Introduction
1.What makes a healthy church? There are many opinions and no shortage of published lists. We have been looking at a list of nine marks as presented in Mark Dever. We come to the final one today – the mark of Biblical Church Leadership.
2.Regardless of church government (congregational rule, elder rule, or some modified form of these), those who have positions of leadership have a significant role in improving and/or maintaining the health of a local church.
3.Where do these leaders come from and what are they like? What do they do? Does the Bible say anything about leaders in the church? Let’s take a look from the perspective of perhaps one of the greatest leaders in recorded history, the Apostle Paul.
 

I. WHERE A LEADER COMES FROM – 2 Timothy 2:1-7
A. We begin with recognition of the enormity of the task and the purpose of the assignment (2 Tim. 1-2).
1. The grace of God for even calling us into any ministry should humble us and motivate us to do whatever He says (2 Timothy 1:8-9)
2.The gospel of Christ by which we were saved, is about Him and His glory, but has been given to us to guard and to make known (don’t allow it to be corrupted or replaced or ignored). (2 Tim. 1:10-14) (So, how do we do that?) See 2 Tim. 4:1.
3.The pattern is to listen, learn and teach. Paul’s instruction began with recognition of God’s strengthening grace, and then he called attention to the instruction that Timothy had received. Timothy was to take what he had learned and teach it to others so that they could in turn teach others also. How do we do that?
a. Share in suffering – To be a good leader, one has to be among the people. They need to see the leader living life daily for the glory of God even in the midst of suffering and they can’t see that if the leader is not with them. (By the way, if you are a faithful, godly leader, you will suffer hardship and difficulty).
b. Play by the rules – Paul used the illustration of the military and the athletic contest. We have to stay focused, keeping our eyes on the Lord and desiring above all to please Him. No one wants to be disqualified by the Lord, so we make it our goal to please Him by keeping His word.
c. Work hard and remain patient – The farmer is the illustration here. Notice how Paul comes back to the purpose for which he ministers (2 Timothy 2:8-13). (The responsibility is enormous. We cannot do it alone. Individual leaders throughout the ages have stumbled when they came to the conclusion that they were the only one who could do the job before them. There is an astounding passage in Numbers 11 that illustrates this. Moses was so overwhelmed with the work, that he literally asked God to take his life. He concluded that he simply was unable to carry alone the burdens of the Israelites. He was absolutely right in his assessment. He couldn’t do it. But he was absolutely wrong in his assumption – that he was supposed to do it! God instructed Moses to get some help from among the people to share in the work of the ministry! This was not the first time that Moses was given this instruction. (How like us not to get it the first time). In Exodus 18, Moses’ father-in-law came for a visit and watched his son-in-law at work. Moses was a wonderful man, a hard worker and a faithful servant of God, but Jethro’s assessment of Moses’ work was not particularly flattering (Exodus 18:13-23). We need others to share in the work of the ministry, but we must find them and train them. What are we looking for?)
B. We look for those who have desire to lead and give evidence of godly qualities (1 Tim. 3) (Granted, Paul is talking about elders and deacons here, but essentially these are the kind of people for whom we should be looking).
1.It is a desirable position (1) (worth going after, but hard work for which we must give account).
2. It is a demanding position (2-6)
a.Potential leaders are to be blameless in personal qualities (“One-woman man”, sober, well-balanced, well-ordered, a stranger lover, able to teach, not given to much wine, not a striker, gentle, not quarrelsome, not a money-lover).
b.Potential leaders are to be blameless in family qualities (Leader and example before his family, a leader and example before the church)
c.Potential leaders are to be blameless in spiritual qualities (not a new convert, so as not to fall into conceit).
3. It is a delicate and dangerous position (7)
a.The position is delicate in that the potential leader must have a good reputation from those outside the faith.
b.The position is dangerous in that, should this potential leader fall, his reputation would be disgraced, the church would be blemished and the Lord’s name would be dishonored. (Keep in mind that we are not looking for perfection – it does not exist! The starting point is character, Godly qualities. Our assignment is to encourage these potential leaders toward maturity).
C. We consistently model the truth while teaching the truth (Paul toward Timothy)
1. Our progress in the faith should be evident (1 Timothy 4:15-16)
a.Continue to practice (what Paul expressed in chapter 4)
b.Continue to monitor (People are watching us. They want to see how we really live. We can fool people for a time, but eventually what we are will surface. Paul’s counsel was to watch closely our life (who we are and what we are becoming) and our doctrine (what we believe and teach). It is not enough to preach the truth. We must live the truth. In doing so, we are teaching the truth.
2. Our progress in the faith should be worthy of imitation (2 Timothy 1:13-14)
a.It should be a progress in faith and love (our objective understanding of the Gospel and our practice of that in the lives of those around us)
b. It should be remembered that this is a trust given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.
 

II. WHAT A LEADER IS – 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1
A.A faithful servant of God
1.From my own studies in 1, 2 Timothy and Titus, I was interested to discover the following list of what a leader is/does:
One who establishes order (Titus 1)
One who promotes godliness
One who teaches others (Titus 2)
One who provides a good example for others to follow (Titus 3)
One who does not quit (1 Tim. 1)
One who adequately deals with discouragement
One who is not afraid of a good fight, but takes his orders from the Lord and keeps up his defenses.
One who is given to much prayer (1 Tim. 2)
One who is measured by the Word of God and found qualified (1 Tim. 3).
One of proven character
One who is given to service
One who is not afraid to confront (1 Tim. 4)
One who carefully watches his life and his teaching closely
One who is thoroughly Biblical in his preaching and teaching
One who is not careless about developing his gifts
One who is accountable (1 Tim. 5)
One who is pure
One who has examined his motives for leadership (1 Tim. 6)
One who is content with what he has
One who is fleeing what is wrong and following after what is right
One who continually directs people toward spiritual goals
One who guards the deposit of truth which has been entrusted to him
One who is not ashamed of the message (2 Tim. 1)
One who is not afraid to suffer
One who is persistent
One who is mindful always of the Lord Jesus Christ
One who is a slave to Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2)
One who can handle the pressure of false teachers
One who can handle criticism, abuse, and indifference
2.John MacArthur, from his, The Book on Leadership provided the following list of 26 leadership characteristics:
A leader is trustworthy
A leader takes the initiative
A leader uses good judgment
A leader speaks with authority
A leader strengthens others
A leader is optimistic and enthusiastic
A leader never compromises the absolutes
A leader focuses on objectives, not obstacles
A leader empowers by example
A leader cultivates loyalty
A leader has empathy for others
A leader keeps a clear conscience
A leader is definite and decisive
A leader knows when to change his mind
A leader does not abuse his authority
A leader does not abdicate his role in the face of opposition
A leader is sure of his calling
A leader knows his own limitations
A leader is resilient
A leader is passionate
A leader is courageous
A leader is discerning
A leader is disciplined
A leader is energetic
A leader knows how to delegate
- A leader is Christ-like
B. A humble follower of Christ (I would think that after such a list we would all feel quite inadequate. None has arrived, but we should be heading in this direction, and if we are we are developing into a humble follower of Jesus).
1. Bill Mills, Keys to Effective Leadership, p. 7.
2.There was perhaps no greater leader in the church than the Apostle Paul. The most significant quality of leadership for Paul was his submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul knew his role as apostle to the Gentiles as ordained by God and revealed to him soon after his conversion. But he was also very clear that above all else, he was a bond-slave of Jesus Christ.
3.It was this same Paul who wrote Philippians 3, denouncing his pedigree and counting all of that as garbage for the sake of Christ. He is the same one who recorded Philippians 2, showing us his heart of humility and his deep understanding of that as presented in the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.
4.This is the guy who endured a lifetime of shame and persecution and peril of every kind for the sake of Christ and His church. He poured it all out for Jesus. A leader must first be a humble follower of Jesus Christ or he is no real leader at all. This hardly comes naturally, but God can break the hard heart of a conceited disciple and teach him humility. The same Peter who often spoke and ran ahead of Jesus, finally learned to follow. Read 1 Peter 5 to discover his heart of humility (vv. 1-5).
 

III. WHAT A LEADER DOES - Acts 20
A. A leader’s priority (28-35)
1.A leader must keep right with God (“pay careful attention to yourselves”)
a.This was consistent with Paul’s life and teaching. This was fleshed out in Paul’s instructions to Timothy (4:11-16).
b.Paul reminded Timothy to watch what he was teaching (11-14); to watch what he was modeling (15) and to watch what he was becoming (16).
2.A leader must feed and lead the flock (“overseers, to care for the church”)
a.The assignment (the care of the church)
b.The reminder (It is His church. It does not belong to me or to you. It is His, bought by His blood).
3.A leader must watch over and warn the flock (“after my departure fierce wolves will come in…”)
a.False teachers are always lurking on the outside. (Sheep mean nothing to the wolf. He cares only for himself). Leaders know the dangers and watch and warn those under their care.
b.Conceited believers are waiting on the inside (This kind of leader cares only for the prestige of leadership, not for those who are being led). (Diotrephes)!
4.A leader must pray and study the Word (“I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace”)
a.We must pray for the flock. That is no easy task. It is easier to complain about them or criticize them (even to the Lord) – or frankly do almost anything else for them.
b.We only have the Word of God to give to the flock. Why would I give you my words when I have God’s Words to give to you? Only a foolish leader would find his words of more value than God’s.
5.A leader must be free of self-interest (“I coveted no one’s silver or gold…”)
a.All are vulnerable here.
b.Our attention to the task at hand along with the reminder that the church belongs to God should help to keep our perspective on this matter.
B. A leader’s perspective (19-27) (toward God)
1. The priority of purpose – service is to the Lord first, and then to the people. Note also Col. 3:22-24; 1 Thess. 2:4; Gal. 1:10; Eph. 6:6-7. (Paul referred to himself as a bond-slave to Jesus at least 17 times in his epistles).
2. The priority of position – “with humility” – Notice also 1 Cor. 7:22-23; 11:31; 15:10; 2 Cor. 3:5; 12:5-6, 9-10; Phil. 3:7-10; 1 Peter 5:5-6; James 4:6.
3.The priority of faithfulness – Notice Paul’s tears: Acts 20:19; 2 Cor. 2:4; Acts 20:31; Phil. 3:18. Criticism, ridicule and even persecution are almost a given for those who would serve faithfully. Such opposition must be confronted with sound doctrine, coupled with love (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
 

CONCLUSION
1. We have covered a great deal of ground over the past few weeks. A healthy church is more than bulging bucks, bodies and buildings. It is possible to appear enormously successful on the outside and be absolutely dead from God’s perspective. Consider Jesus’ assessment of Laodicea.
2. A healthy church is a local assembly given to expositional preaching, one that has a Biblical theology, a Biblical understanding of the Gospel, of evangelism, and of conversion, a membership of disciplined, growing disciples committed to following Godly leaders as those leaders follow Christ.
3. How are we doing? Some would say not so well. We are fewer in number than in the past. There has been some unrest. There have been some missteps along the way. In the final analysis, our health will be measured by God as we conform to Him and to His Word. We have gone through a series of tests. We have had our check-up, so to speak.
4.We may not be entirely well, but we know the Physician, and He has the cure. It is time to follow Him!