“Not only are bloggers suckers for the remarkable, so are the people who read blogs.” - Seth Godin

We're continuing with a look at 1 Timothy Chapter 3, where Paul is addressing issues around being a servant leader. If you haven't had a chance to watch or read the previous podcasts, I'd suggest

Paul give us a list of qualifications for those who aspire for a leadership role in their local church. But to be honest, being a leader in any business, enterprise or organization would definitely benefit by acquiring these qualities for yourself. Here's the list. Then we'll break it down:

The leaders with the most responsibility are to be:

1. Above reproach

2. Faithful to his wife

3. Temperate

4. Self-controlled

5. Respectable

6. Hospitable

7. Able to teach

8. Not given to drunkenness

9. Not violent but gentle

10. Not quarrelsome

11. Not a lover of money.

12. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)

13. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.

14. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

 On today's episode, we're going to look at the first six. Most of these will be rather brief - I hope!

 Above reproach: "Reproach" means to get even, or to be given what you deserve - in a negative sense. In Jeremiah 42:18, the Lord says to Israel, "As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach; you will never see this place again.’" You deserve what is about to come on you and yours! For a servant leader, they should be people who would not be living in such a way that the ax is about to fall!

Faithful to his wife: This is sometimes taken as, "See! I told you that church elders have to be male! It says "His" and it says "Wife!" And by the way, he has to be married! Single men need not apply!" Okay, but isn't it better to say the leader is one who is faithful to their spouse? They don't have wandering eyes? They are trustworthy when it comes to sexual matters? They don't flirt at work, at school, or anywhere else? Their fidelity can be counted on? People who have sufficient boundaries in place, so they will not be in compromising situations? People who go out of their way to care for and love the partner God has given them? Someone who is in a loving and faithful marriage? Whose spouse trusts them?

As I'm sure you know, the Roman Catholic Church for centuries has insisted that the leadership of the church be entirely focused on male and single. They take Paul's words very seriously when he says, "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do" (1 Corinthians 7:8).  And later in that passage, he says, "Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is." If you're single, Paul says, the world is in such a crisis that you should stay that way. Being married and having children distracts you from the work of the ministry! Okay. I get it. Spouses and children bring baggage into your life.

But Paul also says, "But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion" (7:9). If your sex drive has you burning with passion, for God's sake, get married! And for the sake of the church, and your flock if you are the pastor! Proverbs 5:18 says, "May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth." Do a little dance! Make a little love! Get down tonight! Thank you, K.C. and the Sunshine Band!

I don't have an answer for this - and I wouldn't want to conduct the research - but I have to wonder about the quality of the relationship between husband and wife, for those Christian leaders who have forsaken their calling due to sexual immorality. The news has been filled with them over the years, and it continues today. Jimmy Baker, Jimmy Swaggart, Bill Hybels, Jerry Falwell Jr., Carl Wentz - the list seems endless. The best advice I have seems pretty lame, but focus on your spouse! Be faithful to the spouse you have been given by God!

Temperate: Not subject to extreme mood swings. Someone who is not hot one day, and cold the next; up one day, and down the next. Someone who operates in the midrange of life. I wonder if the focus of temperate is mostly on avoiding the downs, but it's also possible for people to get so over-the-top excited about something that they completely lose focus on everything else. And, of course, that can be a problem, too. I think temperate is also a requirement for good team work, which servant leadership is. There is strength in numbers, but the numbers have to get along. If someone has to be handled with kid gloves, it can decimate effectiveness.

Self-controlled: Certainly, this is tied in with Temperate, but I'd like to take it a step further and say God-controlled. Many people have gained tremendous heights of athletic achievement through self-control. Joe Frazier, the champion boxer, said "You can map out a fight plan or a life plan. But when the action starts, you're down to your reflexes. That's where your road work shows. If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, you're getting found out now under the bright lights." How true! Self-control, discipline, doing what needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not! Knowing how to set priorities and stick to them. Stick-to-it-ivness, as my mother would say.

Respectable: The definition is "regarded by society to be good, proper, and correct." Okay. Let's amp that a little and change society to organization or even church. Having a good reputation in the church as someone who is good, proper, and correct. Pretty straightforward, I'd say.

Hospitable: Other than the next one, able to teach, this is the only one which has an accompanying spiritual gift. We're familiar with the four or five mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-13 apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/teachers, which seem to be foundational to the church. And there are the common gifts from 1 Cor. 12:8-10, such as wisdom, knowledge, and faith, along with the more spectacular gifts - healings, miracles, tongues and the interpretation of tongues.  The idea that hospitality is a spiritual gift comes from 1 Peter 4:9-10 "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." The implication is pretty clear, but it's also a fact that every person is expected to act hospitably toward others. Just as we are all called to evangelize, some are more gifted at it than others by the Holy Spirit. Some take hospitality to very creative and extreme heights. So, the question for the potential leader is: Would you welcome people into your home, and make them feel comfortable there?

So, there you have it. That's the first six, and next time, we'll look at four more.

If you are a leader in the organization, I'd strongly recommend that you go over these qualifications that Paul gives to Timothy often, and ask yourself, does this describe me? How much does this sound like me?

And if you're not in a formal position of leadership, as I've said before, everybody influences somebody, so you're a leader. Why not aspire to demonstrate these characteristics?  I'm not talking about putting on a good show, but characteristics that come from the deepest part of who you are?

See you next time, on New Day: The Character of a Servant Leader.