The Preacher Man

“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.”  I Timothy 3:1

Paul moved from the subjects of praying and the role of women in the church to the qualifications of bishops, that is, “overseers” of the church that we call pastors, and the qualifications of deacons who administer various functions in the church concerning the members.  Deacons are absolutely necessary because the pastor cannot do everything that the members would like.  Most of them want personal attention, but in today’s mega churches, that is impossible.  Even in smaller churches, the pastor cannot be at the beck and call of all the members.  Thus, we have deacons who take the load off of the pastor so that he can spend his time in studying God’s word and preparing to preach God’s message.  Of course, he does a lot of other things concerning the congregation, but his chief duty is to be the “overseer”, CEO, and leader of the church body, a tremendous responsibility.

Paul began by stating that what he was about to write was a true saying.  Those of us who know Christ and are familiar with the word of God know that everything in scripture is true, so I don’t know why he had to include this unless he was emphasizing his point.  It’s like when folks say, “Honestly” before they say whatever they were going to say.  Hopefully, they are always honest.  Another thing that Paul wrote is puzzling to me:  “if a man desires to be a pastor, he desires a good work”.  It is true that the work of a pastor is a good work, but it has been my experience with all the pastors that I have known over the years that none of them set out to be a pastor.  We know that God calls men to be pastors and preachers.  Many preachers that I have known confessed that they ran from the call.  They understood what a huge responsibility and challenge that preachers of the gospel face, but they were never satisfied with any other work or career.  A man can’t just decide to preach or pastor a church on his own without God’s choosing him.  If he undertakes to serve in that role, without God’s calling, he will not be successful.  Paul was chosen by God, and he was eager to obey.

There are several qualifications for a pastor just like there are for any secular position, except the qualifications for pastor are very stringent.  He must be beyond reproach, have only one wife, meaning he cannot be divorced and remarried or have several wives, which was customary in Biblical days.  In my former church, many years ago, a young man felt that God was calling him to preach and desired for the church to license him.  However, he had been divorced and remarried.  Those who were supporting him said that he was qualified because he divorced and remarried before he became a Christian.  At a Wednesday night business meeting, the church put it to a vote among the members who were there.  Both sides gave their arguments for licensing because he had been forgiven of what was considered adultery or not licensing because of his former divorce and remarriage.  The vote was no.  The argument could be made that his sins were forgiven, but scripture is very clear.

The pastor must be vigilant, aware of anything going on in the church that could cause problems.  He must be in control of his emotions (sober), anger, and his behavior for he is a role model to his church and the community.  He must be hospitable, welcoming to all who come to the church.  He must be very knowledgeable of God’s word, allowing the Holy Spirit to fill him with truth.  He is not to abuse alcohol.  Every pastor that I have known did not drink alcohol at all.  The pastor must control his temper and not be in his position for money.  We hear of some mega church pastors who make millions of dollars.  I wonder what Paul would say about that.  He must be patient, not covet, and be content with what he has.  In his personal life, the pastor must be a good father and husband, rearing his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  He must not be a novice.  Someone who is fairly new to the tasks which are required for a man to lead a congregation would likely be “in over his head” or he might allow pride to become a stumbling block to his ministry.  He must also have a good reputation outside of the church to avoid any reproach that could come upon the church.  The pastor must wear a lot of hats.

The qualifications for deacons are much the same.  Their job is to care for the church members who need help in various ways.  In Acts 6:1-4, seven men were appointed as deacons in the Jerusalem church.  They cared for the widows and others in order to free up the pastor to spend his time in the study of God’s word.  They must be serious about their work and consistent.  They must have a clean conscience and not be hiding some secret sin which could diminish their faith, which must remain strong and steadfast.  They must go through a “trial period” in order to establish their fitness for the job.  Their wives are also subject to certain standards.  They must have a strong and steady faith, self-control, and not gossipers or busybodies.  If the man chosen to be a deacon in the church does well, he will receive respect from those he serves, and his faith in the Lord will strengthen.

To sum up, a man who is called to be a pastor or deacon must be a man of high integrity, moral clarity, and have a love for the Lord, for people, and for God’s word.