yet it is also true that a person is saved or lost based upon what that person decides (Ro.10:9). While there are strong statements regarding the sovereignty of God in Scripture, there are also very strong statements about human responsibility and will (Ez.24:13, Mt.23:37).
	As for Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology, I believe it is best to handle the various issues one at a time, rather than endorsing an entire system (especially since the terms mean different things to different people). My approach is to move through Scripture verse-by-verse and interpret each passage as it comes. I have found this causes far less controversy than teaching from some theological system.   
 
With regard to the Lordship controversy, my position is very close to that of John MacArthur’s. I have found, however, that if the principles are taught with the right terminology, the controversy is minimized. 
	In my opinion, we would do better, in this debate, to use the term “Owner” rather than “Lord.”  Most people today do not think of ownership when they hear the term “Lord,” but that is what it means. This would help clarify the issue. The “non-lordship” side often argues that we are not saved by faith plus commitment or faith plus willingness to obey. That is true. However, if faith is believing that Jesus is Lord, and that means believing He owns my life, then all genuine faith will include a submissive attitude toward Christ.
	We believe that water baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances to be observed by the Church during the present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as means of salvation. 
	Not only are the ordinances not a means to salvation, I believe they are not a means to grace at all (I object to the term, “sacrament”).  The idea that we can perform some ceremony to receive grace from God contradicts the Gospel. God’s grace comes through faith alone (Eph.2:8,9). 
	Since I believe the ordinances are indeed ordinances, I regard them as very important. Just because something is not a requirement for salvation does not mean that it is not required. We ought to be eager to obey in everything. 
	Baptism is a picture of what takes place at conversion. It pictures the entrance into Christ (Acts 19:5, Ga.3:26,27 1 Co.1:13), washing of regeneration (1 Pe.3:21, Acts 22:16), and burial and resurrection with Christ (Ro.6:3,4, Col.2:12). While we are not commanded to be baptized, we are commanded to baptize (Mt.28:18).
	Because it is a picture, baptism should be done as close to conversion as possible for adults (as is our example in Acts). As for children, we do not have a biblical mandate. I think junior high is a good time, but that is nothing but an opinion.
 
Communion is primarily a remembrance (Lk.22:19, 1 Co.11:24,25). It is first and foremost a memorial of Jesus’ death. Just as Passover was a reminder of God’s greatest work of salvation up to that time, so communion is a reminder of God’s greatest act of salvation ever.
	Communion is also a sign of the New Covenant (Lk.22:20, 1 Co.11:25). So when we take communion we remember Christ, we are reminded of His covenant promise to forgive our sins, and our obligation to be faithful to that covenant.
	Communion is a proclamation of the Lord’s death (1 Co.11:26). When we do this, we do not just remember His death. Whoever is leading the service announces the meaning of it.
	Communion serves as an occasion for self-examination (1 Co.11:20-22). It is true that Paul was warning them against one specific sin – selfishness. And we have pretty well protected ourselves from that by they way we do it (those little wafers are just not very filling, and there is plenty for everyone). However, if God was this concerned about that particular sin, it stands to reason that he would be upset about other unconfessed sins during communion as well.
	The one partaking must recognize the body and blood of the Lord (to think about the meaning of communion while partaking). This does not have to be a full knowledge (who could claim to have that?). I think young children can partake if they have a reasonable awareness of the meaning.
	It is not only a time of self-examination for the individual, but for the whole church. 1 Co.5:8 talks about keeping the Passover Feast not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast – the bread of sincerity and truth. There is some question as to whether the figure of speech (Passover) is referring to communion or just the worship service in general, but either way, it is telling us that when we come together we need to get rid of the old yeast. And in that chapter, the yeast is not sin in your life, but sinful people in your church.
	Communion is an act of worship. Communion is as much an act of worship as were the OT sacrifices  (1 Co.10:16-21). Communion is similar to making a sacrifice in the sense that it binds a person to the God he is worshipping with a relationship so close that it is exclusive and requires fidelity. 
	Communion is an act of fellowship with God (1 Co.10:16). We are actually joined with Christ in His death when we take the wine. We were already joined at conversion, but apparently we are joined in a still deeper way in communion.
	Communion is an act of fellowship with one another (1 Co.10:17). Not only are we united more closely with Christ, but also with one another. (I think there is valuable imagery in having a single loaf instead of pellets or wafers). This is significant because eating with someone is an act of closeness and it draws you closer. 
	I do not have strong opinions on how often communion is celebrated. The churches I have been in have celebrated it once a month or once a quarter. Their rationale for not doing it more often is that when it is done too much, it loses meaning. I have not observed this to be true (I know people who do it every week and for whom it remains profoundly significant). Given the limited nature of my sample, however, I cannot make a judgment as to what frequency is best.
	To those who would suggest to me that baptism is required for salvation, I would respond by inviting a discussion from Scripture. I believe it is possible for such a person to be saved, provided he does not hold to any kind of system of merit. I would point out to the person that the church is never commanded to be baptized. I believe we are to be baptized (that is implied by several texts), but were it a requirement for salvation, I believe there would be more of an emphasis. The thief on the cross was not baptized, and while an argument from silence is somewhat weak, I think the amount of silence is significant. In the many detailed explanations of how one is saved in the epistles the absence of any mention of baptism is conspicuous (as are the strong emphases on the fact that salvation does not come through ceremony or ritual).
	I am not willing to perform “baptism” on an infant. 
	Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38 are examples of people being urged to be baptized in the context of a Gospel presentation. 1 Peter 3:21 actually refers to “baptism that now saves you.”  There is no question that in the New Testament, baptism is closely connected with conversion. This is appropriate, because baptism is a picture of what takes place at conversion. One reason this is often a difficulty for us, is because we have replaced baptism. Instead of baptism being the thing we do at the moment of a person’s conversion, we pray “the sinner’s prayer.”  
	As a result, we speak of the sinner’s prayer much the same way the New Testament speaks of baptism. People refer to the moment they prayed synonymously with their salvation (when in reality, a person is saved the moment he believes).   
	While baptism is not required for salvation, it is required for believers in this age. The fact that the Great Commission calls us to make disciples by baptizing, and new converts were baptized throughout Acts, and baptism is referred to in the Epistles imply that we are to be baptized.

We believe that the true Church is composed of all such persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the Body of Christ of which He is the Head. 
	The Universal Church originated on the Day of Pentecost, in Acts 2. While a local church may contain some unbelievers, and does not contain all believers (Ga.1:2), the Universal Church is a term that refers to all believers and only believers (1 Co.10:32, 12:28).
	While there is a sense in which the church is spiritual Israel (Ro.9:6,7), ethnic Israel remains significant in God’s program. In the Old Testament, Israel receives both judgments and promises of restoration. If the church has replaced Israel, then all of the judgments would apply to ethnic Israel, while the promises of restoration would not. 
	In Romans eleven, Paul makes a clear distinction between the church and Israel. He refers to people who are enemies with regard to the Gospel (v.28). Clearly that cannot refer to the Church. This group will receive mercy (vv.29-31) and be saved (v.26). 
	
We believe that only those who are, thus, members of the true Church shall be eligible for membership in the local church. 
	Local church membership is not a biblical phrase, however there is some indication that records of individuals who joined were kept right from the very beginning (Acts 2:41, 5:14). I do not believe there is such a category as believers who are not members of a local church.
	While there can be unbelievers in the church, they are never really a true part of the church (1 Jn.2:19). The only people who are genuinely a part of the local church are members of the Universal Church – believers (1 Co.1:2).
	The elders in the church are to be above reproach, the husband of but one 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 with proper respect. He must not be a recent convert and must also have a good reputation with outsiders (1 Ti.3:1-7), blameless, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not pursuing dishonest gain, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined, and He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (Tit.1:6-9).
	Deacons are to be men 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. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well (1 Ti.3:8-11).
	It seems that in the NT Church, leaders were appointed (Tit.1:5). 
	 
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church and that every local church has the right, under Christ, to decide and govern its own affairs. 
	I would add that not only do the individual churches have the right to govern their own affairs, they have the responsibility to do so. The churches receiving the letters in Rev.2,3 we praised or rebuked in accordance with decisions they made as a church.
	Christ exercises His leadership of the Church in the same way the head functions as the leader of the body – He coordinates the gifts and abilities and workings of the various members to see to it that the work of the whole body is done (Eph.1:22, Col.2:19, 1 Co.12:12-28). The Church functions as a body in that each part of the body has only a very specific role, and the coordination of those roles is the job of the head (Eph.4:15,16).   
	As I understand it, there are two basic categories of church government: congregational, and hierarchical. In congregational rule churches, the highest authority is the leadership within a given local church, with no outside authority. Episcopacy asserts that authority in the church is exercised by the order of bishops. In Presbyterianism, authority rests in the presbyters. This form of church polity is organized into a hierarchical structure, which, in ascending order of its parts, consists of the local congregation, the presbytery (representing a number of congregations), the regional synod, and an over-all general assembly. Each of these presbyterian bodies exercises a certain amount of authority over its constituent bodies. 
	I support congregational government. When the Lord gave instructions regarding church discipline, the highest level to which the matter ascends is the congregation (Mt.18:17). It seems to me that if some higher authority were to exist, that would be the level to which church discipline matters would rise.
	The terms, presbute,roj, evpi,skopoj, and poimhnaj are used in the NT to describe the same office (1 Pe.5:1,2, Tit.1:5,7). No argument can be made, then, for a hierarchy from these terms. The only biblical support we have for any human authority outside the local church is that of the Apostles or associates of the Apostles. Since these offices no longer exist, authority rests within the individual congregations.
	In 1 Thes.5:12 the people are told that the leaders are "over you in the Lord."
Ro.12:8 says "If a man's gift is …8 leadership, let him govern diligently"
Heb.13:17  "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy…"
Who are these leaders?  1 Ti.5:17 speaks of "the elders who rule well." 
	The Bible says elders rule, they are over the people in the Lord, they govern, and they are in authority over everyone. The Bible never speaks of anyone else ruling, being over anyone in the Lord, governing or having authority in the church. 
	The church is to be governed and managed by the pastors in that local congregation – not by some external denominational hierarchy, not by the popular opinion of everyone in the church, and not by a committee.
	
The terminology regarding the authority of elders is similar to that regarding the authority of husbands. Just as the husband is the head of the home, and is responsible to be in authority – but if he doesn’t listen to the opinions and desires and advice of his wife, he is foolish, so the congregation will be informed, they will have an opportunity to voice concerns and opinions, and then righteous, godly men who know Scripture should apply biblical principles to the question, and, taking into consideration the will and advice of the congregation, and immersing the whole process in fervent prayer, arrive at a decision. 
	That’s the way God has chosen to lead the church – and if we are faithful to follow that process, He will guide us that way. 
	The pastors, however, are not the ultimate human authority. Ultimately, the final authority rests in the congregation. In the final stage of church discipline, it is the responsibility of the congregation to put someone out.
	If a pastor is sinning, the most insignificant, unknown, least respected member of the church has every right to confront even the most powerful, established, popular pastor in the church. And, as long as there are 2 or 3 witnesses, that pastor is to be publicly rebuked – even if he repents (1 Ti.5:19).
	My own practice in leadership is to focus on leading each person in the congregation to be busy in fulfillment of his or her own calling. I give those with expertise in an area a greater role in decision-making in that area. In board meetings, I try to reserve my comments for issues addressed by scriptural principles. I say very little in a discussion regarding the plumbing of the church, for example. I trust the Lord to provide adequate gifts, and I give myself to the task of equipping. Rather than trying to do everything, I spend my energy removing barriers that prevent those who have been called to various tasks from doing them.   
	I see the shepherding role as primarily related to meeting people’s spiritual needs (it is my duty to seek to meet their physical and emotional needs as well, but that duty falls more under the category of my role as a Christian in general). A shepherd protects the sheep (warns them of error, false teach, temptations, etc. – 1 Ti.4:6), leads the sheep (assists people in discovering and carrying out their calling – Eph.4:12, 1 Pe.5:3), feeds the sheep (through teaching and counseling – Jn.21:15-17), and loves the sheep (Jn.10:11). 
	
We believe in the personal premillennial and imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this "Blessed Hope" has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. 
	The hope of the Coming of Christ truly does have a vital bearing on the life of the believer. Not only are we concerned with the prospect of having to give an account of our behavior (Ro.14:12), but also for positive reasons. When a person is looking forward to some great event it has a profound effect on his entire disposition. We owe it to God to live this way. For us to live as though His great promises were nothing to get excited about would be a slap in the face to God. Part of the reason God has made our salvation so sure is so that we would live lives of hope (1 Pe.1:21).
	We believe Christ’s return to be “personal.”  We do not believe in a mere spiritual return, or a return of Christ’s “consciousness.”    We believe that the Lord will come back to this world physically and literally (Jn.14:3).
	I believe Christ’s return will be premillennial in that it will precede a literal 1000 year reign of Christ on earth. This is the most natural reading of Rev.20. Revelation describes the Great Tribulation, and the struggle with the Antichrist (ch.6-19), and the Millennium then begins in ch.20. The Millennium will follow the struggle with the Antichrist (20:4). During the church age, however, the Antichrist is not yet revealed. In fact, the very revelation of the “man of lawlessness” is an eschatological sign  (2 Thes.2:3). I don’t believe there is any non-premillennial position that has offered a plausible interpretation of Rev.20.
	The premillennial position also allows a literal interpretation of the many restoration promises in the prophets. I believe it is an inconsistent hermeneutic to interpret the judgments on Israel literally and the restorations promises, given in the same contexts, figuratively. 
	I believe the rapture will follow the tribulation. I have not found the arguments for a pretribulational rapture compelling.  
	I believe the letters to the churches in Rev.2,3 imply that the Church will experience the tribulation described later in the book. While the comments to each church vary, one constant is the fact that the promises regarding eternal life are extended only to those who “overcome” (2:7,11,17,26, 3:5,12,21). Later, the martyrs are described as those who “overcame” (12:11, 15:2). Finally, in the description of the New Jerusalem, the Lord restates the fact that it is the one who overcomes who will inherit it (Rev.21:7). At the end of the Apocalypse, after many chapters about the Tribulation, the Lord points out that this information is directed not to some other category of saints, but to the Church (Rev.22:16).
	I believe we are on somewhat dangerous ground when we dismiss the many warnings regarding the Tribulation as not applicable to the Church. In each of Jesus’ major discourses directed at believers (with the exception of the Sermon on the Mount), the Lord devotes a substantial percentage of the discourse to warnings regarding the Tribulation, and calls for perseverance to the end (the commissioning of the twelve in Mt.10:17-36, the Olivet Discourse in Mt.24:1-25:46, The Upper Room Discourse in Jn.15-17). The purpose of these warnings about the Tribulation is to warn believers to be prepared so they do not go astray (Jn.16:1). 
	Jesus speaks regarding the coming Tribulation in Lk.17:22-18:8. This is clearly a lesson that applies to the disciples (18:1) and is a teaching regarding the perseverance of believers through the difficult period preceding the Second Coming (17:30, 18:6-8).
	Paul told the Thessalonians that their deliverance from their opponents would come on the day when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels (2 Thes.1:7), and that our being gathered to him will not take place until the man of lawlessness is revealed (2 Thes.2:3). The Day of the Lord will not surprise believers and overtake them like a thief, not because they will be absent, but because they will be alert (1 Thes.5:4-6). 
In 1 Thes.4:17 we learn that at the rapture we will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The word translated “meet” (avpa,nthsin) is a technical term that refers to the ancient custom in which people from a town would go out to “meet” an approaching dignitary for the purpose of accompanying him back to the town they had just come from.  While the word does not have to always mean this, it is the normal use, and it is consistent with the only other times the term is used in Scripture (Mt.25:6, Acts 28:15).
	Finally, I believe the most natural way to interpret Mt.24:31-42 (particularly v.31) is as a reference to the rapture. Verse 39 refers to those taken away (airw) by the flood. The idea of this term is to pick up and carry away. The term, “taken” in vv.40,41 however (paralambanw), carries more of the idea of “to take with” or “to bring along.”  The term “left” often means “to be left behind.”   I believe v.31 and vv.41,42 both refer to the rapture.
	Even though I believe the revelation of the Antichrist will probably precede the rapture, I still hold to the importance of the doctrine of imminency. The fact that Christ will come soon is a theme that is repeated in the NT, and we are to look to that event with an eager expectation (Ro.13:12, 1 Co.1:7,8, Php.3:20, Tit.2:13, Jas.5:8-9, 1 Jn.2:18, Rev.22:7,12,18,20). While these passages refer to His coming as “almost here,” “near,” and “soon;” and to this time as the “last hour,” there is no passage I am aware of that indicates that His coming can be any second.  
	My understanding of the term, “imminent” is that it refers to something that is impending and that could happen very soon. I think it is going too far, however, to say that imminency must mean “any split-second.”  In fact, Scripture speaks of clearly posttribulational events as being “near” and “about to begin” (1 Pe.4:7, 5,17).
	As convinced as I am that the rapture will follow the Tribulation, I also believe that the primary point of the Olivet Discourse is that since apocalyptic prophecy is not intended to give us exact precision in setting times and dates, every believer of every age at every moment must be prepared for Christ’s return.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead; of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord; of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.
	Our resurrection will be “bodily” in the sense that the resurrection body will be one composed of flesh (1 Co.15:39-49) but unlike our present flesh (1 Co.15:50), and it will include both the righteous and the unrighteous (Jn.5:28,29).
	Those who have died in unbelief are now in a place of torment (Lk.16:23). After the final judgment, the unsaved will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev.20:15). Perhaps that will be an even worse torment than the torment they presently suffer.
	Hades is a term that was used primarily in the LXX to simply refer to the grave. As the inter-testamental period approached, the term began to reflect the belief in a place of punishment for the unsaved dead. In the NT, Hades can refer to the grave (Acts 2:27,31) or to a place of punishment (Lk.16:23).
	The term, “Gehenna” comes from the word “Hinnom.”  The valley of Ben Hinnom was right next to Jerusalem, and it was used in OT times for human sacrifice to Baal and Molech (2 Ki.23:10). God cursed this place and announced it would be a place of judgment (Jer 7:31-33).  It was also the place where human waste was discarded. Criminals’ bodies were thrown there.  Because of all this it became an ideal illustration for hell.
	The word Gehenna is never used of the Valley of Ben Hinnom. It always means eternal hell whenever it is used. Hell is a place of live, burning human flesh. It is an accursed place of torment and unthinkable vileness and uncleanness. 
	I strongly oppose the concept of annihilation. Jesus could have said, “It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into fire,” but instead He said, “…and be thrown into eternal fire” (Mt.18:8). I can think of no valid reason why Jesus would include the word “eternal” if it were only momentary. It must be an everlasting torment. Eternal punishment and eternal reward are side by side in Mt.25:46. An attempt to make this word mean two different things in this context seems to be to betray an obvious prejudice. 
	Rev.20:10 not only speaks of eternal torment, but describes it with the phrase, “day and night forever.”  This must refer to continuous punishment. 
	This paper accurately reflects my understanding of the meaning of the twelve statements. I agree wholeheartedly and without any reservation with all of these statements as I understand them.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE
	There is considerable material in the epistles regarding spiritual warfare, but never are we commanded to cast or bind or rebuke anything. Jesus cast out demons as a demonstration of His deity (Lk.11:20, 1 Jn.3:8). The ability to drive out demons is repeatedly listed in the category of miracles (Mt.4:24, Mk.1:32-39, 3:15, Lk.4:41,11:20,13:31,32, Acts 10:38). In our day we can pray for a demon to be cast out of a person, just like we can ask for any miracle, but I do not believe Christians have authority over demons. In fact, it seems that in 2 Peter and Jude we are beneath the demons in power (II Pe.2:10,11, Jude 8,9).
	Spiritual warfare consists not in speaking to demons, but in fighting for truth. When the epistles speak on the subject of spiritual warfare, the issue is truth and error (1 Ti.1:18-20, 2 Co.10:3-6, Eph.6:10-17, etc.). Satan’s primary weapon is lying (Jn.8:44). By bringing people to a point of believing wrongly about God, Satan achieves his purposes. This is the reason Satan gives his energy to blinding people’s understanding (2 Co.4:4).
	I do not believe a true believer can be demonized. If a believer were subject to the control of a demon, the demon could make him sin against his will. I do not believe this can happen to a believer  (1 Co.10:13).
	
ALTERNATIVE SEXUALITY
	Homosexual behavior is a serious sin, and those who persist in that sin will not enter heaven (1 Co.6:9,10). It appears near the bottom of the downward spiral of Romans one, not because it is the worst possible sin, but because it is the prime example of a sin against natural revelation, which is the topic at hand in that passage. Some sins the world, without Scripture, may not be able to discern as sins, but this is an activity that is obviously shown to be wrong simply from observing the way God created us. Therefore, for a person to strongly oppose homosexual behavior does not constitute a phobia. There is a vast difference between a loathing for that which offends Holy God and harms people, and an irrational fear.
	In fact, I believe there are some in the church who suffer from a homophobiaphobia – an irrational fear of being accused of homophobia. “Homophobia” is simply a term invented by people who seek to defend homosexual behavior that is intended to portray any opposition to homosexuality in the most negative possible way. It is simply name-calling, and we ought not be cowed by it. 
	On the other hand, we must keep in mind the fact that it is not a sin to be tempted (Heb.4:15). For this reason, I do not believe it is sinful to be tempted toward homosexuality. Those who do suffer such temptations ought not to be ostracized in any way in the church. It is hypocritical to shun someone who struggles with those temptations, while we ourselves struggle with other temptations.
	In fact, we ought not even shun those who struggle with the behavior itself, provided it is truly a struggle. A person who falls into a sin, if he is repentant, should be completely forgiven and welcomed with love and joy – even if he repeatedly falls. To fail to do so is to be outwitted by Satan (2 Co.2:5-11).  The evidence of genuine saving faith in this case, as with all other sins, is not the total absence of the temptation, or even the total absence of the sin (1 Jn.1:8). The mark of the Christian lies in one’s attitude toward sin. The true believer hates his sin, and genuinely longs to be rid of it (Ro.7:7-25, Ps.51), while the false Christian, deep down, loves his sin and is not willing to give it up (Ro.1:32, Mt.6:5, 23:7).
	
LIFE AND DEATH
	I believe that human beings become human beings at conception (Ps.51:5). All fertilized eggs, therefore, are human beings, and should not be killed or placed in unnecessary danger. I see no moral difference between killing a child before or after birth. 
	For that reason, I believe abortion should be illegal. Our method of bringing such a law to be, however, is not mandated in Scripture, and is therefore in the realm of opinion and personal conviction. I oppose illegal means of bringing changes in the law. 
	I oppose infanticide, mercy killing, suicide and euthanasia. Suffering is part of life, and while we are at liberty to seek comfort and relief, we are not at liberty to take our own lives or those of others – even at their request. People’s lives belong to God, not to themselves. When a believer has accomplished his purpose, I believe he can be confident the Lord will take him home without delay (Acts 13:36). As for unbelievers, we should seek to keep them alive as long as possible in the hope that they might be saved.
	I think the question, however, of exactly what constitutes death is a difficult one. I think there may be a time when it is proper to “pull the plug,” because while the machines are carrying on certain functions of the body, the person is actually dead.
	ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE
	 I do not drink alcohol nor take illegal drugs. I do believe there is a place for medication (1 Ti.5:23). While there is no direct statement in Scripture forbidding drugs or alcohol, there are numerous principles that must be considered. Any activity can be wrong if it causes a weaker believer to stumble (Ro.14:20), demonstrates a poor witness (Tit.2:11), becomes controlling (1 Co.6:12), violates the conscience (1 Co.8:7), demonstrates poor stewardship of the body or of money (Mt.25:14-30), causes a drunkenness or a high (Eph.5:18), violates the law (Ro.13:1), or harms the body to the degree that servanthood is hindered (Ga.5:13). 
	I believe drunkenness is any time someone drinks to alter his mood chemically. 
WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
	 I believe women are vital in the Church, and contribute to the Kingdom of God every bit as much, if not more, than men. Women and men are equal in value, importance, significance and ability to glorify God in service. In the home and in the Church, however, God has designed differing roles for men and women. Only men are to hold the office of elder, and only men are to have the office of teaching men in the local church (1 Ti.2:12). I do not see this as merely a cultural situation, as the rationale provided is based not on culture but on creation and the fall (1 Ti.2:13,14).
	I believe this prohibition to apply only to official teaching positions within the church. There is a place for women to instruct men (Acts 18:26). I would be against having a woman teach a mixed adult Sunday School class, but I would not oppose a woman making insightful comments or giving instruction to the class in a discussion time.
	
WORSHIP STYLES
I believe it is healthy to have some variety in worship styles within a church. This gives us an opportunity to demonstrate love and to give to one another (since we have differing tastes). I believe we ought to make an effort to have music that is excellent in quality, and that we should be energetic, reverent, and sincere in our worship. There is a place in worship for the expression of joy and celebration, contemplation, and deep reverence and seriousness. 
	As for my personal preference, I enjoy the great hymns and worship choruses, and I like it when there is a worship team and a band or orchestra.  
	CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
I believe the most important key to conflict management is promoting a spiritually mature response from those involved. Those who have sinful reactions must be shown the proper way. When people respond in a godly manner, most disagreements work themselves out in a good way.
	I take criticism as an opportunity for growth. I never respond in anger. Instead, I evaluate what is said, ask the Lord to show me any truth that may be in it, and forget about any part that I decide is not valid.
DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE
	While marriage is designed to be permanent (Gn.2:24). I believe divorce is permitted by Scripture in the cases of adultery (Mt.5:31,32) and abandonment (1 Co.7:15). I also believe the Jews of Jesus’ time were correct in their belief that any valid divorce also allows for remarriage.
	I do not believe we can assume anything negative about a person simply because he is divorced. It is possible he was righteous, and did not sin at all in the matter. And even if it was a sinful divorce, we must forgive like God forgives. If the person got a sinful divorce and has not repented, he must be confronted with church discipline. However, if the person has committed any sin and repented, we must forgive totally. 
	My understanding of the phrase “husband of one wife” in 1 Ti.3:2,12, Tit.1:6 refers to the man who, if married, is faithful and singly devoted to his wife (not flirtatious). I do not believe divorce automatically disqualifies a person from leadership (although depending on why the divorce happened, 1 Ti.3:4 may be an issue). 
	LODGES
	As I understand it, masonry requires members to embrace a god who is equally god and father of all men of all faiths. For a Christian to pray to the same god as unbelievers – a god who does not have the character and attributes of the true God – would be a clear case of idolatry (1 Chrn.16:26, 1 Co.10:20). That alone would disqualify a mason from being a Christian or a Christian from being a mason. I believe it is wrong for any believer to vow agreement with any organization that postulates clearly unbiblical doctrines.    

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
	My personal prayer routine changes from time to time. It seems that a system that is good for me for a while, eventually becomes counterproductive in its ability to allow me to concentrate on prayer, and so I make a change. At this time, my routine is as follows:
	I seek to be continually in prayer throughout the day. The moment I wake up in the morning, I try to turn my attention to God. When I arrive at the office in the morning, the first thing I do is spend some time in prayer specifically regarding the day to come. At some point during the day I take an hour walk for the purpose of prayer. This is my most concentrated prayer time. I begin with worship – usually a time of singing hymns or worship choruses. After this I pray about items on my list. I also have a prayer time before bed.
	I study Scripture most of the day each day in preparation for the sermons. My devotional time, however, is separate. After my morning prayer time, I translate two verses in the OT (currently Isa.) and about seven or eight in the NT. I find that translating helps me to focus on each word and the relationship between the words. This helps me tremendously in meditation. After translating, I spend some time in meditation on the truths of those passages.
	I am committed to devoting my self to corporate prayer, worship and fellowship as well. On Sundays I am off, or during times when I am not employed as a pastor, I seek to be committed to the fellowship with the body.  
	While I do fast from time to time, I do not consider fasting to be a spiritual discipline.
	The most important spiritual discipline, in my view, is keeping a spiritual, heavenly, biblical perspective on whatever I think about throughout the day (Col.3:1,2). I find that when I have a spiritual perspective, the other matters of righteousness tend to be automatic. I have many means of working toward this (Christian music, posting Scripture verses in my car and workspace, etc.).
PERSONAL STEWARDSHIP
 
The ability to manage money comes easily to me. I believe it is an area of giftedness in my life. We follow a very detailed budget. I divide each paycheck into about 35 columns – each a category of spending (groceries, school, utilities, eating out, etc.) with a fixed amount to be put in weekly. We spend what money is in the column, and when the column is empty, we do not spend in that category again until it is replenished.
	We use credit cards for almost everything we buy. We do this for two reasons. First, it affords us good records of all our spending. Second, we get 2% cash back on what we spend. We pay the entire balance when it is due each month, and never carry a balance or pay any interest. We do not borrow money for items such as vehicles. We have borrowed money to assist people in need, and we did have a mortgage on our house. 
	I do not believe tithing is a requirement in the NT. In the OT, there were many, many kinds of giving to the LORD. The one that seems to carry over into the NT is the freewill offering. People ought to give what the LORD has placed in their hearts to give. The only indication as to what amount is required appears in the fact that it must be sufficient to support the pastors (1 Co.9:14). Since it took 10% to support the priests in the OT, it stands to reason that 10% is a good amount for supporting pastors.
	We give about 10% of our gross to the church, about 2.5% to missions, and we set aside about 1% each week for when we become aware of a person in need. The money we give to the church we have withheld from my paycheck. The other two categories we allow to accumulate until we become aware of some need that we believe to LORD would have us meet.
	
PERSONAL PURITY
	The primary ethical standard I have regarding adultery is my commitment to never foster thoughts of discontent with my wife. I believe allowing such thoughts leads to an adulterous heart. 
	My office is at home, we are careful to see to it that my wife is home whenever a woman comes over. I am always careful to listen to the thoughts my wife may have about any person about whom she may be concerned. I have never had any adulterous relationship (physical or non-physical) or any other improper relationship during our marriage.
	Of course all the sins I have committed or ever commit would be embarrassing should they become known. I do consider myself to be above reproach, however, and there is nothing in my past that would disqualify me from ministry.
	My conviction is that anything that would be wrong to actually do is also wrong to think about (Mt.528).
	SOCIAL DRINKING
	Neither my wife nor I drink alcoholic beverages.
	ACCOUNTABILITY TO OTHERS
	My closest accountability partner is my wife. I have no secrets from her, and she knows me better than anyone. I confess my sins to her, and she challenges me on anything she thinks may not be right.
	I also have another person (a male friend from college who is in vocational ministry) to whom I am formally accountable (we keep each other accountable via e-mail). 
	In a general sense, I have a degree of accountability to the entire body of Christ. Since I believe it is wrong to lie, I seek to behave in such a way so as to be able to be honest about myself with people and still function as a model for people to follow. 
	Perhaps the strongest accountability I have is my preaching ministry. The hypocricy that would be required for me to continue in some sin while preaching week after week is more than my conscience can handle. 
	I have found that the more accountability there is, the easier temptation is to resist.
FAMILY PRIORITIES
	Throughout our marriage we have sought to build a strong marriage, and I believe we have had great success. Our relationship is far better now than it was a year ago, and we could say that about each of the last eight years (perhaps even all eleven).
	I also try to spend considerable time with each of my children. I believe it is primarily the parents’ role to teach the children, and that children are best taught through example and “teachable moments.”  This requires time spent together. Tracy and I, however, place a higher priority on our relationship than on spending time with the children. I believe it is important for our children to have a full confidence in the fact that Tracy and I love each other and that our marriage is sound – and that our closeness is not dependent upon the children.   
	I see my role as husband and father just as significant a part of my calling as my role as pastor. I believe the Kingdom is advanced through my roles at home just as much as, if not more than, it is through my role at church. For this reason I take my family life very seriously.
	On the other hand, I also believe that the family must be willing to make certain sacrifices. There are times when the ministry is especially demanding and other times when it is less demanding. While I work had to see to it that it is not overly demanding all the time, there are some times when my family has to sacrifice for the benefit of the ministry.