“He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” 1 Timothy 3:4-5 -> me: Today’s reading was 1 Timothy 3:1-7 [Paul’s instruction on the character of an Overseer (Pastor, Elder, Minister, etc.)].
The first thing Paul says is that ‘If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task’ (vs. 1). When Marianne and I were called on by our Pastor to pray about entering into the church’s eldership candidate program, I was very humbled and spent a lot of time reading all I could about Biblical Eldership. I didn’t necessarily ‘desire’ to be a church elder but what I did desire was to serve my Creator with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength; to glorify Him. Here are my thoughts on this ‘desire’: The desire comes from a call. The desire is pure in the action of being a servant to the Lord; only wishing to be used by God (as an apparatus) to Guide, Guard, and Grow the flock. Therefore, glorifying God in every action, intent, and motivation. There is no possible way of doing this effectively without embracing God’s strength and wisdom that only He can give; embracing through dwelling on God’s word day and night and seeking His will and purposes for His church.
So, if you overcome that hurdle, there is another big one -> A man who cannot govern his children graciously and with good discipline, is no man for government in the church. Potential in a greater sphere can be indicated only by a similar skill in a lesser sphere. This is just as important today as it was in Paul’s day. These words do not apply to just overseers; they apply to all professing Christians. More simply stated: Lack of proper management at home-life disqualifies a person from leadership in the church. Paul uses the same Greek verb for fathers ruling their children (prohistemi) that he used later for elders ruling the church -> 1 Timothy 5:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:12, and Romans 12:8.