Church Leaders

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 19th of January, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The Consistory is the governing body of our church family.  It is charged with seeing to the short-term and long-term needs of the church, its facilities, its resources.  Each year, some folks go off the Consistory and some come on, providing us with continuity yet also with the opportunity for new perspectives.  We elect these good leaders to represent us and call them Elders and Deacons, but there is far more to being an Elder or a Deacon than this.  And there are many more leaders than just the Elders and Deacons.

Let me read to you how the Apostle Paul described church leaders to his young protégé Timothy.  Please listen and follow along to Paul’s words from his 1st letter to Timothy, chapter 3, verses 1 through 13, from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” 2 So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?

6 A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

8 In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. 9 They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. 10 Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons.

11 In the same way, their wives must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do.

12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and household well. 13 Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

--1 Timothy 3:1-13 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, after Jesus showed him the truth, Paul definitely lived a life beyond reproach and in full service to Jesus.  He was one of the early leaders of the church, starting churches among the Gentiles and laying out the qualifications for a good church leader to follow.  Father, thank You for saving Paul’s writings for us so that we too can follow them.  Please help us to be good leaders, to be above reproach in how we live our lives, to serve Jesus in all we do.

Speak to us now, Father, through Your Spirit, with the message we need to hear this morning.  Show us how we can better serve You and Jesus.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Commanding General and later President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said:  "In order to be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality of a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man's associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose."

Management consultant Peter Drucker offers insightful guidance to the church when he suggests five requirements for those who would lead churches:
(1) a leader works;
(2) a leader sees his assignment as responsibility rather than rank or privilege;
(3) a leader wants strong, capable, self-assured, independent associates;
(4) a leader creates human energies and vision;
(5) a leader develops followers' trust by his own consistency and integrity.


Did you notice that both Eisenhower and Drucker consider personal integrity to be a critical characteristic for a leader?  To lead, one must have followers – people to be led.  If a leader proves untrustworthy, their followers will soon drop out and stop following, stop going where led.

Of course, neither Eisenhower nor Drucker were the first to note the importance of integrity in a leader.  In our scripture reading, the Apostle Paul points out that a church leader must be a person whose life is above reproach.  Now Paul speaks of leaders in masculine terms, primarily because in his day most church leaders were men.  But his qualifications for church leaders applies to everyone, male or female.


Paul calls the role of church leader an honorable position.  And that implies that someone in that role must themselves be honorable.  Personal integrity, and all that goes with it, is vital.

Now notice that most of the characteristics Paul lists are what can be seen by others.  God can see our hearts and we can’t fool him, and it is most important what God sees within us.  But it is also important what other people see in us, what they see us do, how they see us act and interact.  If we have a bad reputation, if we are witnessed doing dishonorable things, why would anyone want to follow our leadership?  This holds true for any leader, but especially for those representing the church, the body of Jesus on earth.


As I mentioned, we elect folks to serve on our Consistory and we call them Elders and Deacons, but there is far more to those positions than that.  Paul gives us the qualifications for those leadership positions, and we can look to the early church for the roles each is intended to fill.  The Apostle Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells of the early church, of Jesus’ followers after He returned to heaven.  Listen to what Luke related in chapter 6 of Acts, verses 1 through 7…

1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Greek-speaking Jews, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.

7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

--Acts 6:1-7 (NKJV)

Not long after Pentecost, the original eleven disciples that Jesus called, plus Matthias who replaced Judas, instituted what we now know as the office of Deacons.  Seven men were chosen to see to the physical needs of the people, while the twelve themselves would serve the spiritual needs of the church.  Today, we would see the twelve as being the first Elders, and the seven the first Deacons, as their respective duties evolved into those positions.

Each office has a distinct role in serving Jesus.  Elders are the primary spiritual leaders of the church, also called overseers or pastors or bishops in the New Testament.  They teach and preach the Word while shepherding the souls of those under their care.  Deacons, too, have a crucial role in the life and health of the local church.  They are charged with taking care of the physical and logistical needs of the church so that the Elders can concentrate on its spiritual needs.

Of course, Jesus charged His church with going into the world making disciples, so the responsibilities of Elders and Deacons don’t end at the church walls.  If we follow the early church for its first few hundred years, we can see how the Deacons especially impacted the world in a great and positive way.

In those early years under Roman rule, many Gentiles and most Romans only valued male babies, and those without any discernable deformity.  Sometimes female babies, or any malformed baby, were left out on the doorsteps at night… for the loose dogs to eat.  As Deacons were making their rounds through the communities, seeing to the needs of the believers, they would come across these babies - scared, alone, and crying.  They felt great compassion for these little ones, just as Jesus would have, and took them in and cared for them.  It wasn’t long until the number of babies overwhelmed what the Deacons alone could provide, so they set up a building and got some women to take care of all their little charges.  And thus began the first orphanage.  All those babies started growing and becoming children, children who needed teaching, so the Deacons began another institution, one that became public schools.  And those babies and children and some of the older church members and even others in the community all had health issues, so the Deacons instituted what we know of today as hospitals.  So you can see that the role of Deacon extends beyond the church walls and can have a great effect on the community as a whole.


Luke tells us that when the seven were chosen, the twelve prayed over them and laid hands on them before sending them out to their duties.  We repeat that today, by ordaining a new Deacon.  An Elder is called - chosen by God because of their special gifts for seeing to the needs of people’ souls.  A Deacon is chosen, from among their peers, because of their heart for service.  Once a Deacon always a Deacon, and once an Elder always an Elder.

Now I’m not talking so much about the officers in the church, who we elect to serve on the Consistory, for these serve fixed terms in office, though they are often reelected time and time again.  But if you were elected as a Deacon, you were ordained as a Deacon, or should have been, and that ordination is for all time.  If you were called as an Elder, you will always be an Elder, whether you currently hold that office in the church hierarchy or not.

We each have gifts that are imprinted upon our hearts.  Sometimes it’s easy to see who has the heart of an Elder, and who the heart of a Deacon.  It’s all in your heart.  Elders and Deacons, it is extremely important that you use your gifts, for the vitality of the church and the greater community around us.

All of us can be church leaders, whether an Elder or Deacon or not.  We can lead by the example we live.  We can lead others to Christ.  Let’s all be church leaders.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You endow each of us with gifts we can use in service to You and Your kingdom.  Some of these include skills and traits that make for good leadership.  Thank You, Father, for the gifts You give.  Please help us to recognize our individual gifts and to use them in a way that pleases You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our disobedient ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, during Your ministry on earth, You showed us by Your example what a good leader should be like.  When You spoke, people listened.  Where You traveled, people followed and came from far away to be near You.  You were kind, loving, compassionate, yet You fought injustice and sought mercy.  Help us, please Lord, to follow Your lead.  Help us to be more like You in our dealings with others.  Help us lead with compassion and love, reaching out past our walls into the greater community, expanding our Father’s kingdom.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Master and our Savior.  Amen.