I Timothy 3:1-16
There are a couple of items that stand out for me in Paul’s qualifications for the office of overseer. First, He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive… (v. 4b) This …keeping his children submissive… I remember that when I was growing up I learned the term “preacher’s kid” – and that term seldom implied anything good of that kid! The thought was that PKs would naturally be rebellious. My sense now is that it was in the stricter denominations that these kids tended to be more rebellious – feeling hemmed in by their father’s teachings and rules, but seeing “freedom” in the outside world. And I often wonder how we raise godly children in today’s ungodly world, with so much temptation so prevalent and so near – even just fingertips away! As we chat with Mark Bruner during his stay with us he reports on some of the kids that we knew from our English Camps in Czechia, how so many of these kids have abandoned the faith that we had shared with them, being drawn away by the “glamour” of that outside world. So sad…!
The second item that I noticed was verse 7a: Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders… My sense is that most non-believers hold ministers in high esteem. I’ve heard that ministers are often grouped with teachers and coaches as people who are highly thought of for their service, in particular for their service to the younger people in our society. But there are others in the outside world who see the hypocrisy in Christians they know, and that notion becomes more verified when news stories reveal televangelists whose wrongful deeds have come to light and priests who are charged with molesting young children. Christian leaders do need to be held to a higher standard; they are more prominent as the image of Christ to the outside world.
See also: September 19 / I Timothy 3:1-7; September 20 / I Timothy 3:8-13; September 21 / I Timothy 3:14-16