Be Still And Know

1 Timothy 3:1 This is a trustworthy saying: “Whoever aspires to be a church leader, desires an honourable position.” One of the key tasks for Paul and Timothy was to find good leaders. Without godly and effective leadership, the Church was never going to thrive. In this chapter, Paul spelt out the qualities that a church leader needs. And in 1,900 years, it is worth noting that the list hasn’t really changed much! A church leader still needs to have good relationships within their family. They need to be faithful, hospitable, able teachers and gentle. It’s interesting that Paul felt the need to say that a leader shouldn’t be a heavy drinker, violent, quarrelsome or a lover of money, but no one would disagree with him. Paul was also concerned that leaders were not new Christians and that people outside of the church community spoke well of them. What interests me is that Paul begins these comments by talking about those who aspired to be a church leader. He wanted to encourage them; they were desiring an