Deacons are servants. The word deacon is a transliteration of the New Testament Greek word diakonos. A transliterated word isn’t the same as a translated word. Translators “borrow” transliterated words from the source language and spell them with roughly equivalent letters in the target language. When the word diakonos appears in the New Testament it is usually, but not always, translated as servant.
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In the not so distant American past, even those who were not religious refrained from swearing in the presence of women and children. As our nation has grown more secular and profane, so has our use of language; some women and children have worse potty mouths than men! God’s people have never been immune to the corrupting influence of society. Consequently, it’s becoming more and more common to encounter “cussing Christians.”
God expects us to leave the bad habits and sins of the world behind when we become His disciples. God has always commanded his people to be different from the rest of the world. Peter, quoting Leviticus 11:44-45, said, “it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16 ESV). Likewise, Paul said, “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Th. 4:7 NIV).
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Why did Paul need to tell Timothy that the work of being an overseer (pastor) is a “noble task” (1 Tim 3:1 ESV)? Similarly, why did he need to state that overseers must be above reproach (1 Tim 3:2)? It would seem that pastors in Ephesus were not above reproach and had ruined the reputation of the role of overseer. Church pastors in Ephesus had so tarnished the role that Paul needed to affirm that the job is indeed honorable. Just as dirty politicians ruin the reputation of true statesmen, pastors who are not biblically qualified ruin the reputation of the role of overseer.
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The church in the United States is facing an epidemic of biblically unqualified leaders. Every week there is a new report of a pastor or church leader involved in some sort of scandal. There are two reasons for this. First, churches are ignoring the scriptural qualifications for pastors in 1st Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The second reason is that pastors and other church leaders are not being held accountable. I’ll address accountability when we reach 1 Timothy 5 in this blog series. For now let’s focus on the biblical qualifications for pastors. First up is the question, “May an unmarried man be a pastor?”
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Is the practice of appointing women pastors biblical? Paul said, “Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task” (1 Tim. 3:1 NIV). There are many who desire the job, but desiring the task is not the only requirement. Paul gives a list of traits in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 that those who desire the job must possess.
The Bible authorizes women to do much more in the church than church leaders have allowed them to do. Women have traditionally been prevented from teaching men because of a misunderstanding of 1 Cor 14:34-35 and 1 Tim 2:11-14. However, these passages do not mean what some think they mean. In fact, the Bible does not prohibit women from teaching men.
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