Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

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. 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. 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. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 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.

• Titus 1:5-9

“There are some who investigate spiritual precepts with cunning care. but what they penetrate with their understanding, they trample on in their lives. They teach immediately things which they have learnt by study, but not by putting into practice. That which they preach in words they discredit by their behaviour. (Pastoral Rule 1.2)
“The leader should always be pure in thought inasmuch as no impurity ought to pollute him who has undertaken the office of wiping away the stains of pollution in the hearts of others. (Pastoral Rule 2.2)
“The leader should be a near neighbour to everyone in sympathy. and yet exalted above all in contemplation. … The same eye of the heart, which in his elevation he lifts to die invisible. He bends in his compassion upon the secrets of those who are subject to infirmity. (Pastoral Rule 2.5)
“Supreme rule is properly ordered when he who presides lords it over vices rather than over his brethren.  Gentleness is to be mingled with severity and a sort of compound made of both. Subjects should be neither aggravated by too much harshness nor relaxed by too much kindness. (Pastoral Rule 2.6)”

• Tony Lane, A Concise History of Christian Thought

Pope Gregory I, or Saint Gregory the Great (540-604) was the great-great grandson of Pope Felix III.  Among his accomplishments was a list of rules for pastor, the Pastoral Rules.

In the introduction to the rules, he says how many church leaders say the right things, but their actions do not reflect the words that they say.

But then, he gets down to the actual rules.  In the second chapter, we see the rules above 2.2, 2.5, and 2.6.  These are wonderful rules to be our guide, but in essence, we can find these “rules” in the writings of Paul to Titus and Timothy.  Those three letters have a lot of the same type of advice.

Frankly, in reading the requirements to be an elder in the Pauline Epistles, I find myself coming up short.  When I was most recently nominated as a ruling elder, the pastor said my reluctance meant that I was humble enough to take on the challenge.

We can too easily avoid church leadership by taking that route.  I do not live up to the Biblical requirements, so do not pick me.  What happens then is the totally unqualified person who is so egotistical that, if he ever read the requirements, felt he lived up to them all.  I say this in general, as there are godly people on these boards.  Yet, some of the ones who I fought against while serving are still there as well.

But we should support our leaders.  They have a hard job.  They have nearly impossible standards to live up to.  They need our prayers.

And they might need to read Pope Gregory I rules for pastors.  We need good reminders like his rules.  We all need to realize that we are servants to those around us and we should humbly serve.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.