Sermon Notes:
First we remember that the church is God’s creation
- “Fundamentally, God intends the local church to be a corporate display of his glory and wisdom, both to unbelievers and to unseen spiritual powers. More specifically, we are a corporate dwelling place for God’s Spirit, the organic body of Christ in which he magnifies his glory.” (Dever and Alexander - The Deliberate Church)
Second is the importance of how we govern this body.
- “New Testament churches are to be congregationally governed yet led by a plurality of elders who are released by servant deacons to devote themselves to the ministry of the Word and prayer” (Dever and Alexander - “The Deliberate Church”).
Third is the biblical model of leadership
- Elders and deacons
- Eldership in the Bible is plural
- Eldership in the Bible is a role reserved for qualified men
- Eldership in the Bible sets out certain qualifications.
Characteristics of Leadership
- Situational Characteristics
- Desire to Serve (1 Tim. 3:1)
- Able to Teach (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:9)
- Not a New Convert (1 Tim 3:6)
- Family Characteristics
- The Husband of One Wife (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6)
- Manage his Own Family Well (1 Tim 3:4-5; Titus 1:6)
- Moral Characteristics
- Positive Characteristics
- Above Reproach (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6)
- Temperate (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:8)
- Self-Controlled (1 Tim 3:2)
- Respectable (1 Tim 3:2)
- Hospitable (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:8)
- Gentle (1 Tim 3:3)
- Good Reputation with Outsiders (1 Tim 3:7)
- Loves What is Good (Titus 1:8)
- Upright (Titus 1:8)
- Holy (Titus 1:8)
- Disciplined (Titus 1:8)
- Negative Characteristics
- Not Given to Drunkenness (1 Tim 3:3; Titus 1:7)
- Not Violent (1 Tim 3:3; Titus 1:7)
- Not Quarrelsome (1 Tim 3:3)
- Not a Lover of Money (1 Tim 3:3; Titus 1:7)
- Not Overbearing (Titus 1:7)
- Not Quick-Tempered (Titus 1:7)
