Biblical Guidelines for the Church: Authority and Accountability

                                                        Leadership and Authority

Leadership in the church is not based upon power, but upon authority. Therefore being a pastor/elder is not a position of power, but a position of authority. However, it is not an authority inherent in the person, it is a delegated authority because of the position held. It is delegated from God to the elders, and also delegated from the congregation to the elders.

It is God who has created the position of pastor/overseer/elder and laid out the qualifications for the office, and it is the recognition by the congregation of those who meet God's qualifications (I Timothy 3, Titus 1) that bring the man of God to that position. So God calls the pastor/elder to that office from the congregation with their approval.

The pastor/elder is to lead, not lord it over the people (Hebrews 13:7, I Peter 5:2-3); and the people are to voluntarily submit to his leadership and follow his example (Hebrews 13:7, 17; I Corinthians 16:16), just as a wife is to voluntarily submit to her husband.

As such, the man of God is accountable to both God and man, as both were instrumental in placing him in that office; and both delegated to him the authority which the office holds.

The Three Cords of Church Leadership

In Ecclesiastes 4:12 we learn that a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart or easily broken. It is interesting to note how many times we see this principle applied in the Scriptures. One of the applications of this principle is in the requirements for the elders given in Titus 1:5-9.

In verses 6-7 we see he is to be a man of moral integrity. These verses are governed by the term above reproach, which means not that he is sinless, but that he is held blameless from the charge of moral impurity. What is stressed in these verses is what the man of God is not.

In verse 8 we see he is to be a man of spiritual integrity. What is stressed here is what the man of God is, with the word devout governing the verse. Devout means to be pious, clean, and pure. It also denotes devotion and loyalty to the Lord, and emphasizes that he lives his life in conformity with the word of God.

In verse 9 we see that he is a man of biblical and doctrinal integrity. What is stressed here is his biblical and doctrinal fidelity, which is demonstrated by what he holds to. His teaching and preaching are always in conformity with the body of doctrine given in the Scriptures. He does not deviate from the faith once for all delivered to the saints; and, just as he is a one woman man, he is also a one word, one doctrine, one faith, and one Lord man. He is a man of unwavering devotion to the faith that is contained and presented in the Scriptures and he will not teach anything that contradicts it.

Also of note in these verses are the three words describing the role of a church leader:

First is elder, which denotes dignity, maturity, and leadership. This word gives us a picture of his role and the gravitas of the office. It says this person is to be looked to for leadership, and his persona should be able to bear the weight of the mantle of leadership. Implicit in this word is the earned respect and trust of the people he leads.

Secondly, we see the term overseer. The word means superintendent, magistrate, or watchman; and gives us a picture of the authority and function of the office. This person is to be able to watch over, guide, and direct the church. This word shows us that the church leader is responsible for the protection and direction of the church.

Thirdly, we see the term God's steward. The word steward means house manager, one who manages the affairs of another, one who is in charge of another's property, including slaves; and he is usually a slave himself. This term gives us the understanding of the responsibility and accountability of the office. This man is responsible to God for the household of God, as the church is not his property but God's. It is the Lord's church, which is the people of God whom God has called out to be His possession. This means that the church leader is accountable to God for the wellbeing and the spiritual prosperity of God's people whom He has purchased with the blood of His Son. 

As leadership goes, so goes the church, which is why the Lord gives Titus these guidelines for the men who would be the leaders in the church. The church is only as strong as its leadership, and when leadership fails, or leads poorly then the church is weakened and the flock is left unguarded or misguided. It then becomes vulnerable and is at risk of being defenseless and directionless.  

In the three elements of integrity we see a strength and quality of character combined with commitment to the Lord and commitment to His word as given in the Scriptures. The combination of these qualities of integrity affirm and strengthen each other and make the church leader strong in resisting the attack of the enemy, who seeks to devour him. When possessing these strands of integrity the church leader will lead ethically, will lead spiritually, and will lead biblically. This is the type of man people will want to follow, who will be trusted to follow, and will be safe to follow.

In the three terms for church leader given here we see the strength of balance. These descriptive terms define role, function, authority, and accountability, with each of them governing the others. They not only define the role of church leader, but in defining the role give it its parameters and boundaries. An understanding of his role, function, authority, and accountability keeps the church leader from misusing or abusing his office; and it also gives the church a benchmark from which to evaluate and measure his ministry; and will give them the knowledge to keep themselves from being taken advantage of or abused.

Yes, a cord of three strands is not easily broken!  How wise is our God in His design for the leadership of the church.

Ministry Made Simple

 The task of spiritual leadership may

not be easy, but neither is it complicated.

When God called us to serve as leaders in

the church, He did not give us the 

responsibility to build the church. Instead,

He gave us the responsibility to proclaim

His word in order that people might be

transformed into the character of

Christ...

Ministry is really simple; it's a matter

of preaching the Word, loving the 

people, and living our lives as an

example for others to follow.

Glen Daman

Leading the Small Church

Page 224

                                                  

Spiritual Leadership

 

Spiritual leadership without character is only religious activity,

possible religious business or, even worse, hypocrisy......

The qualified leader is a man of the Book, using it not just

to prepare sermons and preaching notes, but, first and foremost,

to prepare himself.

James M. George

The Call to Pastoral Ministry

Pastoral Ministry

(How to Shepherd Biblically)

Page 91

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you;

and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

How important it is for those of us who occupy a place of spiritual leadership to be men of character, character forged by the Holy Spirit and formed by the Word of God. Providing spiritual leadership is a daunting responsibility, a responsibility that underscores the Lord's admonition in James 3:1 "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." This is why the Lord stresses Godly character in His requirements for those who occupy the post of pastor; and why Paul buffeted his flesh, so that after he had preached to others he would not be disqualified.

The landscape of the church is littered with the moral failures of those who failed to watch themselves.  In fact, it has become much too common.  And it is just not in the area of sexual immorality, as noted there is also the issue of the SBC having been taken to task by those within its own ranks for inflated membership numbers and an evangelastical (intentional spelling) way of counting baptisms. Speaking of the SBC, they have remained in the news due to plagiarism among high profile pastors, downplaying sexual immorality, and public non-repentant abuse of a pastor and his wife by a seminary staff. Other churches have dismissed pastors for abusive behavior. A well known megachurch in the DC area has its members filing lawsuits against the church amidst accusations of lying and manipulation by its leadership team.

These are the obvious, the news grabbing and headline making, but what about the ones that don't make the news, the ones that cause damage just as great? I read an internet article about how Peacemaker ministries worked to reconcile a church's pastor and elders after temper, egos, and innuendos had split them and the church. What about the detrimental effects of pride, stubbornness, selfishness, ambition, jealousy, unforgiveness, greed,  and gossip? What about those that fear man more than they fear God, those that are men-pleasers vs God-pleasers, and those who would compromise rather than confront? What about the small things that are done daily that add up over time?

I remember hearing Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, preach several years ago, and in his sermon he was stressing the need for moral integrity. He said that he had asked God to take him home before He let Bill commit adultery. Admirable, yes, but for most of us, we are on guard against the big A; but it is the perniciousness of the so called small sins that we ought to be on guard against as well. Is our prayer, "Lord, lead me away from temptation in the areas where I am weak and most easily tempted, and let not evil have any way with me. Please keep me from causing any of the brethren to stumble. Help me to adorn the doctrine I preach with the life that I live. Help me to do what is right, to love what is good, and to walk humbly with You. Let not anyone, saved or unsaved, look at me and cry hypocrite. Let me be at home what I am publicly."

Who is adequate for this? None of us outside of the power that God supplies. There is a greater burden, a greater responsibility, for those of us whom God has called into ministry; but there is a greater grace available as well. Let us be on our guard, empowered by the grace of God, so that sin will not have its way with us, not derail us, nor render us impotent in our efforts to advance the kingdom of God in our own lives, so that we will be effective in advancing His kingdom in the lives of those whom He appointed to our shepherding. Let not the sin in our own lives be an impediment, an excuse, for those in our flock in dealing with the sin in their own lives.

Father, guard our hearts and our minds. Work within us only that which is pleasing in Your sight. We are frail and weak in our own strength, so help us by the strength which You supply to live a life worthy of the gospel of Your Son, and a life worthy of the calling with which we have been called. Empower us to be an example to the flock, living a life worthy of admiration and imitation. Guard us from our own selves, and give us a sensitivity to the sin which so easily entangles us. Strengthen us to fight the good fight of faith and finish our course without disqualification.  AMEN.

Pastoral Leadership

But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing

mother tenderly cares for her own children.  Having

so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased

to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also

our own lives, because you had become very dear

to us.  For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship,

how working night and day so as not to be a burden to

any of you we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and

uprightly we behaved toward you believers; just as you

know how we were exhorting and encouraging and  

imploring each one of you as a father would his own children.

...For this reason we also constantly thank God that when

you received the word of God which you heard from us,

you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it

really is, the word of God, which also performs its work

in you who believe.

I Thessalonians 2:7-11, 13

italics and underlining mine

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God

to you; and considering the result of their conduct,

imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

italics and underlining mine

There is much said and written about pastoral leadership and all that is required, even conferences and seminars dealing with this issue ad nauseum. I think understanding leadership and its principles is good, and even helpful; but when dealing with pastoral leadership there is a paradigm shift from the leadership model that is touted in our corporate and sports world, and unfortunately this model is what is suggested most often in the context of pastoral leadership.

I find it interesting that the Bible does not go into all the areas that the modern seminars do in talking about pastors as leaders, but what is does do is to lay out the basics for a pastor, which assume the pastor will be leading a group of people. The core requirements in the Scriptures are contained in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and revolve around demonstrated character, demonstrated management of his own home, and a demonstrated ability to teach that comes with a knowledge of and proficiency with the Scriptures. The reason for these requirements, and how they flesh out in the pastor's leadership is demonstrated in the Scriptures above. The pastor is to lead with the Word and by example. 

Notice how many times the gospel/word of God is used in the section of I Thessalonians. Notice the leaders who were to be remembered and imitated in Hebrews....those who spoke the word of God, whose conduct bore spiritual fruit. These, of course, fit in with the Lord's instruction to Peter to feed his sheep. The pastor must lead his flock with the word of God. After all the word of the Lord is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Our first priority must be to lead our people with the word of God.

In addition to the Word, we must be leading our people by our example. To do this we must also be leading ourselves with the word of God. Again, listen to the Psalmist in Psalm 119:9 "How can a young man (or older man for that matter) keep his way pure?  By keeping it according to Your word."  It is the pure way, the Lord's way, that when lived out by the pastor is the example to his people....the example that is to be imitated. 

Why did the people in Thessalonica receive the Word as the word of God, and not the word of men?  Because they saw it lived out in the lives of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. Look at the underlined words above...they proved themselves, they imparted their lives, they behaved in a devout and upright manner. And this did not happen in a vacuum...the Thessalonians were witnesses, knew personally what Paul and crew had done and how they behaved, and were to recall these very facts. Also, we see that the Hebrews were to remember the result of the conduct of their leaders, in other words, the fruit born out of their lives, and then to imitate their faith.

The lives of the pastors give weight and credence to the words that they preach and teach. In essence you should not be able to separate the man from his message, they should be the same. This is the way that God has designed it, so that His people could be sure about both the message and the man. So when we think about our pastoral leadership, let's make first things first....let's put first things first....let's emphasize in our ministry what the Lord emphasizes, our handling of the Word and the life that we live. These should be the foundation of our pastoral leadership, and will provide a firm foundation for all else that is part and parcel of a gospel ministry. 

Salvation in Titus

Through the book of Titus, Paul weaves an overview of salvation. Today I want to give that overview.

The Author of Salvation

Vs (1:3, 1:4) (3:4, 3:6) (2:9, 2:13)

Notice how these are grouped in the letter.

The Appearing of Salvation

Vs 2:11, 3:4, 2:13 (its final appearing)

Appearing in the Greek is epiphaino.  It means to bring to light, to become clearly known, to show or reveal one's self. It is also the word from which we get our word epiphany.

The Availability of Salvation

Vs 2:11, 3:4

Notice to whom salvation is made available.

The Application of Salvation

Vs 1:1

Now notice to whom salvation is applied.

The Act of Salvation

Vs 2:14, 3:5-7

Notice who does the redeeming and the saving.

The Actions of the Saved

Vs 2:11-14

Compare these verses with verse 16 of the previous chapter. As Luther said, "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

Salvation and Eternal Life

Have you ever thought about where salvation comes from? Have you considered what salvation really is, what it really means? The concept of salvation is foreign to most people, but not the concept of eternity, of life after death. Every culture, ancient and modern, has some concept, some belief, some picture in their mind of what life after death will be like. Why is that so? Of course the Scriptures give us the answer for that and it is contained in Ecclesiastes 3:11"...He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end." 

Where does the concept of eternity, life after death, come from? It comes from God, who has planted it within the human heart. So when you look at the different cultures and their different religions, you see their idea of eternal life and how to achieve it, or how to enhance its quality. For many of them there is no concept of salvation, but an assumption of eternal life that contains their vision and their version of what that eternal life will be like. 

When Nicodemus came to Christ in John chapter 3, he was coming with the question of how he might obtain eternal life. In fact, if you read through the gospel of John you will see eternal life, or one of its synonyms used 47 times. John even states in 20:31 that his reason for writing that book is so that we will believe and have life (eternal life) in His name. So what must man do to obtain eternal life?  Yes, he must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He must turn from his sin and turn to God. He must depend wholly upon the finished work of Christ on the cross. He must receive Jesus Christ by faith. But what is done when man does this?  He is saved, by grace through faith. In other words, the Bible shows us that man must be saved to obtain eternal life (John 3:16). 


When you look at the first four verses of Titus chapter one, you see the promise of eternal life. This eternal life, is bound up in salvation and is promised by God, who calls Himself the Savior, along with His Son, Christ Jesus. Two other times in Titus, God lists both Himself and His Son as the Savior. In fact, the term Savior is used 37 times in the Bible, 24 in the OT and 13 in the NT; and is never used to denote anyone other than God or Christ. God states this in Isaiah 43:11, "I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me. In Titus 3:5-6 God states that it is He that saves.  


So what is God letting the Cretans and us know in the Bible, and in this letter?  He is the author of salvation, the only author of salvation. Salvation comes from Him and Him alone, and it is He who does the saving and in that salvation is the promise of eternal life. Man does not, has not, and cannot save himself.  So what must man do to obtain true eternal life? He must turn to the one who can save him and give him that eternal life, and that is God Himself in the person of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God alone who possesses eternal life, and it is His to give; and He only gives it to those whom He saves.


How about you, my friend? Are you under the deception that you can achieve eternal life all on your own? Are you mistakenly assuming that you will automatically have a good life after death, and that its quality will be enhanced depending on how well you have performed or how nicely you have behaved or on how many kind deeds you have done during your physical life? Be aware, do not miss the fact, that if eternal life is tied up in salvation, and if God has called Himself the Savior, then there is something that you must be saved from, something that you must be delivered from in order to obtain eternal life. And if you are not saved, if you are not delivered then you will not obtain eternal life.  


What must you be saved from, what must you be delivered from? It is the the second death (Revelation 20:11-15), the eternal death (The eternal state of dying, but never being dead. Isaiah 66:24) that is just the opposite of eternal life. It is not bliss, but torment (Psalm 11:6). It is not happiness, but sorrow. It is not joy, but anguish.  And all for eternity.  


God has revealed Himself as the author of salvation, as the One and only Savior. He alone possess eternal life, and it is His alone to give, and He only gives to those whom He saves. Come to Him today in repentance from your unbelief and rebellion against Him. Come to Him today in repentance from your depending on your own self for your eternal life, and place your faith in what He has done in His Son on the cross to provide eternal life for you. Don't forfeit your eternal life because of your own sinful pride and self reliance. Ask Him in faith for the eternal life that only He can give.