Morning Moments

The following is a brief look at John Calvin’s Ordination Service 07/11/04. This should speak to us about how we have compromised and accepted so much less than God has for us when we take Him at His Word -

"Pioneer Paul, a leader in church planting and church growth writes to young Timothy who seemed a bit shy, concerning the selection of men who are to lead the Church in equipping the saints for the work of the ministry.

We who lead have the grave responsibility of practicing what we preach; of behaving the truth we say we believe. That is the standard God has set. It is not one of perfection, but rather one of process toward perfection.

Think of it this way if you will…every body must have a head, even if the body is not completely functional; every team must have a coach, even if the team is often defeated; every business must have a manager, even though the business may struggle from time to time. In each scenario, all have a function. Christians are called sheep in the Scripture and sheep need a shepherd. As Jesus is the Shepherd of the soul, He has gifted leaders to shepherd the flock of sheep on earth on the way to heaven. Paul is inspired of God to to show us what the desire and deportment of the men of God to lead and feed and protect and provide for the church. Consider those with me for a moment –

“This is a faithful saying, ‘if a man desires the office of a bishop he desires a good work.’”

“A bishop then must be blameless [irrebukable, unreproachable, not to be seized], the husband of one wife [literally a “one or first woman husband or man], vigilant [circumspect, watchful, clear thinking], sober [safe or sound minded, terperate, self- controlled in thinking and desires], of good behavior [modest and orderly], given to hospitality [a fondness of guests; lack of fear of stangers], apt to teach [capable of teaching and instructing – not just telling what to do but teaching how to do it], not given to wine [Scriptural integrity demands that this be understood as not lingering], no striker [not engaged in physical fighting. Realizing that the battle is not with flesh and blood], not greedy of filthy lucre [not eager for base gain – profit at another’s expense – love of money or mannon], but patient [the word here is gentle or mild], not a brawler [not contentious], not covetouse [not lusting after things – content with such as he has]