You wont want to miss it: DWELL
Category: Missional Church
Qualifications for Elders and Pastoral Accountability
I meet with two guys every two weeks for pastoral accountability. I hesitate to use the word “accountability” given all its negative connotations. I have written on those here, charting a more gospel-grounded approach to accountability. We read through a book of the Bible every two weeks and then meet to do “Text-Theology-Life”. Currently we are reading through 1 Timothy.
Chapter three is about the qualifications of an overseer/elder. These are easy to read with a view to cultivating more elders/pastors, but the Spirit slowed me down enough to consider, not assume, my own status in practicing these qualifications. The string of adjectives can be intimidating: “must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach…” In particular, I have been lingering over “manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity.” One way to get at what Paul means is to consider the opposite.
If your house is in disorder, with kids managing the parents based on their incessant wants and unruly behavior, then chances are the household is not well managed. If kids schedules and pleadings are constantly caved into, its the kids that run the home, not the parents.
Some planters/pastors abdicate this responsibility in pursuit of “nobler church ministry,” but the logic of Paul is exactly the opposite: “If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?” Some are so busy managing their churches, that they neglect their own families. This is a disqualification for pastoral ministry. It puts the cart before the horse, church before family. Some of us need to repent both privately and publicly over this sin.
However, we can’t mistake generally problem free households for well-managed households. My kids have a pretty good tempermants, but am I managing—protectively and caringly leading—my family practically and spiritually? Am I modeling and cultivating tenderness, respect, and obedience? Or am I just coasting on good kid temperament? Do I take time to instruct my children with patience and love? Do I pray with them and teach them about Jesus? Do I spend time with my wife away from the kids discussing family life and just delighting in her? These are questions I am asking myself.
For some helpful audio and notes on the qualifications of pastors/elders, check out Darrin Patrick’s talk “Developing Elders, Deacons, and Members.“
The What and How of Church Planting (from Luke 9)
Below is a summary of thoughts I shared with our launch team this week. These statements about church planting were culled from Luke 9.
Four Points:
o Church planting/kingdom work is hard, self-denying work.
§ Take up your cross, deny yourself daily, embrace social ostracism, sacrifice of your time, even excess family time to follow Jesus on mission in being the church. (9:23, 62)
o Church planting is multiplying work.
§ Jesus SENT 12 and 70 to proclaim the kingdom message and make disciples, not to build a building or launch a service.
§ Church planting is a community project, not a paid position. When confronted with the needs of feeding 5,000, Jesus said “You give them something to eat” (13).
§ Son of man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them (56). We have a winsome, saving gospel, not a destructive, legalistic message.
o Church planting is city renewing work.
§ Jesus set his face to Jerusalem to save the city and may cities to come (51). Paul followed this pattern in his urban church planting focus. We exist not to be a hip church but to renew the city socially and spiritually with the gospel of Christ.
o Church planting requires humility.
§ Jesus puts God’s glory above our own desire for praise and recognition (46-48). Planting is not about personal praise for your sacrifices. Your reward is from God.
§ We are about expanding His kingdom, not just our church. We are one of many local churches that will cooperatively bring in spiritual and social renewal.
§ Our worth should not fluctuate with numerical shrinkage and growth. Instead root your significance in Jesus death and resurrection to accept, love, and change you.
§ We should not think of ourselves as great because we are living the missional life. This does not make you special; it makes you obedient.
One Foundation: God in Christ through the Spirit is our nourishment and strength to live the self-denying, church multiplying, city renewing, humility requiring work of church planting.
o We feed but we are not the food. God sets the table in the wilderness as he did with Israel and with the 5,000.
o The power for spiritual growth and multiplication comes from King Jesus: “Where you go, the King goes, and where the King goes, people bow.” – Neil Cole
Planting Network & Relationships
Things are progressing well for the Austin Area Church Planting Network. We will begin the formalization of the Network by forming a board comprised of planters and established pastors that reflect the diversity of Austin.
Today we have a good discussion about how young planters/pastors can cultivate healthy, unselfish relationships with other pastors. Dan Davis shared some reflections, arguing that younger leaders often fail to develop good, transparent relationships with others for three reasons:
- They have not “crashed and burned” in order to discover their relational needs.
- They are too stretched for time.
- They approach relationships on a purely “what can I get out of this” basis.
Of course, not all young pastors approach relationships this way, and if they do, the problem is likely rooted in their theology proper (how they view God). No matter who we are, some relationships have to be formed over tasks; however, people are not essentially levers to be pulled for our success. This commercialization of our relationships can be remedied by repenting over viewing people as instruments. Repentance will likely need to start with how we view God. Do we relate to him primarily over what he can do for us, for our ministries, and how he can make our theology better? Do we view God in the tradition of the Western church that conceives of God as “consubstantial but with distinct hypostases” —in other words the Trinity as shared substance but distinct in themselves. OR do we conceive of God and relate to him as persons-in-community—to be God is to be a community of persons of relationships–which by redemption we are swept into to the sweet satisfaction of our souls? If the former, some confession and repentance may be in order to God himself, then change in our relating to him and consequently to others.