Qualifications of the Church Planter I

This post is Part 3 of my summary from the Acts 29 Boot Camp in Orlando. Sorry for the long delay between posts, but hopefully the wait will have been worth it. I hope you are challenged and encouraged by the following paragraphs. I have taken some extra time to internalize and digest the information myself, as it pertains directly to me. But I am also confident that it pertains to many others who are now finding fellowship with Oasis.

Very simply, Mark Driscoll took us through 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 to illustrate the qualifications of a church planter. Those sections of verses are the basic minimal criteria for biblical eldership. And anyone who desires to be a lead planter of a new church ought to also meet this criteria, because for a certain time period he will be functioning as the lone, single elder. And he will need to begin training and preparing other men to ensure the church is overseen by a plurality of elders. Therefore elder qualifications are the same qualifications for anyone desiring to be a lead church planter.

Now, let me pause here for a moment.

We live in a culture that has been raised and nurtured on the northeast edge of the proverbial "Bible Belt". What does that mean? Wikipedia defines the Bible Belt in this way:

A Bible Belt is an area which Christian Evangelical Protestantism is a pervasive or dominant part of the culture. In particular, in the United States, it is the region where the Southern Baptist Convention denomination is strongest. It includes the southern states of the Midwest and the entirety of the South. Bible belts can also be found in other countries, including Canada and some parts of Europe. The name is derived from the (perceived) overriding importance of the Christian Bible among Evangelical Christian thought and practice.

What this has meant to us and to those in Appalachian culture is that we have always had some frame of reference for "Christian" terms or phrases. And it also means that everyone, either directly or indirectly, has been influenced in some way by the church, particulalry the predominant church or denomination in their specific location. This influence can be both positive and negative. One thing it has most certainly done is this. It has created for people a glossery, or an encyclopedia of what church looks like. And the definitions found in those glosseries and encyclopedias may or may not be an accurate biblical portrait.

For example, whenever a person in our culture hears the word "elder", immediately a picture comes to mind of what an elder is. For someone who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah a much different picture would come to mind. And neither would be an accurate biblical picture of the role of elder. The Salt Lake City guy would think of young, teenage "elder Joseph" who will one day rule his own planet, while the Bible Belt guy will most likely think of a very old man who was elected by the church at a congregational meeting and now he can pray over the communion on Sunday and argue with other angry men about pressing decisions of the church. The point is, most people's concept of elder is skewed because we typically rely on culture to define things for us rather than God's Word.

Another factor in the Bible Belt is that many people have experienced some form of church abuse, or burn-out related to overbearing and pharisaical expectations that are not rooted in the mission of the Gospel. Therefore, when terms like elder, deacon, and church membership are brought up in conversation those people want to immediately gag themselves, or they just want to run away to avoid the same thing happening again.

I understand this completely. That's why I have been working on starting a new church for over three years now and if I had a nickel for every time I have used the terms "elder", "deacon", and "member" I would barely have 15 cents. I have shied away from them, mostly for all the reasons stated above.

But to ignore them and never teach you the truth about them would be a great tragedy because it would mean we are ignoring God's Word and a vital part of the teaching Paul, the greatest church planter in the history of the church. (When suggesting that the Bible teaches these things directly I am primarily referring to "elder" and "deacon", because many will argue that there is no church membership in the Bible. It is true that no official roles of people belonging to a particular church can be found in scripture, however, it is also clearly taught throughout the entire context of the New Testament letters that Christians "belonged" to one another, and were subject to the leadership of a particular body of believers, even to the point of being disciplined [1 Cor. 5]. It would be very difficult to discipline someone unless they saw themselves as a member of the body where you were responsible for it's well-being. So it is obvious in the New Testament that Christians viewed their church involvement as a covenant with others, making them members of a particular group of people in a given community.)

So what I am saying is this. Yes, the Bible says our church must have a plurality of elders. So we must know what an elder is and does. Where do we get that information? From the Bible.

And yes, the Bible says our church will be healthy if there are many deacons leading ministries and overseeing the practical work of the church. So we must know what makes a person a deacon and what their function is in the church. Where do we get this understanding? From the Bible.

So... before I finish the rest of this post I am going to give you an assignment. Open your Bible and read the following short passages of scripture:

• 1 Timothy 3:1-7
• Titus 1:5-9
• Acts 2:37-47
• 1 Corinthians 5
• Romans 16:1-16

Feel free to post any thoughts you have in the comments section. Either tomorrow or later this evening I will post more on these things.

Comments

[Josh Lynch]

The topic of church leadership heirarchy is such a relic of a topic and the holy grail for so many people with different views of what defines and prescribes someone fit. I think it is cool how simple the bible's terms are for leadership...: One who has heard the Word, has studied, and one who lets the Word pervade their life in a couple ways:

Must pervade in:

Their hearts...and because of their hearts,...

1) Desiring and teaching truth. (Titus 1:9)
2) Their personal disciplines (self-control boils almost everything down discussed in the eldership passages. "The lists of Paul.") (Titus 1:7-8)
3) Their proximal relationships (family, friends, strangers, etc.) are influential. (Titus 1:6)

But it all comes back to their hearts. Does this mean that its cool for everyone else to disregard this "trustworthy saying". NO WAY! Naw, these passages are the "theologizing" of Paul, meaning, Paul must take his knowledge of Christ and God's ways and when a problem or need arises for judgement, he must make that decision. Unfortunately, not everyone can be generally self-controlled. Alcaholism, adultery, bad money decisions and bad decisions in general HAPPEN. But the precedent is set. Paul, in these passages gives the church a sufficient picture of what a person after God's own heart looks like.

I like the idea of giving an elder and a church planter the same playing field in terms of "qualification." Biblical, reasonable, simple.