Foundations of Christian Leadership, Mentor's Guide, MG07

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F O U N D A T I O N S O F C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

In the questions below you will find the focus is upon mastering the data and the facts associated with the claims made in the first video segment. In emphasizing the development of the concept of the bishop in the Church, it is important again to emphasize the significance of character in the appointment of leaders to positions of authority. The focus was upon the spiritual fitness and readiness of the leader, not on structure or lording over the saints of God. P. H. Towner makes this point on a comment regarding the nature of leadership in the Pastoral Epistles: The degree to which the Pastoral Epistles focus on church structure and the degree to which this differs from the community life reflected in earlier Pauline correspondence have been overemphasized by some writers. 2 Timothy does not discuss the subject. Two sections in 1 Timothy (3.1–13; 5.17–25) and one in Titus (1.5–9) address the issue of church leadership. The nomenclature of leadership includes overseer/bishop (Gk. episkopos ), deacon/deaconess (Gk. diakonos ) and elder (Gk. presbyteros in 1 Tim. 5; cf. 4.14), but both the language (Phil. 1.1; Rom. 16.1) and the phenomenon of authoritative church leadership (e.g. Rom. 12.8; 1 Cor. 6.2–6; 12.28; 1 Thess. 5.12; Phil. 4.3) are found in earlier letters, and little about the actual structure of the church in Ephesus is evident from 1 Timothy. The stress is on the character that such leaders should have [emphasis mine]; gifts recede into the background (1 Tim. 3.2, 4; Titus 1.9). In the case of Ephesus, the importance of character is seen against the background of the apostasy of some leaders from an already existing church, while in Crete the church is newly planted and in need of leaders (cf. Acts 14.23).

4 Page 160 Student Questions and Response

~ P. H. Towner. “The Pastoral Epistles.” The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology . T. D. Alexander, ed. (electronic ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001.

Help the students understand this fundamental difference in understanding the nature of the Christian exercise of authority, oversight, and guardianship as you answer the questions o on the first segment.

The following case studies are designed to help your students learn to apply the principles covered in this module. The ability to discern and unravel the kinds of issues and concerns that are so pressing in society today regarding authority,

5 Page 180 Case Studies