Expectations, Fears, and Hopes: Part 5

I just recently realized I never finished this series of posts! This is part five in a series of post that I've been thinking about lately in respect to the expectations of pastors. You can read the first four here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. 
In the previous post I made the passing statement about the importance of Elders being qualified. One of the primary places you see this list is in First Timothy 3:1-7:

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Without going through every item on this list, it's possible to see that the expectations for this particular office are great. God doesn't want just anyone in this office. In fact, one of the major issues I've seen in churches is that anytime someone says they're 'called' to the ministry they are sometimes never questioned or challenged. If I'm honest, my own ordination into the ministry wasn't nearly what I think it should have been. In fact, I have often said I'm not sure how I was 'ordained' when I was. Notice how Paul deals with this issue. In verse one he talks about someone aspiring to the office of overseer (same office as elder/pastor). He doesn't next say to throw them in and hope for the best. Rather, Paul states that the aspirations must be matched by godly living. In other words, these characteristics must be seen in the lives of those who 'aspire to the office of overseer.' Those who wish to lead the church of the Lord Jesus Christ will be held to a high standard. They ought to live lives that others can imitate (as Paul said 1 Corinthians 11:1). If you are going to have a healthy church, submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in the Word of God, then you must have qualified elders leading the flock!

Another passage where you can see some of the characteristics of those qualified to lead the church is Titus 1:5-9:

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick- tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self- controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Church will typically take on the strengths (and weaknesses) of the leadership. Practically speaking this points to it being necessary to have a plurality of elders. When you have a plurality, you also have strengths and weaknesses dispersed. You have the opportunity to have a balanced leadership. This will hopefully lead to a balanced (healthy) church. But these men must be qualified. They must seek to follow Christ so closely that their people can follow them to be more like Christ. 

Shepherding your Family

When Paul lays out the expectations for those who desire the office of overseer in First Timothy 3:1-7, he says in verses 4-5, "He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?" I have thought much about this in recent years. I spent two years in an internship with Open Door Baptist Church with Dr. Pete Schemm as my mentor. He modeled to me great discipline in managing his household well and encouraged me to do so as well. I must admit, however, that I have often times felt that I needed to do much more. I want to make sure I am leading my wife to the fountain of grace in Christ. I want to make sure I am helping her along as she seeks to pursue and treasure Christ. Now that I have two children, I want to make sure I am leading them to know and love the Lord. The truth is, if we take this as a serious expectation of God for the leaders of His church, then we will realize that it takes time and diligence.

Just recently I decided it was time to make sure we had a plan in our household to help us be disciplined in our pursuit of Christ together. I certainly do not have all the answers. I know I have a long way to go. However, I thought I'd post our plans on here for anyone it may help. Also, since I want to do this well, any thoughts for improving would be of great benefit. Before I show the schedule, I also want to make sure it's clear that this is not the only time we talk about the gospel. We hope to cultivate a family life that centers on Christ and all He's accomplished on our behalf. Also, we have used a variety of resources in the past, so I am not recommending anything particular at this time (except to say make sure the Bible is used, and make sure whatever songs you sing and prayers you pray are Biblical).

Sundays are pretty wide open because I pastor Cypress Lake Baptist Church and we have Sunday School, Sunday Morning Worship, and Sunday Evening Worship. Therefore we do not have a particular order for this day. Wednesday are not as structured either as we have a prayer/Bible study time with CLBC.

Mondays and Thursdays we try to eat at 6:00 PM. We do this as a family and sit around the table until about 7:00 PM to discuss life and how our day has been. At 7:00 my wife or I will clean the kitchen while the other one gives the kids their baths. We give 45 mins for this to make sure all is well and finished! At 7:45ish we begin playing games as a family (which may be on the wii, or with toys, or just wrestling). We stop early enough to have prayer together and put the kids in bed around 8:30.

Tuesdays and Saturdays we try to eat at 6:00 PM. We have the same schedule as Mondays and Thursdays, except on these nights we have a time of family worship from 7:45 until 8:30. During this time we sing hymns together, read Scripture and Bible stories, and pray together. We actually hope to add to this Scripture memory and Catechisms. We try to pick songs that my oldest (5 years old) knows the words too so she can sing with us. Last night it was cool because as we sang my 17 month old son tried to join in!

On Fridays we cut our time around the table short and try to start watching a movie together in time to still get them in bed at a decent time.

I am sure there are things we can improve on. However, having a plan in place has already helped us to make sure we are intentional about spending time together and with the Lord. I typed out this schedule in Excel, printed it out, and we put in on our refrigerator. This has proved helpful for us. What are your thoughts or suggestions?

Expectations, Fears, and Hopes: Part 4

I'm finally getting around to this post. This is part four in a series of post that I've been thinking about lately in respect to the expectations of pastors. You can read the first three here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

In this post, I want to quickly show that God expects the elders to rule the church. I am probably less congregational that many of my friends (even though I'm in a very congregational church!), but I want to look at Scripture for this. Before I do, however, I do believe the congregation should be involved with many significant issues within the church. When it comes down to it, however, I still believe there is authority, much authority, given to the elders.

To deny that there is some form of ruling aspect given to the elders is hard to do since Paul tells Timothy, "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching" (2 Timothy 5:17). Some would argue that the way they rule is through preaching and teaching. That is certainly true and is important. In the last post I stated that the primary calling for the elders is the ministry of the Word. However, I do not think that is the extent of their authority. In Hebrews 13:17 the author tells the saints to "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account." To deny that a great deal of authority have been given to the elders is very difficult when one just reads the New Testament text.

It could be misunderstood here, so I want to be clear about something. One of the reasons many people object to this is that they are in a single elder church and this seems odd dangerous to give one elder this kind of authority. I understand that, which is why I think it's important to have a plurality of elders (who are qualified) as soon as possible. It is also important to stress that these elders are qualified! If they are not, they will mislead the church or take advantage of that leadership and authority. This too will leave a bad taste in the mouth of the congregation and will be unhelpful at best.

Elders who are qualified will take seriously the charge that Peter gives in 1 Peter 5:1-5:

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposed the proud but gives grace to the humble."

A church with a plurality of humble, godly elders, and a church who submits to them and follows their authority, will honor Christ and live for the glory of God.

Expectations, Fears, and Hopes: Part 3

This is part two in a series of post that I've been thinking about lately in respect to the expectations of pastors. You can read the first two here: Part 1, Part 2.

I want to begin with this post looking at the expectations that God has for the elders of His church. There will probably be 2-3 posts dealing with this particular aspect of expectations, but today will begin with a pattern that I think is developed for the leaders of the church in Acts 6. To see this, however, one must realize that the ministry of the apostles is in some ways given to the elders today. Acts 6:1-6 says:

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

I believe this is the beginning of the deacon ministry, which later will be recognized as an office in the church. While some do not hold to that view, the point I want to make from this is not really concerned with that fact. However, in this passage you see the primary responsibility of the apostles in verses 2 and 4. The first thing we see is that the apostles recognized that there was a need being overlooked. The Hellenists complained that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The apostles did not say, "Well, that's not important. We really don't care." Rather, they seemed to agree that this was a problem because they wanted to see it taken care of by others. That is why it says in verse 3 to pick seven men who could take care of this problem.

Why wouldn't the apostles take care of it themselves? Why didn't they drop what they were doing and make sure the widows were cared for? The answer in verse 2 is that they were to continue to focus on the preaching of the word of God. As I stated in the last post, it is right to realize that the pastors of the church need to be concerned about the ministry of the word. That is the primary, fundamental calling upon their lives. The apostles realized it was important to care for the physical needs of the widows, but not at the expense of the ministry of the word.

Years ago I served in a church with several staff members. I heard comments about the 'Senior Pastor' being a pastor (based on how he loved the people, visited the people, etc.), but that our 'Associate Pastor' was a preacher (meaning he was able to proclaim the Word). There is a flaw in the thought process of that statement. The pastors calling is to minister the word! While this does take place in more places than just the pulpit on Sunday mornings, it still is the calling up a pastor's life. In other words, you are not a pastor if you do not minister the word. The Bible does not separate those two things into categories. Being a pastor means ministering the word. And perhaps the primary way of ministering the Word is through the public proclamation when the church gathers.

The second thing pastors should be devoted too (based on Acts 6:4) is prayer. Pastors are called to lead the flock that they've been placed over, and yet they are to lead as God wills for them. The only way pastors can faithfully do this is by praying for themselves and their flock. Pastors cannot change hearts. The Holy Spirit must move like the wind and change hearts. The Holy Spirit must move with the ministry of the Word to help people to grow in Christlikeness. The bottom line from Acts 6 is that the pastors of the church must take seriously their calling to the ministry of the Word and to prayer. The other needs of the church are important, but they are secondary at best to those two things.