The Servant Leader (09.03.17 Notes)

“The Servant Leader”

Ordination Service

Pastor Kris Freeman

Revolution Church

Sept. 3, 2017

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1-13 (NLT)

3 This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” 2 So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap. 8 In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. 9 They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. 10 Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons. 11 In the same way, their wives[e] must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do. 12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and household well. 13 Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul is writing to Timothy, a young apprentice and preacher. Paul, with Barnabas, was APPOINTED as an elder in the church in Acts 14:23.

Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. (Acts 14:23)

The word ordain is an English word translated from a Greek word tithemi which means “appointed.” Today, we are talking about the appointing and commissioning of leadership. This word occurs 104 times in 94 New Testament verses.

Every church is structured in DIFFERENT ways.

The structure of Revolution Church:

• Pastor-elder
• Led, not controlled
• Elders, deacons and staff
• Board of Trust (business and finance, seven members)
• Why are we not a democracy? Leadership matters. Discipleship over democracy!

1. A pastor is a SHEPHERD
2. An elder is a SPIRITUAL OVERSEER
3. A deacon is a SERVANT LEADER
4. A staff is a paid or volunteer ministry leader
5. A Board of Trust member is a spiritual servant (which can serve in other various ministry roles) which has been appointed on a seven-member board as a legal and fiscal representative of the church. What does the Board of Trust do? Sign documents. Officers of the agency with the state and federal government. Staffing. Property management. 

The primary roles which are ordained are pastors, elders and deacons, according to scripture. In certain evangelical or protestant denominations, pastor would be a synonym with BISHOP.

What does it mean to be ordained? - to invest or appoint (as often by the laying on of hands in prayer) with ministry authority.

The word deacon is derived from the Greek Word diakonos which means “servant, messenger, minister” and originates with the seven appointed in Acts 6.

2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” 5 Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). 6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. 7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

1. As any ministry leader, we have been called by Jesus to SERVE. (Luke 22:26)
2. As we serve, the church has a foundation to GROW.
3. As the church grows, we transition people from DISCIPLES to APOSTLES.

All levels of leadership and ministry should have the end goal of being an APOSTLE.