1 00:00:08,950 --> 00:00:12,750 Right, so we are continuing in Two Corinthians and we're going 2 00:00:12,750 --> 00:00:19,950 to be in chapter 8, verses 16 all the way to 24. 3 00:00:20,630 --> 00:00:24,630 So up there it goes. And so I'm going to read it. 4 00:00:25,510 --> 00:00:30,830 It says thanks be to gods who put into the heart of Titus the 5 00:00:30,830 --> 00:00:35,390 same concern I have for you. For Titus not only welcomed 6 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:41,920 appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his 7 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,280 own initiative. And we are sending along with 8 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:50,320 him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his 9 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:54,920 service to the gospel. What is more, he was chosen by 10 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,960 the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering which we 11 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:04,560 administer in order to honour the Lord Himself and to show our 12 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,000 eagerness to help. We want to avoid any criticism 13 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:12,720 of the way we administer this liberal gift, for we are taking 14 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,880 pains to do what is right not only in the eyes of the law but 15 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:22,240 also in the eyes of of man. In addition, we are sending with 16 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:28,480 him our brother who has often proven to us in many ways that 17 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:33,040 he is zealous and now even more so because of his great 18 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:38,560 confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner 19 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:44,320 and Co worker among you, for As for our brothers, they are 20 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:49,240 representatives of the church and an honour to Christ. 21 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:53,560 Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the 22 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:58,200 reason for our pride in you so that the churches can see it. 23 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:03,240 Let's pray Lord Jesus, I pray God that you would continue to 24 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,680 speak to us again today. Lord God, I pray Jesus that you 25 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:12,320 would that you would challenge us, Lord Jesus, as we talk about 26 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:17,440 this topic of leadership that you would not only you would 27 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,320 raise up leaders amongst us. Lord Jesus, I pray Lord God that 28 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,480 you would challenge us to lead in whatever situation that we 29 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,320 find ourselves in. Lord God, we pray Lord Jesus for 30 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,440 men and women like Titus to be raised up amongst us, Lord 31 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,200 Jesus, so that the lost can be can be reached, Lord Jesus, so 32 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:40,400 the the church can be disciples. Lord God, so that we can grow 33 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,200 numerically and spiritually as a body. 34 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:45,320 Amen. Amen. 35 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,120 So like I said, I'm going to talk about preach, I'm going to 36 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:52,680 talk about leadership this today. 37 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,920 And whilst I was thinking about the topic, I was reminded of a 38 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:00,640 piece of writing that I heard many, many years ago. 39 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,160 And this piece of writing came off the back of someone doing a 40 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,600 a survey of church members and asking them what is the most 41 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,240 important thing about your pastor? 42 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:14,840 What is the most important thing? 43 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,080 What makes the part the pastor good? 44 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:22,840 And so someone came up with this poem called The Perfect Pastor. 45 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,640 And it goes like this. The perfect pastor preaches for 46 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:30,480 no more than 10 minutes and teaches I'm not going to preach 47 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:33,840 10 minutes and teaches all the riches of scripture. 48 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:38,200 He condemns sin round thee, but never hurts anyone's feelings. 49 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,440 He preaches twice a week, answers the phone, puts out the 50 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,120 bins, cleans the church hall and is always well rested. 51 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,040 He works from 8:00 AM till midnight and never misses time 52 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,560 with his wife or family. The perfect Pastor makes 40 lbs 53 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,080 a week, buys good clothes, drives a nice car, eats well, 54 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,560 and donates 30 of those pounds back to the church. 55 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,360 He is 29 years old and possesses an impressive breadth of 56 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,080 experience in the ministry spanning 40 years. 57 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:12,200 The perfect Pastor has a burning desire to work with teenagers 58 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,760 and spends most of his time with senior citizens. 59 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:20,160 He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a 60 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,120 sense of humour that keeps him seriously dedicated to his 61 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,720 flock. He makes 15 home visits and is 62 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:29,160 always behind his desk to answer anyone's needs. 63 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:34,160 The perfect pastor spends all his time with the church 64 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,000 actually, and he never misses a meeting and he is always out on 65 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,120 the streets evangelising the unchurched. 66 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,400 Above all, the perfect pastor is handsome. 67 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:53,200 We laugh because it's full of impossibilities, isn't it? 68 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:59,480 One person cannot be all these things and actually we can. 69 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:04,760 We can so often get into the be guilty of that, that we try and 70 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:09,440 hold up one person to be the all in everything for us. 71 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,040 We can hold up or try and hold up one person and say they need 72 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:17,000 to be the perfect person. We can also as leaders, we can 73 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:22,080 think I need to be everything to everyone and that can that can 74 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,080 cause frustration, that can cause struggle also. 75 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,040 That can mean that we fail to raise up leaders because people 76 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:33,640 feel like I can't do all that. I can't be all that. 77 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,960 Actually, the reality is that none of us can be all those 78 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,000 things. None of us can be everything to 79 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,240 everyone. Actually, the reality is that 80 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:50,920 none of us possess all the gifts and all the attributes for even 81 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:55,920 ourselves to grow and thrive. Actually, that's why Jesus has 82 00:05:55,920 --> 00:06:00,880 placed us in a church, because in a church there are other 83 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:06,320 people around you who possess gifts and attributes to pour 84 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:11,920 into you so that you can thrive. And you possess not all the 85 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:16,720 attributes for yourself, but you do possess attributes for others 86 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:21,160 to grow, for others to thrive. You see, there is no 87 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,960 superheroes. There is, well, sorry, let's 88 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,200 rephrase that. There is one superhero. 89 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:29,840 There is one Lord and King of Kings. 90 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:33,840 There is one Saviour and his name is Jesus Christ and one day 91 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,160 he will return and he will make all things right. 92 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,520 I was studying Revelations, revelation at the moment and, 93 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,880 and there's this kind of the revelation pictures kind of 94 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,560 this, this end scene battle coming up and then all of a 95 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:48,840 sudden Jesus appears and it's over. 96 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:52,280 Jesus. Jesus just just just was one 97 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:54,840 word. He will make all things right. 98 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:00,720 He will make all things well, but until he returns He is 99 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:06,120 working through his church. Not super Christians, not the 100 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:10,720 ones and twos, but he is working through you guys, His church, 101 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:15,240 those who have bowed the knee to him and desire to Co work with 102 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,880 him in bringing his Kingdom to earth. 103 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:21,680 The church. We need each other. 104 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,280 We lack the abilities. You lack the ability. 105 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,480 I lack the ability to grow and thrive on my own. 106 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,320 Hear that? You lack the ability to grow on 107 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:40,840 your own and that's OK. And that is OK. 108 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:46,480 You see, we are called to be part of church and church. 109 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,840 The New Testament word that we get church from is the Greek 110 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,800 word called ecclesia, which literally means a called out 111 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,400 community. You are a called out community. 112 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:04,760 You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, not 113 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,120 self-sufficient. You are a people. 114 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,960 That is why it's so important for us to be, to engage, to be 115 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:20,560 part of church. See, even poor needed people, 116 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,280 even Paul. And so we get we get we get it 117 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:28,480 wrong so often because we so often we think of the Apostle 118 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:32,360 Paul and we think he was the world's greatest ever teacher, 119 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,600 preacher, church planter, theologian, evangelist, apostle. 120 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,880 He and he alone was able to reach the ends of the earth. 121 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:45,080 And yeah, he might have been pretty impressive, but he needed 122 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,880 people. And actually the the scriptures, 123 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:53,840 you read the book of Acts, you read his letters and you see an 124 00:08:53,920 --> 00:09:01,640 army of people behind him who we really lazily in our theology 125 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,520 go, that was Paul. That was Paul. 126 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,120 We've got Barnabas. Barnabas, you know, if it wasn't 127 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,960 for Barnabas, there would be no Apostle Paul. 128 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:17,560 Barnabas grabbed this guy Saul of Tarsus, who was who just 129 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:20,400 become a Christian and he saw something in him. 130 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:24,120 He saw how wonderfully he understood the scriptures and he 131 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,320 brought him. He got him and he brought him 132 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,920 amongst the leadership team of Antioch. 133 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:34,240 And then he takes him with him on his on as he goes to Cyprus 134 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,160 and Galatia to to plant new churches. 135 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,520 We've got people like Silas who joins him in mission. 136 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:45,440 We've got people like Timothy who earlier on he calls him the 137 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:50,760 the his child, but then towards the end of his ministry, Timothy 138 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,480 is is is one who he goes right. Timothy, there's problems in the 139 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,240 Church of Ephesus. You go and sort it out. 140 00:09:57,480 --> 00:09:58,920 You go sort it out. Timothy. 141 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,640 We've got Mark, we've got Luke. Sorry. 142 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:06,840 We've got Luke, who the beloved physician who would have helped, 143 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,760 would have looked after Paul, but also wrote down Luke and Axe 144 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:14,360 so that we have we understand what went on in those early 145 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,720 years. We've got Mark who fell out with 146 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,560 Paul or Paul fell out with him, but then later on he comes back 147 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:25,480 into community with Paul and as a valued member of the team. 148 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:30,400 We've got Priscilla and Aquila, who hosted a church in their 149 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:34,120 home to see the church grow and thrive. 150 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,920 They also got hold of a man named Apollos who they taught, 151 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,280 they encouraged, and then Apollos became the one who, 152 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,520 after Paul had gone into an area, had prepared the ground 153 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:50,080 for a church we planted. Apollos was the one who then was 154 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,720 the one who spoke and taught. That provided the conditions for 155 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,800 that church to grow. We've got Apaphras Apaphroditus, 156 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:00,760 who were sent by the Philippian church to assist Paul. 157 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,600 We've got Titicus who had the amazing privilege of taking the 158 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:12,080 the scrolls, the letters from Paul to to to Ephesus and to 159 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:16,080 Colossi and to read them and to probably answer questions about 160 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:17,960 them. We've got Phoebe who did the 161 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,000 same thing to the church in Rome. 162 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,840 And then we've got a whole host of other people who I'm not 163 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:24,680 going to read because I'm going to get their names wrong. 164 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:29,240 But there was the lot of people who ultimately we just go, 165 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,520 that's Paul. No, no, no, there was an army of 166 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:38,360 people who God used to grow the 1st century church. 167 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:44,920 And in addition to all these names is who Paul mentions right 168 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:50,040 here in this letter to Two Corinthians, Titus, Titus and 169 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:54,240 the brothers. Now, side note, I'm not really 170 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,160 sure why he says the brothers and no one else does either. 171 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,080 I mean, maybe if he was a bit like me, he's there, he's 172 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,560 writing the letter, he's transcribing it, and he's going, 173 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:04,920 you know, right, I'm sending you Titus. 174 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:09,600 And they've been with me for three months now and I still 175 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:11,760 can't remember their names. And you can do that as a 176 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:13,680 Christian, can't you? You can just get, you know, you 177 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:15,480 meet someone for the set for the first time. 178 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:16,680 You can ask them their name. You ask them. 179 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:18,480 I mean, the second time you can ask them their name. 180 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:19,840 Third time you feel a bit embarrassed. 181 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,120 So, brother, how are you doing? I'm sending the brothers. 182 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,280 I'm sending this my sister with you. 183 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,880 I cannot remember her name. You know, we can do this, can't 184 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:30,120 we? And we just hope that someone 185 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:32,480 else says their name so you can actually write it down and 186 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:35,480 remember it properly. But that's, that's what he does. 187 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:37,880 He, I mean, that's not saying I'm not saying that Paul forgot 188 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,760 his name. But anyway, he, he sends Titus 189 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:47,480 and the brothers and in our Scripture reading today, he he 190 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,080 outlines, we're talking about leadership and he outlines what 191 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:55,840 it means to be a good leader. You've got to open. 192 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:01,440 He says in verse 16 that a good leader, a godly leader is one 193 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:07,640 who loves the church. He says in verse 17 that a godly 194 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,200 leader is passionate about people. 195 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:16,120 He's coming with much enthusiasm and zeal, he says in verse 17. 196 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:17,920 Again, he says that there's good leaders, one that takes 197 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,360 initiative. Verse 18. 198 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:25,160 He's one who who is a servant who is trustworthy in this case, 199 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:30,400 especially with money. He says in verse and a 23 that 200 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:34,640 he is a Co worker, A-Team player, that a good leader, a 201 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:39,160 godly leader, not only can lead A-Team, but can be part of one 202 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,880 as well. And it doesn't say this in two 203 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,480 Corinthians in this passage I'm reading, but throughout the New 204 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:49,600 Testament, throughout Acts, throughout the letters, a good 205 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:55,440 leader, Ephesians 518, Two Timothy 16, Acts 6, three is one 206 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,280 who is filled with the Spirit of Christ. 207 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,760 So good leaders love the church. They're passionate about people, 208 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:07,000 they take initiative, they're servants, they're trustworthy, 209 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,000 they're team players, and they're filled with the with the 210 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,280 spirit, the church. We need leaders. 211 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:18,160 We need men and women who are godly leaders who love the 212 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:22,800 church, who are passionate about people, who take initiative, who 213 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,600 are servers, who are trustworthy, who can work in 214 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:32,120 team and lead team, and are filled with the Holy Spirit. 215 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,960 See, the church requires us. We need people. 216 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:42,120 We need you to be committed to one another for us to grow. 217 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:49,520 And we need leaders for the church to be who God has created 218 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,800 her to be. And whilst we are all called to 219 00:14:53,800 --> 00:15:00,120 step into leadership, the New Testament gives us 2 offices of 220 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:04,200 leadership. The first being eldership and 221 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:06,840 the second being Deacon Diaconate. 222 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:14,560 And eldership is, is something that we stepped into as a church 223 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:19,320 just over 2 years ago. Jen and I moved to Blackpool to 224 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,080 plant a church. I was an elder in Lancaster. 225 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:26,880 I laid that down to move here and me and Jen just came to 226 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:31,080 start a church here. And then two years ago we went 227 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:36,240 from a church plant that initial phase into a church, which is 228 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:41,280 when you recognise within the church elders who are amongst 229 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,960 you. And so we recognised, we 230 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:47,240 recognised certain elders, we recognised. 231 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:49,560 Oh, sorry, I did put them up there. 232 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:54,640 Anyway, we recognised these mugs, these lovely friends of 233 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,080 mine. Huh. 234 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,760 Pardon. What's wrong with my selfie? 235 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:08,640 What's wrong with my picture? Sorry, I I feel like we can't 236 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,280 move on here until it's. So What's wrong with my picture 237 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:15,360 anyway? I'm not insecure. 238 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:23,960 I'm not insecure. We moved from a church plant to 239 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:28,080 a a church, which means that we have developed leadership, which 240 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,720 means that eldership was raised up from amongst us. 241 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,600 And we believe that eldership is a team. 242 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:39,560 It's not. We don't believe in the vicar 243 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:41,240 model where you've got one person. 244 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:42,920 We believe that eldership is a team. 245 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,480 Paul and Barnabas went around planting churches and appointing 246 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:52,600 elders, not an elder for each individual church. 247 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:58,120 It was a group, and we believe that it is a team of men. 248 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,360 Controversial, I know, but that's what we believe. 249 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:04,640 That's because that because that's what we believe Scripture 250 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:09,560 says that it's a team of men who take responsibility who father 251 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:14,880 the local church and some will argue against that. 252 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:18,200 It's not a salvation issue. But actually the reason why we 253 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:20,160 are one of the reasons why we're convinced about it is because 254 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,240 actually there are many things that people have come against 255 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,079 and said that's not true. We believe the Bible speaks 256 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:30,600 otherwise and I've got four of the top top arguments against 257 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:34,160 that and what I want to do is bring these to you quickly. 258 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:38,320 One day we'll unpack it better. We unpack it better on our on 259 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:43,960 our on our foundations evening. But I've got 4 points that 260 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,520 people say This is why we should have anyone as an elder or a man 261 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,400 or a woman as an elder. And I'm going to put them out 262 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:54,320 and try and give them to you with justly and fairly as if 263 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,200 just as if I believed it myself so that I'm not Pooh poohing it. 264 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:03,680 The first example people say as well, Adam and Eve were given 265 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:08,000 the task by God to subdue and fill the earth. 266 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:12,600 And that is true. They were, but when it all went 267 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:17,800 wrong, God came to not Adam and Eve. 268 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,160 He didn't come to Eve, God came to Adam. 269 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:27,200 They were both charged with the doing, but Adam was the one who 270 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,640 was responsible to make sure it happened. 271 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,920 People appointed Deborah in the Old Testament and say, well, 272 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,360 Deborah, she was the leader of the nation. 273 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:42,400 If she could lead a nation, then surely women should be elders. 274 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,200 Well, if you read the story of Deborah in the book of Judges, 275 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,560 you see she didn't lead the nation. 276 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:55,960 She was a prophet who people came to to ask what does God say 277 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:00,400 in certain situations? And she was asked to accompany 278 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:04,000 on this campaign against the enemy. 279 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,760 Now we need men and women who are prophets who can speak 280 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:10,760 truth. He can speak life into 281 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,280 situations. But I don't think that's a good 282 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,400 argument for male eldership. The third one is, well, Jesus 283 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,560 had male and female disciples in his day. 284 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,480 There was many rabbis and none of them had female disciples. 285 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:31,720 Well, yes, he did. He had 120 by the end, and there 286 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:36,560 were men and women in that group, but at that 120 he chose 287 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:41,440 a small group of 12 to take responsibility. 288 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:45,000 The whole group of 120 were called to wait, be filled with 289 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,360 the Holy Spirit, and then go to the ends of the earth. 290 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,320 But there were 12 men who were given the responsibility to make 291 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:57,560 sure it happened. And finally #4 Paul seems to 292 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:01,160 suggest that in the book of Romans. 293 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,640 That there are female apostles and how I've heard it said, how 294 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:09,880 can you have a female apostle without having a female elder? 295 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,880 He says in in the book of Romans, he says Junior is 296 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,000 outstanding among the apostles. That's the line that's clinged 297 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,920 to. And now that most likely means 298 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:25,960 she was well known. She was known by the apostles. 299 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:28,640 Her works, her deeds were well known by the apostles. 300 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,960 But it could also mean that she was a recognised apostle and 301 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,560 people knew her. Well, OK, let's get go down that 302 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,800 path. If that's what she was, I'm not 303 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:41,520 convinced. But if that's who she was, 304 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,320 what's the role? What's the primary role of an 305 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,720 apostle? The primary role of an apostle 306 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:51,520 in the New Testament is to go into new places, to break ground 307 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,640 so that a new church can be planted. 308 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,280 Look at the Apostle Paul. He went into town after town, he 309 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:03,640 spoke for a while and then he gathered people and then he left 310 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:09,440 whilst anointing a small group of male elders as a team to 311 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,520 oversee it. Now I have no problem with that. 312 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:15,920 She could do that. You see, the biggest problem 313 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,520 that people have is they believe that church is like a business, 314 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:24,600 that to be an apostle, you've got to 1st be a really good 315 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:26,480 Christian. I mean, you do, you do need to 316 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,720 have some standards, OK. But if and if you're a really 317 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:31,760 good Christian, you could be a Home group leader. 318 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,080 And if you're a really good Home group leader, you could be a 319 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,280 Deacon. And if you're a really good 320 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:37,680 Deacon, you'll be an elder. If you're a really good elder, 321 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:39,520 you get to be an apostle. And maybe if you're a really 322 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:42,640 good apostle, you could be like a movement overseer and get on 323 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,960 TV and all that kind of stuff. No, that's not how it works. 324 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,040 The, the, the, the Bible says that we are given different 325 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,560 gifts. Some are prophets, some are 326 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,800 apostles, some are teachers, some are preachers, some are 327 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,520 evangelists, some are pastors, some we are given different 328 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:00,760 gifts. That doesn't mean if you're an 329 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,560 elder, you don't have gifts of evangelism or whatever. 330 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:05,240 It doesn't mean if you're a Deacon, you have different 331 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:06,880 gifts. But actually we have different 332 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:08,440 gifts. The church are given different 333 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:09,840 gifts. So it doesn't matter. 334 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,000 It doesn't matter. It's not about you can only be 335 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:14,800 an apostle if you've been a really good elder. 336 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:23,600 You see, we need more elders. We need more elders, you know, 337 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,680 and we always say, well, we've got four of them and we're not a 338 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,720 massive church. I know churches that are 203 339 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,440 hundred. You only have one person or more 340 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,480 fool them. We need a lot of elders because 341 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,080 we need, I can't be the perfect pastor, but partnered with 342 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,080 others, I still can't be the perfect pastor. 343 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:46,440 But actually, that's why we need more leaders. 344 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:50,480 And that's what brings us to this second group, the second 345 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,920 office of oversea of of oversea in the church, which is called 346 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,640 Deacon. And the Bible mentions deacons 347 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,880 in Philippians, in Timothy, in Romans, and it's even hinted at, 348 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:08,160 and we'll read it in a second, the book of Acts and Deacon, the 349 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:13,320 word Deacon means servant. So to say someone is a Deacon 350 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:17,720 referring to a leader is to say that they are a servant leader. 351 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:25,120 And unfortunately, due to the history of our charismatic 352 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:29,160 movement that churches like ours have been planted out of, we 353 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:34,160 have steered away from using the term Deacon of appointing people 354 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:36,960 as deacons. Because many of us have come 355 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,560 from churches like New Frontiers, which is the big 356 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:44,040 overarching group of churches that we come from that 357 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:49,760 originated from churches like Baptists where the term Deacon 358 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:55,280 was was was misused, where deacons rather than being a 359 00:23:55,280 --> 00:24:00,000 support and someone to Co labour with the elders, they became 360 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:01,960 someone who butted with the leaders. 361 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,480 In the worst case scenario, there'd be people who were in 362 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,960 charge of in charging of employing an elder. 363 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,160 And if the elder kept the deacons happy, the elder had a 364 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:14,120 job. And if the elder said something 365 00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:16,000 they didn't like. I'm not talking about doctrine 366 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,440 here. I'm just saying like they they 367 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:21,640 didn't like the way he spoke, whatever they would fire him or 368 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,040 they would be people who don't didn't have any will 369 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,360 responsibility at all. It was just a title. 370 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,200 It was the archetypal I'm going to get in trouble for this. 371 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:34,840 An archetypical school receptionist or, or, or or or 372 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,960 person in the, in the, in the, in the waiting room, who you 373 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,680 know when you ring up to get an, get an appointment with, with 374 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:45,520 the, with the doctor. And you want to see the doctor 375 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,320 because they're going to help you and they're going to 376 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,520 diagnose you and they're going to tell you what you need to do. 377 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:51,960 And you get this person on the end of the phone who's a 378 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:54,120 receptionist who says, why do you need to see the doctor? 379 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,920 Give me all your symptoms. I don't want to give you all my 380 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,320 symptoms. You where, where's your degree? 381 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,120 It's that, that, that was the sort of thing that some deacons 382 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:05,560 became. So we've steered away from it 383 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,240 and not honoured the role and instead kind of used business 384 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:13,320 structure by by saying we've got a, we've got a, a leadership 385 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,040 team or we've got heads of departments. 386 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:22,040 But actually we believe that in this season that God is calling 387 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,800 us to reclaim this word. And we're not the only ones. 388 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,320 There are other churches across our movement who've recently, 389 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,240 over the last coming year or so, have started to do the same. 390 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,560 And as an eldership team, we've been praying and reading and 391 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:40,640 researching for several months now of what does it mean to have 392 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:45,920 to be a Deacon? And these are some of the things 393 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,200 that we have come to conclusion of. 394 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:53,320 Firstly, deacons are not. It's really important. 395 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,120 Deacons are not a precursor to eldership. 396 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,120 Like I said, we do not believe in promotions. 397 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,760 A Deacon is not someone who was a really good Home group leader. 398 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:06,920 So therefore we think, well, we're going to put make them a 399 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,800 Deacon or someone who we thought, do you know what? 400 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,120 They're not really very good as an elder. 401 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:15,720 So we'll make them a Deacon. We'll be able to demote them. 402 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,280 No, that's not how it is. They are a separate gifting on 403 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:23,720 their own. Deacons are also not above any 404 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:29,560 other members in the church. The scripture Jesus talks about 405 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,720 leadership in the church is about coming under and 406 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:36,960 supporting. It's an upside down Kingdom. 407 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,600 The more you lead, the more you support. 408 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:43,800 You know, I mean even the even the analogy of what's the church 409 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:45,560 built on? The church is built on the 410 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,760 apostles and the prophets. It's built upon them. 411 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,040 It's not built to put them on the top. 412 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:55,360 It's built so we stand on them. That's the analogy of Scripture. 413 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:58,920 That it to lead means that you are underneath, that you, you, 414 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,920 you serve people. And they are not outside the 415 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:06,720 covering of the eldership that they work alongside. 416 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,440 They're not rogue agents who? Oh OK, you've got, you've got a 417 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,760 real passion to do this, to go and see people saved and we 418 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,560 don't really like lost people. So you're going to, you can go 419 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,120 out and do that kind of stuff without and do whatever. 420 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,600 No, no, no, they are still under the covering of the eldership. 421 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,600 What they are is they are recognised servant leaders 422 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:32,000 within the local church. They are Co labourers with the 423 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:37,240 elders and other leaders to work out Christ's value for the 424 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:43,320 church. For now they are fully trusted. 425 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,800 They are fully on board with the vision. 426 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,360 So we, we, we've spoken to, I'm going to announce who these 427 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:53,200 people who the first group that we're going to announce in a 428 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,840 bit, but we've spoken to them. One of the things we've spoken 429 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:57,960 to them about is are you baptised? 430 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,360 Because baptism is really important to us. 431 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,600 We believe God has called us to be be baptised. 432 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,280 Do you give? We talk about giving and we pass 433 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,520 the bucket round every Sunday. Not that we expect you to put in 434 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:16,280 the bucket, but do you give if you if you're not giving, how 435 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,680 can you be a leader and encourage others to? 436 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:24,600 Are you submitted to the, the, the the values and vision of 437 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:29,800 this church? You see, they are released. 438 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,560 We're going to look at it a minute that that deacons are 439 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:38,200 released, that they are leaders in their own right. 440 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:42,520 They're released to lead over certain areas with full 441 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:47,840 responsibility for that, and they are gifted men and women 442 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:50,480 who are filled with the Holy Spirit. 443 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,640 See, the New Testament talks about in Acts 6-7 men, which is 444 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,800 the best example we've got in Scripture of what a Deacon 445 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,480 actually does. But it also talks about people 446 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,360 like Phoebe in the book of Romans, who is a Deacon. 447 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:12,360 See, we'll need leaders. We need elders, we need leaders, 448 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,440 we need deacons. We need men and women who will 449 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:20,760 step up and love the church, be passionate about her people who 450 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:24,280 will take initiative, who will serve, who are trustworthy, who 451 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:29,440 can not only lead team but can lead teams, who can work 452 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:34,000 alongside one another, who are filled with the spirit for the 453 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,080 growth and maturity of the church. 454 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,520 So what does it look like? Here's our best example in 455 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:48,040 Scripture. It says in Acts 618, it says 456 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:49,960 this. It says in those days when the 457 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,680 number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews 458 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:57,680 among them complained among the Hebraic Jews because they're 459 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:01,880 widows, were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 460 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,600 So the 12 gathered all the disciples together and said it 461 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,120 would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word 462 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,640 of God in order to wait on tables. 463 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,920 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are 464 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,240 known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. 465 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,680 We will turn this responsibility over to them, and we will give 466 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:24,880 our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word. 467 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:27,800 This proposal pleased the whole group. 468 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:32,480 They chose Steven, a man of faith and of the Holy Spirit. 469 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:39,440 Philip, Procortus, Nick, Nick, Nicole. 470 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:44,640 See, I don't like reading names Timon, Parmenian and Nicholas 471 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:48,960 from Antioch, a convert Judaism. They presented these men to the 472 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,200 apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. 473 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,720 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in 474 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:59,160 Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became 475 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:04,640 obedient to the faith. You see, they needed things 476 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,920 doing and they said it's not. They might have said it's not 477 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,360 right for us to wait on tables, but look who they chose. 478 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:15,200 This isn't to say this is a menial task. 479 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:20,280 Actually, they chose the best of the best among them to do this. 480 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:25,120 They needed stuff doing, so they chose people of character and 481 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:29,520 full of the spirit to do it. Notice that the apostles didn't 482 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:31,160 actually say, right now we've got you. 483 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:33,440 This is how you ought to do this. 484 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,680 No, no, they said, you know, we know we have a heart for the 485 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,080 broken. We have a heart for the poor. 486 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,640 How you work that out is up to you. 487 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,240 Go and do that. Go and do it. 488 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,000 Notice how they had full authority. 489 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:53,480 You know, if, if a, if a, if one of the members of the church 490 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,800 were to go, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm not happy with how much food I'm 491 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,800 getting. Peter, Peter, I'm not happy with 492 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:02,680 how much food I'm getting. He'd say, go and speak to 493 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:05,000 Stephen. Go and speak to Stephen. 494 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:06,960 He's in charge of that. Now. 495 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,000 If 20 people start to come out with Peter and say I'm not 496 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,640 happy, maybe he'd have to pull Stephen aside and go, what's 497 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:14,040 going on? But actually it was their 498 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,480 responsibility. They had to choose. 499 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:19,160 They had to work out how they were going to do it. 500 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:23,560 They had full authority. And here in CCB we may not at 501 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:29,400 the moment have starving Greek widows, but we do have a great 502 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,000 need. We have a need to care for 503 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,840 people better. We have a need to pass the 504 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,920 people better. We have a need to reach the lost 505 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:44,200 better. And so we need men and women who 506 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:51,320 will rise up, take initiative, who will lead, who are filled 507 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:53,720 with the spirit and have good character. 508 00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:59,920 And today I'm going to, we're going to put forward some names 509 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,480 who we've been speaking to over the last few months. 510 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:07,040 But before I do, I just want to mention two things. 511 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:10,320 First of all, we are not promoting anyone. 512 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:14,560 What we're doing is, is we are going to recognise people who 513 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:18,720 are already serving and leading. It's what we do. 514 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:22,440 It's what we do with Elder Ship, it's what we do with with 515 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:27,080 deacons now. We recognise people and we lay 516 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:31,560 hands on them to release them into all that God has for them 517 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:35,840 in that role. And secondly, actually nothing's 518 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:39,280 going to happen today. It says in Scripture that they 519 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:43,640 are to be tested. And so this isn't going to be a 520 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,800 knee jerk reaction. In fact, actually what we're 521 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:51,720 going to do is we are going to going to name these people now 522 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:57,160 and then we're going to ask you to tell us what you think. 523 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,040 What do you think of these guys? And then come the first week in 524 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:04,520 February, assuming all things are good, we're going to lay 525 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,200 hands on them and Commission them as leaders. 526 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:12,040 But Scripture tells us that this is what we are to look for in 527 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:13,600 our leaders. This is what we're look to look 528 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:17,760 for in our deacons. It says in one Timothy chapter 529 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:22,600 3, verse 8, it says in the same way, deacons are to be worthy of 530 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:26,480 respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine. 531 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:29,320 You know, if if we put these people forward and you know that 532 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:32,280 they get drunk every Saturday night, we want to know this, OK, 533 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:37,239 we want to know that. And not pursuing dishonest gain, 534 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:41,639 they must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear 535 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:44,040 conscience. They must first be tested. 536 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,719 That's what we're doing now. And then. 537 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:49,480 If there is nothing against them, they will let them serve 538 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:53,480 as deacons. In the same way the women are to 539 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:56,800 be worthy of respect. Not malicious talkers, but 540 00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:00,840 temperate but and trustworthy in everything. 541 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:05,200 A Deacon must be faithful to his wife and must and manage his 542 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:09,760 children and his household well. Those who have served well gain 543 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:13,600 an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in 544 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:18,000 Christ Jesus. So this is what you need to be 545 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:21,400 thinking of. Are these people like that? 546 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:27,680 And so as I put a mug shut up of us 4, this is who we are 547 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:33,320 recommending to you as going forward as our first group of 548 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:37,000 deacons. This is our first group of 549 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,120 deacons. We hope to grow this team. 550 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:43,280 We hope that this team will grow. 551 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:51,400 We want more and more leaders. So first Kofu, nice. 552 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,480 Oh, did you get a nice picture? You got a nice picture. 553 00:35:55,720 --> 00:36:10,200 Oh great, right? So Kofu, OK, we're putting 554 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,160 forward Kofu. Kofu is a wonderful worker. 555 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:16,800 She is a hard worker. She's hiding her face from me 556 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:21,320 right now. But I, I appreciate so much her 557 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,720 hard work. I mean, I grew up in a 558 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:27,880 household, you know, where where when dad got saved, he was a 559 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,360 farmer. He would get up, go to work at 560 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:35,880 2:00 AM on a Sunday, come back at 9, take us to church, have 561 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:38,360 lunch and then go back to the farm after that. 562 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:41,760 And you know, Kofu, quite often she's done four or five night 563 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:45,760 shifts and she's, she could be in bed, many people would be in 564 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:50,400 bed, but she chooses to sacrifice that time to come and 565 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:53,280 serve you guys. She overseas, she's taken the 566 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:56,800 weight of overseeing the tea and coffee off from us and she's 567 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:00,480 done a brilliant job. And also worship, the way she 568 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:04,640 contributes in worship, what she brings, it's, it's outstanding. 569 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:11,000 We've got Jeff in Libby, Libby who is, you know, she's out 570 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:14,640 there with the kids right now. And Libby overseas, our kids 571 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:17,040 work. She has, you know, the last 572 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:20,320 several years we've done a nativity and me and Jen have had 573 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:23,480 to search the Internet and try and find a nativity to do. 574 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:26,400 Libby's just done that. You know, she's just taken that 575 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:30,240 from us, not only being a wonderful person, she loves 576 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:33,560 working with kids and she is she's come up with curriculum, 577 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:35,360 which she says, is this all right to teach them? 578 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:38,320 And she's just run with it. And she's been amazing. 579 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:44,280 Jeff, Jeff has taken on the the the men's group and as as a 580 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:47,840 couple, they see and they look after many people within the 581 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:52,360 church. Tommy, she's she out there now? 582 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:57,960 Must be Tommy. She does so much Tommy and it's 583 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,200 hard to give her a job role because she does so much. 584 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:02,880 But so many of you I know, especially ladies, have confided 585 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:06,320 in her whenever there's someone in need, she is the first to 586 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,560 find out and is messaging us and saying what can we do for this 587 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:12,400 person. She is a wonderful servant of 588 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:14,920 gods. And then Jen, which I'm not 589 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:19,520 really sure I want to give you any praise after your God, who, 590 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:23,840 who is who is a wonderful, wonderful woman. 591 00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,680 And she has done so much since day one. 592 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:31,200 And actually when we first started talking about deacons 593 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:34,600 about a year ago, someone said if Jen isn't one of them, I'm 594 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:40,600 leaving. She is a very gifted and such a 595 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:45,720 wonderful leader in this church. And I say side note, like I 596 00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:48,960 said, there are more leaders in this church. 597 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:55,240 This is a starting point. This is a starting point and we 598 00:38:55,240 --> 00:38:57,240 want to be able to grow this team. 599 00:38:57,240 --> 00:38:59,080 We want to be able to grow our eldership team. 600 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:04,040 But my question that I want to answer to you as we end is why 601 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:08,880 now? Why do we want to do this now or 602 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:14,200 this Acts 6-8 after they've laid hands on these men and they've 603 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:16,440 they've told them to go and do the job. 604 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:22,080 It says so the Word of God spreads the number of disciples. 605 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:23,360 What was it? They were looking after the 606 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:25,440 poor. They were doing a job, they were 607 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,640 serving. But it says so the Word of God 608 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,600 spread the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly 609 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:35,200 and a large number of priests. That signifies that even those 610 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:39,520 who are most against the gospel came to Christ and became 611 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:44,440 obedient to faith. See, we strongly believe that 612 00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:50,320 God is preparing us for growth, that He is preparing us and He 613 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:56,120 is calling leaders to raise up and take responsibility. 614 00:39:56,560 --> 00:40:01,400 See, we need a team of leaders who can coordinate, care better, 615 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:05,760 from the youngest to the oldest, from the sick to the vulnerable, 616 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:09,120 to those who are new to the faith, who need extra guidance. 617 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:12,640 We need a team of leaders who are able to ensure that the lost 618 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:15,800 are being reached. We need a team of leaders that 619 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:19,560 when someone new comes in, they take responsibility and say I'm 620 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:23,080 going to make sure that that person knits into the community. 621 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,240 I'm going to have them round my house. 622 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:29,320 We need a team of leaders who are an example, who are a 623 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:36,560 pillar, not perfect, but who are wonderfully committed to the 624 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:41,440 mission that we are on, are generous and filled with the 625 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:45,320 Spirit. See in my prayer is that as we 626 00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:51,080 lay hands on these guys next year that not only will they 627 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:55,000 grow in their capacity and gifting, but actually we would 628 00:40:55,040 --> 00:41:03,240 benefit greatly from that. But we need more, we need more. 629 00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:09,760 Our vision as a church is to is to reach a lost and broken 630 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:13,120 world. And there are hundreds of 631 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:16,200 thousands of people who live up and down the foul coast. 632 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:22,680 We need you to step forward as leaders, to reach them, to love 633 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:25,040 them, to care for them, to go to them. 634 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:30,360 We also need leaders to go to the world, to go to the nations. 635 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:36,080 There's billions of people in this world and we need to raise 636 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:38,640 up leaders to send out to the world. 637 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:44,160 We need Tituses, we need Phoebes, we need Stevens who 638 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:50,440 will take a lead for Christ and in a few months, God willing, we 639 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:57,400 will lay hands on these 5. But my prayer is that as they 640 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:02,640 grow, you will grow as well. We long for more leaders. 641 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:07,680 Can you be that I am not precious about my role 642 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:13,600 personally, I long for people to surpass me, people to come into 643 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:16,360 leadership. My main role is to preach and 644 00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:19,120 teach. Am I long for people to come 645 00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:20,880 into leadership who are better than me? 646 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:23,480 Who can bring this church on further? 647 00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:26,600 We need you. So will you step up? 648 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:33,720 You may be recognised, you may not be, but will you step up and 649 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:37,520 hear the calling that Jesus has on you to lead? 650 00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:45,160 Lord Jesus, I I thank you for this new era in this church. 651 00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:51,480 God, I pray for protection over all of these five people that 652 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:54,880 we've mentioned this morning. God, the enemy hates nothing 653 00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:59,120 more than men and women who step forward to say, I will lead in 654 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:01,680 your church, God. So I pray that you protect them. 655 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:04,520 Lord Jesus, I pray that you'd keep them safe. 656 00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:08,480 Lord God, and I pray that it will not be long before we are 657 00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:12,200 adding more names to that, that we're adding more elders, we're 658 00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:16,480 adding more deacons, That we are releasing more people in this 659 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:20,080 church as leaders. That men and women would step up 660 00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:22,720 to lead in their homes. That men and women would step up 661 00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:26,480 to lead in their place of work. That they'd step up and lead 662 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:29,880 where you have put them in your gracious name. 663 00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:31,040 Amen.