In the first post I related Paul's admonition to Timothy to appoint elders by finding faithful men who could then teach others the mystery of the Gospel (2 Timothy 2:1-2). First comes faithfulness then comes teaching. These two --faithfulness and the ability to disciple -- aren’t separate or opposed to one other, but they certainly do have a level of priority between them. Unfortunately, in the modern Church we’ve had it completely backwards for the last 100 years (at least) where rather than looking for men who’ve proven to be able to faithfully shepard their own family before entering seminary or even the position of pastor, our churches emphasize the ability to teach first, and cross their fingers hoping that the man has faith or that it’ll perhaps show up for a visit later on.
Thankfully though, the list the Spirit gives to the Bride for identifying a man who is to be qualified to lead a community of Christ is laid out pretty clearly (Titus 1:6-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-13), and strangely enough ‘real smart’ isn’t first on the list, nor even mentioned. (Weird isn't it? I was certain it was there too...) Rather the list is comprised of character traits, in other words, fruits of the Spirit that should be known and seen by those in the household of faith around any such man.
This, of course, doesn’t mean we trip all over ourselves trying to find someone who is nitro-charged holy but without any knowledge. On the contrary, while a shepherd must be shown to have wisdom in leading others – demonstrated in how he leads his own family – he must also have the ability to accurately handle the Word of God for the church around him (2 Timothy 2:15 / 1 Timothy 4:16 / Titus 1:9).
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