Double Honor - 10/27
In this message, entitled Double Honor, Pastor Shane cites Paul, in 1 Tim 5, in honoring those to whom honor is due. Click here for the recording of this 10/27 Service, and you can fast-forward to 30:11 to get to the start of the sermon.
Our text comes from First Timothy Chapter 5.17-22
17 The elders who lead well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, “ You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing,” and “ The laborer is worthy of his wages.” 19Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.
20Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 21 I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. 22 Do not lay hands upon anyone too quickly and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.
Introduction…
October is Clergy Appreciation Month in the US
Clergy Appreciation Day annually is the 2nd Sunday in October
In 1994, Focus on the Family began promoting Clergy Appreciation Month as a national month of observance. In highlighting Clergy Appreciation Month, Focus on the Family sought to encourage the faithful to outwardly show their appreciation for religious leaders on a national level. (christianity.com)
Let me be clear- while I am clergy, this message is not about me; rather, it is about honoring those who have pastored and mentored me, those who came before me at Cornerstone, and those who will follow
To the Text
V17- elders (presbuteros- official leaders in the Jewish community, or in Paul’s setting, the church) who lead well are to be deemed worthy of double honor (ti’me- value, respect, caring for something costly)
Particularly those who work hard (kopiaō- to grow weary) at preaching (logos- the spoken Word) and teaching (didaskalia- instruction, in the church and/or academy)
V18- here Paul quotes 3 OT passages- Dt 25.4, Lev 19.13 and Dt 24.15; in essence, these passages are instructing the church to take care of the one who is doing the work of the ministry
V19- we are not to entertain an accusation against an elder unless it comes from 2-3 witnesses, a pattern (martus- one giving legal, truthful testimony); this implies that some elders get it wrong; their actions are sinful, for which they need to be held accountable
V20- if the elder continues to sin, he needs to be rebuked in the presence of all, so that others will be fearful (fobos) of the repercussions of sin
V21- Paul solemnly exhorts Timothy before God, His Son Jesus, and angels; guard these principles without bias (don’t play favorites) or showing partiality
V22- don’t be too quick to lay hands on someone (putting a novice into ministry before they are ready or proven) thereby damaging them and others, and thus sharing guilt in their mistakes
V23- Timothy, “keep yourself free from sin”; here Paul is holding Timothy responsible for his own behavior
Applying the text to our lives
We should compensate clergy at the level that is due them, particularly those who preach and teach (the Black church historically has done this well, for reasons rooted in their history)
Clergy who have a pattern (2-3 witnesses) of sin need to be dealt with by the church, publicly, as a lesson to all
Clergy need to lead people without bias
Apex church leadership is no place for a novice
Each clergy leader is responsible for his/her own morality
Earl Barnabas Johnson
Pastored for 47 yrs
Had a 3 foot library
Had a 4th grade education
Planted 5 churches, all of which are still in existence today and doing ministry in Cambridge, Coshocton, Newcomerstown, West Lafayette, and Zanesville
My first, and still best example of selfless, agape, Christ-like love for people
Simply put, Gramps loved everybody
Dan Jensen
Kind to me as a child
Handsome, with a full head of black hair, and always well dressed
His wife Evelyn served the church and Bro Jensen, well
Don Dohm
The first pastor I ever had with a Bible college degree (he was held suspect for this, from a largely uneducated church)
His Christlikeness proved that he could be trusted
He was the first pastor to disciple Kathy and I- Foundations of Faith, a 16 week Bible indoctrination course, every Saturday morning for 4 months
He and wife Joyce modeled teamwork
He made us believe we could have a “real church building” like other churches in town- but it came at a cost
John Cox
Socially awkward
The first pastor/preacher to model the anointing of the Holy Spirit in the pulpit- he was largely misunderstood for this, by carnal people
He paid a dear price for his obedience to the Word
He spent the rest of his life recovering from a painful church experience
Curtis Arnold
A good communicator, and a so-so preacher
A workaholic
He put the church ahead of his family, and it showed
He built a massive building, in a difficult part of town
WC Richardson
An excellent Bible college prof, and an excellent pastor
He was the first scholar/pastor I ever met
He was equally good at being a prof, and a pastor, and proved that you could do both well, simultaneously
He pastor friends thought he was a Bible nerd
Some of his professor friends thought he was shallow because he pastored- each group was suspect of the other, something I see
He proved both groups wrong
He personally invested in me
He worked too much, and paid the price in his marriage and family
Richard D. Dobbins
The smartest man I ever knew to fill the pulpit
A hermeneut, homiletician, psychologist, sociologist, Assist. DS, a Renaissance man
He had wide experience in reading human nature
He personally invested in me
His faults were as large as his abilities
Walt Keim
Pastored Church of the Gentle Shepherd, pre-Cornerstone
Instructed me at ATS
I had no idea that one day I would follow his ministry tracks into ATS, and this very pulpit
Tim Hull
In 1989 he became the pastor of the Pleasant Valley United Brethren Church on Goudy Road, Dalton
On July 2, 1995 he presented his first sermon for the cooperative ministry with the Church of the Gentle Shepherd
In August of 1995, the congregations of the Pleasant Valley United Brethren Church and the Church of the Gentle Shepherd voted to become one church
That vote was unanimous and thus began a new church ministry, Cornerstone Community Church
In the years to follow the church membership grew and the congregation was able to pay off the building bonds that were sold to add onto the original Church of the Gentle Shepherd building; he led Cornerstone for 26 years
This church would not exist were it not for the love and sacrifice of Tim and April Hull
Chuck Vanasse
Pastor Chuck and Michele Vanasse served Cornerstone for one year, in a transitional period from November 2021-November 2022
Pastor Chuck has been an ordained Assemblies of God minister for 25 years and has pastored churches in MT, ND, OH and MA
He is a native Rhode Islander who is currently pastoring an Assemblies of God church in Fall River, MA, just 35 minutes from where he was born and raised
I know Pastor Chuck fairly well, and have had many good conversations with him, about life and ministry
I consider him a ministry colleague, and friend
Each of these men…
Had their own strengths and weaknesses
Had their fans, and critics, as all leaders do
Tried to advance the Kingdom, with the talents the Lord gave them in particular
And so, how should we appreciate clergy?
Get to know them as people, and let them know you
Treat them the way you would want to be treated
Hold them accountable to the standard of Scripture
Know that they are mere humans, with their own strengths and weaknesses
Give them ingress into your life- they can’t help you if you keep them at arm’s length
Know that they will be held to “stricter judgment,” James 3.1; they will answer to God for what they do
