11Dec 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration part 11 – Qualifications of an Administrator – Life at home

Administration in the Church, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, Leadership
1Tim 3:4-7  He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, (5) for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? (6) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. (7) Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. Having seen some of the disqualifying characteristics in 1 Tim 3:3 we will return to the positive actions and attributes, and warnings. ‘…manage his own household well…’ The standard set in verse 4 is high. There is an unassailable logic to Paul’s argument – home is…
Read More
08Dec 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration parts 10 – Qualifications of an Administrator – positive and negative characteristics

Administration in the Church, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, Finance, Leadership
1Ti 3:2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, (v3) not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. In our quest to understand the character qualifications of a deacon we continue to examine those laid down for an elder. ‘..respectable..’ This is the next characteristic in verse 2. It has nothing to do with wearing a suit to church in Sundays! Quite simply this refers to someone who is worthy of respect – literally ‘able to be respected’. No leader can be effective in leading people if they cannot respect him. There are those leaders who see this as an opportunity or excuse to be ‘put on a pedestal’ but emphatically this is…
Read More
04Dec 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration part 9 – Qualifications of an Administrator – Personal Morality

Administration in the Church, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, General, Ghana, Leadership
1Ti 3:2  Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach Continuing to look at the character qualifications related to an Administrator the next phrase in this verse is: ‘.. the husband of one wife..’ Although this should need little exposition in the context of the western world it does become a real issue in some nations where polygamy is practised. What is permissible for a man who has many wives once he is converted? Can he become an overseer? A friend of mine, John Kpikpi, who leads the Newfrontiers church in Ghana and is planting churches in 7 West African nations, has written particularly helpfully on the subject of marriage in an African context in his excellent book God’s…
Read More
30Nov 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration part 8 – Qualifications of an Administrator – ‘above reproach’

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, Finance, Good Practice
In Acts 6 we saw some of the qualifications of an Administrator relating both to character and spiritual standing. 1 Timothy 3:1-13 deals with similar issues in a more systematic way and, because it is so important not to appoint people who lack these Biblical criteria, I want to spend a little more time considering what Paul wrote to Timothy (1) The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. (2) Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, (3) not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. (4) He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, (5) for…
Read More
24Nov 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration pt 7 – Qualifications of an Administrator – Spiritual Wisdom and Faith

Administration in the Church, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, General, Good Practice, Leadership
Full of the Spirit and wisdom Returning to our examination of qualities that make a good Administrator we shall now look at Acts 6:3. Here we see that the apostles specify that the candidates must be ‘full of the Spirit and wisdom’. In times of tension, which undoubtedly was the case with the particular dispute that gave rise to the need for these appointments, there is no room for what many would call human or natural reactions to dominate; these can rapidly become ungodly. It would be easy, out of frustration, for those charged with solving the problem to resort to heavy handedness and try to impose a solution. Recently I have been involved in a sad situation in which a key leader, with significant administrative responsibility in a Christian…
Read More
20Nov 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration pt 6 – Qualifications of an Administrator – Character

Administration in the Church, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, General, Good Practice, Leadership
Job vacancy! We live in an upside down Kingdom. When advertising a post the world will pay great attention to the qualifications needed for the job – a degree in Business Administration or Economics may be a good start. However, the Bible does not seem to be particularly interested in such information, concentrating more on spiritual gifting, calling and character. I doubt if Joseph would have become the senior administrator in the nation if his curriculum vitae were taken as the guideline – precocious teenager, slave and prisoner hardly qualified him to be Prime Minister! Nevertheless, God used all these situations to shape his character, preparing him to fulfil his calling as saviour of the nation. If we follow the world’s model of giving preference to those who are highly…
Read More