The squabbling over who can and cannot be called to pastoral ministry has brought new attention to 1 Timothy 2:12-3:13 and Titus 1:5-9. But as Old Testament scholar Carmen Joy Imes points out in Becoming God’s Family, there is more to the Bible’s teaching on spiritual leadership than can be derived from these two texts.
I should have already known that, but in case I forgot, it was driven home anew as I recently prepared a sermon series on 1 Thessalonians.
The three missionary pioneers who wrote that letter—one of the earliest documents in the New Testament—made sure the church they planted remembered how they conducted themselves while they were with them (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12). Doing so functioned like preventative medicine, highlighting the sinful and destructive patterns that dominated (and still dominate) worldly leadership by contrasting them with how the missionaries lived out their calling.
We would do well to pay attention to what Paul, Silas, and Timothy thought was important. Doing so will help us select, train, support, and evaluate leaders more effectively.
Seven features of the apostles’ ministry
The seven character traits and patterns of behavior I highlight below are not the final word on this text, but I hope they get you thinking about what we can learn from these faithful witnesses to Christ.
1. Courage in the face of opposition
Paul, Silas, and Timothy stumbled into Thessalonica after a harrowing experience in Philippi, only to endure more opposition in their new place of ministry (Acts 16:12-17:10). Yet, they continued their habit of building rapport with Jews and God-fearing Gentiles by sharing the good news in the synagogue.
One can only imagine the reticence they must have felt to once again court disaster by preaching the gospel. But they did it, leaving a legacy of courage for the entire church to emulate.
Admittedly, it is difficult for us to evaluate the courage of our leaders, since we do not face the poverty and persecution endured by other believers. But we can at least remember the true measure of a person’s character is not revealed when life is easy, and we can redouble our efforts to listen to those Christian leaders who have faced opposition.
2. Integrity of message and motives
Paul, Silas, and Timothy wanted the Thessalonians to remember the integrity of their message and motives. Their message was true, and their motives for proclaiming that message were pure.
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We are right to pay careful attention to the beliefs of those who want to lead God’s people, but their motives for wanting to lead are just as important.
It is all too easy for us to convince ourselves we are pursuing influence for the good of God’s kingdom, when in reality we are doing it to meet some (oftentimes unrecognized) emotional need.
Leaders need to be honest with themselves and with God, and we as the body of Christ need to hold them accountable when we see mixed motives coming to the surface—just as we would if we detected traces of heretical teaching.
3. Ethical use of rhetoric
Words are powerful, especially when they are spoken or written by those entrusted with authority.
The integrity of the missionaries’ message and motives was seen in how they used rhetoric. Words spoken to flatter, deceive, or abuse others only serve the interests of those who use them. By contrast, the missionaries spoke with their message—and their accountability to God—in mind.
In a congregational denomination, temptation to use our words in an unworthy manner is around every corner. Flattery keeps the people in the pews happy while failing to confront them with hard truths. “Us vs. them” rhetoric does the same thing. Abusive rhetoric strengthens the control of the leader and motivates followers to do as he or she says, regardless of the cost to their own conscience or the well-being of God’s kingdom.
Hence, it is vital that we pay attention to the ways people use language, and while we are at it, we might take a good, hard look at our own speech, too.
4. Gentleness and care in the use of spiritual authority
The missionaries use three metaphors from the family—infant, mother, father—to communicate the gentle care they imparted to the Thessalonian church. It was as if the missionaries were straining every last cell in their brains to come up with a way to communicate the difference between how they used spiritual authority and how others in the Greco-Roman world used it.
Too often, leaders and churches have capitulated to an “ends justify the means” mentality. We forget Paul and his colleagues were effective precisely because they were intentional about cultivating a congregational culture of care.
5. Giving of one’s whole life and self to the community of faith
Pastors have sometimes been urged to protect themselves by keeping some distance between themselves and the people they serve. Having been a lay leader, a minister, and a seminary instructor, I understand why such advice seems wise. “Sheep bite,” as one experienced pastor put it, and those bites can do real damage.
Still, I am convicted by the fact Paul, Silas, and Timothy did not hold themselves at arm’s length from the churches they planted. They got right up close with them—close enough to get hurt, to be sure, but also close enough to truly love.
Because the missionaries got so close to the ones they served, the Thessalonians knew what Paul and his coworkers were writing to them was true.
6. Strenuous, inconvenient effort on behalf of the community
Because the missionaries cared so deeply for the Thessalonians and were so deeply invested in their lives, they had no trouble working hard on their behalf. Ministry is not for the faint of heart, and it is not for the lazy, either.
That is not to say churches should make unreasonable demands of their ministers. Indeed, I am convinced churches have a responsibility to protect their leaders from themselves.
Nevertheless, it is a good sign when we have to make a leader put down work and build a more balanced life. We want leaders who love us so much they will get out of bed in the middle of the night to sit with us in a hospital room or visit our child in jail. It is in those inconvenient moments when the best ministry often takes place.
7. Holiness, righteousness, and blamelessness
Any Christian leader with a lick of sense will shudder as he or she reads the missionaries’ description of their spiritual and moral lives. All of us have things we need to work on, and it can be painful to admit this fact to those we lead, or to our peers.
Still, it is vitally important that leaders live up to the expectations they articulate for others. Failing to do so is not merely a betrayal of the message; it is evidence they may not possess the love and selflessness essential to faithful and effective Christian service.
Tying it all together
Is there one attribute or commitment that can tie all seven of these traits together? In 1 Thessalonians 2:4, the missionaries highlight their focus on pleasing God rather than themselves or others, and it is this commitment that makes sense of everything else the missionaries did.
The commitment to please God is also the foundational criterion we must apply to our efforts to select, train, support, and evaluate leaders for the church.
Pleasing God is not a self-help strategy; it may lead us into dark, desperate, and dangerous places. But it is what we all signed up for—whether we are a leader in a church or not.
Wade Berry is pastor of Second Baptist Church in Ranger and has been resident fellow in New Testament and Greek at B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.
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