Would You Be A Good Elder?

“...appoint elders in every town as I directed you — If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:5-9)

Do you want to be an overseer someday?

I’m sure we can all name multiple churches who are currently suffering from an ineffective eldership - either from lack of quantity or from lack of quality. In a lot of ways, the churches of Christ are facing a difficult future. Just a little over a short century ago, the churches in the Restoration movement were one of the fastest growing groups in America; now, many young people either leave the church or display a lackadaisical faith as they mature. Every year, so many churches of Christ are shrinking both in overall number and in the number of mature, able-bodied men. Our churches need us. They need us to step up and be leaders now, and they also need us to grow into future leaders - leaders like Paul described to Titus. The odds are very high that we’ll be in churches who need deacons and/or overseers someday. Let’s carefully consider every choice we make now; we are either laying a foundation for a future of service in the kingdom of God or we are laying the foundation of a lukewarm, wasted life. Paul writes, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that elders should be men who: 1. Have a stellar reputation among the brethren (above reproach) 2. Have a successful marriage (one wife) 3. Have raised children who are faithful Christians (children are believers) 4. Have children who are self-disciplined and chaste (not open to the charge of debauchery) 5. Have children who are respectful of authority (not open to the charge of insubordination) 6. Are humble (not arrogant) 7. Are patient (not quick-tempered) 8. Are sober-minded; not addicted to mind-altering substances (not a drunkard) 9. Are willing to talk through problems (not violent) 10. Are content with their financial situation (not greedy for gain) 11. Are proactive in socializing with and caring for others (hospitable) 12. Love righteousness and right-thinking (lover of good) 13. Are self-controlled 14. Are upright (upstanding; model Christian & model citizen) 15. Are holy (live pure, God-fearing lives in private & in public) 16. Have consistent, spiritually-oriented habits (disciplined) 17. Only stand for what is written (hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught) 18. Are able and willing to instruct those who will listen (able to give instruction in sound doctrine) 19. Are able and willing to withstand troublemakers and antagonists (able...to rebuke those who contradict [the truth]) Whether or not we become deacons/elders, I think it’s safe to say that God expects those qualities in a spiritual leader. Let’s make a special effort today to do something differently than we did yesterday that brings us closer to the standard Paul described to Titus. 

The Scariest Verse In The Bible

What’s the scariest verse in the Bible?

Mt. 7:21-23 is a great candidate. 2 Thess. 1:7-9 really shows the wrath of God. 2 Kings 21:12-13 makes my hair stand on end every time I read it. For me, the scariest verse in the Bible isn’t about the wrath of God. I believe that I’m saved and that I’m faithful to God - I’m on the winning side - so God’s wrath is scary, but I don’t expect it to be directed at me. Christ bore that burden so I wouldn’t have to (Is. 53:4-5). The scariest verse to me is the one that keeps me awake at night - the one that might cause God’s wrath to be directed at me someday.

“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Mt. 7:2)

Christ talks a lot about judging in Matthew 7, including judging properly (Mt. 7:15-20) and avoiding hypocrisy (Mt. 7:1-5), but verse 2 in particular just gets to me. That verse lets me know that I’m going to be judged the same way that I judge others. If I’m nitpicky on matters of opinion or try to force the “safe side” on others as though my convictions are salvation issues, God will remember that in judgment. He’ll be nitpicky with me and show me the areas where I didn’t quite follow the “safe side” as evidence against me. Just look at how little slack he cut the Pharisees in Mt. 23:13-36 in comparison with how he gently (but firmly) reprimanded the sinful woman in John 8:1-11.

If I judge people with unevenly weighted scales, he’ll judge me the same way.  

1 Cor. 4:5 says that when the Lord comes, he’ll expose what I hide and examine the motives of my heart. He’s going to carefully peer behind my eyes to see every thought and emotion I’ve ever had. He’s going to bring up secrets that nobody else knows. He’s going to consider my religious “insecurities” - the issues I’m not quite as certain on as I wish I were - and see how I treated people on both sides of those issues, and then he’ll judge me the same way I judged them. That’s absolutely terrifying.

What does that mean for us? In my opinion, it means that we should be firm in what we know the Bible teaches and very considerate on matters of personal disagreement. This sentiment, which characterized the Campbell-Stone Restoration, rings truer today than ever:

“In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, (opinions,) liberty; in all things, charity.” - C.L. Loos

In the field of software-engineering, to start a project, the developers need requirements - they want to know what the project should look like when it’s done. They talk about known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. Known knowns are the requirements that are clear, direct, and self-evident. Known unknowns are the requirements that aren’t so clear and require quite a bit of guesswork. Unknown unknowns are requirements for which they just don’t have any information; they have to just use their best judgment or ask for more details. I’m sure you see where this is going.

Here’s what the Scriptures have to say about:

• Known knowns: “Keep my commandments.” (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3; 1 Cor. 8; etc.)
• Known unknowns: “One person [does something unspecified], while another [does the opposite]. Each should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Romans 14
• Unknown unknowns: “The word that I have spoken [and what the apostles taught, is all truth, and will] judge him on the last day.” John 12:48; John 16:13

The most important takeaways for me come from Matthew 7 and Romans 14. It’s easy enough for me to see what to do with known knowns and unknown unknowns, but it’s hard for me to be honest about known unknowns sometimes. Often, I’ll feel very confident about my position on an issue that isn’t quite clear, and I’ll want to make sure everybody else agrees with me. I can’t let that desire encourage me to force my opinions on other people. I think we can look in Matthew 7 and Romans 14 and get a picture that looks something like this: “When it comes to personal convictions, God expects me to be honest about what is and isn’t specified. He also expects me to know exactly why I believe what I believe and hold myself to that standard very strictly, but not to enforce it on others unless it’s a known known. I should always bend over backwards to prevent sincere Christians from falling away because of something I do/don’t do.”

In other words, be very certain of what you believe and practice but be very cautious when placing judgment on someone else for the way they believe and practice because you will be judged the same way that you judge.

If I’m being honest, I’m a pretty harsh & judgmental person in my heart sometimes. I hope and pray that I continue to grow in patience and mercy, because if God judges me the way I judge others sometimes, I’m going to be in a tight spot on the day of judgment.

What a scary verse.  

Fatalism in the Church

If you have a conversation with me for longer than a few minutes, you’ll probably notice how often I mention the brevity of life. All of the problems we face and sacrifices we need to make seem a lot smaller when we consider that this world is passing away, and that you won’t live for longer than, at the most, about 80 more years. The average age for men in the US is about 76 years, so that means that I’ve got about fifty years left, if I have average health and average luck. I think about that a lot because it brings me comfort to know that my struggle against the world of sin is already ⅓-¼ of the way over.    

Having grown up in conservative churches of Christ, it’s been my observation that most of the members are middle-aged or older. That’s a major advantage to us because it means we have a lot of wise, experienced people. Since so many of our members are older, they think a lot about the end of their lives. As I mentioned earlier, I think a lot about the end of my life too because there is a lot of wisdom revealed from that perspective. For example, it’s easy to imagine an old man writing the end of Ecclesiastes:

“I have seen everything that is done under the sun. … There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. … Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart… Enjoy wife with the life whom you love...because that is your portion in life.”(Ecc 1:14;  Ecc. 2:24; Ecc. 9:7, 9)

Unfortunately, we can become spiritually hung-up on the unpredictability of life, the vanity of the world as it passes away, and our own mortality. It’s a right and sound teaching to view personal suffering from the perspective that “life is short, unpredictable vanity, and I can’t change what’s going on in my life right now.” When we use that as our mantra for life, though, our ambition fades. Seemingly unreachable goals we had in our youth - books, podcasts, blogs, home Bible studies with people we know, daily prayer, daily study, etc. - get pushed to the back burner because, after all, “life is short, unpredictable vanity, and I can’t change what’s going on in my life right now.”

Why aren’t I writing in my blog?

Why aren’t I hosting my podcast?

Why aren’t I writing that book I've always wanted to write?

Why haven’t I set up a study with that person I’ve been meaning to study with?

Why aren’t I studying that topic I’ve been meaning to study about?

Why aren’t I making time to pray and study every night?

Why aren’t we taking the difficult path?

In trivializing our suffering, we’ve trivialized our calling.

(Eph. 4:1)

Let’s not focus so much on the end of our lives that we overlook the present. Don’t be fatalistic about your life. Yes, it will end soon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference. When you woke up this morning, you had a choice. It may not feel like it sometimes, but everything you do in your life, you chose to do. If you haven’t been choosing difficult, ambitious goals, then it’s time to start. (Matt. 10:34-39; Luke 9:57-62) There’s a lot of work to be done in this world and it isn’t going to get done unless we do it. Be the change you want to see. God gave us life today so we could serve him. Get up and get to it!

The past is history; the future is a mystery; but the present is a gift.