1 Timothy 3:1-7 | Evaluate Elders

The Qualifications for Church Leadership

If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it and turn to the book of 1 Timothy, to the book of 1 Timothy. We’ll be looking at the first part of chapter 3, 1 Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 through 7. Last week, we saw Paul address men and women and how they ought to behave inside the church. Now, he turns his attention toward the leaders of the church and, specifically in our passage this morning, gives us the qualifications of someone who serves as a pastor.

1 Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 through 7 says this:

This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.” An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not an excessive drinker, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy. He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil. Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap. — 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (CSB)

Let's pray. Lord, even as I'm hearing these words this morning, I pray, Lord, that you would help pastors of this church, help myself, to be able to meet this bar. Pray even for us this morning that you give us clarity of mind to be able to be critical, to be able to actually understand the qualifications of a pastor, to be able to continue to walk in faithfulness towards you. We ask that your Spirit would help us to understand your word this morning. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Heart of Pastoral Expectations

Thom Rainer, former president of Lifeway, tells a story about sitting down with a church that was looking for a pastor. During the conversation, he went up to a whiteboard in the meeting and asked, "How many hours should a pastor spend studying God's word? How about prayer? What about visitation? What other things should a pastor do?" He listed all of them on the whiteboard and listed different hours next to each task that a pastor would accomplish. By the end of the conversation, Thom totaled the number of hours expected of a pastor, and it totaled to over 100 hours of work.

Now, I'm not saying that to complain. I've been really well-loved and served by you all. I'm not overworked here; I'm not complaining about my work hours. But you wonder what *you* expect of your pastors. What do you expect of them? Do you expect him to visit your home every week? Do you expect your pastor to be a Frankenstein combination of pastor slash secretary slash janitor? Do you expect him to be preaching every single sermon, every single Sunday?

Now, expectations are not inherently bad. In fact, I'd argue that they're essential. They're necessary in order to have competent men lead healthy churches. The question isn't whether we have expectations, but what you *should* expect of your leaders. You see, our expectations reveal what we think is essential. Your expectations reveal what you think is essential of your pastors, what your priorities are, what you really desire and value. For Paul, his list of qualifications, his expectations for a pastor, isn't primarily oriented around a man's productivity or his charismatic personality, but his godliness.

Paul shares with us his expectations of a pastor with Timothy and also with us, and he teaches us as a church what is truly essential for its leaders. Paul is instructing Timothy, a pastor, about what to expect of pastors because normally there is a plurality of pastors in a church. In the book of Acts, you see the church in Antioch when they commissioned Paul and Barnabas for the work of the ministry on their missionary journey. There were multiple pastors or elders that gathered together to lay hands on them as they send them out from the same church. You see a similar thing in the church in Ephesus, where Timothy is serving. So Paul is instructing Timothy because he assumes that Timothy would naturally be training up and recognizing pastors to serve in the church in Ephesus. As the church continues to grow and disciple one another, we expect a plurality of pastors here and in most churches, not necessarily all on staff or getting some kind of full-time salary. The pastors are recognized by the church to lead the church as they teach God's word and steward God's people.

The qualifications that you see here in verses 1 through 7 are themselves not really organized. As I was reading through the passage and studying throughout the week, there's not really a logical outline. There isn't a rhyme or reason to all these things here. What Paul is trying to do with all these descriptions or qualifications of a pastor is he's trying to paint a picture. With every single description of an elder, Paul is showing us another angle of what a pastor should be, so that when you look at all of the angles side by side by side, you can kind of composite a 3D image of what a pastor should be. So, what I'm going to do this morning, I'm just going to walk through each of these qualifications one by one. At the end of the sermon, I'll make some summary applications for us as a church. So the main idea for the sermon this morning is to evaluate your pastors.

Essential Qualifications for an Overseer

1. Desire

Starting with the first qualification, which is desire. Look again in verse 1: "The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work." Paul begins with a saying, something that people would say to each other, a principle for people to believe in: "If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work." The office of overseer is the same word for bishop in the Bible. The titles of overseer, bishop, minister, teacher, pastor, and elder – they're all the same office. They're all referring to the same job, the same work. It's just different descriptions to talk about the same job; they all do the same thing.

The first qualification in a church isn't even explicitly stated; it's just assumed. He who desires or aspires to be an overseer – in other words, you want it. Someone who serves as a pastor of a church should *want* to pastor a church. Did you notice the word that Paul uses there in verse 1? He uses the word "aspire." Notice he didn't say the word "called." He says, "If anyone aspires to be a pastor, he aspires to do a noble work." In other words, a pastor has to want to do it.

Sometimes we romanticize this idea of calling to ministry. Pastors will stand in front of congregations and tell long stories about how they were doing everything in their own power to avoid pastoring and the ministry, and eventually they were brought to submission and forced to obey the Lord, give up on their dreams, and pursue the ministry. Paul is actually saying the exact opposite in this passage. Paul is saying if ministry isn't your dream, then God is not calling you to be a pastor. In fact, in 1 Peter 5, Peter goes as far as to say that a pastor must not shepherd out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have him. If a man is checked out of the ministry, he should check out of the ministry. He should not be a pastor; you should only pastor if you want it.

Because the nature of pastoral leadership is work. It's a noble work, but it's work; it's service. And if you feel like you are serving because you *have* to, not because you *get* to – you're pastoring because everyone's just begging you to serve the church and you're like, "Alright, alright, I'll do it" – that changes ministry from something that you've pursued and something that you yourself desire to something that you're entitled to. It changes the power dynamics in terms of service.

So we should not be appointing pastors just because we have a job description to fill, or because we need to find leaders to help with a certain ministry. The appointment of leaders in the church, particularly pastors, is about finding men whom God has raised up and who *want* to serve the church. You have to want to do it. The work is a noble work. See, his leadership here isn't just about suffering; it's about doing something honorable. Pastoral ministry is worth wanting; that's a noble work. Authority, when used right, is a wonderful gift. David, at the end of his life in 2 Samuel 23:3-4, says this; this is what he writes as he's reflecting at the end of his life:

The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, “The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God, is like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.” — 2 Samuel 23:3-4 (CSB)

It was raining a couple of weeks ago, all the pollution in Los Angeles gets out, and then you wake up on the first morning with a clear sky. You walk out, you can see the sun break through the dawn, you can see all the mountains to the east, and he's saying that beauty is like what it's like to be under a ruler who rules rightly, who uses his authority well. We want that for our church; we want authority that builds up. Men who aspire to noble work, who look at the difficult task of pastoring and say, "I want to do that," to serve those around them in a way that nourishes the people like rain on sprouting grass. And it's because it's a noble work that pastoral ministry deserves noble workers.

2. Above Reproach

Which brings me to qualification number two: be above reproach. You see that in the second verse there: "An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach." And being above reproach, this idea of being above accusations, is the summary qualification of all the other qualifications: that a man must be above reproach, above accusation, not chargeable. In other words, this guy needs to be a stand-up guy. It's not that he can't ever be accused of wrongdoing, but the man should live his life in such a way that behavior out of step with the picture of godliness would sound unusual when you hear it, like, "That doesn't sound like that guy at all."

In other words, being above reproach is a super broad, super vague category. It's asking a general question to capture the picture of a godly man: "Can you trust him? Can you trust this character? Is he above accusation?" In other words, in some sense, being above reproach is a vibe check. It's asking about your gut, knee-jerk reaction about this man when you think about him and kind of his gist, everything that he is. Is he someone that you can actually trust? Is he someone that's above reproach?

David Mathis is a pastor in Minneapolis. He asks two questions that help discern what we mean when we talk about being above reproach. Number one: "Is he regularly the subject of accusations, whether justly so or not, due to his own lack of discretion?" It's one thing to speak the truth and stand your ground; it's another to use the truth to satisfy your own lust to be controversial. And number two: "Will having him as a pastor or elder prove a regular distraction to the church? If he is frequently called into question, not strictly because of the truth, but due to his way of presenting it or living it, perhaps he needs more time to live faithfully and build a new reputation before encumbering the church with his lapses. A man may be technically righteous and yet of such a reputation that it would be counterproductive to have him in the church office." In other words, a guy who serves as a pastor represents more than just himself. He's representing the church as a whole—you look like your leaders. And more than that, he is representing Jesus Christ. Which means if people's perception of him is consistently off, or leads to questions or hardship or confusion or chaos, then he should not serve as a pastor.

3. The Husband of One Wife

Qualification number three: "the husband of one wife." A pastor needs to be a one-woman man. Now, it doesn't mean that he must be married. I realize the irony of having me preach a sermon where I'm like, "A pastor must be a one-woman man." It's not talking about a man that must be married; otherwise, we'd be kicking Jesus and Paul out of the church. They can't serve as church leaders. More than that, there are also tons of examples all throughout church history of faithful single men who have served as pastors, like Richard Sibbes or John Stott. As one scholar put it, Paul's primary concern here when he talks about being a one-woman man is not about the quantity of people in one's marriage, but about the quality of a man's marriage. Is the man a one-woman man? Is he faithful to his wife? Or is he a man who's loose with his affection? Is this guy someone that you would warn other women or husbands about? The man's married life must reflect the character fitting of a Christian.

4. Self-Controlled, Sensible, and Respectable

Qualification number four: self-controlled, sensible, and respectable. I grouped these together. Is the man in control of himself, or is he controlled by what's around him? Is he marked by common sense, or is he just a little bit crazy? Is he consistently nuts? Is he considered a respectable man, or is he a clown? Similar to being above reproach, these qualifications are deliberately vague. It's a gut check; it's asking, "Do you trust this guy?" Is he self-controlled, or do you always have to reel him back? Is he sensible, or do you repeatedly have to remind him of basic things that everyone should already know? Is he respectable, or are you always having to go behind him and clean up his messes? You see, this kind of respect and trust is not something that a pastor demands of his church. It's something that a man earns through his character. You have to look at a pastor and be able to say, "I can trust this guy. He's a trustworthy man." A pastor cannot be babied by his congregation because he's the one who's supposed to help lead the family of God, not the other way around.

5. Hospitable

Qualification number five: "He must be hospitable." Pastors are welcoming people. If they are to lead the family of God, they themselves must lead a welcoming home. Hospitality must mark their life. This is one area where I was convicted while working through the text, which means you guys will likely get some dinner invites in the future. Oh, please say yes; I'd love to have you over, right? It does force me to vacuum my apartment more often than I do, but I would love to have you over and spend time with you.

But hospitality overflows from the home into every other facet of life. So, it's not just about literally being welcomed into someone's home; it's someone who actually has a welcoming spirit. To be invited into someone's house is an act of trust, an act of open-handedness, of welcoming someone in. And hospitality is more than just the literal aspect of having someone come in, but the way that you make people feel. Pastors need to lead in a way that makes you feel like you're at home. They need to have a warm disposition, a welcoming disposition, towards God's people.

And with all of these characteristics, these qualifications are important in particular because the way that a pastor leads his church is a reflection of how people will view Jesus Christ. The guy who most frequently teaches from God's word will often be an image of what you think God is like. And if a pastor is not welcoming, if he's not hospitable, then it's no wonder why members would be scared to approach God in prayer, why they'd be afraid to bring their needs, why they would be fearful of their Lord when their own leaders are not welcoming, or receptive, or kind.

6. Able to Teach

Qualification number six: "He must be able to teach." Now, of all the qualifications for a pastor, this is the only qualification that has to do with his actual job, as opposed to who he is as a person. Sometimes we get blinded by someone's teaching ability, and it starts to excuse all sorts of evil. You just assume that since a guy can preach a sermon and tell a bunch of jokes, you start to overlook all sorts of other aspects of his life. But competence should never get us to compromise on character.

I mean, just think about the number of qualifications that Paul gives about someone's godliness versus his teaching ability. The only thing he talks about about the pastor's ability to teach is that he has to be able to teach. That being said, competence is still important. In fact, being able to teach is essential to the work of a pastor because a pastor is not a spiritual "hustle model," right? He has to actually instruct; he's not just there to be around, he does something. Paul tells Timothy later in this book to "watch his life and his doctrine closely." In other words, pastors have to be able to teach.

Have you ever listened to someone teach, whether it was a teacher, professor, or pastor, then after the lesson you walk out of the class and just looked at people next to you and said, "Like, I had no idea what they were talking about"? Now, sometimes it's because you're dumb, right? Like, it is you; you recognize that you're the problem. Other times, you know that that person actually was a very incapable communicator. And some of these professors or pastors might know a lot; they might even have a seminary degree from Fuller Seminary or from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. But it's one thing to know the truth; it's another thing to get it across, to be able to communicate it in a way that people can understand and digest what is being said. Pastors must be able to clearly articulate God's truth in a way that people can understand it, to be able to teach the word of God and apply it faithfully in people's lives.

Now, that doesn't mean that they have to be the greatest public speaker, or that you need to be able to stand up in front of thousands of people and teach the gospel with boldness and with vigor. It does mean that you need to be able to open the Bible and use it properly, that you can actually discern what's true and communicate it to those around you. If you have a man where people are able to say, "You know, whenever I talk to that guy, I'm really encouraged. My soul is filled up. I trust him with my questions and my soul." When you have a guy where, when you are going through spiritual issues or you have questions, and you know that he's a reliable person that you can go talk to, when you know that if you want to grow in godliness, in Christ's likeness, you know that he's a guy that you would want to spend time with – that man is able to teach.

7. Not an Excessive Drinker

Qualification number seven: "Not an excessive drinker." Pastors are to be sober-minded; he cannot be inebriated with alcohol. Now, this verse is not banning alcohol as a category altogether. In the same book, 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 23, Paul instructs Timothy to "drink a little wine to help with his stomach and your frequent illnesses." So I don't think Paul is telling Timothy, right after he said that a pastor needs to not be an excessive drinker, to then disqualify himself from the ministry for the sake of his stomach aches. That's not what Paul's doing.

But a pastor cannot be an excessive drinker. He can't be dependent on any substances that impair his judgment. Ephesians 5:18 says, "Don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit." If a pastor is to lead God's people, he must be sober-minded. He can't be dependent on any substances. It doesn't matter if it's alcohol, marijuana, ketamine; he cannot be a substance abuser. He cannot be someone who loses self-control as dependent on drugs.

8. Not a Bully but Gentle, Not Quarrelsome

Qualification number eight: "Not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome." The word for "bully" here means literally translates to someone who is a "striker," someone who hits. To be absolutely clear, an abuser has no business being in any kind of authority in any place, at any time, especially in the house of God. And it's worth mentioning, often but especially in passages like this, if you're under abusive authority, especially physical authority, please talk to me or talk to someone that you trust. But don't keep that to yourself. It's wrong, and God hates it and he's against it. It doesn't matter what position someone's in over you, whether they're your father, your husband, your teacher, your spouse; it does not matter. Please talk to someone.

But Paul's rejection of a striker here is broader than just someone who hits; it's about aggressors, those who are marked with an confrontational, aggressive spirit. Quarrelsome people. People who say all the time that they're so "over the drama" while they themselves are the drama. Those who portray themselves as the hero in every story that they tell while they villainize and slander their enemies. Those who are relentless with their forcefulness, who pick fights all the time with people. And these aggressive tendencies only get worse; they only get accentuated as one accrues more authority. Because someone who must have their way will use their power to force their way whenever they don't get their way. They'll use their power with their position to run people over, to keep themselves safe. And the tools used to protect and provide for the sheep get used to wound them. Authority turns scalpels into swords.

Godly authority is not characterized by breaking down, but building up. It's not top-down; it's bottom-up. It's gentle. A pastor here is described as gentle. Have you ever asked yourself that question while evaluating a pastor: "Is he gentle?" Do you expect that of your pastors? This is the way that Paul describes his own ministry, as a bold man. Everyone knows all the examples of Paul standing up and calling out Peter in front of the Galatian church, or all sorts of other examples of boldness. But in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 7, he says:

Although we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles, instead we were gentle among you, as a nurse nurtures her own children. — 1 Thessalonians 2:7 (CSB)

Think about that image: a mother nursing her baby. That's not gruff. Is that macho? Is that tough love? That's a gentle touch. Pastors are called to care for their sheep with that kind of gentleness. Can you share with your pastor and know that you won't get steamrolled for it, that you won't be condescended to, but that you'll be cared for? That doesn't mean that pastors don't ever have a hard word to say; that's honestly one of the hardest parts of the job. But are these men marked with a gentle care for fragile, precious souls?

9. Not Greedy

Qualification number nine: "Not greedy." Os Guinness made this observation about most churches: he said, "If a man is drunk on wine, you'll throw him out. But if he is drunk on money, you'll make him a deacon." A pastor cannot be beholden to money. Now, it doesn't mean that a pastor must be poor. 1 Timothy chapter 5, same book, verses 17 through 18 says:

The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.” — 1 Timothy 5:17-18 (CSB)

This term "double honor" is a financial term. That's what's always been referred to in the Greek, that pastors who labor in teaching and preaching God's word should be cared for by the church. And I'm super grateful that this church has been really generous with me and has cared for me well. I have no complaints. Thank you. But as a pastor, I should not be someone who loves money. I can't be someone who is obsessing over their bank balance, who's constantly coming up with new giving campaigns to pump up the budget or their salary. A pastor needs to be in love with Christ, not the world.

You want to appoint pastors where you don't feel the need to question their spending habits because you trust them. If you have questions or if you have hesitations or you have concerns about the way myself or any pastor spends their money, then you don't primarily have a pay or salary problem; you have a people problem. You have untrustworthy men. That's worse. At the same time, pastors should not pursue a lavish life or even a comfortable life, but one that shows that they steward their money well and leverage it to bring God the most glory.

See, the relationship that a pastor should have with finances, especially with the church, should be one of trust, where neither side is demanding or clawing away. This is different than secular salary negotiations where we're trying to squeeze every last cent out of both parties. This isn't a war; this is a relationship of trust. Money is a tool that God calls us to steward well. And so, as a church, one way that we safeguard against greedy pastors is through our budget. I don't get to set my salary, and I think that's right. I should not do that. If I ever do that, that's probably a problem. The finance committee and the congregation are welcome to ask me about my needs and desires, and I'm happy to share and even guide about providing biblical principles about my pay. But I don't get to control how much I get paid. It's an act of trust. I leave the room when those decisions get made. I don't come back until they've concluded, and I don't make them go back to the drawing board. It's a relationship of trust. In addition, I don't know how much any of you give, nor do I want to. I don't want to know how much money you give to the church. I don't unilaterally approve the church's budget; it's something that we all agree to together as a church. And the reason why we have these safeguards in place is because Satan sows division and secrecy. Money itself is not evil, but it is the root of all evil. So we want to tame it and bring God's glory with it. If you have a pastor who is obsessed with money, then that's all the church will be about.

10. Manages His Own Household Competently

Qualification number ten: "He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity. If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God's church?" This is in verse 5. If you want to know how a pastor would lead, look at his house.

Now, my family is currently a family of one, so that's not necessarily disqualifying, as we talked about earlier in marriage. That being said, it is a genuine disadvantage when you're evaluating someone's qualification to be an elder. It is worse off for me that I don't have a family for you guys to evaluate. And the reason is because someone's household is a window into how he would lead the church. This verse is not focusing on whether or not all the children are believing, or whether he's a perfect father, or even whether or not he has children at all. But whether he's a competent and faithful father, whether the family is able to follow the father's leadership. If the kids are running around not listening to their parents, obviously little chaotic devils are flying off the walls, that's a pretty good sign of what the church would be like under that man's leadership. It's a microcosm of how he would lead. A chaotic home would lead to a chaotic church. But if he leads his family well, if he's able to disciple his kids faithfully, lead his wife, help his kids understand the right boundaries for their good and help them grow in towards righteousness, then that kind of patient, clear leadership is exactly what a church needs. So you look at his house.

11. Not a New Convert

Qualification number eleven: "He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil." This verse says that he must not be a new convert, or a "new plant." That's the image that Paul's trying to plant here because a sprout can get stomped on by Satan. Or worse, he will grow so tall with shallow roots that he will topple over because of his own weight. Just like Satan got cast out of heaven for his pride, we can set up new believers for failure by promoting them too quickly. Because post-conversion you have a teachable, zealous, eager, hardworking man, and you think this guy should be in leadership, and you promote him too fast, and he ends up falling.

Now, this isn't talking about holding someone back from being able to obey the Lord. This isn't holding someone back just because they care or because they have zeal. Ambition and enthusiasm is not inherently bad, but that energy needs to be channeled not upward as you climb up the church's authority ladder, but downward, growing deep roots of Christian maturity. And maturity requires time in order to grow. That's why he can't be a new convert. Now, as a church, that qualification is going to depend on every single church. A new convert today is going to look different than a new convert in Ephesus when Paul is writing. It depends on every church as they evaluate the Christian's maturity.

12. Good Reputation Among Outsiders

And lastly, qualification number twelve: "He must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil's trap." This last qualification is the same one as the beginning. He talks about the need to be above reproach, and now he expands the importance of a pastor's evident righteousness beyond the church and into the community in which he lives. In other words, a pastor has to have a good reputation. His life needs to line up. His life throughout the week needs to line up with his profession.

There are so many examples in the world today of Christians' testimonies being negatively impacted by Christian leaders behaving not like Christians, let alone pastors. Many Christian leaders and celebrities fall short of these pastoral qualifications. I had a friend of mine who pastors up in Northern California have an elder at his church where he discovered later, while talking to a neighbor, having a conversation with him upon finding out that his associate pastor was serving at the church, where his non-believing neighbor said, "I cannot believe that he is a pastor at your church!" That brings a stain on Christ's name. It tells the world that Christ can save you, but he can't change you. It tells the world that it's okay to pursue sin and Jesus at the same time. Pastoral reputations matter because they're attached to the name of Christ.

Those are the qualifications, and as you layer those qualifications on top of each other, you're supposed to get an image of what a pastor should be. Paul tells Timothy, "Because this is the standard of what to expect, this is what's required; do not settle for less."

Practical Applications for the Church

So, five applications for us in life regarding these qualifications:

1. Expect These Qualifications

Number one: expect these qualifications from your pastors. I don't care how desperate this church ever gets in the future. If you have to choose between having a man or no man, if you have to choose between having a disqualified man or no man, have no man. Demand these qualifications of your pastors; expect it of your pastors.

2. Encourage Your Pastors

Number two: encourage your pastors and your members that exemplify these qualifications. If you have a leader who's godly, serving is such a gift to the church. I feel that way about our deacons at the church. I feel that way about pastors who serve me faithfully in my own life. I would ask you to encourage members and pastors that embody these qualifications well. Pray for your pastors. I feel the weight of this. You know, I think about marriages and the wedding vows that you give, even our own church covenant that we're going to recite later today. Nobody follows these perfectly. Nobody fits everything exactly perfectly in all the ways that I would want. So, pray that God would help me, and pray that God will raise up more pastors in this church. I would love for God to disciple and encourage, build up men in this church where we can rejoice over what the Lord has done and have many men pastoring the church, even have more pastors than our church needs, so we send them out to plant churches and to help other churches in the area and even send them out to the ends of the earth. That's what we want to do as a church.

3. Expel Unqualified Pastors

Number three: expel pastors who do not meet these qualifications. I've said this, and every single time I say this, you guys laugh, which I appreciate, but I mean it. If I don't meet these qualifications, you need to fire me. You need pastors who actually embody Christ's likeness. And the way that you would do that is that at a members' meeting, you bring up a motion to remove me as a pastor. You could second it, and it would be a vote. You need to do that if I ever don't meet these qualifications. That is a necessary red button.

Now, there's a lid on that button. Don't just go pressing it; this isn't a fire drill. Don't go disrupting things for the sake of disrupting it. But realize you have a responsibility to do that before God. Galatians 1:8, Paul straight up tells the church, "If I or an angel from heaven comes to you and preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you have heard preach, let him be accursed."

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! — Galatians 1:8 (CSB)

You must do that. Christ demands that you do that. His sheep are too valuable for them to be under an incapable or unqualified leader.

4. Embody These Qualifications Yourself

Number four: embody these qualifications yourself. Apart from the requirement to be able to teach, every other qualification that you see here in verses 1 through 7 exists in exhortations to all believers somewhere else in the New Testament. Every believer is called to be able to do these things: to be above reproach, to love your spouse well, to be self-controlled, to be sensible, respectable, not beholden to wine, not a bully. All of us are called to be all of these things. So embody these qualifications yourself. View these as a model as you evaluate your own life and pursue righteousness.

5. Exalt Christ

And lastly, number five: exalt Christ. The reason why all of these qualifications matter isn't just because the job is hard. It's because of who this job is modeled after. The reason why we pursue godliness isn't because of positions of power, but because Jesus is our chief Shepherd, and we all want to look like him. John 10:11, Jesus says:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. — John 10:11 (CSB)

All of us fall short of the standard. All of us deserve to be condemned and sin forever. But Jesus, as our good Shepherd, sacrificially led us by laying his own life down, dying on a cross, paying the payment of sin on our behalf, and rising from the dead three days later. And now he calls pastors to do the same. He calls you to do the same as well. Expect nothing less. Pursue righteousness, and as you rejoice in Christ's work in your life and in your leaders' lives, you get to see the goodness and the grace of Jesus Christ himself. See, the call for pastors to be godly, the call for church members to pursue godliness themselves, it's the same call that Jesus gives to all of us: to deny ourselves and to take up our cross and to follow him. Let's pray.

We pray that you would help us to be able to pursue true godliness. Help myself as a pastor to be able to follow after you faithfully. I pray for all of us that you help us to embody true Christ-likeness. Yes, prove that you help us to follow after the true Shepherd. We need your help. In Jesus' name, Amen.