In the early church, at least around the time of Chrysostom who lived around (C 350AD) they recognized at least two stages in a Christian's early life. First you became a catechumen which meant you were being instructed in the ways of Christ and were likely to have received Christ. But first it was required for a time that the catechumen would learn the principles of the faith and prove by evidence of life the sincerity of their fledgling faith. When that catechumen underwent baptism he was called a Neophyte which literally means seedling or "new growth¹." It was longer still before that neophyte would be considered a mature Christian. In the context of 1 Timothy 3, it is imperative that an overseer be mature and be seen as holy lest he fall prey to the Devil's schemes. In these two verses we have the two final requirements for an overseer and three results of them being broken.

It all begins with ensuring that the overseer had time to Grow.

Time To Grow

Paul continues the passage saying that the candidate for overseer must not be a new convert. If you've ever heard the word Neophyte² than you've go the idea of what Paul means by new convert here. The imagery is of a seedling which has only just germinated and burst from its seed. In computer terms we talk about someone like this as a NOOB which means you know very little about computers and are generally at a loss. Paul's use is set somewhat in juxtaposition against the concept of being an "elder" which by definition demands maturity.

When it comes to maturity - nothing takes the place of time. Time in and of itself does not mean maturity as is evidenced in Hebrews 5, but maturity doesn't happen overnight. It's true enough that it takes only a few months to raise a large zucchini; but an oak tree can take decades. But which one would you rather build your house with?

What happens at home stays at home! Well, not exactly. One of the key issues during President Clinton's term in office was the divide created during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. A great deal of ink was spilt arguing both for and against the point that the quality of a person's private life weighed significantly upon their capacity for effective public service. From the perspective of scripture it becomes clear, however, that the home life is far from unrelated to the public life it is at essence a microcosm which exposes the real person.

I want to rephrase that another way because, much like a surgeon's scalpel serves to provide an opening so that he may repair what is broken inside - I want to peel back for you the layers so that you can see the areas of your own life which is most in need of surrendering to God. Do not take this as an opportunity to think to yourselves, "Ah this is a sermon that (so and so) needs to hear!" Rather this is a personal message for you.

It is relatively easy to "put on the plastic Jesus" when you get out of the car on Sunday morning and pretend that everything is alright. But your performance in front of other people really isn't all that impressive to God. Because your performance really isn't an insight into your heart. But something happens when you live in close proximity to other people; we tend to let our guard down and in many ways expose who we really are to those in our own households when the doors are closed and the curtains are drawn.

When that happens who are you?

Have you ever had the experience of meeting someone and finding them to be disagreeable in a variety of ways? Maybe they have a bad attitude or they have habits that make them out to just be the kind of person you don't want to hang around with. Now, imagine meeting that person and then after you've formed all your opinions you find out that they are a Christian or worse yet, a pastor. The effects can be catastrophic.

From the positive requirements of what the elder or pastor should be, Paul moves now to what we must not be.

"it is necessary therefore for the overseer (watcher of souls) to be above reproach, a one woman kind of man {idiom: faithful to his wife}, sober (self-controlled with alcohol with a broader reference to his serious handling of his life), self-controlled (in general), orderly, hospitable, skillful in teaching, ..."

What happens when you put a child in charge of their siblings? Sometimes nothing, but sometimes the evil comes out and as soon a the door clicks behind you the power goes to their head and they begin to rule over their siblings like an evil tyrant.

It is a sad statement of reality that such things have happened in the church through the ages. Men in positions of authority have abused their power. As much as it demonstrates the power of the sinful nature it demonstrates even more the overwhelming need for continued humility and intentional application of God's word.

I want to get us back into the mode of studying First Timothy and Church 101 so a very brief review is necessary. In the first chapter Paul touches on Pastoral Leadership, the Foundation of the Gospel as the core of the church and the fullness of God's grace. It seems that in the church people were missing the point. There were teachers who were teaching the law wrongly. They had forgotten that the Law's singular purpose is the convict sinners and direct them to Jesus. Paul himself serves as the primary example of the chief of all sinners. If God can save Paul the blasphemer, the persecutor and the violent agressor than God can certainly save you. Amen? (I expect at least a few amens!)

The second chapter launches us into ministry. As children of God we are first commanded to pray. We must pray at all times for all people with every kind of prayer, intercession, requests, conversational, and above all prayers of thanks. The fruit of our prayers may well be the salvation of many souls.

The men are specifically commanded to pray without anger and dissension. The Women are specifically required to dress appropriately and to be devoted learners of God's word . Elsewhere we learn that women must teach other women but here we discover they must neither teach men nor exercise authority over men.

Now considering the context of what has gone before - specifically in terms of Paul's statements concerning women in leadership it is only natural that he begin to explain the requirements for leadership in the church but also to a certain extent to defend leadership.

This is why he begins the third chapter with "It is a trustworthy statement, if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do." In this statement Paul demonstrates a few principles for us to adhere to when it comes to church leadership.

The letter of 1 Timothy is really a very practical letter addressing for us what life in the local church should look like. I've titled my study of 1 Timothy "Church 101" because it's so practical and so basic. You might be tempted to look at the pastoral Epistles as letters that the pastor might find pertinent to himself but not so the rest of us. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What is the church supposed to be? There's a never ending list of how to "do church" books. There are conferences, study guides, church planting manuals and on and on the list goes. I suppose they have their place; yet the proof of Ecclesiastes 12:12 comes through again, there really is no end to the writing and gathering of books.

I want to get us back into the mode of studying First Timothy and Church 101 so a little bit of review is necessary.

Pastoral Leadership

In the first chapter Paul begins with the leadership of the church: Pastoral authority which is grounded in the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Key to the functioning of the church is a pastor who will stay the course long enough to effectively correct error and teach truth.

It is a little unfair to leave 1 Timothy 2:15 hanging out on its own for so long especially since it is part of the context and understanding its meaning requires linking it to the prior couple of verses regarding Eve as well as verse 12 itself.

I very rarely approach a passage without having some idea to start with of it's meaning and potential application. Of course many times during my study I discover truths which mandate a change in my starting position sometimes a complete change is needed as the word shapes me.

But I entered this text with a great deal of uncertainty; and it was quite disconcerting. At least I knew what it could not mean.