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1 Timothy 3:1-7 – Selecting Elders
We began the process of selecting elders with constant congregational prayer. Then, we proceeded with an intense study of scriptures. Thirdly we examined ourselves and the men of the congregation. Hopefully we spent more time examining ourselves than others. Finally the last couple of weeks, we have begun finishing what we started last year by individually selecting men. Lord willing we will have an eldership appointed soon (1 Corinthians 4:19; James 4:15).
When considering the qualifications, the form simply lists “yes” as the preferred wording – i.e., “yes” he is qualified. However, please consider there is growth and gradations within most of the qualifications. Maybe as an illustration, when you began your job, or chose a spouse, there were certain qualifications that were possessed and met. However, most of us continue to improve on our abilities and qualities.
Being the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2) is an absolute, even when interpreting the Greek phrase as meaning marital faithfulness. And every qualification is a “must” (1 Timothy 3:2). But there are degrees of qualification within the possessed quality. As one edition of the form was written, the choices were: Excellent; Good; Acceptable. Someone might be “acceptable” in teaching, hospitality, managing their home, etc., while another might be “good” or “excellent” in those same characteristics. However, “acceptable” is still qualified. Remembering this might help us select or accept a man we did not previously consider, because in truth he is actually qualified.
Below are the qualifications from a different translation (NCV) than the one used for the form (NASB).
1 Timothy 3:1-7 – 1 What I say is true: Anyone wanting to become an overseer desires a good work. 2 An overseer must not give people a reason to criticize him, and he must have only one wife. He must be self-controlled, wise, respected by others, ready to welcome guests, and able to teach. 3 He must not drink too much wine or like to fight, but rather be gentle and peaceable, not loving money.4 He must be a good family leader, having children who cooperate with full respect. 5 (If someone does not know how to lead the family, how can that person take care of God’s church?) 6 But an elder must not be a new believer, or he might be too proud of himself and be judged guilty just as the devil was. 7 An elder must also have the respect of people who are not in the church so he will not be criticized by others and caught in the devil’s trap.
Titus 1:5-9 – 5 I left you in Crete so you could finish doing the things that still needed to be done and so you could appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must not be guilty of doing wrong, must have only one wife, and must have believing children. They must not be known as children who are wild and do not cooperate. 7 As God’s managers, overseers must not be guilty of doing wrong, being selfish, or becoming angry quickly. They must not drink too much wine, like to fight, or try to get rich by cheating others. 8 Overseers must be ready to welcome guests, love what is good, be wise, live right, and be holy and self-controlled. 9 By holding on to the trustworthy word just as we teach it, overseers can help people by using true teaching, and they can show those who are against the true teaching that they are wrong.
Our goal is to make this a complete and informed process giving people every opportunity to make their selections representative of their views. Our goal is to have the men to be appointed to have 100% support from the congregation. Goals cannot always be easily reached, and sometimes they cannot be reached at all. However, that does not alleviate the goal as a worthy achievement. If that goal cannot be reached, then our next goal is to find men who have the clear support from the congregation to be appointed. It is our hope that we can get as close to 100% as possible.
If it is necessary, you will be contacted (either by phone or e-mail) about men you did not select. You will then have another opportunity to select or accept them. It is possible someone did not originally select a man, but is willing to accept them nonetheless because they recognize there are gradations within some of the qualifications or possibly they did not think of the men, or somehow forgot to put their name down. If you are unwilling to initially accept a certain man, then contacting you will allow you an opportunity to work towards supporting them by you personally talking to the brother in Christ. When contacted, here is a list of possible questions you will be asked:
- Is there anyone else you would like to select?
- Could you support brother A?
- Do you need to speak to him before supporting him?
Prayerfully all objections can be worked out. I have heard of one example of where a man was addressed with certain concerns. Instead of being defensive about it or unconcerned, he admitted and expressed that it was an area that he could improve on. His humility convinced the objectors that they could remove their objections. Also it is possible that even though someone did not select a certain person, they are willing to submit to the man as an elder due to the overwhelming support that the man received congregationally. Sometimes we can doubt our own conclusions as we look at the conclusions that others whom we trust have come to.
We began the process with prayer. Now let us finish with prayer.
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