Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
March 10, 2024
INTRO
Good morning! Before we get started, I want to give a quick report on a special opportunity I had on Wednesday this week. I was invited to join 4 other pastors from Hastings through Minnesota Family Council’s Church Ambassador Network to go to the Minnesota State Capitol to go door-to-door to pray with state representatives and state senators. (SLIDE 2)
You all know, this is a polarizing time and there has recently been a lot of radical legislation in Minnesota. Our governmental systems are a mess, and this is a critical moment in history.
The ministry of Church Ambassador Network comes directly from the command of 1 Timothy 2:2 — to pray for those in governmental authority. We simply went into the offices of representatives and senators to read a passage of Scripture and to pray for them. We literally walked through the halls of government with Bibles, with the sword of the Spirit, in our hands, willing to pray with anyone. As one of the Church Ambassador network leaders said to us, “Pick up your swords gentlemen; its ok to open carry here!”
We met with four legislators, including Rep. Shane Hudella and Sen. Judy Seeberger, and when we sat down and said, “We want to honor your role in public service and we simply want to pray for you,” their guard went down.
One of the other legislators we met with, who is a born-again Christian, shared how difficult it is to fight for what is right in government. She said, “I don’t know how I could do this without my faith in Jesus Christ.”
Friends, we need to pray for those who serve in government, first responders, and the military. There are believers in these places of influence; we need to pray for them. There are also many leaders who need Christ; we need to pray for them.
So, let’s pray now (pray for government leaders, first responders, and military)
(SLIDE 3, title) Ok, we are in a series on Biblical Church Leadership, and our topic this morning is “Biblical Elders.” This role is central in the church because Elders are the spiritual leaders, overseers, and shepherd of the local congregation.
Let me start with a question: How does our culture define leadership? When I say “leader”, what do you think of?
We often think of a CEO who makes big decisions, or a team captain or head coach who rallies a team to win the game, or an embattled governor or president who achieves their legislative agenda.
Often our culture’s vision of leadership has some common threads: results, achievement, boldness to move things forward, being a decision-maker. Frankly, in our achievement-obsessed culture, these qualities tend to mean that a leader is someone who gets stuff done, even if it means they mow people over. But friends, this is wrong.
But what if I told you that the Bible’s picture of leadership is radically different? The Scriptures describe the leadership of the local church as a team of shepherds. Let’s be honest, tending a flock of sheep is not a very glamorous picture of leadership. Yet this is exactly how the Bible describes God himself:
Psalm 23 says that “The Lord is my shepherd”
Ezekiel 34:11 prophesies about God rescuing his flock, “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.”
Micah 5:4 looked ahead to the coming of the Messiah, “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.”
We see this fulfilled in John 10:11 as Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
KEY: Jesus Christ is our Chief Shepherd, and the leaders of local churches are to be under-shepherds who humbly and sacrificially tend the flock of God.
ILLUST — Yesterday our Elders attended an elder training event put on by our network of churches. One of the presenters shared from 1 Peter 5:2-3, (SLIDE 4) “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
Yet sadly, our experience of local church leadership can be much more like the culture around us and can cause incredible damage to the Body of Christ.
ILLUST — Prior to coming here 6 years ago, I had one such experience. I had committed to launch a new church plant in San Francisco with a ministry partner. It turned out that this person was a very domineering leader. He was a former professional football player who played for the Seahawks, and he told me that his leadership mentor was his coach, Pete Carroll. Now, I don’t know Pete Carroll, but my ministry partner believed that leadership is about loyalty and about getting people to fall in line behind the decision-maker. He hurt people badly, including me and Sarah.
Maybe you’ve had an experience like that. Or maybe you know of other forms of leadership in our culture that have been imported into the church and caused harm to yourself or others.
Let me say clearly right up front: There is no place for proud, domineering, or self-serving leadership in the church of Jesus Christ.
(SLIDE 5, title) Open with me to 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Last week we read the end of this chapter that describes the “family values” of the church. Now, we need to ask this question: how are churches to remain centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ and carry out the Great Commission? It is through the leadership of Elders and Deacons. We will learn about biblical Elders this morning, and biblical deacons next week.
ORG SENT — I want to do two things this morning: First, we are going to examine the qualifications and qualities of biblical Elders. Second, we will summarize the four central leadership responsibilities of Elders described in the New Testament.
MAIN 1 — Qualification and Qualities (1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9). (SLIDE 6)
I’m going to do something a little unusual, which is we will read two passages that both convey a similar list of qualifications and qualities of Elders.
One quick comment before we read: You need to know that in the early church the 12 apostles were specially commissioned by Jesus himself to spread the gospel and establish churches. The office of Apostle was unique to that time period, and once the churches got up and running, the leadership was immediately turned over to Elders, or often your Bible calls them “overseers” or “shepherds”. So, let’s read what the Scripture says about Elders. READ 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.
You can see that these two passages have significant overlap. The Apostle Paul is writing to two different young pastors in two different cities: Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete.
Let me cut to the chase here and synthesize these two lists into “character traits” and “abilities”. You don’t need to write these down, because I have a handout in the back that lists all these items and explains them.
Character Traits: (SLIDE 7)
Desire — willing and humble sense of calling to shepherd the church.
Above reproach — a reputation that exemplifies Christ-like character and integrity.
Faithful to his wife — a man whose married life that exemplifies God’s design for exclusive and Christ-centered marriage.
Temperate — stable character and wise decision-making.
Self-controlled — exemplifying balanced judgment and discipline.
Respectable — modest and having propriety.
Hospitable — a good host and welcoming to guests.
Not given to drunkenness — doesn’t abuse alcohol or any other substance.
Not violent but gentle — a calm demeanor and ability to react with gentleness.
Not quarrelsome — able to handle conflict well, does not agitate or seek to argue.
Not a lover of money — has a proper biblical perspective on stewardship and proven godly handling of money.
Not over-bearing — a patient and caring approach to helping others grow.
Not quick-tempered — to be slow to anger and able to control his emotions.
Not pursuing dishonest gain — a man of integrity and humility as he serves others.
One who loves what is good — a careful judge of character and man who loves truth.
Upright — making righteous decisions, has moral integrity, is always honest, reliable, faithful, and focused on Godly things.
Holy — lives a life of purity.
Disciplined — is able to stay physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually disciplined.
Not a recent convert = proven faithfulness to Christ over the long-haul.
Good reputation with outsiders = known and respected in the community.
Abilities: (SLIDE 8)
Able to teach — capable of preaching and teaching God’s Word.
Manages his household well — proven ability to manage his home.
Parents his children well — proven ability to practice godly fatherhood.
Encourage others by sound doctrine — a gospel-centered man who loves God’s Word and can apply it effectively.
Refute those who oppose it — able to correct false teaching with gentleness and respect.
This is quite a list! When you step back, this list is strikingly similar to what is expected of any mature believer. In other words, Elders are NOT super-Christians. They are actually ordinary sinners saved by grace who have walked the path of daily dying-to-self, seeing God do a sanctifying work within them, and being Spiritual Fathers and examples to the flock.
APPLY — Let me stop for a moment and remind you what I said at the beginning of this message: (SLIDE 9) There is no place for proud, domineering, or self-serving leadership in the church of Jesus Christ.
This is so important: These character traits and abilities exemplify humble, sacrificial, Christ-like leadership. Elders are to be the first in line to practice self-giving love and sacrifice for the sake of others, just like Jesus.
It was Jesus who told his disciples in Matthew 20:26-28 that they should not lord over others like Gentile rulers, but “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
It was Jesus who washed his disciples feet in the Upper Room in John 13:15 and said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
And as Philippians 2 tells us, it was Jesus who “made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
KEY: Friends, I firmly believe that biblical Eldership is simply leading like Jesus. (SLIDE 10) It is an embodiment of the gospel. As opposed to the world, Eldership is a living witness to a different set of values, a different kingdom, and a different King.
This is why Acts 6 describes the leadership of the early church as a ministry of prayer and a ministry of the Word. (SLIDE 11) Both prayer and the Word cause us to be fully dependent upon God. Both prayer and the Word require humility. Both prayer and the Word are about communing with God, receiving his mercy and grace, and living in light of his ways.
Without prayer and the Word, Elders have no authority in themselves, no power to save anyone, no truth to declare, no hope for leading anyone to know God at all. Prayer and the Word are the foundation for biblical Eldership, as we all come to the Lord in dependence and faith.
When our Elders meet twice a month, we spend the first 30-45 minutes in prayer. We talk about what we are teaching from the Word. We dive into issues within our congregation. But in everything, we are dependent upon the Lord and we want to lead like Jesus.
This is where we get to the second part of our message today: I want to summarize the four central leadership tasks of Elders that are described in the New Testament.
MAIN 2 — Four Responsibilities of Elders. (SLIDE 12)
This will be a synthesis of different passages, so I will list them out and make a few comments. But you can jot down the passage references and read them on your own later.
There are four central duties of the Elders of every local church:
Courageously protecting the flock (Acts 20:28-31) (SLIDE 13)
Paul is speaking to the Elders in Ephesus, and he says in Acts 20:28-29, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.”
In other words, one of the central task of Elders is to protect the church, to look out for things that will harm the church, and to courageously stand in the gap.
Faithfully feeding the flock (1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17; Titus 1:9) (SLIDE 14)
Both the lists we looked at earlier describe the teaching role of Elders, the need to encourage others with sound doctrine, and to refute those who oppose it.
This is Paul’s admonition: Feed them the Word of God! Give them the Bread of Life. Teach them to love the truth of the Scriptures. Sit under the authority of God’s Word and help people see that we have no place else to go, Jesus has the words of life!
Humbly leading the flock (1 Pet. 5:2-3) (SLIDE 15)
I read 1 Peter 5 earlier. This passage emphasizes shepherd who are “not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
In other words, Elders are to humbly guide the church under the direction of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Humble and patient leadership is founded on the truth that it is God who is working in people’s hearts. As Psalm 127 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”
Sacrificially caring for the flock (Acts 20:35; James 5:14; Heb. 13:7, 17) (SLIDE 16)
Paul reminds the Ephesian Elders in Acts 20 to care for the weak, James likewise commands the Elders to pray for the sick, and Hebrews 13 says that the Elders must give an account before the Lord for their care of the flock.
It is imperative that the Elders of a church practice sacrificial and prayerful care for the flock, leading by example as we trust in the Lord together.
Here’s what I want to end with this morning. Two things:
First — (SLIDE 17) Our Elders created handouts that explain the biblical definition of Elders and Deacons. These are printed and available in the back.
Second — (SLIDE 18) We just heard from God’s Word how important Elders are for the church. Our Elders are inviting you to an “All-Church Kitchen Table” meeting tonight from 6:00-7:30pm. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet with your Elders. (childcare)
This is a special moment, our Elders want to share their hearts with you. It is so good that they want to get together with you to seek the Lord together and to pray. Make every effort to join us. These leaders work hard to protect, feed, lead, and care for the flock. Honor their commitment to sacrificially serving you. Join us as we bring the needs of our church family before the Lord together.