44+ Biblical Requirements for Church Leaders

Mark Roth

In this article I bring together much of what the New Testament says specifically about and to ordained church leaders.

A Church Leader Must Be...

1. unaccused, irreproachable, and living above board

   "blameless" (1 Timothy 3:2,10; Titus 1:6,7)

2. a one-wife man

   "the husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6)

3. sober and circumspect

   "vigilant" (1 Timothy 3:2)

4. safe and sound of mind; moderate; self-controlled

   "sober" (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8)

5. orderly and modest

   "of good behaviour" (1 Timothy 3:2)

6. fond of guests

   "given to hospitality" (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8)

7. skilled in teaching

   "apt to teach" (1 Timothy 3:2; 2 Timothy 2:24)

8. free of an affinity for alcoholic beverages

   "not given to (much) wine" (1 Timothy 3:3,8; Titus 1:7)

9. not feisty and quarrelsome; not one who lashes out

   "no striker" (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7)

10. not covetous of dishonest gain or of earthly treasure

    "not greedy of [or given to] filthy lucre" (1 Timothy 3:3,8; Titus 1:7)

11. appropriate; mild; considerate

    "patient" (1 Timothy 3:3)

12. peaceable; not contentious

    "not a brawler" (1 Timothy 3:3)

13. free from the desire to amass wealth

    "not covetous" (1 Timothy 3:3)

14. one who diligently leads and attends to his family so that he has the right kind of wife (1 Timothy 3:11) and faithful, godly children (Titus 1:6)

    "one that ruleth well his children and his own house" (1 Timothy 3:4,12)

15. mature and experienced in the faith

    "not a novice" (1 Timothy 3:6)

16. of good testimony in the world

    "good report of them which are without" (1 Timothy 3:7)

17. not self-pleasing, inconsiderate, and arrogant

    "not selfwilled" (Titus 1:7)

18. not prone to outbursts of temper; not easily angered

    "not soon angry" (Titus 1:7)

19. a lover of good and a promoter of virtue

    "a lover of good men" (Titus 1:8)

20. righteous and law abiding; just and equitable

    "just" (Titus 1:8)

21. right and righteous; pious; hallowed; holy

    "holy" (Titus 1:8)

22. strong as a master of himself and his appetites

    "temperate" (Titus 1:8)

23. a faithful adherent of the truth he has been taught

    "holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught" (Titus 1:9)

24. able to use truth to convince detractors

    "able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers" (Titus 1:9)

25. serious and honorable

    "grave" (1 Timothy 3:8)

26. of dependable, truthful, consistent speech

    "not doubletongued" (1 Timothy 3:8)

27. a firm believer in the Gospel with a clean conscience

    "holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience" (1 Timothy 3:9)

28. tested and approved

    "proved" (1 Timothy 3:10)

29. married to the right kind of wife

    "Even so...wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful..." (1 Timothy 3:11)

30. not combative, quarrelsome, or disputatious

    "not strive" (2 Timothy 2:24)

31. mild and kind; approachable

    "gentle unto all" (2 Timothy 2:24)

32. patiently forbearing when he receives bad treatment

    "patient" (2 Timothy 2:24)

33. meek in correcting and teaching those who are contrary

    "in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves" (2 Timothy 2:25)

These combine the qualifications given in...

• 1 Timothy 3:2-7 (bishop G1985)
• 1 Timothy 3:8-13 (deacon G1249)
• 2 Timothy 2:24-26 (servant of the Lord)
• Titus 1:5-9 (elder G4245 and bishop G1985)

Where qualifications use the same Greek word, I combined them. The first qualification is the exception: two different terms are used for blameless, but the meanings seemed so closely intertwined that I put them together.

Some of these could be combined as subpoints under a common theme (for example, items 7, 24, and 33). Furthermore, some of the qualifications and descriptions that follow could also be grouped with the above qualifications.

I relied mostly on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and Vine's Expository Dictionary for my explanations of the King James Version terms above. I also consulted Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament Word and the 1960 Reina-Valera Spanish Bible. If you find that I have misrepresented any of these KJV terms, please let me know.

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More a Church Leader Should Be...

A church leader should be a shepherd who gives his life for the sheep because his heart is for them and because he is faithful to the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-13).

A church leader should be an overseer who will "take heed...to all the flock" so as to shepherd "the church of God," remembering the great cost God incurred (Acts 20:28). He faithfully tends "the flock of God" as a shepherd (1 Peter 5:2).

A church leader should be a leader who speaks the Word of God to the church and whose faith the church may safely follow (Hebrews 13:7,17; cf, 1 Timothy 4:16).

A church leader should be a teacher who takes the truth he has learned and passes it on to other faithful men who themselves are competent to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2). Both a faithful learner and a faithful teacher, he is "nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine" (1 Timothy 4:6). This teacher is careful for himself and his faithful continuance in sound doctrine, knowing the eternal consequences for himself as well as for those that hear him (1 Timothy 4:16). He is able and ready to labor "in the word and doctrine;" that is, in preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17).

A church leader should be a watchman who sees dangers and warns the church, knowing that he will give account (Hebrews 13:17; cf, Ezekiel 3 and 33).

A church leader should be a worker among God's people, standing before the church to put them in mind of those things which may be slipping (1 Thessalonians 5:12). He puts the church "in remembrance of these things" (1 Timothy 4:6).

A church leader should be a builder who gives himself to perfecting the saints and edifying the church (Ephesians 4:11-16).

A church leader should be a steward who realizes the Lord gives the position with its calling "to testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). He knows he is accountable to the Lord for the faithful, wise spiritual care of the household of God (Luke 12:42).

A church leader should be a servant with a servant heart who gives himself for those he serves, herein serving as a model of the Lord Himself (Mark 10:42-45). He does not wield lordship and control over others, but rather serves them. Neither does he fight with others over position and turf (Luke 22:24-26). He understands that greatness comes not from position, power, or prestige. In fact, he makes his position and authority be about others, for their benefit and blessings.

A church leader should be a sampler of what believers in Jesus are like "in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). As a model believer, he demonstrates the nature, character, and life of a disciple of Jesus.

A church leader should be a sheep who, rather than lording it over the other sheep, lives as an imitable example to the flock (1 Peter 5:3). He is a faithful sampler of what God's sheep are like, a model sheep manifesting how to be a sheep of the Good Shepherd. He is a leader in example, not just in position and certainly not by force.

The list is daunting. Even distressing. If not discouraging and disheartening. But it is what the Bible says. It is the revelation of God's will for the church. I believe that makes these things attainable in Christ.

I believe we can logically conclude that we must apply these things to prospective church leaders when we ponder whom to select.

Therefore, this information must...

• govern our choosing them.
• guide our praying for them.
• direct our measuring of them.

In considering these matters, reasonable questions arise...

• Are these requirements...or just ideals?
• Must every candidate for church leadership have all these?
• Who, then, is fit and worthy?
• What if a church has no such men to put in leadership?
• What should be done when an existing leader doesn't have all these?

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When we do not know even just one man who meets each of these requirements, what are we to do when the church needs more leaders?

• Acknowledge it's because Jesus is not entirely free to live His life in us.
• Understand God works with each of us where we are. And He does it without compromising on or outright ignoring His own standards. But something is missing on our part if we aren't what He wants us to be.
• Recognize that a man can be something (hospitable, for instance) without having achieved maturity in it yet. In such a case, it seems the requirement is met even before the ideal is achieved.
• Pray for congregational repentance and revival.
• Pray for, seek, and pursue personal repentance and revival, especially if you're one of the men.

I hope to address these questions eventually:

• What about gifts to him from God by the laying on of hands at his ordination?
• Where and how does God's Spirit factor in?
• What are some key questions to consider and principles to guide us in our choosing?

But before those, the next follow-up piece is a long list of questions to ask concerning leader and leader candidates: Weighing Prospective Church Leaders.

© Copyright 2019, Mark Roth