“A
bishop then must be…sober-minded…” (1 Timothy 3:2 NKJV)
Those who would shepherd God’s flock must have the proper
mindset. They must think straight. Their character develops out of Biblical
convictions and those convictions are formed from being immersed in the study
of God’s Word and commitment to live accordingly. This is being “sober-minded.”
Note that the qualifications do not mention seminary training or
possession of any particular spiritual gifts.
Instead they are character
qualifications. Spiritual leaders are to
be the kind of person that Christian teaching is intended to produce. [1]
The fact is that
seminary is intended to be a tool to help develop the quality of being, “sober-minded.” It is not, however, a guarantee that will be
the result, and neither does the absence of such formal education prohibit the
preacher’s growth in Biblical thinking. Irrespective of a Master of Divinity or such
degree, there must be a determined choice for the pastor to saturate His mind
and surrender His will to lessons learned from Scripture. He must be mastered by Divinity!
There is much that
can be gleaned from the experiences of our elders—whether it is a professor in
seminary or an old deacon in our church family.
The Holy Spirit will teach us in the classroom of life if we will
listen. If we won’t learn, we cannot
lead.
Jesus promises that
the truth will set us free. Our minds,
constrained by Biblical conviction, actually channel the pastor’s energy in a
liberating usefulness to be all God designed us to be.
The potential God works into us can be unleashed through
thinking Christianly and behaving accordingly.
A
PRAYER
Father of
Truth,
Everything
I need to know, Your Spirit will teach me.
You have given us the mind of Christ.
What promise I find in those words!
But I must listen to Your voice and learn Your ways. I cannot absorb the message until I am
willing to apply it. To think as the
natural man is to be degenerate in understanding and I confess it is so easy to
succumb to that. Please help me! The wisdom of this world sounds so right and
is so appealing. Yet, it is warped! But, Lord when I hear it shouted from so many
and so loudly, I mourn how enticing it is to me. God, put my head on straight! Drive me continually to Your Word for
answers!
In the
name of the Wonderful Counselor,
Amen.
[1] Richards,
L. O. (1991). The Bible reader’s companion
(electronic ed., p. 835). Wheaton :
Victor Books.
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