Newbies Need not Apply

“He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1Tim 3:6).

They’re classic cases of too far too fast. Hollywood has seen an endless parade of child stars who flame out and burn up on reentry. Need an example? Miley Cyrus took a wrecking ball to Hannah Montana. It’s the same sad story in sports as well. The hot shot rookie who believes he’s Superman discovers that fame and money are his kryptonite. We’re looking right at you, Johnny Football. 

We can’t say the Bible didn’t warn us. Paul did his best to tell Timothy to pump his brakes when it came to placing inexperienced believers in places of leadership. “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (v6). A few thousand years before TMZ turned on its sleazy cameras, the writers of Scripture tell the sordid story of Satan’s power grab and eventual fall from grace. If we’re not careful, those pushed into leadership will suffer the same fate. I’m not saying its a guarantee that a disgraced pastor or elder is going to end up in the tabloids, but why take the chance? Newbies need not apply.

That may have been a big part of what’s led to the leadership crisis in the Ephesian church. Paul has left his protege as pastor of the church in the big port city while the apostle is on divine assignment in Macedonia. Tim’s job is pretty clear. Put out the dumpster fire started by a team of false teachers (1Tim 1:3-7). As a result, the church needs a new leadership team. The apostle leaves the pastor a list of traits for what he calls overseers (1Tim 3:1-7). First and foremost, look for integrity or, as the ESV tells us, men who are “above reproach” (1Tim 3:2). These are leaders who aren’t just scandal-free but scandal-proof. There’s too much at stake in guiding and directing the local church.

Near the end of the list, we read something that may DQ a number of candidates. “He must not be a recent convert” (v6). Paul uses the Greek word neophutos. It’s where we get our word neophyte and literally means “newly (neo-) planted (-phutos)” or freshly sprung up. He’s talking about new believer who has just begun following Jesus. A seedling that’s just springing up out of the soil is incredibly vulnerable to elements. This is a warning against drying off some dude as he steps out of the baptismal pool and walking him right into a leadership meeting. The church shouldn’t be checking out the new believers class for its next pastor, elder, or overseer. This is NOT a role for a rookie. 

Freshmen may be eligible to start at QB for your favorite college team but they can’t be the coach. (And if your alma mater hands the headset to some kid right out of high school, you can be sure they’ll be looking for a new AD before the end of the week!) A new believer hasn’t really explored the deep end of the doctrinal pool yet. They won’t be able to provide guidance and counsel for those in the congregation who’s lives are spinning out of control. The most effective leaders have some miles on their tires. They’ve had more than a handful of at bats. They know their way around their Bibles as they’ve looked for God’s answers to the problems we all face in a fallen world.

We’re NOT talking about someone young in years but in faith. Be careful of handing the keys to the church to a person who’s a little older but a new believer. You’re setting them up to fail. Just because they’ve got a little grey in their hair doesn’t mean they’re not wet behind the ears. This is about spiritual maturity.

That’s NOT to say we don’t want young leaders. There are plenty of young guns who’ve been walking with Jesus for more than a couple of weeks. As a matter of fact, Paul tells his spiritual son Tim not to let anybody hold his youth against him (1Tim 4:12). If he’s got the stamp of approval from the man who wrote most of the New Testament, he’s good enough for me! While the idea of a young elder may sound like an oxymoron, it’s not. A great young leader shows his savvy by surrounding himself with wise counsel. He’s ready to listen and learn from those with experience. 

The main reason we don’t want a rookie running the joint is that “he may become puffed up with conceit” (v6). Here Paul uses the verb tupho’o, which you can translate as being arrogant, swollen with pride, insanely conceited, or deluded. The term has the idea of smoke or gas. This word only shows up three times in the entire Bible and all of them are in Paul’s two letters to Timothy. Someone who teaches a counterfeit gospel “is puffed up with conceit (Gr. tupho’o) and understands nothing” (1Tim 6:4). As the world spins more and more out of control, you’ll see people who are “treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit (Gr. tupho’o), lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2Tim 3:4).

We’ve all seen someone who’s risen to leadership too fast only to have it inflate their ego. A new convert can get the big head. They become easily clouded in their thinking. Being an overseer is all about vision and clarity. Their leadership is soon exposed as all smoke and mirrors. At the first sign of trouble, poof. There’s no substance. Talent only takes you so far. A leader needs experience. It’s been said that your leadership height won’t exceed your spiritual depth. Without a strong foundation, rookie leader will come crashing down in the first heavy wind. 

Paul tells Tim there’s a very specific pothole just waiting for new believer who’s thrown into leadership too quickly. He calls it “the condemnation of the devil” (v6). You might read that and think Satan has the power to bring down an overseer. Oh, our enemy will certain throw everything he’s got to take down a godly leader, but we must remember “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). So the apostle must be talking about something else.

While you don’t see it in the ESV, several other translations (NKJV, NIV, NASB, AMP) clue us in on what’s going on here. The warning lights are flashing about falling into the same kind of condemnation as the devil. A couple of times in Scripture, God allows us a front row seat for Satan’s failed coup d’etat (Is 14:12-15; Ezek 28:11-19). When we put all the pieces together, we see that our enemy was originally “guardian cherub” (Ezek 28:14, 16). He was literally a handsome devil who fell in love with his own reflection (Ezek 28:17). 

Satan became so full of himself that eventually announced, “I will make myself like the Most High” (Is 14:14). But this supernatural civil war was over before it started. Almighty God tossed the Evil One and his toadies out of heaven faster than Patrick Swayze cleaned up the “Road House” (Is 14:14-15; Ezek 28:17; Rev 12:7-9). Let’s face it, challenging God is a bad idea. VERY bad idea. You always lose. Every. Single. Time. 

That’s probably when our enemy decided to turn his evil attention on you and me. If you can’t beat God, why not mess with those He created in His image. Creation still has the new Earth smell when the satanic snake dangles the very same temptation in front of our first parents. Don’t you want to “be like God” (Gen 3:4)? We all know how that turned out. And the crazy thing is we’ve been making the same stupid mistake over and over ever since. King Solomon desperately wants us to avoid the painful face plant of arrogance. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov 16:18). 

There’s so much on the line in the local church that Paul later tells Tim, “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands” (1Tim 5:22). In other words, don’t rush into a new elder ceremony of without a proper investigation of his background! Could that be what happened before? Did the Ephesian church know the pain of rushing a rookie pastor or elder into leadership before checking his references? 

A new believer may be a great leader one day. But not THIS day. Placing them into the position of power and influence is an accident looking or a place to happen. It’s not limited to train wrecks like Lindsey Lohan. Leading a church is not a place for rookie mistakes. There’s too much on the line for a recent convert to send it up in flames. Newbies need not apply.

Put Your Hands in the Air Like You Really Do Care

“I desire that in every place the man should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling” (1Tim 2:8).

What’s the sure sign of a good time? “Put your hands in the air like you just don’t care.” Pop stars have been encouraging us to do this since the ‘80s. Everyone from Cameo and the Backstreet Boys to Outkast and the Black Eyed Peas. For Pete’s sake, Miley Cyrus even named one of her tunes “Hands in the Air.” Here’s the deal. Shouldn’t that be the official sign of the musical apocalypse for this lyric?

A couple of thousand years ago, Paul had a better idea of how we should use our hands. “I desire that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling” (v8). Men should be VERY intentional about what they’re doing with their hands. Stop duking it out. Start praying it up. Put your hands in the air like you really DO care!

Let’s reset the scene for this letter. God has sent Paul on his next assignment to Macedonia. The apostle installs his spiritual son Timothy as pastor of the church in the Asian port of Ephesus. This letter includes a to-do list to accomplish that’s critical to the health of this growing congregation. At the top of that list is removing the cancer of false teachers who have distracted folks from living and loving like Jesus (1Tim 1:3-7). 

The man from Tarsus knows that a big part of healing in the Ephesian church will come through prayer. He tells Tim to focus on using every form of prayer to pray for every person that comes to mind (1Tim 2:1). That even includes the wicked emperor and other corrupt government officials (1Tim 2:2). The hope is these rulers will not only allow Jesus’ followers to be good citizens but also come to faith in Christ (1Tim 2:3-4). You see, it’s really hard to hate somebody that you’re pleading with God to bless.

It appears that one nasty impact of this false teaching is dissension and fighting among men in the church. Instead of lifting things up to the Lord, dudes are throwing it down. That stops. Right here. Right now. Put your hands in the air like you really DO care.

Paul wants guys to not limit where they pray. Do it “in every place” (v8). It wasn’t that long ago, prayer and worship were limited to holy places like the tabernacle and temple. Religious activities used to be a lot like real estate. It was all about location, location, location. But Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice put an end to all that. He told a Samaritan woman no place is more holy than another when it comes to worshiping God (Jn 4:21). Thanks to Jesus, zip code doesn’t matter. We’re able to pray anywhere, anytime.

The apostle tells Tim very specifically “the men should pray” (v8). This is distinct from women in the next verse. That’s not to say women shouldn’t pray. Far from it. As a matter of fact, they are not commanded to pray because they are already doing it! Shoot, this still happens today. Ever been to a prayer meeting? The vast majority of people in attendance are usually the ladies. Boys, prayer is not just “women’s work.” It’s warfare. Spiritual warfare. It’s hard work. It’s heavy lifting. Now it’s time for the guys to put on their big boy pants and pray. Men must step up to be leaders in the local church. Men must to step up to be leaders in prayer. Are we clear?

Paul strongly suggests guys use a prayer posture where they are “lifting holy hands” (v8). You do know that prayer isn’t simply sitting with your head bowed, eyes closed, and hands folded, right? There are many postures of prayer. Lifting your hands is one of them. When it comes to prayer, let’s take a hint from Olivia Newton-John. Let’s get physical. Let’s get our bodies involved. Fully involved. Many times the position of my body in prayer can be a powerful reminder to my heart and soul about what I’m doing and Who I’m praying to.

One common position is on our knees. It’s demonstrates our submission to God’s authority and power. Even the Son of God dropped to His knees before His Heavenly Dad (Lk 22:41-44). Another prayer posture is face down. Some folks call this prostrate (and be careful to include the “r”). It’s the ultimate demonstration of humility and brokenness. Once again, we see our Savior modeling this method in His darkest hour (Mt 26:38-39). You can stand up to pray it up. Believe it or not, this is actually the oldest form of prayer. Take a stab at who’s a great example to follow in standing prayer. You get two guesses and the first two don’t count. You got it. Jesus (Lk 9:28-32; Jn 17:1). When it comes to prayer, let’s get physical.

Specifically, Paul tells men to lift their hands when they pray. Once again, this is nothing new. It’s a favorite form of worship of King David (Ps 63:8; 141:2). We probably ought to take it from the person who has the rep as a man after God’s own heart (1Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22). When Jerusalem was under attack from the Babylonians, Jeremiah pleaded with people, “Lift your hands to Him for the lives of the children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street” (Lam 2:19). Put your hands in the air like you really DO care.

Don’t miss what kind of hands we should be extending to heaven. “Holy hands” (v8). The word “holy” (Gr. hosios) literally means unpolluted and unstained by evil. Our hands represent the activity of our lives. That being the case, holy hands equal a holy life. Not perfect. Not sinless. But pursuing holiness. Jesus’ kid brother James said living a righteous life is the secret sauce to answered prayer. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).

Just in case you had any question about the need for lifting righteous hands in prayer, Paul bluntly writes how we need to do this “without anger or quarreling” (v8). Use your hands for praying it up, not fighting it out. A hot head and a righteous life are mutually exclusive (James 1:20). God tells Isaiah that He has no use for any prayers offered with hands bloodied from a bare knuckle brawl. “When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15).

The bottom line. Pray anywhere and anytime. Men should man up and start leading in prayer. Let’s get physical with our prayer life. Start lifting your hands and stop throwing it down. Put your hands in the air like you really DO care.