Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church,” But he did not specifically say how that would happen. This is explored in Ephesians 4:11-16 where we read, “[Jesus] gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastor/teachers” (v11) Paul then sets forth God’s progressive plan for the church in verses 12-16. The purpose of the pastor is to prepare the people to do the work of the ministry! Not to do the work themselves. It seems that today many churches have “professional teams” designed to do all the work of the church, and those attending are there to support that work financially, and be entertained by the services. Great expense is being laid out to create a platform where the performance will take place every week. Pastor’s are being trained in administration, and oversight, but not theology, and teaching. The church has great speakers, but not great theologians. As a result those who are attending are often weak in their understanding of the truth. We spend an hour and a half singing, and 15 minutes with a devotional thought designed to make those in attendance feel good about themselves. While this is not necessarily bad, … READ MORE

The Integrity of a Spiritual Leader is built upon their personal growth and development. As a result in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 we continue to see that a Spiritual leader must be growing toward maturity. Since one of the great dangers facing any leader is pride, humility is an essential element of their life and walk. We must remember that pride was the very things that brought Satan down according to Ezekiel 28:11-19 & Isaiah 14:12-14. The question then becomes how long should a person wait before they become a spiritual leader in the church? Our text says in verse 6, that they are “not a novice,” which means that they need to be old enough in the Lord that they have had tie to develop and demonstrate the spiritual disciples that are required for leadership and maturity. This is a process that can not be rushed, but at the same time is difficult to measure. The key here is that there is enough time to bring the respect and recognition of the Church body, and a personal demonstration of those qualities. Humility allows others to judge and determine those qualities, and not the leaders themselves. The importance of this is … READ MORE

Integrity is living what you teach and preach, that is why all the qualifications for leaders are given at the beginning of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 describe their moral character. Once the personal issues are pointed out, we move to the home life of the godly leader. It is not enough for the spiritual leader to have an exemplary personal life, he must also have an exemplary home life. To “manage” your household well, means that a godly leader is on who is a good steward of the things God has put into their charge. A spiritual leader is not just intrinsically good, but also visibly good. It is possible for a person to meet the moral qualifications for a pastor, yet be disqualified because of their evident lack of leadership in the home. He must be a good steward not only of his family but also his finances, learning how to control spending and not being tied to the “stuff” that they accumulate is important to model what is truly important. Having his children under control does not mean that his children must be followers of Christ (since that is the work of the Lord), however it does mean that … READ MORE