Qualifications. Two key spheres of life in which you will likely hear talk about qualifications are school and work. Before a student can advance to the next grade level he or she must “qualify” by meeting certain criteria. That is, they must demonstrate that they have sufficiently grasped the material that they have been taught. These qualifications become more stringent the higher one goes on the educational ladder. The work world also employs qualifications for workers, beginning in the hiring process. Job applicants frequently must meet specific educational requirements, and in many cases must also have a certain amount of practical experience in the field of work that they are applying for. But the school and work worlds are not the only places where one may encounter requirements that must be met.

Even in the church a person will find that there are qualifications. First, there are biblical qualifications for one to be a Christian. A person may also find that there are qualifications in order to become an official member of a congregation, that is, one who has voting rights. And there are qualifications for people who are going to serve in leadership ministries in the church. This can be seen in both the New Testament church and the contemporary church. I think this is a good thing; it is definitely biblical.  It is not wise to have just anyone in leadership ministry. In this article we will briefly survey a few New Testament texts in which leadership qualifications are set forth. After this I will offer some thoughts about these biblical passages. As I do I will compare and contrast the things that we find in these texts.

The first text I would like us to look at is found in Acts 1. In this chapter the early believers were gathered together in an upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:12-13); while they were there they prayed (Acts 1:14). In addition, while they were gathered together the Apostle Peter said that they should replace Judas Iscariot. Judas had been one of the original 12 apostles (Mark 3:19), but he betrayed Jesus and then took his own life (Matt. 27:5). As my reference Bible points out, Peter appealed to two Old Testament texts in support of his statement that the believers should replace Judas, the two texts were Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. Peter also set forth the criteria for the candidates who could be considered as a replacement for Judas. The qualification he presented was that the person had to be a man who had been with the other believers from the time of John’s baptism until the time of Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:21-22). The names of two men who met this requirement were presented, Barsabbas and Matthias (Acts 1:23). The believers presented these two individuals to the Lord in prayer and asked Him to make His choice known to them (Acts 1:24-25), this was done through the casting of lots and Matthias was chosen (Acts 1:26). What I want you to notice at this point is that the Apostle Peter set forth the qualification for the one who could fill this apostolic ministry.

In Acts 6 we find another passage that contains qualifications for ministry. In this text we read about a problem in the early church, there were allegations that some of the widows that the church was caring for were not being taking care of adequately. This resulted in some complaining (Acts 6:1). The original 11 apostles and Matthias did not feel that they should allow this ministry to take them away from their primary responsibilities of ministering the word of God and prayer (Acts 6:2, 4). So the apostles set forth the criteria for those who could be considered for the ministry to the widows. They told the church that the candidates had to be “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). Then the apostles allowed the believers to choose the men for this ministry based on the criteria that they had given to them (Acts 6:3). After the seven men had been chosen, the apostles prayed for them, laid hands on them, and turned the responsibility for this ministry over to them (Acts 6:5-6:3).

The third case that I will mention is not found in the book of Acts but in the Pastoral Epistles. In 1 Timothy 3 the Apostle Paul set forth the qualifications for those who could be considered for the ministries of overseer (1 Tim. 3:1-7) and deacon (1 Tim. 3:8-13). Both of these were ministry positions in the early church. He sent this list of qualifications to Timothy who was involved in ministry in the church at Ephesus at the time (1 Tim. 1:3)

The final case that I will mention also comes from the Pastoral Epistles, it is found in the book of Titus. This text was also penned by the apostle Paul and was send to his coworker Titus, who was, at the time, on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5). In Titus 1 Paul set forth a list of qualifications for elders (Titus 1:6-9). The criteria that we find in Titus 1 are very similar to those that are found in 1 Timothy 3. 

As we think about the 4 texts mentioned above (Acts 1, Acts 6, 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1) let us briefly compare and contrast them. As we begin please note that all of the criteria set forth in these portions of Scripture were decided in the first-century church. Another thing worth noting is that in every case an apostle, or group of apostles, determined the appropriate qualifications for the ministries that were being considered. Peter made the determination in Acts 1, Paul made the determinations in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and the original 11 apostles and Matthias made the determination in Acts 6. Another similarity that can be seen in two of the texts is that they both dealt with the church in Jerusalem, namely the passages in Acts 1 and Acts 6. 

There are some differences in the passages as well. The account in Acts 1 focused on replacing an apostle, one individual.  In Acts 6 a number of individuals were being chosen. They were not apostles; people sometimes refer to those who were chosen to work on the widow’s distribution as “deacons.” In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 information was given about choosing local church leaders, overseers, deacons, and elders. However, no leaders were actually chosen in the 2 texts in the Pastoral Epistles; the criteria only for selecting them was set forth.

As we think a bit more about these passages there are some other things that we can learn. First, as far as we know, the qualification that was used in Acts 1 was used only once. This qualification is not used today. The reason for this is obvious. There is no one alive today who walked with Jesus in the first century up to the time He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:21-22). The qualifications of Acts 6 could be used today (and I think they should be, and not just in the ministry of caring for widows), but I don’t know how frequently they are. Being full of the Spirit and having wisdom are good qualities for all Christians, especially those who are involved in any kind of ministry leadership. The qualifications that have gained the most acceptance, endured the longest, and are the most used are the ones found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. This is in part due to the fact that overseers, deacons, and elders are probably the most common ministries found in the church today. If you want proof of the popularity of these qualifications visit a website where clergy openings are posted. In entries where churches are seeking a pastor you will, at times, read statements like “candidates must meet the qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.” While texts such as 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 are not the sum total of all that a minister should be or do they serve as a good foundation to help keep the church from being led by unstable or toxic people. May we continue to respect the counsel that God has given to us through the apostles by His Spirit.

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Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. 

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