A Christian leader needs to have a higher standard.
2 So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?
6 An elder must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil's trap.
Paul says that it is a good thing to desire to lead but he quickly lets us know what kind of leader that he is talking about. There isn't any shortage on leaders, the problem is we are all leaders of somebody but we are not all honorable leaders, the kind that Paul says that the Christ follower should be.
The kind of leadership that we need in our churches today is a person that is willing to live above reproach, somebody that doesn't skirt around the edges of moral boundaries or the legal limits but instead God desires to have leaders that live so far above the bar that there isn't any room to consider that the leader is doing anything wrong.
We must avoid any behavior that might even raise a question or suspicion of wrongdoing, simply abstaining from a behavior may not suffice to appear "above reproach" Many things may seem innocent and harmless but the casual observer may look at you and have a good reason to question your behavior. The man of God should live so far above the standard that there is no way that anybody could reasonably suggest that he is guilty of being less than honorable.
What does living above reproach look like?
- He must be faithful to his wife.
- He must exercise self-control,
- He must live wisely,
- He must be hospitable
- He must be able to teach.
- He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent.
- He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money.
- He must manage his own family well
A self-controlled leader builds credibility with followers when he or she imposes personal limits of behavior on himself or herself that are consistent with God's standards.
God is looking for leaders that will live so far above reproach that if someone makes an accusation against them it will never be considered a possibility.
1 Peter 2:12, 15 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. 15 It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.
God is looking for leaders that are pleasing him with their daily lives.
Reproach - to find fault with (a person, group, etc.); blame; censure. To be a cause of blame or discredit to.
I thank you Lord for my pastors leadership that is above reproach, help me to follow his example and help me to lead with credibility that comes from living above reproach. Help my church staff to live above reproach every day.
