Let's Talk About the Pastor (1 Timothy 4:12-16)
- please open your Bibles to 1 Timothy 4
- I counted on my bookshelf yesterday 58 books on being a pastor
- many of these books have great titles
- "What the Didn’t Teach You in Seminary," "Principles of Pastoral Success," "Coping with Depression in the Ministry," "Confident Pastoral Leadership," and my favorite, "The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers"
- despite all these excellent books, I’m still a lousy pastor
- I still need lots of help
- I think my all-time favorite book on pastoring is one you’ve probably read
- it’s called 1 Timothy
- if I had to get rid of everything I’ve ever read on pastoring and major on just one book, it would be this one
- it was written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy, a young man providing leadership in the Ephesian church
- the whole book is good, but this morning I’d like to focus on chapter 4, beginning with verse 12
- leadership today is tougher than ever before, and it’s no different in the ministry
- an anti-authoritarian atmosphere pervades the world and the church
- people distrust leaders
- on top of that, we’re exposed to tapes, books, seminars, and television productions of pastors who are all better than we are
- and not only that, consumerism has entered the church
- if we don’t like what we find in one church, we just bail out and go to another
- I don’t think any pastor is going to find it easy in the ministry
- people talk about the pastor
- a couple had invited the pastor over for dinner
- while they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the pastor was chatting with their little boy
- he asked if the boy knew what they were having for dinner
- "Goat," the little fellow said
- the pastor was startled
- "Goat? are you sure?"
- the boy said, "I think so. This morning I heard Dad say to Mom, ‘Might as well have the old goat for dinner today"
- since people talk about the pastor, we might as well talk about him too
- except let’s talk about the pastor biblically
- what kind of pastor is he going to be?
- Joe Stowell has observed that some choose to lead from the platform of personal charm
- they feel they can please all the people all the time
- they treat ministry as a popularity contest, but any pastor who leads from the platform of personal charm is guaranteed to have a short ministry
- the pastor is not called by God to be a diplomat
- he is called by God to speak God’s Word plainly and clearly and without apology – but with utter humility and brokenness of heart
- some try to lead from the platform of the latest programs and ministry fads
- others try to rally their people to causes
- some pastors try to lead from the platform of self-promotion
- I once read a church-growth book that encouraged pastors to be strong leaders, and one way to communicate this is to make sure that the pastor’s name on the church’s letterhead is bigger than the church’s name
- I’ll reserve comment on that suggestion
- the real question is, what kind of leader is the pastor going to be?
- I believe the real answer is found in 1 Timothy 4:12
- (1 Timothy 4:12) Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young
- literally, "don’t let anyone underrate you because you are young"
- in essence, what Paul is saying to Timothy is this:
- there are going to be some older members of your church
- they’re probably going to dislike being lectured to, and having their conduct dictated by, so relatively young a pastor
- Paul admonishes Timothy to do what was necessary to engender a healthy sense of respect among those he was called to lead
- rather than building on the platforms of personal charm, popularity, programs, or self-promotion, Paul admonishes Timothy to earn and build respect among those he serves
- Paul says that the unchangeable factor of his youth can be overcome by exhibiting exemplary character
- people rarely give respect as a gift to a leader or pastor; it has to be earned
- most take a wait-and see attitude
- pastors are challenged in the words of Paul to Timothy: earn respect
- don’t let anyone look down on you just because you’re young
- focus your life and ministry in three areas
- and these three areas will define the kind of respect that will enable someone to be an effective pastor
- FIRST, FOCUS EARN RESPECT BY YOUR PERSONHOOD(1 Timothy 4:12) Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
- it's amazing that Paul didn’t begin with technique, style, or task performance
- he begins with the question of basic personal integrity
- when I go to an ordination, I can determine pretty quickly whether or not a person is orthodox
- I can tell if he is sound theologically pretty quickly
- but my main question becomes this: how is your integrity?
- how is your walk with God?
- how do you treat your wife?
- who are you? can I trust you?
- these are the questions that determine effectiveness in ministry
- personhood is the ultimate make-or-break issue in effective leadership
- Paul says in verse 12, set an example in five areas:
- SPEECH – what you say about people, your day-to-day conversation
- LIFE – really, your behavior; the general conduct of your life
- your conduct toward your children and your spouse
- how you handle those who will oppose you in ministry and cause you grief
- how you carry out the business of life, and how you relate to others
- LOVE – the defining mark of a Christian, and most certainly a Christian leader
- once again, the issue of how you treat your enemies; whether or not you love unconditionally; loving those who disagree with you theologically, or who have certain temperaments or idiosyncrasies that just drive you crazy
- Paul mentions FAITH – the idea of faithfulness and fidelity
- and PURITY – who you are when nobody is looking
- Ephesus was a center for sexual impurity, and Timothy was faced with temptations
- so stay sexually pure, but also entertain purity of motives, purity of heart, purity of conscience, purity in the way you deal with money, purity in managing your time and relationships
- as Proverbs says:
- (Proverbs 4:23) Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
- (Proverbs 4:24) Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
- (Proverbs 4:25) Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
- (Proverbs 4:26) Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
- (Proverbs 4:27) Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
- if you were around someone who exemplified these five characteristics on a consistent basis, you would be compelled to respect them
- I’ve noticed that some pastors fail because they lack people skills, some fail because they lack leadership capacity, but an even greater number fail because they lack integrity
- personal integrity is a non-negotiable element of a pastor’s ministry
- he is to set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity
- SECOND, EARN RESPECT BY YOUR PROCLAMATION
- (1 Timothy 4:13) Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
- the fundamental need of every believer is to understand and know the Bible and live in obedience to its truth
- people come to our ministries expecting that in some way their innate spiritual hunger will be satisfied
- the goal is not to be the greatest preacher, the goal is to be an effective proclaimer – one who feeds the truth of God to the spiritual needs of his people
- when I began my ministry, I thought I could coast in this area
- I could get away with hastily prepared sermons – for a while
- but over time I began to see the effects of this, so much so that now I devote many hours a week to the preparation of God’s Word to feed hungry souls
- I’ll never be a Spurgeon or Swindoll, and I’ll never feed intellectual giants, but I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing – feeding sheep
- and God calls us to ground our ministries in the proclamation of his unchanging Word to a new generation
- look at the word Paul uses in verse 11
- (1 Timothy 4:11) Command and teach these things.
- the word "command" is a strong one, with military overtones
- the pastor is told to command and speak with authority from God’s Word
- the pastor can never try to be a people-pleaser in his ministry
- never shy away from preaching God’s truth just because it isn’t popular
- he must preach the Word of God accurately
- preach from the Scriptures, not from your own ideas and perspectives
- relate the Word of God to the needs of your flock
- clearly communicate the Word of God to the church and they will respect you for it
- throughout the history of the Christian Church other elements have squeezed out the preaching and teaching of the Word of God
- it’s like the little girl who was vigorously stirring a glass of ice tea
- she sipped some of it, grimaced; stirred it again and contorted her face with displeasure once again
- she complained, "Mother, this tea won’t come sweet"
- her mother answered, "Of course it won’t. There’s no sugar in it. All the stirring in the world won’t do any good."
- all the stirring-up of people in a church won’t do any good unless the Gospel is proclaimed
- so the pastor must proclaim the Word of God!
- PAUL SAYS THERE IS A THIRD NON-NEGOTIABLE ELEMENT IN THE MATTER OF RESPECT
- (1 Timothy 4:14) Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
- Timothy’s commission as a church leader was confirmed by the laying on of hands by the elders of a church
- Timothy was not a self-appointed leader; no pastor is
- God calls the pastor into the ministry
- God gives the pastor spiritual gifts
- God may have gifted him to be a teacher, or a merciful person, or a servant, or an exhorter, or an administrator
- but whatever his gift is, God calls him to proficiency in using that gift
- he shouldn’t covet the gifts of others
- instead, he should lead others to use their spiritual gifts
- some church members think they hire the pastor to do all the work; in reality, the pastor’s job is to prepare God’s people for works of service
- he must be diligent in cultivating what it is God has gifted you to do
- he must become, as Paul says elsewhere, a workman who needs not be ashamed
- I love what Paul says in verses 15 and 16:
- (1 Timothy 4:15) Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
- (1 Timothy 4:16) Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
- these concluding verses bring together everything that has been said in the preceding verses
- the pastor must be passionate, and establish his authority through respect, because everyone will see his progress in these matters
- he must be completely dedicated to your task
- he must watch both his life and his doctrine
- and the stakes are high, as we notice in verse 16:
- "Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."
- by his conscientious and devoted efforts, the pastor will have the supreme joy of helping the flock entrusted to him, which depends on his teaching and leadership, to attain salvation
- why am I preaching this message?
- I spoke these words at an ordination of a good friend yesterday
- but as I did, I was reminded of my need to be challenged in these areas
- I thank God for this church
- I am asking you to pray for your pastor
- I am humbled and honored to serve you in this way
- but I know that to be effective I need your prayers
- you know my weaknesses; I know my weaknesses; now all we can do is go to God and ask him to bless our church in spite of who I am
- I’m going to close by challenging you with
words from a ministry called "Prayer
Partner"
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- let’s close in prayer