Getting Back to Our Roots: Before Appointing New Pastors in 1 Timothy 1

Pastoral ministry is unique in this world. Many men are called to pastoral ministry. Because of the season my church family is in, I want to spend some time looking with fresh eyes at the pastoral letters in their context. In the First Century, things didn’t work like they do now. While we can see in sections like the selection of deacons in Acts 6 that the apostles cared about the needs and thoughts of the congregation, there really wasn’t a congregational approach to pastoral selection like there is now in some denominations. Of course, we also don’t have apostles or anyone who pretends to carry the authority of an apostle like Peter or Paul—at least not in the Baptist tradition. While Scripture provides plenty of freedom for our polity to look different in our context as contrasted with the context of the First Century church, the meaning of Paul’s instruction to Timothy remains the same. God’s word never changes. While we take our time in this season of prayer and searching, it is most important to reflect on God’s words for us.

Paul wrote 1 Timothy to Timothy, a coworker in the gospel. Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to appoint pastors and deacons and address strange doctrines present in the congregations there (1 Timothy 1:3; 3:1ff). Timothy, by Paul’s apostolic authority, was the representative at Ephesus in charge of selecting pastors. Thus, 1 Timothy has plain ramifications and guidelines for the appointment of pastors in every church. God cares about this topic enough to include it plainly in His Bible. Paul begins not with how to find a pastor but the importance of love.

As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:3-5). 

The church’s instruction, even while pastors still need to be appointed, matters. At Ephesus, there were certain men who taught things that are inappropriate for the church pulpit:

• strange doctrines,
• myths, and
• endless genealogies.

Many men today fixate on strange doctrines or make much of doctrine that is inexplicit in Scripture. “Myths” refers to the telling of stories. Many people today still tell many unnecessary stories that take time away from the word that really matters. Many people today still pay far too much attention to all the technical details of the text during the sermon and provide much information but never actually benefit the congregation spiritually.

Strange doctrine is always wrong to preach as if it were truth. Sometimes telling a story can help explain the text, but more often just distracts from it. Technical details are great for study so we can glean the meaning of a text accurately. But, Timothy was to instruct certain men not to overemphasize those things from the pulpit, or whatever teaching platform they had. The impulses to be sensational, tell unneeded stories, and convey every technical detail of study give rise to mere speculation. To put it simply, they cause people to have more questions than answers. Though their brains are stimulated, they haven’t grown any as a result of the sermon or lesson. Questions are not wrong to have, but church instruction is meant to provide something other than more questions, or speculation. Church instruction is meant to further the administration of God by faith. Paul explains what he means:

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5). 

The end goal of Christian instruction is not to simply fill people with sensation, speculation, questions, and technical knowledge. The goal of our instruction is love. According to Paul, love results from:

• a pure heart, 
• good conscience, and 
• sincere faith.

A pure heart refers to moral purity. A good conscience refers to our ethic or how we think about making moral decisions. Faith literally in its simplest form refers to our reliance on God rather than ourselves. If we follow Paul’s instruction to Timothy, as our ethical understanding, moral behavior, and reliance on God alone increase, so does our love. The instruction of the church is not like the instruction of the world. It is literally focussed narrowly on the increase of love by building ethical understanding, moral judgment, and faith in God. If the instruction of the church does not accomplish this end, we gain nothing but information by listening. Paul noticed that some men strayed from these things and turned aside to such fruitless discussion (1:6). They wanted to be teachers but showed that they did not understand the point of their teaching (1:7). The Law is meant to build us up in love by increasing our faith—not merely giving us information.

Paul’s premise here in the first few verses provides his reasoning for the qualifications we see later in his letter. He wants the people to actually be edified through the pastoral position. We even see a small warning about teachers who pursue such positions because they are interested in selfish gain—they want to be teachers even though they don’t understand the purpose of the church’s instruction (1:7). I was this way for a long time—distributing my résumé so I might gain a position and preaching from my brain rather than my heart. Don’t misunderstand. I think sermons should be well thought out with right biblical understanding. I think they should comprise a correct division of God’s word alone. But, there was a time I was in ministry for the sake of building my own kingdom. Unfortunately, there are many people in a modern context who submit their résumés to search teams for the sake of their own gain or circumstance rather than the sake of the church at large.

Timothy, who is in charge of appointing pastors in Ephesus, was to instruct certain men not to be selfish but, instead, teach with purpose—love by conscience and faith. The apostles are long dead now. There is no apostolic authority today. They did not provide any outline for any sort of apostolic succession. We simply cannot appoint pastors like Timothy did in Ephesus by Paul’s authority. At GABC, we have chosen a pastor-led congregational approach to church polity. This means the congregation and appointed pastor-search team receives this instruction directly like Timothy did in Ephesus. Our very first objective when considering a pastor is not:

• What should the job description be?
• How old should the new pastor be?
• Should we find someone with a degree?
• How many accomplishments are listed on his résumé?
• Does he have the proper experience we are looking for?
• What is his ethnicity or color of skin?

Experience can be a good thing. The danger in looking through résumés is finding someone with much experience but little heart, little faith. When we look for someone based on their age or color, we become guilty of judging by outward appearance rather than someone’s heart for the gospel and congregation. So, we are to remember the purpose of our instruction. Before anything else, return to the basics of our faith and what church is about. Before anything else, which will doubtless stress and frustrate us, remember to grow in our love. Then, as we search, candidates will present whose hearts match ours and who are interested in edifying the congregation rather than exalting themselves.