One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 1 Timothy 3:4-7
As we continue to look at the qualifications for an “overseer” , which is a common term shared among leaders in the Church such as Pastors, Elders, Bishops, these rules apply to all these leadership positions. The first thing we notice the correlation between family and the Church. As we talked about the structure of the family, (husband, wife, children) is the same in the Church. There is a structure and order to the family as well as the Church.
One of the qualifications is for the man to be able to manage his own household. If you want to get a good idea of what kind of leader your Pastor/Bishop/Elder would be, ask their spouse and children. You will get a real and honest depiction of this persons character. If this man’s homelife is a disaster, why would you think he would be able to manage a Church family? Now of course there are exceptions and alot of variables that apply to this, however we can generally get a good indication of someone based on their homelife
Another qualification is this leader should not be a new convert. We know often when people get saved or “come to Christ”, many new believers are on fire for The Lord. However a new convert can easily be confused and deceived by false doctrine. I’m sure most of us have experienced this during our walk with Christ. Your faith should have been tested and tried in the fire, when you become a leader of the Church, you will face heavy opposition from Satan and demons everywhere. You need someone who is prepared for the spiritual warfare they will endure, and be able to lead a community in their walk with Christ
The Apostle Paul mentions, they shouldn’t be a recent convert because “lifted up with pride , become conceited, and fall into condemnation of the devil” A new convert might like the idea or title or a leadership role in the Church, however these reasons are carnally driven and not led by the Holy Spirit. Satan likes to tempt us with pride, and eventually we will fall in sin. We need to make sure the leader is rooted in Christ, actually called by God to fill this position, not answering the call for financial gain or feeding their egos.
Finally, what kind of reputation does your Pastor/Elder/Bishop have with the outside community? What are people saying or what experiences have they had with them? We understand some people have good testimonies, but those testimonies should be old news, we shouldn’t be seeing the local Pastor as the local bar every Friday night. It loses all credibility to the Church and Christ, this person must have the mentality as a servant of Christ, to bring all glory to God in everything they do, especially their family, Church, and ministry, Amen!
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