Oversight: in the grip of grace — by John Woodhouse

Posted on October 9, 2010 
Filed under Theology

Paul’s description of what is needed in an overseer in 1 Timothy 3:2-7 presents a picture of a person who is firmly in the grip of the glorious gospel of God’s grace.

“when Paul describes what is needed in those who do the work of oversight in a church, he does not mention many of things that we might have expected.”

Today we have all been touched by the culture of celebrity. We have imbibed ideas about leadership from the business world. Furthermore as we see too many churches in decline, and too few growing, we long for people with new, bold ideas and the energetic drive to change things. But when Paul describes what is needed in those who do the work of oversight in a church, he does not mention many of things that we might have expected.  

We are surprised that he says nothing about personality traits, vision, organisational skills, or leadership ability. We should not conclude that such things play no part in the effectiveness of caring for God’s people. But we should reassess our preoccupation with these things and our taking for granted the apostle’s concerns. Paul does it the other way round. He takes lots of things for granted, but draws our attention to what we easily ignore: matters of Christian character.

He paints a picture with eleven elements.

1. It begins with public reputation (v. 2): an overseer must be above reproach. Christians are not a secret society and an overseer must be a person of good repute in the public eye.

2. the husband of one wife. Assuming (rather than requiring) that he is married, he must be faithful to his wife. A man who knows God’s faithfulness, must himself be faithful.

3. The next three terms could be summed up as ‘self-discipline’: sober-minded—we do not need overseers who cannot be serious. Self-controlled: We do not need overseers who lose control of themselves. Respectable: we need overseers who can be respected. These are not ostentatious qualities. They describe people who see life in the wonderful, but serious light of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

4. The fourth part of the picture is hospitable—one who has love for strangers. The gospel of the one who came into the world to save sinners has only been grasped by the person who therefore cares for strangers— those who do not yet belong to the fellowship of God’s people.

5. The fifth element in this developing picture, able to teach, is not referring to communication skills. What makes a person “able to teach,” according to Paul, is that he himself has a firm grasp of the truth. The overseer, “must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine …” (Titus 1:9).

There is something more important than learning how to communicate well. It is knowing, understanding and firmly believing what you are talking about! It is alarming when a disconnect is created in the minds of some between thorough, careful, deep, extensive learning of God’s truth and preaching – as though the very best preparation for a preacher is something other than knowing well and deeply what you are talking about.

6. The sixth part of the picture is (v. 3): not a drunkard. The use of alcohol to relax, to relate, to escape from stress and anxiety can work—to a degree. But it is no substitute for casting your anxieties on the one who cares for you, or for the love for one another inspired by the Holy Spirit. And the abuse of alcohol for these purposes is completely unacceptable.

7. The seventh component is: not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome. The work of overseeing can too easily become a platform for overbearing behaviour. Leadership manuals tell us about the importance of assertiveness. Paul tells us about the importance of gentleness. When your ambition is about you, frustrations can explode in verbal or even physical violence. You take disagreements personally. Rather, we need people who know deeply the gentleness of Christ.

8. The eighth piece of the picture is: not a lover of money. It is astonishing how many, who at one time turn their back on financial prospects in order to do the good work of serving Christ and his people, later care rather too much about money. You cannot love God and money, said Jesus. We need overseers who love God.

9. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive (v. 4). “Manage” (ESV) is not the best translation. The word is (literally) “stand- before”. It carries a sense of leadership, but not “management”. Also “keeping his children submissive” is too severe. It is (literally) “having [his] children in submission.” A man’s care for his family must be such that he can be expected to care for God’s people (v. 5).

10. He must not be a recent convert (v. 6)—(literally) “newly planted”—a lovely image of the new Christian: a seedling newly planted in Christ. The good work of oversight of God’s people involves such a reversal of the world’s values and ways that it requires maturity in Christ. So easily, if you lack that maturity, it becomes ‘about you.’ Therefore the danger for a newly planted believer is that he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. In other words humility is an essential in an overseer. It’s not about you!

11. Finally Paul returns to where he began, reputation: he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. How the evil one loves to bring the gospel into disrepute. How often he uses the same trick: trip up those known who have some responsibility for God’s church.

Paul has described a person shaped and formed by the grace of God that has appeared in Jesus Christ (see Titus 2:11,12). This is not the stuff of celebrity—it’s the stuff of godliness. This is not the person who is going to ‘change the world’. This is the person who has come to love and trust the one who has changed the world. It is not a picture of impossible giftedness—it is a picture of the ordinary (if we can call it ordinary) effects of knowing God’s grace.

(John Woodhouse is the Principal of Moore College, Sydney. This is an abbreviated and edited extract from a sermon preached in the College Chapel. From the October 2010 Australian Church Record.)