The Biblical Qualifications of Church Leaders: The 26 Mandatory Biblical Requirements for Church Pastors, Elders, and Bishops Based on 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1

By Charlie Avila

The twenty-six biblical qualifications for church elders/bishops found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are a supernatural revelation given to the apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit. It is such a revealing study into God's holiness and standards. The Lord really loves His church, and He requires that only well-qualified believers be appointed and placed in leadership positions. It is a serious error to put people in as elders, pastors, and bishops who are not qualified. Regularly, I see local churches put people in who should never be a church leader. It opens the door to accusations and the devil's traps. Twice, Paul said that if you put unqualified people in as elders, the devil will get into your church (1 Timothy 3:6-7). Having said that, this book was not written to create impossible standards that no one can meet. Paul said that elders and bishops (overseers) must be blameless , not sinless . If the requirement was "sinless," then none of us would qualify. Only the Lord Jesus Christ is sinless. One of the main motivations I had for writing this book was to show the three main areas of evaluation of a potential elder's life. The criterion for selected leaders is absolutely critical to the life and well-being of any church or ministry. Nineteen of the qualifications involve the person's CHARACTER; five deal with his FAMILY (wife and children); and only two with his MINISTRY (abilities). I can't emphasize how important this is. Many times, pastors and churches appoint people based on ministry ability and gifting only, but if a potential candidate has certain character flaws and problems with his wife and children, it doesn't really matter how well he can teach. As one commentator writes, "No intellectual power or pulpit brilliancy can atone for the lack of solid Christian virtues and a blameless life." A word about nomenclature. More than 95% of today's church leaders (elders/pastors/teachers) are men. Rather than write he/she or "he or she" throughout the book, I've written it from a male perspective. Both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 assume that the local church leaders are men because Paul writes about the elder's "wife" and " his children." He'll also use the pronoun, "he," seven times when describing qualifications. I titled this book, " The Biblical Qualifications of CHURCH LEADERS ." There are so many titles that different churches, denominations, fellowships, and ministry associations use for their ministers. A bishop in one group is a pastor in another; an elder in one church is an overseer in another. All the chapter titles begin with "The Church Leader..." and then lists the qualification. So, whenever I write about a "church leader" in this book, I'm referring to the "elders" and "bishops" of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The preferred title in the book of Acts and the epistles is "elder," so most of my writing uses that name. Interestingly, the main leader at most of our local churches is known as "pastor;" and yet, "pastor" is never mentioned in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus). But, "elders," "bishops," and even "deacons" are mentioned eleven times by name. Many churches appoint people as "deacons" and they are really the "elders." However, a deacon (diakonos) is a servant (" serve as deacons" and "those who have served well as deacons" - 1 Timothy 3:10, 13). A "diakonos" was someone "who ran errands." On the other hand, an elder/bishop is one who teaches Scripture. This book is not about deacons, but about elders. The book includes study questions and a bibliography in the back for further study in small groups or individually. May the Lord give you insight, revelation, and wisdom as you study this book. May all the churches and ministries in the body of Christ have qualified people in positions of leadership.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BW2RY721
• ISBN13: 9798614088668
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 196 Pages
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"