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Colin Smith: Direction does not come in a gospel church from one individual. That would be coercion. Direction in a gospel church does not come from every individual. That would be mass confusion. Direction in a gospel church comes from those who have been tested and trusted to serve as its leaders, and that is what brings cohesion.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. We're in a series called 10 Distinctives of a Gospel-Centered Church. And Colin, today we see that one of those distinctives is leadership.

Colin Smith: Yes, and what a marvelous thing it is to serve the Lord faithfully in his church. I hope that everyone who is serving the Lord will be encouraged by the program today. You know, Steve, I am so thankful to God for the godly elders, the leaders, that I have the privilege of working alongside.

Here are people who voluntarily give themselves to guarding and protecting and serving the body of Christ. People who give wise counsel to me and other pastors. People who are able to discern. What a gift that is. And it is a marvelous thing to serve as a leader in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, "If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." And if you're serving the Lord faithfully and you come under pressure as a result and you say, "Oh, there's a lot of strain in my life because of the responsibilities that I have as a Christian leader," I want to encourage you today. It is a marvelous thing to offer the service that you are giving to the Lord. It is something that is treasured in his eyes, and it is something of everlasting value and worth.

Steve Hiller: Well, we're going to continue to look at this from the book of First Timothy. We're in chapter five, so grab a Bible and join us there as we begin this message called Gospel Leadership. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: We're continuing our series on the distinctives of a gospel-centered church, and today we're looking at gospel leadership. Chapter three and verse 15 tells us what this letter is all about. Paul says that I'm writing these instructions so that people will know how to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God.

In other words, this whole letter is about how to behave in church. It's about how the church can be most effective in fulfilling the work that Jesus Christ has given us to do. What will make the difference between a healthy church and a dysfunctional church? For a healthy church will accomplish much for the advance of the gospel. A dysfunctional church may accomplish very little.

And so what Paul writes for us here in this letter that is uniquely about how the church is to go about the work that Jesus Christ has given us to do, this is of great importance for us and especially in these days when we are seeking to do more for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is speaking to us about issues that are of great importance with regards to that being accomplished. Now, I want you to notice in that context how important leadership is in this letter.

In fact, right from the beginning in chapter one, the first thing Paul says in that first chapter is that Timothy, who is the pastor of this church in Ephesus, that he is to stay there in order to accomplish certain things for the good of the church. So Paul's first concern as he writes to a leader in the church is about the continuity of leadership, the stability of leadership, which clearly is going to be crucial to the health and effectiveness of the church.

Then you remember we came to chapter three, which was all about the character and competence of effective Christian leaders. What is it that we have to pursue and cultivate in order to maximize our usefulness to Jesus Christ? So chapter one begins with leadership, chapter three is devoted to leadership. Now we come to chapter five, and Paul returns again to the theme of leadership, which simply tells us how important this issue is with regards to the effective functioning of a gospel church. And that is why it's important for us to look at it today.

You may remember from last week that the first part of chapter five is about gospel compassion. Now the second part of chapter five is about gospel leadership. And I think these two hold together in this way: that verses one to 16 are about how we care in the church for those with the greatest need, and verses 17 to 25 are about how we care in the church for those with the highest responsibility.

That's what holds this chapter together. How we as a body of believers care for those with the greatest need, that was our subject last week, and today, how we care for those with the highest responsibility, that is those who lead us, and that is verses 17 to 25. Now, that's what it's about.

Now, I want to make three observations before we get into the scriptures this morning. The first is: of all the messages in this series, can you understand that for me, this is the most difficult one to give? It is very difficult to speak about something that you yourself have been called to do. And you as a congregation have graciously called me to be one of the leaders in the church.

And so I'm very sensitive about speaking about something that I myself am part of with others doing. So I just want you to know that I am aware of that. I have prayed much about that in this last week. And even as I speak now, I have a very special sense of needing the Lord's help to speak faithfully and humbly in a way that is helpful. But the subject is before us in the scriptures, and it is therefore important, as all the Bible is, for the people of God.

The second thing I just want you to know before we get into this is that as I speak and as I've prepared this week, I speak from the depth of my heart with thanksgiving to God for his abundant blessing in leadership in this church. I'm talking about our pastors, our board members, our elders.

Folks, the Lord has blessed this church through the years in an unusual way with wise and mature leaders. But as I look at those who have been called to leadership at this time pastorally, in my opinion, that gift has never been stronger nor greater than it is at the present time. And one of the effects that I would hope would come from this message and from the Bible today in our hearts is I hope that this message will increase your sense of thanksgiving for the abundant goodness of God.

Many of us know from our life experience over the years that the effective functioning of pastors and board and congregation together really is crucial to what can be accomplished in any local church. And it is important for us to have our eyes open to the blessing of God and to recognize the good gifts of God as they are given and to rejoice in them, to seek to steward them, to recognize them and to protect them. And I hope that that will be a large part of the effect of this message that I bring to you today.

The third observation before we get into it is simply this, and this concerns the wider church, churches throughout our country. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity of speaking at a Bible conference in Iowa. There were a number of speakers there, and one of the speakers on the team was a professor from a seminary in another part of the country and serving another denomination different from our own.

And over the time that we had together that week, I asked him one lunchtime, I said, "The students that are graduating from the seminary where you teach, what is it that they are going to do?" So here are young folks who are coming, preparing for ministry, they're going to a seminary, large numbers, and then they're graduating. And my question was what are they doing after they graduate? And he said to me, "Well, largely, the largest number are doing one of two things. Either they are going on to work with students, or they are going to plant a new church."

So I said to him, "Why is it that there are not more of your students who want to become pastors and serve in local churches?" And you know what he said to me? He said, "They're scared to death about all that they've heard of working with church boards and church congregations." That's what he said. Scared to death.

Now, I have to tell you that in my experience, that is widely true, not only in other parts of the country. I've spoken over these last years with many, many young folks who have a heart for ministry and have found the same largely to be the case. "I want to go and plant a new church." Why? "I'm scared to death of working with an existing church." And the effect of that is simply this: it is becoming harder and harder for churches to find pastors. You just need to look around and you will see that this is true. It's true across the country.

And folks, that is why this scripture today that reflects honestly an area in which we have been so blessed, that is why this scripture is of huge importance for the church in our country. Because this passage in First Timothy chapter five is all about how pastors, elders, and a congregation can work together in partnership, in harmony, in a way that honors Jesus Christ and advances the gospel.

If this could happen in churches across our country, much more would be accomplished for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You folks are wise and experienced enough to know that this is true. The issue of pastors and board members and congregation working together in harmony is critical to the advance of the gospel. So I want you to hear me say this again: I speak out of a sense of thanking God for the blessing that he has given to us in this regard, and I want you to understand it and appreciate it.

And I see for that reason that there are two great opportunities that are open to us as I think about the next ten years if the Lord gives these to us. I think there are two things that we have an opportunity here to do that will be for the advance of the gospel and for the good of other churches. One is that we should be a church that is encouraging young men to go into pastoral ministry.

That would be a great thing for us to do, and we're seeing it already. You are seeing younger guys around the church these days who are finding their feet alongside the pastoral staff in ministry, getting a taste for it, serving, getting experience, visiting with the church board, all this kind of thing. And that's a marvelous contribution to the wider church. We want to be a church that produces pastors in the next ten years.

So the first thing we can do is encourage young men to serve the Lord in pastoral ministry. The second thing we can do is to model a healthy partnership between pastors and board members and congregation. Because churches desperately need pastors and churches desperately need models of how congregation, board, and pastor should work together effectively.

Now, as the Lord has poured out his abundant blessing and we have a special stewardship, I want us to see that with gratitude and for us to catch a vision as to how in the Lord's goodness this could be useful to other churches for the good of the gospel and for the glory of God. In other words, what I'm saying to you is we don't just want to have good leaders; we want to produce good leaders.

Steve Hiller: What a wonderful vision to catch, to produce great leaders. You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, a message called Gospel Leadership. We have to pause here, but we'll get back to the message in just a moment.

Open the Bible is a listener-supported ministry, and as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you a copy of John Stott's book called The Incomparable Christ. Colin, who is this book for?

Colin Smith: Well, it's for anyone who wants to know the Lord Jesus Christ better, and it is written by one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 20th century. John Stott was a faithful preacher, a pastor, and a scholar for over 60 years. He's one of my heroes of the faith. I love to read his writing, and never more so than when he's writing on the most central subject of all: the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This book, The Incomparable Christ, if you've never read a book by John Stott, this is a great place to start. It's a deep dive on who Jesus is, and it comes in four parts. We see Jesus as he is presented in the New Testament, Jesus as he's been presented by the church over the centuries, Jesus as he's inspired various figures in history, and Jesus as he's presented to us in the book of Revelation. It's just a glorious snapshot of who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and I think anyone who reads this book is going to feel that they come to a deeper worship of Jesus, a deeper love for Jesus, and a deeper trust in Jesus too.

Steve Hiller: Well, we want to send you a copy of this book as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. You can give online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Or again, our website is openthebible.org. Back to the message. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: What we have here is a beautiful portrait of a church in which leaders are honored and effective. They are protected and they are accountable, and they bear fruit both now and forever. That's a beautiful thing. It's a wonderful thing for which we should thank God.

Now, I hope you have your Bible open so we can see what it says here. Let's look first at leaders who are serving well and they are held in honor, verses 17 and 18. "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, 'Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,' and 'The worker deserves his wages.'"

Now there are many important things here; let's take them one at a time. Do you notice that phrase at the beginning: "the elders who direct the affairs of the church"? Now we noticed this last time when we looked at leadership: that leadership structures in different churches work in different ways and that's been true across denominations and across the history of the church.

So let's not get too hung up on elders, board members, deacons, and particular designations. What is made very clear here is that those who are trusted with spiritual leadership in the church—notice the phrase—"direct." Do you notice that word? Direct the affairs of the church. In other words, it is the spiritual calling of those who are given leadership within the church to give direction to the life and to the ministry of the church.

Now this is very important. Notice: "elders," plural. You can underline the plural there. Direction does not come in a gospel church from one individual. That would be coercion. Second, direction in a gospel church does not come from every individual. That would be mass confusion. Direction in a gospel church comes from those who have been tested and trusted to serve as its leaders, and that is what brings cohesion. Very important principle: direction of the church.

Secondly, "especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." Now do you notice how the direction of the church and the ministry of the word are not two different things, but Paul brings the two very closely together? The church, a gospel church, is always a church that is under the word of God. So the ministry of the word and the direction of the church belong together.

We are really serious about living out what God calls us to do. We really want God to shape our lives and to shape our church according to his word. So we're not to think of direction for the church here and the ministry of the word here; the ministry of the word reflects the direction of the church and the direction of the church reflects the ministry of the word as we seek together to put into practice what the Lord is teaching us from his word.

Third, those who serve well, Paul says, are worthy of double honor. Now this means at least two things. The first is very obviously that we're to respect those who are trusted with leadership. That's a principle repeated many times in the Bible. First Thessalonians chapter five and verse 12: "Respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord."

So we owe respect to those who are trusted with responsibility in the widest possible way. We saw that earlier in chapter two with regards even in the secular world those who are given responsibility. But notice that Paul says something even more here. He says those who serve well are worthy of double honor. In other words, it is right for us to respect those who are trusted with leadership, since we're the ones who have trusted that to them. But those who serve well, there's twice the reason for us to be respectful and to hold those who lead us in honor.

Now this honor includes not only the respect that we give, but quite clearly here Paul includes in that the support that the church congregation gives to those who give themselves full-time to the ministry of the gospel, and they are supported by the giving of the congregation in the church. And Paul quotes two scriptures that speak about this very directly, and they always make pastors smile because of the two analogies that Paul thinks are appropriate for pastors.

Number one: "Do not muzzle the ox when he is treading out the grain." Number two: "The worker," literally the farm laborer, "deserves his wages." So there you are: pastors are compared here to oxen treading out the grain and farm laborers who are bailing up the straw or whatever. Now the analogies are significant because these two analogies say one very obvious thing: pastors should expect to work hard. That's what the oxen and the farm laborer tell you, isn't it?

Our lay leaders work a full week in business, in various employment, and then give, as you give, service, hours, to the ministry of the church on top of that. So those who lead, those who are trusted with pastoral responsibility and given this immense privilege of being supported by the congregation to give ourselves wholly to this work, boy, we do not want to do less than that, but more.

And I do want you to know that the pastors who serve us as a congregation share that spirit and work hard in every sphere. I see it, and I want you to know it, and I want you to be encouraged by it and to rejoice in it. Anyone who's going into pastoral ministry should expect to extend himself and to work hard. And Paul says the church that calls him should pay him for his work.

Now that pattern is very clear in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the priests were supported by the people of God, by the great congregation, so that they could give themselves to the work God had called them to do on behalf of the people. Paul himself received support from churches that he planted and churches that he visited, though at times he supported himself as a tentmaker.

Here Paul makes it clear that those who serve the church should receive their living from the church. That's the principle in this verse. And it's stated again, if you want to follow this up, in First Corinthians chapter nine and verse 14, where Paul says, "Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel."

Now, some churches have given such emphasis to the priesthood of all believers that they have really lost sight of God's particular call to pastoral ministry. So let me just ask this question and then I want to answer it: is it right to hire a pastor? Dangerous question for this guy to ask. Now some of you might come from traditions where that is a question in your mind. Is this an honorable thing to do?

Candidly, you know this: the largest part of our church budget is devoted to supporting our staff. Is this the right thing to do? And my answer to that question and from this scripture is absolutely it is the right thing to do. It is the right thing for a church to do because ministry advances through God's people under the leadership of those who are called by God and recognized by the church to devote themselves to this work. Folks, our primary investments are always in people. That's a principle that we need to grasp and in which we should rejoice.

Steve Hiller: That is an important principle to grasp. You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Gospel Leadership. Unfortunately, we do have to press pause right here, but we'll continue this message next time. I hope you make it a point to tune in. If you ever miss a program, you can always come and listen online at openthebible.org. You can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Again, that's at openthebible.org.

Colin Smith: And I want to encourage you to get to church on Sunday. If you live in the Chicago area and you don't have a church home, I'd love for you to join us at the Orchard. There are six locations in the northwest suburbs. For more information, go to theorchard.church. That's theorchard.church.

Steve Hiller: Well, thank you, Colin, and thanks for listening. I'm Steve Hiller and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." God's word is the food that will nourish your soul. You need it every day. And Open the Bible Daily is a daily devotional that will open the word of God and lead you to Jesus. It's available for free on our website, openthebible.org. For more information, visit openthebible.org/daily. That's openthebible.org/daily.