Faithful Leaders

1 Timothy 3:2"Bishop then must be blameless,the husband of one wife, vigilant,sober,of good behavior, given to hospitality,apt to teach";

Paul wrote straightforward requirements for church leaders,as this part of the ministry was extremely important.It was important that those in leadership positions were able to communicate God's word clearly.Needed to be blameless,faithful in marriage,sober minded, watchful against Satan,and good to the flock.The leadership was to serve the people not be served by the people.

In our desire to do things the right way,we can sometimes apply Scripture in a cold, loveless way.Or in our desire to make people feel good about themselves,we may skirt the difficult parts and compromise when it comes to honoring God's Word.We might be tempted to "fudge" on some of the biblical leadership qualifications, for example. Neither approach to applying the commands, instructions, and principles of scripture is good.Truth must be accompanied by love.Love cannot go forward without truth.So when selecting good leadership, it matters that we are true to scriptural instructions and yet loving as we apply them.To those who do not yet qualify for leadership but wish to serve in leadership capacity,we should encourage them to develop in their conduct and character,that they meet God's requirements. For those who do qualify, we must continue to hold them to the standard,yet in humility and love that recognizes our own failings.We can pray for them,encourage them, talk with them(rather than gossip about them) about concerns we might have. If truth and love are our rules,we cannot fail to do well in this area of church life.

Good leadership matters, and the people of God have seen the harm to the reputation of Christ and his church that comes when leaders are selected and upheld for wrong or insufficient reasons,such as a personal charisma, good business skills, exciting vision casting, or celebrity status.These cannot be the reason for choosing leadership for God's people.As you think about your own church leaders, how do they compare with the qualifications listed by Paul?How does your own life and leadership qualities measure up? A good leader cannot be one thing at home and something different at church,if one cannot take care of his own home ,how can he/she be qualified to take care of God's house.