06 Character Not Gifting

Over the years we've met many, many incredibly gifted and anointed people. They have walked through our doors, visited us, become a part of us, and joined us, who've had the potential to really make huge impacts for the Kingdom. And in many churches that is what qualifies somebody for leadership.

If somebody's got a strong anointing, let's use it. It will benefit. People are drawn to it. But, scripturally speaking, character is far more important than how gifted we are. God wants to use people whose hearts are right and who represent Him. When Paul speaks of Timothy, he speaks of a beloved son who will remind others, not just of what's been taught, but of his way of life.

And it's so important that our way of life, our character and our actions represent Christ when we're in leadership in the church. Because as we've said previously, people catch who we are and not what we say. Likewise, sin and hidden sin that are in us can easily be broken open into the life of the church.

Even if nobody is actually aware of what's going on, there is a spiritual principle at stake. That is why when Paul writes to Timothy, instructing him in how to help build healthy churches in the churches that he's delegated to Timothy to minister to, he gives clear instructions on how to go about ordaining elders and deacons.

Deacon Qualifications in 1 Timothy 3

In 1 Timothy 3, we see the qualifications for a deacon. The qualifications aren't: he must be popular, he must be anointed, he must be a great preacher, he must be rich, he must be successful. No, the qualifications are very different. The qualifications are this:

"Deacons must be dignified. Not double tongued. Not addicted to much wine. Not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first. Then let them serve as deacons, if they prove themselves blameless.

Their wives, likewise, must be dignified. Not slanderous, but sober minded. Faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own household well. And for those who serve well as deacons, gain a good standing for themselves, and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus."

So I just want to unpack this a little bit. I don't want to discuss the male female dynamic of deacons. We'll do that in another video. One of the difficulties with Scripture sometimes is that familiarity can breed contempt. There are certain verses that we read a lot.

There are certain passages of the Bible that we read a lot. I think most of us could quote or at least paraphrase Acts 2:42-47 quite well. Most of us would be able to quote John 3:16. In a church like JoshGen, where we really have a heart to raise leaders, if you've had any kind of leadership training, if you've been exposed to any kind of leadership, if you've done any kind of deacon training, you would have heard before about the qualifications for a deacon being character. But I think that means sometimes we can skip over the list without really reading it for understanding—reading in a way that the Holy Spirit will speak to us.

So the first thing I want to say about this list is: it is not an exhaustive list. It doesn't mean if you check each of these boxes you're fine. It doesn't have on this list doing drugs. But dare I suggest, if you're doing drugs you'd probably be disqualified from being a deacon. It doesn't say here, "drives like a maniac on public streets." But if you continually drive like a maniac on public streets, if you are collecting speeding fines and not stopping at stop streets, that, I dare say, would be a disqualification.

And so, these are representative. Most other actions could fall under the umbrella of these terms. But I want us to look at these terms because it isn't an exhaustive list. So I want us to look at these terms as representative of what godly character looks like.

The other issue is, this is not an exam. A lot of professions have an entrance exam and once you pass the exam, that's it, you're in. And you never have to take the exam again. You've passed and you're in. This isn't an entrance exam.

It's a checklist and an audit list for us by which we can check our own characters. You may have been a deacon for 10 years and 10 years ago this described you perfectly, but you've fallen into bad habits. You can become disqualified by sliding into character habits and behaviors that are ungodly.

The third thing I want to say before we examine the list in detail is just because somebody meets these requirements doesn't mean they are called to be a deacon. It simply means that they're Christ-like in character. Paul isn't saying if you have a Christ-like character, you must be a deacon.

He said, in order to be a deacon you must be Christ-like in character. I hope we can recognize the difference. There are amazing Christ-like people in the church. But they just don't have a leadership call on their lives. They should be commended and honored for their character, but that commending and honoring doesn't mean making them deacons.

What Dignified and Trustworthy Character Looks Like

So let's go through this list. They must be dignified. Now that doesn't mean walking around like you're important. Too many people have man of God syndrome. It means being respectable. Carrying yourself a certain way, in your language, in your speech, that is not offensive.

The word dignified. If I said, can you quote me a verse from the Bible that uses the word "dignified," many of you would immediately identify David saying, "I will become even more undignified than this." So, we can be as undignified, but we've got to understand this within context.

It's saying here, not that we are respectable in man's eyes, but that we are people worthy of respect. Even if people disagree with us. They're not double tongued. In other words, people can trust what You say. Can people rely on what You say?

If You say You will do something, will it be done? If You give Your perspective, is it an honest perspective? Is there a credibility in Your language? Is there an honesty in Your language? You can read that and say, "I am not double tongued, I never lie."

Well, it's much more than that. I might be somebody who never lies, but my words can be untrustworthy. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Do You genuinely understand the gospel? Are You able to communicate the gospel? Would You die for the truth?

God needs, and Jesus is looking for, people who are willing to die for the truth. Who are willing to be uncompromising for the sake of the gospel. I think we're coming into days of greater persecution and greater resistance from the world, and a greater than ever temptation to compromise on the truth.

Testing, Clear Conscience, and Blamelessness

But as deacons together with elders, we are to be those who are non-compromising for the truth of the gospel and the mystery of the faith. Then it says, "let them first be tested and then let them serve." What does it mean to be tested?

Well, I think we can be tested in many ways. The Lord tests us. We can be tested by success. We can be tested by failure. We can be tested by being put on hold and having to wait, like David was. David was anointed to be king and then didn't become king for many years.

But, as elders, we want to see somebody who doesn't just talk the talk, but who walks the walk and whose convictions have been tested. Somebody once said, truth isn't yours when you hear it. It's not even yours when you understand it or when you preach it.

That truth is yours when you've been tested in it. And we want to see people who've been tested and who are then willing to walk as deacons. "They must prove themselves blameless." That doesn't mean you've never ever sinned because then we'd all be disqualified.

I do think what it means is we live our lives in such a way, that if somebody brings an accusation against us, other people would say, "I find that really hard to believe." Hopefully, if somebody came to you and said, "I saw Mike Davis getting drunk and taking drugs last night," I hope that my character and my track record is such, that everybody's response would be, "No, you must be mistaken. That could not be. Mike would not do that." You can come and check with me afterwards, but that's what it means to be blameless.

Faithfulness at Home and in Marriage

Not that you've never made a mistake, but your track record is that you have a credibility. That people cannot easily attack your character. Then it goes on to the wives. And I want to do that in a separate video. And then it says, "let deacons each be the husband of one wife."

I want to say this, if we only read this and say, "I've never been divorced" or "I've never committed polygamy," I think we're missing the point. What Paul is speaking to Timothy about here is, is this a man who loves his wife? Is he faithful to her?

Not just, has he refrained from sleeping with another woman, is he faithful? Is he a good husband? It goes on to say, "does he manage their children and their households well?" Is there a credibility at home? Because if a man has got no credibility at home, he won't have leadership credibility in the church.

Not Mastered by Wine, Money, or Anything Else

I want us to look at these qualifications and go through them again. Another one that I didn't mention is, "not addicted to much wine." I want us to look at that through modern eyes. I know lots of people who can quite easily say, "I never drink alcohol, therefore I qualify."

I know we're not supposed to change scripture, but I want to kind of convey the heart a little bit. What if this said, not addicted to anything or not mastered by anything? In a modern context, what if Paul said, not addicted to Netflix?

What if He said, not addicted to his cell phone? What if He said, not addicted to Facebook? Basically, as deacons, we need to be people who are not mastered by anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ. "And they're not greedy for dishonest gain or not a lover of money."

I want to finish with this story, because I think it's helpful. I watched on Netflix recently a series about controversies and scandals in sport. And one of the episodes was on Hansie Cronje. I think most of us know what happened to Hansie, unfortunately.

It is interesting. One person said, "I always knew he had a love for money. When we went out for drinks, we would buy the drinks and he would rarely buy drinks for other people." And it was his love of money that caused his downfall.

I'm convinced, and people said he was an incredibly great guy. He had one fatal flaw: his love of money. His love of money caused his downfall. Many of us can have one fatal flaw. We can be so awesome in so many ways. One crack is a crack that the devil can expose to cause our downfall and the downfall sometimes of others around us.

I think one of the lessons I learned from that video was, not to attack Hansie, but to say how tragic it was that he was surrounded by people who could spot his fatal flaw, but never addressed it in him and helped him overcome it.

Deal With Hidden Character Flaws and Blind Spots

I want to say this: if you're a deacon and you become aware of character flaws in yourself—if you're a potential deacon and you see something in yourself that disqualifies you from being a deacon—then deal with it. But we all have blind spots as well.

I would strongly urge you to constantly ask for input from other people and say, "Speak to me. Do I have a flaw that I cannot see?" And then likewise, as a leadership team in particular, be willing to approach our brothers and speak into each other's lives.

So that we can help each other deal with those things that would otherwise cause our downfall. Let's be a people who are open, accountable, honest, and who are working to become more like Jesus every day.