Part 5: Biblical Leadership - The Stewardship of the Mystery

A. What does an elder look like?
5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left
unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be
blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to
the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s
household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not
given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must
be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy
and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been
taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who
oppose it. (Tt 1:5–9 NIV)
21 “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God,
men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them
as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. (Ex 18:21 NASB95)

A. I Corinthians 3-4 “The mind of Christ”
1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but
as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid
food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are
still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not
worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow
Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 5 What,
after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to
believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.
6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So
neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God,
who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one
purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we
are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 By the
grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else
is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any
foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone
builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13
their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will
be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If
what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up,
the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one
escaping through the flames. 16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s
temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s
temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you
together are that temple… 4:1 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as
servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I
care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even
judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is
the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time;
wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and
will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise
from God. 6 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and
Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying,
“Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a
follower of one of us over against the other. 7 For who makes you different from
anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it,
why do you boast as though you did not? 8 (Apparently, how their boasting is
articulated:) Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You
have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun
to reign so that we also might reign with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has
put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to
die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels
as well as to human beings. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally
treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are
cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are
slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the
garbage of the world—right up to this moment. 14 I am writing this not to shame
you but to warn you as my dear children. 15 Even if you had ten thousand
guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became
your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this
reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the
Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what
I teach everywhere in every church (1 Co 3–4:17 NIV)
B. Shepherding and prayer
27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger
and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such external
things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. 29 Who is
weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? (2
Cor 11:27-29 NASB)
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying
for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through
all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, (Col 1:9 NIV)
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers. (Eph 1:15–16 NIV)
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. 2 We always thank God for all
of you and continually mention you in our prayers. (1 Th 1:1–2 NIV)
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you
worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every
desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. (2 Th 1:11 NIV)
9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness
how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now
at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. (Ro 1:9–10
NIV)
12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He
is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God,
mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and
for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. (Col 4:12–13 NIV)