Gifts of Leadership, Part 1

The point: If a man's ability to exercise wise and responsible government is not proven in his domestic circle, he must seek that proof from other structures in which God has placed him as a natural leader.

Martin uses Christ and Paul as examples of men who were competent to exercise the office of elder despite not being married with children, to refute a misinterpretation of 1 Timothy 3:4-5.

Now the basic issue of these verses is not to teach that only married men should be taken care of. Now, the basic issue of these verses is not to teach that only married men should be taken care of. Men with children can be elders. Some have so construed the passage and in so doing have disqualified our Lord and the Apostle Paul from being competent to exercise the office of an elder. And you've got problems with that since our Lord Jesus is himself called the shepherd and the bishop, the overseer of our souls. And Paul, as an apostle, was an elder of the church universal, even as Peter assert...

6:30 - 7:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not admit men to the pastoral office whose domestic government is not exemplary, even if they have a gift to preach, as this is an affront to Christ's rule.

The Samaritan telling the innkeeper to 'take care of him' (Luke's gospel) illustrates the verb 'epimaleomai' as exercising gracious government for restoration, drawing an analogy to an overseer's care for the church.

It's the first time in the history of the Greek language verse 4 one who rules well his own house verse 5 if a man knows not how to rule his own house and then we have epi maleo my used at the end of verse 5 how shall he take care of the church of god and both of these words pro iste me and epi maleo my gather to themselves the ideas of overseeing leading providing and governing as we've considered in another context that's the verb epi maleo my that is used in luke's gospel when the samaritan said to the innkeeper take care of him epi maleo my exercise a gracious government resulting in this ...

10:55 - 12:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not admit men to the pastoral office whose domestic government is not exemplary, even if they have a gift to preach, as this is an affront to Christ's rule.

Martin cites the example of men with 'the gift to preach' being admitted to office despite poor domestic government, highlighting the danger of neglecting the clear requirement for proven leadership ability.

analogy between domestic rule and caring for the church of god and that is bound up in the job description description of an overseer. Now, while the Word of God is so clear on this point, one can only marvel at the high-handed affront to the rule of Christ in His church when men whose domestic government is not exemplary, is even at times shameful or scandalous, are admitted to the pastoral office simply because they have, quote, the gift to preach. As though their almighty gift to preach negates the clear emphasis of the passage that he must be a man who has a proven ability to exercise auth...

12:14 - 13:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I believe they were wrong in designating an office of doctor, but I believe they were right in recognizing that an eminent gift of public utterance is not necessarily and always joined to those combination of gifts essen…

Martin recounts how Owen and possibly Calvin, recognizing that teaching gifts don't always accompany ruling gifts, proposed a 'doctor' office for those with eminent teaching gifts but lacking ruling ability, illustrating the distinction between these gifts.

who would have a special gift of showing ministry, a special gift of giving, and to do so with liberality, and in certain cases we know when the gift of prophecy was still being conferred legitimately, legitimately, in the transition period of redemptive history, it was conferred in certain instances upon women, though they were forbidden to exercise it in the mixed assembly, 1 Corinthians 11, 1 Corinthians 14, Philip's four daughters who prophesied, but here we have listed among this specimen list of gifts, he that rules, and here we have a participial form of proistomy, proistomenos, now in ...

15:41 - 17:09 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I believe they were wrong in designating an office of doctor, but I believe they were right in recognizing that an eminent gift of public utterance is not necessarily and always joined to those combination of gifts essen…

Martin notes how Pentecostals and Charismatics often limit their thinking to 1 Corinthians 12's gift list while ignoring Romans 12, questioning the authority for such a distinction.

Then, when we have this, this specimen list again, and I never cease to marvel at the Pentecostals and Charismatics who, when they say, Do you believe in the gifts? always limit their thinking to this specimen list in 1 Corinthians 12, and almost always ignore the specimen list in Romans 12. And I've wondered by what authority they make this distinction. It's always puzzled me.

20:46 - 21:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: This gift of ability to lead, to be a sanctified steersman of the ship of God's church, is mentioned as a distinction. It is a distinct gift conferred by the exalted Lord through the executive administrative activity of …

The Greek word 'koubernesis' (governments) is linked to 'koubernesis,' meaning pilot or steersman of a ship, beautifully illustrating the leader's role in giving direction to the church.

And when it is found in the, plural, it indicates proofs of ability to hold a leading position in the church. So say Arndt and Gingrich. But you have its sister word, koubernesis, and it is used two places in the New Testament. Acts 27.11 and Revelation 18.17, and it refers in both cases to the pilot or the steersman, of a ship.

22:48 - 23:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin presents the implicit testimony for leadership gifts by examining the titles of the pastoral office (overseer, elder, shepherd) and the associated tasks (to shepherd, to…

The story of Jethro advising Moses to appoint elders to administer government in Israel is used to illustrate the Old Testament roots of the 'presbyteros' (elder) title and its association with wise rule.

What is a presbyteros? With all of its taproots in that rich Old Testament biblical theology of the emergence of the elders as Moses' counselors in seeking to do what? Administer wise and righteous government in Israel. When Jethro said, you're going to kill yourself, Moses, handling the whole shebang, you're suffering.

29:41 - 30:03 Read in full sermon

The point: New fathers should not be troubled if they cannot immediately discern between a child's cry of pain and petulance; this discernment develops over time.

The analogy of a parent distinguishing between a child's cry of pain and a cry of petulance illustrates the necessity of discernment for wise rule, first in the family and then by extension in the church.

must indeed have not just the ordinary endowment of discernment which comes with the individual, the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, but he must have, and here you see I had used the word eminent, extraordinary, and all kinds of different synonyms, but when I tracked them down they all had a connotation of something that was a fifteen to twenty thousand foot mountain when everything else was down at about two thousand foothills, and I said that gives the wrong impression. So that's why I ended up full circle after I don't know how long, tracking down all kinds of words, a more than ordinary measu...

40:49 - 42:06 Read in full sermon

The point: New fathers should not be troubled if they cannot immediately discern between a child's cry of pain and petulance; this discernment develops over time.

Martin shares a personal story of his own teenage clumsiness to illustrate the need for parents (and by extension, church leaders) to discern between constitutional issues (like a growth spurt) and deliberate defiance.

The parent who in his teenager distinguishes between his stumbling over something in the living room because his feet and his other appendages have grown faster than the connections to the brain to handle them and the angry kicking at the couch. I can remember, I was almost my full mature height at age 14 and my feet and my hands were always in the way. Every meal, every night until my poor father would shake his head and say, Albert, you've got a gift. Almost every mealtime, a glass of milk or a glass of water.

42:39 - 43:20 Read in full sermon

The point: New fathers should not be troubled if they cannot immediately discern between a child's cry of pain and petulance; this discernment develops over time.

The analogy of distinguishing between a struggling sheep genuinely desiring holiness and a person with an antinomian spirit who doesn't care about sin illustrates the critical need for spiritual discernment in church oversight.

Pity the church that has overseers who do not have a more than ordinary measure of spiritual discernment to distinguish between a struggling sheep whose heart is set upon universal holiness but due to a combination of factors is making little if no progress with that besetting sin and the person who through an antinomian spirit and a false security doesn't care if he makes any progress against a glaring besetting sin. Pity the people who are under the oversight of such a man who lacks more than an ordinary measure of spiritual discernment that has no necessary connection with native IQ nor wit...

43:58 - 45:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Live in and assimilate the Scriptures, and pray in the Scriptures, as God increases the grace of spiritual wisdom through these means.

Two scenarios involving a parent using a baseball bat on a mosquito on a child's head and a fly swatter on a pit bull attacking a child illustrate the lack of wisdom in choosing inappropriate means to achieve right ends, highlighting the tragic consequences in ministry.

the Lord Jehovah has given me the tongue of them that are taught that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary he wakens morning by morning he wakes mine ear to hear as they that are taught and here is the picture of Messiah being taught his ear being wakened and its application to us is that as we live in the scriptures and assimilate the scriptures as we pray in the scriptures God is increasing that stock of the grace of spiritual wisdom essential to a wise and judicious government of God's people making righteous judgments and securing right goals by the best means let me illu...

52:28 - 53:57 Read in full sermon