“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach” (1Tim 3:2).
Imagine yourself leading a search committee. You’re given the assignment to assemble the next team of dynamic leaders for your organization. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you. The eternal destiny of everyone who ever lives hangs on your choice. So, no pressure. Well, that’s exactly the situation in which Timothy finds himself.
The good news is that his spiritual mentor is the Apostle Paul (1Tim 1:1). The bad news is that he’s not here (1Tim 1:2). And the church he’s pastoring is a hot mess. Spiritual posers have weaseled their way into the Ephesian church and distracted everyone from the main thing of following Jesus. Paul tells Tim to shut them up and kick them out (1Tim 1:3-7). The apostle has already given the boot to the despicable duo of Hymenaeus and Alexander (1Tim 1:20).
The result of this purge has apparently left a void in the leadership of the church. It’s now up to Tim to recognize and assemble a team of overseers who will follow Christ and provide examples for the other believers in Ephesus. Fortunately for Pastor Tim, Paul sent him a very important set of guidelines for the search committee to use. No, it’s not a list of required degrees or work experience. It is certainly not a detailed job description. Ignore resumes and cover letters. The apostle gives us a list of essential character qualities. Look for character. At the top is integrity. “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach” (v2). A church leader isn’t just scandal-free, he’s scandal-proof.
Paul sets the bar high for overseers in 1 Timothy 3:2-7. But each of the required traits in these verses are just various ways to elaborate on what it means to be above reproach. In his marriage. In his family. In his work. In his church. In his finances. In his relationships. There’s no barrier between what happens at church, home, work, and play. That’s what it means to have integrity. You’re the same person everywhere you go. You can’t be a jerk at work and a saint on Sunday. Doesn’t work that way. A jerk is a jerk no matter the day of the week.
The apostle calls this particular church leader an “overseer” (v2). The word in the original language (Gr. episkopos) means just that. It describes someone with vision who looks to the horizon, looks out for the best for God’s people, and looks for danger. In the previous verse, Paul tells his boy Tim how overseers must have a burning passion for Jesus’ church and the welfare of God’s people. The New Testament uses the terms overseer, elder, and pastor interchangeably (Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5, 7; 1Pet 2:25; 5:1-4). An overseer is an elder. An elder is a pastor. A pastor is an overseer. And no matter what you call them, they must be blameless.
These leaders “must be above reproach” (v2). Paul drops the Greek word anepilemptos, which literally means something or someone that can’t be held, seized, or grabbed. When you apply that idea to a person’s character, it describes how they are blameless, above criticism, without fault. Some scholars believe this was actually a first century wrestling term. Think of a grappler who didn’t leave any opening for his opponent. He had no weaknesses for an easy takedown or hold. In the same way, an overseer is untouchable. In the words of the great philosopher and theologian M.C. Hammer, “Can’t touch this!” I’m pretty sure there’s no biblical requirement for a church leader to wear Hammer pants, but that would be pretty sweet.
On one hand, you can’t get any charges to stick to an overseer. For years, the feds tried to take down Mafia boss John Gotti. Three times, they charged this godfather and three times he got off. Because nobody could make the charges stick, Gotti earned the nickname of the Teflon Don. Well, the fourth time was the charm for the FBI. Gotti’s non-stick coating wore off and he went to the joint for good.
Just to make sure you’re paying attention, that’s NOT the kind of person your church should choose for a leader. It’s so much more than the failing to make the accusations stick. We’re not talking about all the charges being dropped and no indictments being handed down. The idea here is for an overseer to be unaccuseable (is that even a word?). Not only has no one accused him of anything, there’s no scandal lurking in the closet. He has nothing to hide. A background check won’t turn up anything. A “60 Minutes” expose’ of his life would actually be pretty boring. He’s not just scandal-free, he’s scandal-proof. Overseers are untouchable.
A couple of things Paul is NOT saying. First of all, blameless does NOT mean sinless. There’s only one Person who fits that description to ever walk on this planet. An overseer is a sinner just like the rest of us. It’s not IF he sins but WHEN he sins. When he sins, he’s quick to confess and quick to repent. Blameless does NOT mean sinless.
Second, it doesn’t mean folks won’t cook up crazy charges against a church leader. Don’t believe me? Need I remind you of the frame job the Pharisees pulled on the Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee? And the author of this very letter spent more than his fair share locked up in the joint under false charges. But that shouldn’t keep the followers of Jesus to throw in the towel on integrity.
One of the biggest reasons for a leader to avoid scandal is because of the outrageous message they proclaim. They may be scandal-free and scandal-proof but they proclaim a scandalous message. Peter Gomes calls it the “Scandalous Gospel.” Jesus offers God’s love, forgiveness, and acceptance to anyone and everyone who place their trust in Him. God’s grace is absurd. Ridiculous. Promiscuous. Irrational. Unfair. What makes the Good News so shocking is that we can do nothing to earn it (Eph 2:8-9). God doesn’t save good people. He transforms His enemies into heirs. His descending, one-way love is scandalous.
At this point, you may be wiping the beads of sweat off your brow. Whew! Leave leadership to the really serious believers. I’m glad I’m just a garden variety follower of Jesus. Not so fast, my friend. Remember, we’re not talking about sinlessness. Remember, the dude who wrote this letter to Tim was terrorist who tortured and murdered Christians before the resurrected Christ turned his life upside down.
But every follower of Jesus is to be “blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil 2:15). Paul’s buddy Pete says we’re all to “Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless, and blameless” (2Pet 3:14 NASB). If keeping score, the blameless aren’t limited to our leaders. Every single one of us.
Before you start freaking out, you need to know this was God’s plan for us from the very beginning. Actually BEFORE the beginning! God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph 1:4). As a result, Jesus came to our rescue “in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach” to His Dad (Col 1:22). When it’s all said and done, our Savior has the power “to keep you from stumbling and present you blameless” to His Father (Jude 24).
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