I love the book of 1 Timothy! As I prayed through the idea of being called as a pastor, this book is where I turned to see what God wants from His leaders ,what it takes to be a leader in Jesus’ church, and some of the struggles of being a leader in the church.  I have learned and continue to learn much from this portion of God’s word and I just wanted to share some things I have learned about being leader from 1 Timothy.

1. The first qualification for a leader in Jesus’ church is to be a faithful Christian. All of the things that Paul lays out in 1 Timothy 3 for the overseers (elders, pastors) and deacons (ministry leaders) are things that should be lived out by all christians, not just pastors, church staff, and ministry leaders.

2. Leaders are then recognized by the fruit they produce. The leaders of the first church were not the ones who attended Bible school for ministry. Leaders were the ones who said they professed Christ and then lived lives that reflected that profession.  This means they were first leaders by example! 1 Tim 4:12 says ” Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (ESV) (This doesn’t mean they were perfect either, but they led even in repentance)

3. Leaders are then those called and equipped by God to lead. This is confirmed by God through the authority that God has placed in your life. In Timothy’s case Paul and the elders of Timothy’s church saw his calling and confirmed it (and actually heard it as a prophecy spoken over Timothy–1 Tim 1:18-19, 4:14). Calling is an important part because leadership is difficult and when the hard times come, if you don’t have a calling holding you there, the tendency may be to give up and quit.

4. You need to practice at leadership. In 1 Tim 4:15-16, Paul tells Timothy to keep getting better at the gifts he has been given.

5. Leaders are accountable and held to a higher standard (1 Tim 3:1). Not because they are more special or more gifted, but because they have been given more responsibility to steward.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what God talks about for leadership in 1 Timothy, let alone scripture as a whole. However, I think that no matter where you are on the leadership spectrum (whether you are a lead pastor or volunteer small group or ministry leader), these five things can and should apply to you. Because leadership in any form is at it’s core, stewardship.  If you lead something you are it’s caretaker, it’s steward. You are responsible.

If you are a leader take time to read through 1 Timothy and ask the Spirit to illuminate what Paul is asking this young leader to do and how that applies to your situation.