Day 1

1 Timothy 5

17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching

1 Timothy 5 is a chapter on relationships. Let us look at the relationship with elders or leaders. How should such a relationship be in the church of Jesus Christ?

First, in verses 17 and 18, we read,

the elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is teaching and preaching.For the scripture says, do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. And the worker deserves his wages.

Please note several things. The first one is that there are elders whose work is not preaching and teaching, and other elders who do it. And that takes us back to the book of Acts where the Apostles, who were doing the preaching and teaching, were also managing the distribution of relief food. And people became chaotic. So, the apostles said no, let this work be divided. Let some leaders handle administrative work, and then who concentrate on preaching and teaching. And both are important. None of them is less important.

Can you imagine if the church did not have the elders in charge of administration, who we generally call deacons, and therefore offerings would be stolen and disappear? Subsequently then the members themselves felt they could not give anymore because they don”t trust the people handling the money.

That church will come to ground not because of the lack of preaching and teaching but because of poor administration. I once heard T.D. Jakes, when he came to Kenya, was talking about administration. He said sometimes the administration can delay the miracles. He talked about the five thousand people who were fed. And you can imagine five thousand hungry people. Without administration, they would never allow the miracle to happen. It must have taken them a long time for the administrators to put them in groups of fifty. Jesus said, put them in groups of fifty.

That slows them down. They are seated, and so they are in control. They can see the leader is only holding five fish; how can he feed five thousand? They must wonder. They are likely to fight over them. But once they are seated, you have controlled them. But it took a long time, and as long as they didn”t sit in groups of fifty, the miracle worker could not do the miracle.

Day 2

Ephesians 3:2

Surely you have heard about the administration of God”s grace that was given to me for you,

You need to ask yourselfof the miracles in your church that are not happening because the elders in charge of administration are not well organised. So, the atmosphere for the miracle that God wants to do is absent. Lack of administration, I repeat, could delay your miracle.

You need to be organised. You need to put people in order, then pray for the miracle. And I think that is essential. The message here is, you must respect both the elders in charge of administration and those in charge of preaching and teaching. Both of them are elders who direct the affairs of the church.

So, the affairs of the church are divided between preaching, teaching, and administrative affairs. And all of them matter. Like now, in the same chapter, we talk about widows and helping them. That”s administrative work. But preaching and teaching are also important. And we need to be aware that if we don”t have that preaching and teaching properly done, there will be a problem. That”s the main way the church grows and is discipled.

But without good administration, the people will just come and go. They will not stay, and the church will not grow in numbers or in depth. It can grow broadly, but it will not grow in depth. Because without preaching, how will depth actually happen?

Day 3

Ephesians 3:9

and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

So, in this relationship between the leaders and the church members, Paul”s instruction is that there must be respect for the teacher if you want to learn. The elders must be respected. All elders must be respected. But the word used by most of the versions is, elders must be honoured. That”s a principle of scripture.

And it just helps us to know that God does not want anarchy. Any congregation that runs with anarchy is not a biblical thing. Paul taught Timothy the importance of order. The importance of organising people is that it enhances ministry. The biblical requirement is that the church must be done in an orderly way. That”s why he says, everything must be done in order. So, anarchy is not an option.

You must have people directing the church. The word used here is directing; the affairs of the church must be well directed. For that to happen, let the elders who rule well be counted worthy. What does that add? It adds the word well. In other words, you can be a ruling elder, but you are not ruling well. And I think that it is important that you ask yourself, are you just an elder, or are you an elder leading and directing the affairs of the church well? So, it is not just enough to have a title. Do your job well.

Unfortunately, many people in churches want titles; elder so and so. Even after he is retired, he demands that you call him an elder. An elder is not a title; it is a task you are doing. So, when you stop doing the task, you really are not an elder. But people like titles. He will have the title, but he cannot sacrifice his business or his employment to do the work for which he got the title. And that can be quite a problem. Anyway, the thing required of us is that we must honour our leaders. The word used is elders but we are talking about leaders. anybody in leadership of the church can be called an elder. And this elder is an elder to rule. That means elders are to rule. But elders, as we have seen, are also to preach and teach.

Day 4

2 Thessalonians 3:9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.

Elders are these people who work hard on the word and doctrine for the congregation. So, which of the areas if you are a leader in church, you are involved in? For not every elder who rules will be an elder who teaches, no. You need to ask yourself, which responsibility do you have?

But the thing I find interesting is that the bible demands the church not to just respect but honour, and count them worthy of double honour. Why double? Remember, of these elders we are talking about, some are what we refer to deacons, departmental heads, or we call them elders, some we call them pastors. All of those are the people that we are calling elders here. In Paul’s time, people were not known for different titles.

Thus, even Pastors were also called elders. So, all of them are involved in some in directing the church. But the critical thing is, if they are doing it well, then they deserve double honour. And these are the people who labour in the word and doctrine. Those require even more honour because of their hard work. Do you actually respect your elders? Do they feel respected? Do they feel appreciated? That responsibility does not belong to the church leadership. It is for the church members. How can you call yourself a church member and not show respect to the people who are not paid and they work day and night to ensure the church runs well.

Timothy is being told, No, no. teach your congregation to respect elders. For it is critical for the survival of the church. And I think, here, double honour may mean you respect them, but if they are not employed elsewhere, also financially support them.

You remember the widows who were strong spiritually werealso said to be worthy of honour in verse three. And that honour also referred to you giving financial support to the widows. Even the elders, there is nothing wrong with paying them, especially if they are not working elsewhere. But the critical thing is, are they ruling well? But especially don”t forget those involved in preaching and teaching.

You know, some people think that the church should not support the pastors and staff. But if they are not working elsewhere, how do you expect them to eat? It is incorrect to condemn paying salaries to pastors and yet expect their full-time service. But also, if you are a small church, that means you will not be able to raise a lot of money. Number two, you are a few people, so he has enough time to work. He can take a full-time job and still be a pastor. But as the church grows, the pastor may resign his normal professional duties. If that happens, how do you say that they should not be paid?

Day 5

Titus 1:5

Appointing Elders Who Love What Is Good

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.

Some even condemn paid pastors . They say, no, no. Churches should not be paying pastors but instead they should use all the money to support the needy. That’s not what the scripture is teaching us. And you need to be aware of that and work in such a way that if you have a church organised that those who do not work elsewhere are supported. If the needy, truly needy, are worthy of honour, we were told that the widows who are needy, the church money must support them, then those who rule properly and teach in church are worthy of double honour. In other words, if the widows are to be honoured and supported financially, then pastors should receive double honour.

They should be supported even more. And I add myself that, if the pastor is in a small church and doesn”t want pay, that”s quite okay also. You know, almost every critic of note allows that the way the bible is talking, especially in the original language, signifies it like you are rewarding the pastor. It is like you are giving a stipend. Or maybe it is like an aid. The support you are giving. So, when we say he has double honour, it means giving him more than you are giving the widows. And I think that will be important. So, you must still respect them, give them honour, but I think also financially supporting them is also something we should be doing.

What is Paul really saying? I think he means it like this: if you can support, like I”ve told you, the widows who are in need using the finances that the church is raising, then the presbyters, the elders, should also be supported. Equity and scriptural principles suggest that they should be remunerated in proportion to their usefulness. They are useful to the church, and they should be supported that way. Now you need to ask yourself, is that true of your church? From there, Paul goes on to give an example, I think taking it from animals, saying, the principle of those who serve God”s purpose should be paid is taken from oxen.

Look at what Paul is quoting in Deuteronomy 25:4. But this is also repeated in Luke 10:7, which of course, most likely was already in print by then. But, we can also look at 1 Corinthians 9:11 for the same message. If one saw spiritual things such as labour in the word and doctrines, which is what these elders are doing, then it is entirely right for them to reap material benefits from among the people they are serving. They do spiritual work, and in the meanwhile, the other people are doing the physical work that is giving them an income. They should share the income they are getting with the people who spend their time preparing sermons and giving sermons. I think it is the same message we get in Galatians 6:6, where Paul writes,

let him that is taught by the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

So, the emphasis here is, it is right for church finances that are available to be applied not only to help the needy but also to help the people who put their time in preaching and teaching the people of God. And the people of God should be happy to ensure that part of their salary, part of their income, does not just go to look after their needs. They should be aware that they have the time to work and do their business. The elder pastor is fully involved in the church, either preaching, teaching, supporting the spiritually weak, or visiting others.

If he is going to do that full time, Paul is teaching, we must take that responsibility as a church and support them. That would be a critical thing. And I think that”s also the message of Galatians 6:6. Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Then in Philippians 4:17, Paul says that such giving abounds to the account of the giver. Sharing of the reward of the spiritual ministry is supported. Here, there is an implication that as you support the work of God through a particular person, as God is happy with the person who is doing the work, God will also be happy with your support. So, you are going to be blessed by God. I don”t like the notion that when you give money to a particular person, you are tapping into him. No, no. It is God he is serving, and you are supporting God’s . The blessing will not come from the man of God but the owner of the work.So you cannot tap his blessings. You are receiving your own blessings directly from God, who you are giving the money to, although his worker uses it. And that is what Paul is saying in Philippians 4:17, that as you support, as you do whatever to the person, the blessing abounds to the account of the giver. Supporting a pastor, God can see you are involved in his work. So, as he is blessing the pastor for the work he is doing, he will also bless you. That counts as your involvement in the ministry. And in the process, I am sharing with you whatever God is rewarding the people who serve him. Although I was not a pastor, I was only involved in helping God’s workers. It is also important to note what the scripture says, and repeats in Hebrews, that we are to work together.

Day 6

1 Thessalonians 2:9

Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

Leaders and the led must support the work of God. Some will support the work by being in the church full-time time others will give their own offering. Remember the word here is not tithe. It is giving and supporting according to your ability and willingness because God loves a cheerful giver. I”m being careful with this message because Paul nowhere discourages from offering free services. He is not saying you cannot be a pastor without pay. It is only that he is encouraging the beneficiaries to offer help. But somebody who is a pastor can be rich. I speak a lot in universities, and when I can see the struggles, the parents are having and the students are having to even have school fees, to expect them to even take their little money to support my transport doesn”t look right. But some preachers need that support to reach the university.

So, as I am working, assume that part of my income is to pay for transport when I am going to speak to a university Christian Union. So, I don”t take their money, not because I”m rich, but because I”ve already budgeted for it from my income. So, there is nothing wrong with doing God”s ministry without any support. That”s what Paul did. Although for others he recommends we support them, for him he said no, no. I don”t need your support. These hands of mine, he was telling the Ephesians, have done enough to support myself. So, I think it is important to understand that if you are going to grow God”s work, we must kill the idea that everybody who does any church work must be paid.

Day 7

1 Timothy 5

18 For Scripture says, ‘”Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,'”[a] and ‘”The worker deserves his wages.'”[b] 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses

It is only those who need to be paid who will be paid. And you can see especially those who are teaching need it because they do it full-time. Not just anybody who does anything in the church is to receive an income. If we were to do that, then the church can”t grow because the money given to the church to reach outsiders will not be there. Money to help with outreach is critical. Money to support the community so that they can come to know the Lord is needed. So, if you use all your money on yourself, you give it and eat it, how will we go for outreach?

How will the unreached people be reached? Because you cannot expect an unreached people group who don”t even want to be reached to have finances to support the missionaries. It is the church that is supposed to set aside money and send the members to the next village where the gospel has not been reached. And when planting new church, this old church must continue to support. How will that happen when everybody in the mother church wants to be paid? I think it”s a direction we are going today, and that is terrible, where even the choir needs to be paid, the pianist needs to be paid. These are people who only appear to practice maybe three hours of practice and ten minutes of singing a week. What do you do with the rest of your time if not earning your daily bread? Can that be what you do to give you an income? If it is, why don”t you want to tithe part of your time to church activities without pay?

In other words, you are giving that time that you are practising to God as a tithe, as your way of supporting God’s work. So, you don”t just give money, you give time. If you are paid, then you haven”t given the time.

So, I think it is important to have a balance on the issue. We should not reach a level where we say we don”t want to pay church workers who have no other work, but also, we should not reach a place where we cannot work unless we are paid. That is not the example we have in the New Testament.

And we need to tell ourselves and train our children that giving time, giving money, is all giving, and it honours God. And he sayssays when you do that, even as he is blessing the ones that are working full time, you that is supporting them, will also be blessed. And I think that”s an important promise that we need to remember. So, what are you doing that you are not being paid that is extending God”s kingdom? Do you expect to be paid for everything to extend God”s kingdom that you do? Then there is a problem in your teaching and in your discipleship, and the way you were brought up. You need to be aware that we work for God as he calls us to work, but not in every instance do we need the church to pay us.