The Work and Qualifications of Pastors

EASTON BAPTIST CHURCH 

CLEAN TRANSCRIPT 

The Work and Qualifications of Pastors 

Pastor Jake Reid | November 11, 2026 

Primary Scripture: Galatians 4:19; 1 Timothy 3:1–7 

[00:00:00] but either way, God puts in his church what it takes to build the church up. Okay? So when we're, when we're looking at these different, aspects of it, you gotta understand any person can twist and distort what God intended for good, okay? that can happen in every single arena: home, the church, everywhere. 

You can take what God meant for good, and you can turn it in a different way and it not accomplish that good. Our-- one of the goals for studying the scriptures is that we do learn and understand what God does want so that we can all live according to it. [00:01:00] so we've been working our way through this, and, we looked at what the apostles were. 

We looked at that New Testament, gift for the prophets. We looked the first week at this at the, idea of the gift of teaching, that there's a divine enablement that God gives individuals in the church so that they, in various settings and to various groups, can unpack the truth. They can explain it. 

last week we began what I wanna jump right into here, and move beyond a skill or enablement to teach to what the Bible talks about with the calling, to be a pastor, an elder, a bishop, a shepherd in the New Testament, what that means and how God put that in the church for a clear reason. 

And I wanna, I wanna show that to you. So turn to Galatians chapter four, would you? Galatians 4, I wanna just read you one verse because [00:02:00] this verse came across it years ago, and I always just come back to it because it just seems to sum up so well what, the work is all about for all of us, okay? 

It gives-- It sets the-- sets our aim, our eyes on the right target, for ourselves, but it helps us understand what God's trying to accomplish. Galatians is a book written to, a church that was led as-- churches that were led astray to a different gospel. Paul wrote this to correct them and get them back connected in the right source. 

And then he says in verse number nineteen, he says, "My little children." So why call them my little children? Because these are people that Paul would have led to the Lord himself. His visit to that area is where they came to hear about Jesus Christ for the first time. He led these people to the Lord. 

So these are people that he loves. He's brought them along, he brought them to Christ, and he's built them up in Christ. They've kinda s- gone a different direction. Now he's trying to bring them back. So he says, "My [00:03:00] little children, whom I travail in birth again." In other words, I am in the action of trying to bring you back to Christ. 

I'm working at it. I'm, I'm doing all I can to get you where you need to be. And then he sums it up, where do they need to be? "Until Christ be formed in you." Okay? You can take that phrase and mark it, circle it, highlight it however you do. Because what is the Christian life in its big picture all about? The life, character... 

life and character of Christ being formed in us. That's what it's all about. So how I think, how I respond, what I do, all of that is following after the pattern of Christ. So when Paul-- If you were to say, "All right, Paul, when you pastor a church or when you plant a church, like, what is your intention for those people? 

Like, do you want them to have this focus or be focused on [00:04:00] that? Do you want them to have this ministry? You want them to do this? Like, what-- Paul, what do you really want these people to do?" I think Paul would very clearly say right here in this verse, "My hope, what I'm setting out to do, is so that the people that come to Christ and attach themselves to the church are progressing in Christ likeness," okay? 

That they're more and more like Christ because they're exposed to the Word, and the Spirit is working on their life, correcting, whittling off what doesn't need to be there, so the good can grow back in its place. This is, I think, one of the clearest explanations, shortest, most succinct way you can say, why did God put pastors in the church? 

Why does he do that? So that the body can come along in Christ likeness. That's one of the most direct, clear ways. And again, has that been abused [00:05:00] greatly? Absolutely. Has that fallen way short? Absolutely. But what we can't get in our minds and get stuck on is, well, so often it doesn't line up with what it needs to be, that means everything is bad. 

No. As it comes back to the Word and what Christ gives us there, it's a good, healthy thing, but it's a constant making sure that we are putting ourselves in the Word, and we're living it out, and we're trying to follow it so that Christ is formed in us. Last week I introduced this to you, and across the New Testament there are three names attached to one group of individuals in the church. 

They're called elders, and that speaks of the character or spiritual maturity of the individual. then the word bishop or overseer is used, and that speaks of the, their kind of oversight in the church, how they are to lead, and love, and care for the body. the other word [00:06:00] is, pastor-shepherd. 

You see all three of those words referring to the same group of people. We looked at that in Acts chapter 20 last week, and we looked at it again in Ephesians chapter 4 so three different words referring to one individual group in the church. Okay? Now, if you got the handout, there's a number of passages that you can go to. 

Acts 20 has a lot of information on this. 1 Peter 5, Titus 1, and Ephesians 4. I- I-- We covered some of those things last week, but in those, if you, if you take some time with this, that handout, in the next couple days, take some time with it and you'll see those words are used, those ideas are used as it relates to the work of the ministry. 

Now, a little bit about this individual. you could sum it up by saying this: this pastor-teacher that God gave to the church is a spiritually mature man entrusted by the Holy Spirit with watchful care of Christ's flock. [00:07:00] Again, whose flock is it? Christ's. Christ's. So you're not mine. I'm, I'm responsible, but you don't belong to me. 

You belong to the Lord, and I have a responsibility to help you come along in maturing in Christ. But that's important because when the pastor thinks that it's his church, or the pastors think it's their church, well, then they start preying on people, and that's not, you know, that's not the pattern of Christ. 

but he cares for Christ's flock by feeding, guiding, guarding, them with the Word. Okay? So the preeminent responsibility that the pastors of this church have is to build you up in the Word, to give you the truth so that you can digest it, apply it, and live it. But [00:08:00] also, they are to be the examples of Christlikeness for you to follow And that's something I think that gets lost in it because it becomes so much about, you know, performing these duties or making sure the tasks are cared for and all that. 

But if a pastor's doing what they ought to do, their life should-- you should be able to look at the pastor's life and say, "That person, they're not perfect. Not perfect, okay? Not perfect. But that person's life is an example that I should follow in growing in Christlikeness." Okay? That's the biblical pattern, and I, and I'll show you more of that. 

Okay? Now, some things about the work that the pastor must do. I've got the references here in the notes. I'll, I'll probably allude-- I'll allude to some of these. We may turn to a couple of them, but some of these we've kinda touched on already a little bit. So I'm gonna [00:09:00] just kinda hit some of those and ones where I think we need to dig a little more, we'll do that. 

So what's the first work that the pastor has to do? I think Acts 20:28 makes it pretty clear: to guard themselves. Okay? you know that person that's always trying to fix you first and themselves later? You know a person that's always about like, "You need to do this, you need to do that," but they really don't pay much attention to themselves? 

That's not what the New Testament pattern is for the church. It's just not. The pastors of the church must guard themselves. So what does that mean? It means they have to be an example. They have to be an example of what it looks like to put self to death and follow Christ. They have to be the example of that. 

Why? Because that's what we're all, as believers, to be doing. That's why Jesus, when he gave the ex- explanation of what it meant to follow him, he said, "If you're gonna follow me, you have to take up your cross [00:10:00] daily." What does that mean? It means you have to put the carnal flesh to death every single day. 

But a pastor who's just indulging in the flesh is an oxymoron com- to the scriptures. Now, again, we're not talking about perfection here. And in any way you could look at my life or anybody's life and you say, "Well, that's really... I mean, do you really have to, you know, do you really need to do that?" A- again, this is not about perfection. 

It's not about perfection. But there should be a pattern in this individual's life where it is clear that they prioritize their own walk with Christ above all else, and they are willing to put themselves to death, just like you are called to do, so that their walk with Christ can flourish. That's just absolutely true. 

So they have to, watch themself. They have to, guard their life and carnality [00:11:00] creeping in. They have to stay in true, right doctrine, guard their motives, all that type of thing. they're called to feed the flock, build you up in the Word, to teach it, and to teach it in a way so that you can get it, right? 

Not just like some academic lecture all the time that's just putting a couple ideas out there, but, like, genuinely walking you through the Word so that you can grasp the truth for yourself. they are to guard you. They are to be a protection for you in the church. When something is harmful that's coming in, they have to be able to say, "Hey, no." 

They have to be able to say, "That's not true. That needs to be dealt with." And sometimes that means that the pastor may have to say something that maybe steps on a toe or two, but that's fine because that's what the Word should be doing to the pastor. The problem is if the pastor isn't letting his toes get stepped on by the Lord, [00:12:00] then he's trying to tell everybody else what they need to do, it just becomes this big mess. 

The pastor takes the Word and lovingly brings individuals along. Th- look, folks, this is what, of all these years that God has given around here and what He's continued, like, this is the, this is the work. This is why, as a church family, the rallying cry is we wanna be a place where the Bible's taught and people are loved. 

Like, that's, that's why, because we can't die on every hill, and I can't be the Holy Spirit for believers, and I don't wanna try to be that. But I do want to teach you the Word so that you can rightly understand it and make a application in the light of the Holy Spirit. And in doing so, you're growing in Christ-likeness. 

They're supposed to model this by example. They make the teachings of Christ visible for you. Their lives should do that. they care [00:13:00] and know and pray and help the people in the church. That's James 5. That they are a group of, it says they're the elders in the church, will come and pray, and the idea there is they are, they live life with you. 

They're, they're ex- accessible to you, and you can understand, and they can understand you. And ultimately, Ephesians 4, this is probably a passage we'll spend some more time in later, they exist to prepare the body to serve and grow in Christ-likeness. Now, I wanna come to spend some time in this, and I don't know how far we'll get with this tonight, but I want you to, if you'll turn to 1 Timothy chapter 3 There are, two passages in the New Testament that lay out the qualifications for the pastors. 

Okay? Once here in First Timothy chapter three, we're gonna look at that some tonight. The second one is in Titus, and we'll look at that one, whether we get to it [00:14:00] tonight or not, I don't know. But, so what's the qualification? In other words, nope, not just anybody can- Somebody may want the position of being a pastor, okay? 

They may want it But Paul gives these instructions because it's not just a position to seek after. You know, it's not like a s- a kid that says, "Oh man, I really wanna do that job." Yes. It is... There are qualifications that go with it. So like if you've ever applied for a job, and when you apply for the job, there's a job description, it has certain qualifications for that position. 

and do I meet those qualifications or not? In a similar way, you could say that these are that, but it's broader because this isn't some just job to apply for. Mm-hmm. This is a calling that God places on an individual's life to [00:15:00] serve him in his church to build up the believers. Remember I said the number one requirement for the pastor is that they be Christ-like. 

Mm-hmm. Okay? So as we look through what's here in, First Timothy 3:1-7, there are a list of things that no human being outside of Christ has ever fulfilled- Yes... okay? in their totality. So again, this isn't about perfection because if it was about perfection, nobody outside of Jesus would be the pastor of the local church, okay? 

It's not about perfection. But what this does point us to is not a perfect man, but a devoted follower of Christ whose life is growing in Christ-likeness. Again, you can look at anybody and you can, you can really examine them and it won't take long to see, yeah, that person trips up there, that person trips up there.[00:16:00] 

But these qualifications exist as a way to illustrate the type of life that should be true of those that serve in the position of pastor. Okay? Now, starting verse number one, Paul writes to Timothy. Now, let just give some context. Why write this to Timothy? Well, Paul is writing to Timothy because he sent Timothy to go start churches, and in starting those churches, Timothy wasn't to be the only pastor in those churches that he would start. 

Timothy was to preach the gospel and bring people along in the faith, and then put other pastors to come alongside and serve together so there's a team, there's a group involved in this. So in a very practical way, Paul gives these instructions regarding the character and the quality of these pastors that he's looking for. 

So Timothy, as he is teaching people and bringing along the Lord, [00:17:00] can be looking in the group and say, "Hey, this person would fit. This person, their lives are representing what is true here." So in a sense, there's very clear instruction given. It's almost like- Timothy, go looking for this. And when you find it, you find an individual that God can use in this role. 

Okay? So what does it sound like? Let's start in verse number one. I'm, I'll read it all the way through, so one to seven is, on the pastor. So here we go. Paul writes, "This is a true saying. If a man desires the office of a bishop..." Now, one thing. Is that one of our words? Mm-hmm. Right? We saw pastor, bishop, and elder, right? 

All three referring to the same group. So that's one of our words. So we're know, we know what we're talking about, the pastor role in the New Testament church. He says, "If the man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work." And it is a good work. It's the best work. I wouldn't wanna do... I have done other things, but I don't wanna do anything other than what God's given me to do here. 

I'm thankful [00:18:00] that God's given me the opportunity to live life with you and others and to help bring you along, because you're also helping me come along, and then we're working together in this. He said it's a good work. Then he says this: "A bishop then must be blameless." All right, when you think blameless, what is he talking about? 

Well, he's not talking about sinless, okay? Because again, no human would qualify. But what he is talking about, the word means that no valid charge can be laid against him. So in other words, s- you're not going to have some accusation that can be thrown against that individual that is gonna stick. Mm. Some, like, gross immorality, some pattern of sin. 

they're doing the work of keeping themselves where they need to be with the Lord. so in other words, you could say it like this: his life doesn't character it, does not contradict Christ. Mm-hmm. His life doesn't contradict Christ. It may [00:19:00] not be perfect with Christ, and it's not gonna be. But it's in harmony with him. 

It's coming along, okay? All right. So is, he must be blameless. And then he must be a husband of one wife. Okay, there's a few different interpretations that people have put on that. one is polygamy was so prevalent in that day, that if there was gonna be an elder in the church, that individual needed to, be a one-woman man. 

Okay? Okay. And I would say, yes, that's true. You know? the pastor should be a one-woman man. Absolutely, that's true. there's other teaching on that that comes back to this idea that, well, if a man's been divorced, then he would be disqualified from serving as a pastor. we'll get into these things as we walk through that. 

I'm just planting the seed that those two things are there. I think when you put the culture around this whole thing, what's, what's he driving at that we can put our teeth in tonight? Mm. faithfulness [00:20:00] Faithfulness. Like, there's no doubt who that man belongs to. He belongs to his wife. he's devoted to her, he's devoted to his family. 

he's not chasing anything else. frankly, it, I think if we just take very honestly and very straightforward, the best mentality men, and for all of us, is love other, all the ladies in the church, absolutely, but you gotta keep this in your mind, every other woman is a strange woman other than your wife. 

Your wife is your wife, and that's it. And everybody else is a strange woman. It doesn't mean anything wrong about that person, it just means she don't belong to you, and you have one, and God gave you that one. And love her, and live with her, and grow with her, and serve with her all your life. Okay? The pastor and his life and his relationship with his wife should exemplify- Right 

what marriage is intended to be. Right. A picture of Christ [00:21:00] and his church. Perfect? No. And it ain't Val- it ain't Valerie's fault. You know? but it is a, it is a process of, well, it's, it's really just there's, there's purity and there's loyalty, to his wife in every relationship he- And it doesn't mean that he doesn't have conversations and work with other women at all. 

But what it does mean is there is no doubt who that individual is faithful to, and he won't put himself in situations where that could be called into question. All right? so blameless husband to one wife. Then he's supposed to be vigilant. the Greek word behind vigilant is clear-headed. Must be clear-headed. 

so he's not some impulsive guy who can't keep himself on track and work the plan and move forward. He's not, you know, this all the time. He's moving in a direction. He's vigilant. then it says, he must be sober. must be disciplined in his judgment. [00:22:00] again, clear-headed would fit this pretty well, because his passions do not govern him. 

Doesn't mean he's not a passionate individual, it just means that they don't govern him. Right? And that could be, should be true of all of us. That, you know, the heat of the moment doesn't run away with us. We stay, Christ-like in how we react. it says he's to be of, good behavior, so his conduct is in line with the gospel. 

then he is to be given to hospitality. He has a love for strangers. He's willing to interact and, you know, the pastor that wants nothing to do with the people, is somebody who's not doing it in the right way, you know? the pastor has to live life with people. The pastor has to connect with people. 

The pastors have to do that. so he has room in his life for people. now, this one's important. The last part in verse two says he's gotta have this [00:23:00] ability to teach. Amen. Gotta have the ability to teach. So why is that significant? 'Cause remember what the spiritual gift of teaching was? The individual who's going to serve as pastors in the church, they have to be able to communicate the word to you in a way that you understand, and you can get, and you can apply to your life. 

They have to be able to teach, and that's not because they're wired in a certain way to teach. That's because God has in- given them an enablement to explain the word to people. Yes. All right? he has to be able to teach. then, verse three starts with, "Not given to wine." Not given to wine, so he's not mastered by excess. 

Mm-hmm. you know, this is another one of those hot button topics people love to talk to. I- I'll say, I- I'll say this for where I'm at on this and, you know, others may be different. I'll tell you where I'm at. I don't drink, and I'm not gonna drink. Amen. And I'm not gonna do it because I got a lot of personal reasons for it. 

I watched how it destroyed my [00:24:00] family. I watched how it just wrecked my dad's life, and it's just not worth it. But the call for the pastor is to be sober-minded. Amen. So, you know, if you called and you needed something at a certain time, and the pastor's been drinking, like, you don't get the person you're supposed to get. 

Mm-hmm. And you say, "Well, does it mean you can't have, can't enjoy things in life?" I have the best time. I enjoy all kind of things. I really do, but I don't need that in my life, and you may be in a different place than that, and that's, that's fine for you. But I'm telling you where I'm at. I stay away from the stuff. 

I don't need, I don't need it in my life. I've done 39 years without it, and I'm okay to keep going. It's, it's, it's absolutely not necessary. - But it really points to this idea that the pastor cannot be enslaved to appetite. [00:25:00] Amen. Can't be enslaved to appetite. You know, "Oh, I just gotta have this." No. 

It's not about us. It's about serving the purpose that we're given. he's not a striker, so he's not violent. he doesn't bully people, whether it's physically or emotionally or spiritually. Like, you know, I don't know about you, but I've been in-- I've been around individuals, like pastors, that were just bullies, that just bullied you into this and bullied you into that, and before long, you just felt like a, you know, just beat up all the time. 

That-- If the pastor has to bully you into do something, the pastor's not doing his role right, because when you teach the gospel, the gospel's not about bullying you into it. The gospel causes us to surrender to the grace and goodness and power of God. And so look, bullying is absolutely not right. But I'm telling you, I-- The-- [00:26:00] Even in a week, like you're-- if you start scrolling, you can hear pastors and sermons and teach, and it sounds more like bullying than it does anything else. 

That's why the message has to be the gospel. Yes. Amen. So, he's not bullying people. He's not a threat. he's not giving threats to people. then the next word really kind of strikes us, he's, he-- Well, this is, this is in a later point. Let me, let me stick in verse seventy-three. it says he's not a grill- greedy or filthy lucre. 

That-that's the idea of money. he's not in it for gain. He's not trying to make a, make a name for himself. He's not trying to get a big bank account or get a bunch of followers or all of that. that's not what he's in it for. He's in it because he wants to help you come along because that's the role that God's given him to do. 

so he's not in it for the money. And, you know, the old, you know, the old joke is absolutely, you know, what gets preachers in trouble, like women and [00:27:00] money, because it's so true. It's so true. And it's sad. It shouldn't be like that, but it is absolutely true. a pastor chasing dollars isn't chasing the right thing. 

No. 'Cause what's the pastor supposed to be chasing? Christ-likeness and helping the church come along in it. so he's not in it for the money. and to be honest, like I- this church through the years has done everything it can to take fantastic care of my family. Man, we are blessed. It is just, beyond. 

And that's such a gift that God has brought it to a place where we as a family can really focus on this and let God use us in these ways. and as this continues to grow and develop and God gives us the ability to bring other [00:28:00] pastors on, guess what? Same thing will be true there, too. Amen. so they're not in it for the money. 

but he says in verse number three that they're patient. In other words, they endure with you Not that they put up with you. Not that. Not that. but they're willing to get under the burdens and walk through it with you. Okay? They're, they're willing to have a long, you know, sprinkle love on the situation, not throw the hand grenade in, but to give it time and let God bring it along. 

Okay? So they're patient. not a brawler. Okay? So not a brawler. So in other words, he's not looking to fight all the time. there's this pastor in the South that I have seen and knew for a while, and, you know, his big thing was like he was the fighting pastor, and he'd show up wearing boxing gloves sometimes to church, and it was just like, "I'm coming to fight." 

[00:29:00] Oh. You know? You know. It said, it was interesting, but, you know, again, we're, we fight the fight of faith, but I don't need boxing gloves to do it. I just need the Word. so he's not looking for fights. then it says in verse three, he's not covetous. In other words, he's content in what God's given him, and he's not looking for what everybody else has. 

then verse four, one that rules well or leads well his own house. Yeah, how the pastor cares for his wife and his kids is part of whether he's qualified or not to serve as the pastor of the church, as a pastor of the church. And you know, I've been thinking about this some lately, and I'm out of time, so we'll have to pick up here again. 

But, you know, I've heard horror stories of how, kids in church, like pastor kids in churches grow up and, like, they live under this microscope and all that. I've got nothing but just [00:30:00] glowing things for how this church family has loved on my family and our kids. Like, there's been no, like expectations of them for, "You know, you're the preacher's kid, you gotta do..." 

You know, they just let them be kids. And what I'm seeing in our boys, they're knuckleheads 'cause they're like their dad, but they're growing in the Lord. And you have helped cultivate that. But can I, can I tell you this? How the pastor leads his family is absolutely crucial to how he's gonna lead the church. 

Yeah. If he is just some big tyrant over his wife and his kids, guess what he's gonna be with the church? A tyrant. Yeah. If he's on an ego trip to make sure everybody, you know, knows how good he is and how strong, you know, guess what? That's not the individual that can help you pursue Christ-likeness. 

Should he-- He should be humble. He should, [00:31:00] he should love the fact that God would bring him down a few notches when it's needed, because it is needed. But his family is part of the package So again, where does that, where does that leave us? I'm, I'm halfway through the list and there's more that we'll pick up on, for next week. 

But I'll say it like this. God gave the church these individuals so that those individuals performing the work he's given them to do and loving the church and shepherding the church under Christ and being an example of Christ's likeness and teaching the Word, it would be one thing if God, and he'd be right because he's God, to have this expectation for his people But don't get me wrong, what God [00:32:00] expects of us to progress in Christ-likeness, he puts the resources at our disposal to get there. 

That's how good he is. That's how, that's how kind he is. He knows that we all need individuals to help shepherd us along. So how does he do it? He gave us the church, where all these things done biblically can be very helpful. Father, thank you for, the opportunity to walk through these things tonight. 

And as we have more to look at, and, even then broadening this out, as we'll finish this section to see some other, connections to it. Tonight, we recognize that this is your work. It is not any of ours. It belongs to you. And because of that, we are all tools in your hand. we wanna be faithful tools. 

We wanna be, helpful to you in, fulfilling the gifts and callings that you put on our lives, ultimately, [00:33:00] so that the whole body is built up together. And tonight I pray that as we've looked through some of these things, and we'll continue, that we'd have an appreciation for you and, understanding of just how real it is that we, pursue Christ-likeness with all that we have. 

That tonight and as we continue on, Christ is being formed in us through all the means that you put in our way. Pray in Jesus' name. Amen.