1 Timothy 3: Holiness & Leadership, Together

The second of two interrelated teachings on biblical leadership in God’s church, we define the goal of discipleship, and the role of servant leaders in a church.

We see Paul urge men and women alike to pursue holiness in the context of a church community, and he explains what that looks like at the end of 1 Timothy 3. In the middle do the chapter, Paul describes deacons as men and women who serve as examples to the church of holiness. And at the beginning he describes elders as men who serve as equippers of the church to holiness.

In looking at elders’ ability to teach, we also spend some time breaking down the view of preaching as the pinnacle activity of the church and the common hierarchical, business-org-chart view of church leadership. We explain rather that servant leaders’ rightful positions are “among” (1 Peter 5) the variously gifted people and teams within a church.

Finally, we see that Jesus alone meets every “leader qualification” in his perfect life, and how he is thus the only rightful head of his church (Colossians 1). Every other leader is imperfect, and thus utterly reliant on Jesus and his grace to qualify and sustain us for serving his people.

And if you want to catch the first “half” of this related converstaion, here is Sept 14’s teaching on 1 Tim 1:12 - 2:7, as Nicole Tatum looks at God’s work of salvation, & the Church’s role in it.