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Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

How to Confront Leaders: Lessons from 1 Timothy 5

Tonight we're going to have a little study, a Bible study, how to and not to confront a Christian leader.

How many of you have ever heard, how many of you have ever thought that you've heard a Christian leader that needs to be confronted?

How many of you have ever heard a Christian that needs to be confronted?

How many of you think people enjoy confrontation?

How many of you here just enjoy confrontation?

Confrontation, not fomentations, Confrontations.

Confrontation is where you confront somebody for something maybe that you think they're doing that's wrong.

Or maybe they say a word that you don't know.

So you confront them and you say, what does that mean?

I thought you were confronting me, okay, yeah.

So how to or not to confront a Christian leader?

Let's pray together before we get into this interesting message.

Father in heaven, thank you today for the opportunity we have to study your Word.

We ask a blessing on us as we open your blessed Word.

You've already blessed it, you've kept it, you've provided it.

It is profitable for reproof and correction and instruction and righteousness that we might be thoroughly equipped as you would have us to be.

So bless us tonight as we study, in Christ's name, amen.

I might say I'm excited about tomorrow before I get started tonight.

We're gonna be having some guests with us that are in 1 of our clinical programs, and several of them have made decisions to follow Christ, and there's going to be a baptism tomorrow, so it's going to be a high day.

And several of them have no church family where they are, so we're going to be asking you whether or not you would like them to join this church family, and until their name can be placed wherever they end up in the world.

How to and not to confront, or not to confront a Christian leader.

Our study tonight will come from the book of Timothy.

And Paul, in speaking of Timothy, had this to say.

For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere in every church." So when you look at the book of Timothy, which is where we're gonna look tonight.

When you look in the book of 1 Timothy, you actually are looking at a manual, a church manual, that was to be used everywhere.

And Paul said, read this manual everywhere.

Now it's interesting, this particular book, First Timothy, has caused a lot of discussion in the Christian church, especially recently.

Or is it something that's supposed to be heard and understood and applied everywhere?

And in Corinthians, Paul says, no, it's supposed to be applied everywhere.

It's not just for that time and that culture or that particular point in history, but it's for all time.

So that's why we look at Timothy, and we're gonna look at 1 Timothy 5, 17 through 24.

We're at 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 17 through 24.

So these passages are specifically focused on leadership to those who are leading.

Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor.

So let the elders who rule, those who stand in leadership capacities, be counted or thought worthy of double honor.

So our elder tonight of the church was Tom Canemata.

Raise your hand if you think well of Tom.

If you don't think well of Tom, don't raise your hand.

And so those who stand in a leadership capacity, they should be thought worthy of double honor.

How do you think that Tom should receive not just honor, but a double honor?

He's a very resourceful leader and well thought of.

And this says, thought worthy of double honoree.

We get the idea of the word honorarium, strengthened to pay a price, money paid.

He gave a talk, and he got an honorarium.

So actually, someone that serves well should be worthy of honor, but that's actually financial honor.

Sometimes when I go speak places, they'll give me an honorarium.

Sometimes I take it and sometimes I don't.

And sometimes I take it and give it right back because it's my job to speak.

I speak all the time, and if I'm speaking for my congregation, you don't have to pay me every time I get up and give me an honorarium.

I know you were thinking, Maybe we should give him an honorarium tonight, but maybe not.

Because it says next, especially those who labor, that is to work hard, fill fatigue, in word and doctrine.

There are those that are just in a general leadership capacity and they're worthy of double honor.

And those who labor in word and doctrine.

Do you think it's hard to study God's Word?

Do you think it's hard to figure out what it's saying?

You just asked my wife how much time that takes.

For the scripture says, you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain, and the labor is worthy of his wages.

So in other words, a person that's working hard, studying the Word to prepare and to teach others and to lead others.

It's like an ox who's working and as he works he's eating some grain.

My wife, you know, gives me a sandwich while I'm working.

Or today it was a piece of pizza and I was working on this message and putting it in keynote.

So 2 types of leaders, those who rule, double honor.

Those who labor in word and doctrine, even higher honor.

Now does this mean that they have to take the pay that they actually should get?

Paul in 1st Corinthians 9, verse 8 through 16, he actually quotes this idea that an ox should be able to graze and whatnot, but then he says, I have not used this right.

I have used none of these things." So in fact, even though he could have been paid for his work in the gospel, he decided not to.

Because he realized that if he took money, he could be criticized concerning money.

And he wanted to say, look, I'm paying my own way.

I actually am paying for the privilege to share the gospel with you.

I just was talking to a leader out east, it actually was Elder Bob Falkenberg, and he is the president of the Southern New England Conference.

And they've decided that they're going to be training, I think it was 50, bivocational pastors.

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How to Confront Leaders: Lessons from 1 Timothy 5

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