The Church is Served by Biblical Church Leadership

Well, if you would take your Bible and turn with me to two different places. Turn to Acts chapter 6 starting in verse 1. We will get to that passage a little later in the message. Acts chapter 6 starting in verse 1. And then I want you to turn to 1 Peter 5 starting in verse 1. 1 Peter 5 starting in verse 1. We'll get to our 1 Peter passage first and then our Acts passage later. Now this is one of those messages where I will reference many other scriptures. So jot those other portions of scripture down. Fill in those blanks as you go and study on your own.

All of these passages of scripture go together with the message to form what I believe the Lord wants to teach us this morning. And I'll tell you later on in the message when to turn to those different passages. Now if you're keeping up with our study through the 10 pillars of the church, you know that we're nearing the end of our study. If you know the date of when we started, we started back in the beginning of September. And we will finish up with a concluding message two weeks from now. If I looked at my calendar right, that will be December the 1st.

Now as I have numerous times throughout the series, I do encourage you to really digest this teaching. This teaching determines who we are and what we do. I'll repeat that purposely. As a matter of fact, in many cases it determines what we don't do, what we do not do in the life of the church. Now if you're new here at Nola Baptist, I really strongly encourage you to make sure you've listened to every message in the series. As a matter of fact, make sure you even get the notes. This will help you understand who we are as a church. This teaching will probably stir up a few questions for some of you.

Brother Keith and I are glad to answer any questions concerning the teaching. Questions from teaching such as this is necessary and is part of assimilating into the life of a church, especially this church. This is good and this is spiritually healthy. It promotes spiritual health. It is our job to help you be biblical. That is our desire with this teaching. We desire to be biblical in who we are and in what we do. Now you know already this morning that we're in our ninth pillar, which is church leadership.

Now truthfully when we talk about church leadership, honestly all kinds of examples and stories really come to our minds and really come to the discussion. I was reminded of a good example on my flight back from the Philippines. As a matter of fact, specifically the flight back from Tokyo to Atlanta, there was a group of people from another denomination and they were talking on the plane and visiting with people and there was a woman in the group and later on in the flight I heard her tell a group of people that she was pastor of the church.

I leaned up to one of the men who was on the trip with me and I leaned up and I made a comment about her comment and I said, "You know who told her she could be the pastor?" Because the Bible does not say that she can be the pastor. That's an example of the different types of church leadership that can come to our minds. If I ask you to think about church leadership right now, some that you've experienced in the past, some of you have had solid pastors in your life while some of you have been greatly disappointed by pastors and ministers.

Some of you know carnal, even lost deacons who govern the church, but some of you, you've known deacons who truly love God and they seek to serve the church. Honestly, most of you have seen unbiblical leadership structures in the church. Unbiblical leadership structures are commonplace really in most Baptist churches that we know. Deacons who govern the church, committees of lay people who govern the church. In many Baptist church, ministers are merely hirelings who just do what others say. Even families are groups who govern the church.

It's sad to say, but most churches that we've been a part of have unbiblical leadership structures as well as unqualified men and even women who lead the church. When it comes to leadership in many Baptist churches, it can truly be an unbiblical mess. It's really sad to say. And I believe that that is one of the reasons why so many churches do not have a chance to do true kingdom work. In many cases, it renders the church to what I call a non-church. And it's a sad reality. Now this morning we're going to start off by seeing the offices for the church as seen in the New Testament, the scriptures. These are not man-made inventions.

These are not Baptist or Presbyterian or denominational offices. These come straight out of the scriptures. And not only will we see the offices, but we will briefly examine their function in the life of the church. And as I've done many times in this series, I will really make all of our application at the end of the message. Now I'll give you the title of the message and the major truths that we will examine. You see before you that we will look at the office of the apostle. We will look at the office of the prophet. We will look at the office of the evangelist, the office of the elder. That can be translated bishop or pastor.

There's various language here. And then the office of the deacon. Now I'll go ahead and tell you, we'll take a little more time with the apostle, the elder, and the deacon while we were really glance at the prophet or the evangelist. There's a lot of information here. I'm not going to overturn every stone. There's no way. But I think that we're going to see what the scriptures teach about the offices given to the church and then also their function. So let's look at our first major truth this morning. Let's notice the office of the apostle. You're taking notes right now on the office of the apostle.

Now let me give you a definition of this term apostle. Simplistically the term apostle means one who is sent with a commission or one who is divinely appointed as a representative. Now the term apostle was used two ways in the New Testament. It was used to describe the apostles of Christ and the apostles of the church. Now this might be confusing so I'll explain this to you. Men like Barnabas and Silas and Timothy were called apostles of the church. We see that in Acts 14, 4, Romans 16, 7, and Philippians 2, 25. But these men were not, and I'll repeat, not apostles of Christ or in the office of the apostle.

I've used this language before and I think it's very helpful. The apostles of Christ are apostles big A while the apostles of the church are apostles little A. Now let me give you a few specifics that will help you here. We need to see that there were 12 apostles originally and they were chosen by Christ. In Luke chapter 6 starting in verse 12, we see that Christ Jesus himself prayed all night before he appointed those men as his chosen apostles. And as a matter of fact in those verses they're listed by name. Then we need to see that Paul was also chosen by Christ but in a very unique way.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul refers to his divine appointment starting in verse 8 and let me read. And last of all, he was seen also of me as one born out of due time. In verse 15, "For I am the least of the apostles that I am not even should be called an apostle because I persecuted the church." What is Paul saying? He's referring to the fact that he was appointed later in time. And then we also see Matthias. Because Matthias is overlooked and there are some that even debate whether Matthias was a true apostle. But Acts chapter 1 starting in verse 21 deals with Matthias being qualified and appointed to replace Judas. But what do we see here?

This is the office of the apostle. Those who were commissioned, those who had a divine appointment from Christ. One of the Bible resources I use, study resources, is called Vincent's Word Studies. I like what he says about the apostle. And I'm quoting, "The distinguishing features of an apostle were a commission directly from Christ being a witness of the resurrection." And that's the case with all of these men that are mentioned. But for us, the important thing for us to see concerning the apostles is that they were the church fathers according to Ephesians 3 starting in verse 4 and 1 Corinthians 3 starting in verse 10.

They had a divine calling from God to go out into the world and to begin this work of the church. They led the foundation of the church. They are our example. And it is from them that we get our teaching and our instructions. Not just about life, but in the matters of the church. Now this office died when these men died. We do not believe in what's called apostolic succession. But we as God called elders and pastors follow in their footsteps. As a matter of fact, we as pastors in the life of the church and elders, we really operate under their authority. So this is brief, but this shows us the office of the apostle as seen in the Scriptures.

And then number two, we see the office of the prophet. The office of the prophet. Now here we have another of the offices which we believe has died. The prophets in the New Testament era were spoken of. I read the verse earlier in our Scripture reading in Ephesians 4.11. And these were specifically commissioned men within the local congregation during the New Testament era. I'll give you an example, one New Testament Scripture that speaks of a New Testament prophet in Acts 11 starting in verse 21. And I'm quoting, "And one of them, named Agebeth, stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over the world.

And this took place during the days of Claudius." Verse 29, "So the disciples determined everyone according to his ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea." So here we see the prophet within the life of the church named Agebeth. And he is prophesying or predicting that a great famine would affect the region. And the church rose up in the occasion to meet the needs within the church, those that were affected by the famine. We see the New Testament mention or the New Testament prophet mention in the church at Antioch in Acts 13, verse 1. Paul also mentions the office in 1 Corinthians, chapter 14, verse 32.

Now there's so much more we could say about this office, but yet because of time we will move on. Well, we see the office of the prophet. But then third, we see the office of the evangelist, the office of the evangelist. We read of the evangelist in Ephesians 4, 11. But here we have an office which is mentioned very little in the New Testament, yet appears not to have ceased. Within the New Testament, the evangelist were those who were especially equipped to proclaim the good news or the message of the gospel.

They traveled from town to town and region to region doing this work, evangelizing the lost and many times aiding in the organization of the church. In Acts 21, verse 8, Philip the evangelist is mentioned. As a matter of fact, Philip the evangelist was also one of the first deacons in the church. But notice what the text says, verse 8 of Acts 21. On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist who was one of the seven. And of course, again, I mention Ephesians 4, 11. Paul is the evangelist is one of the offices within the church.

Now again, there's a lot more we can say about this office, but we understand the office of evangelist is alive and well today. And then number four, we see the office of the elder. The office of the elder. Now before you, in parentheses, you see pastor, you could list shepherd or bishop. There's lots of language we could use and we will say more about that as we continue. Now in examining the office of the elder, we need to see where the office is described. Now I'd like you to write this passage down. First Timothy chapter 3 in verses 1 to 7. Now I'll read you one verse, verse 1. Notice what Paul is saying.

The saying is trustworthy if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. The King James uses the word bishop here, yet while the new American in the English standard, it reads overseer. Now what I've just said shows us that we need to see that this office here is described by more than one title or more than one word. This one office can be called the office of the elder. Accurately, it can be called the office of the shepherd. It can be called the office of the bishop. Even our language, the office of the pastor. Now I'll give you a few verses that will show you the different terms for one office.

Acts chapter 20, verse 28. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. To care for the church of God which He obtained with His own blood. Here Paul is speaking to the elders in the life of the church of Ephesus. And then Ephesians 4.11, I read this earlier. And he gave apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers two words that describe the one office. And then in 1 Timothy 3.1, I read this earlier. The saying is trustworthy, if anyone aspires to the office of overseer. You can read the office of bishop. Titus 1.5, Paul is writing to Titus in his ministry.

This is why I left you in Crete so that you might put what remained in order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. And then 1 Peter 5, starting in verse 1, which we will begin to divide here in a moment. Peter says, "So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder." Now a question. Why is it important to see these different terms or titles for one biblical office? Understanding this reality helps us to see the one office but how it functions in many ways. Now I want to flesh this out a little more by going to our 1 Peter passage. So if you would start reading with me in 1 Peter 5 and I will read verses 1 to 4.

Peter writes, "Therefore I exhort the elders among you as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker also in the glory that has been revealed." Verse 2, "Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God and not for sory gain but with eagerness, not yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge but proving to be examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." Now there are three observations I want to make here out of this passage that helps us see the office and the function of the elder. First notice his duty. Notice the elder's duty. This could be called the pastor's job description and there are several responsibilities that we see here. According to verse 2, he is to feed the flock. What does he say? "Shepherd the flock of God among you." The King James reads feed and that is accurate. The verb feed or shepherd the flock refers to all that a shepherd would do for a flock or a herd of sheep.

A shepherd would have many jobs in caring for his sheep. He would protect them from thieves and predators. He would nurse them in a time of injury. He would discipline them when they would wander from the flock. He would lead them to good pasture and good water and this is a picture of what an elder or a pastor or a shepherd does in the life of the church. He feeds the flock. He protects the flock. He takes care of the flock. He disciplines the flock and he leads them to good pasture and water. But then also he is to oversee the flock. Go back to verse 2.

"Shepherd the flock of God among you exercising oversight." Now the King James and the modern translations use the word oversight. This word overseer is the same word as the bishop that is mentioned earlier. It is more than simply overseeing the flock. It means to take the office of bishop and to oversee as one in a position of authority. It is a word that is strictly applicable to a minister or a church officer. This carries with it authority. This carries with it a recognition of that authority. Another verse that helps us see this oversight of the flock we read earlier, Acts 20 verse 28. Paul is writing.

He's speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus and what does he say? "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all of the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you an overseer." They had that authority. So the elder's duty, he is to feed the flock, he is to oversee the flock, and then he is to be an example to the flock. Paul, when he is writing to Timothy, he expected Timothy to be an example as an elder in the life of the church. First Timothy 4, 12, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example." Then Paul taught this example in other places as he wrote to Timothy.

First Timothy 3, 2, "Therefore an overseer must be above reproach." First Timothy 3, 7, "Moreover he must be well thought of by outsiders." This is that example. I really like how the Bible commentary describes this job of the elder, the duty of an elder. Let me quote Wiersby here. "The effective pastor needs both relationships. He must be among his people so that he can get to know them, their needs and their problems, and he needs to be over his people so he can lead them and help them solve their problems. The preacher needs to be a pastor so he can apply the word to their needs.

The pastor needs to be a preacher so that he can have authority when he shares in their daily needs and problems." So we see the elder's duty. You can call it his job. And then second, we see the elder's heart. We see the elder's heart. Go back to our 1 Peter passage starting in the middle of verse 2. What does he say? "I'm exercising oversight not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God and not for sory gain but with eagerness, nor yet as lording over those allotted to your charge but proving to be examples to the flock." Now I want to go back to verse 1 and I want you to notice Peter's heart. What does he say?

"I exhort you." Here Peter writes as a fellow elder. He does not write as an apostle, although he was an apostle. Now why? Why would he write in such a manner? Why would he use this language? This language here that Peter uses is not a stern command. This is a tender Christian exhortation. Peter is simply putting himself on the same level as elders. He is face to face with them and he is giving them kind instructions on who they were to be in their job. Specifically, what does he say? Their job is done, not out of obligation. What does he say?

"Not because you must." Then he says, "You are to do your job, not for greedy gain." What does he say in verse 2? "Not for greedy gain." Or the New American reads, "For sory gain." And then he says that they are to do their job, not in a domineering manner. Verse 3, "Not as lording over those who have been entrusted to you." Notice the phrase at the end of verse 2. What does he say? "Willing." "Willing to do this job." This points to Peter's heart. Peter was willing to serve. And this is the type of heart Peter was trying to cultivate in those pastors, in those elders. So we see the pastor's heart here.

And then third, we see the pastor or elder's motivation. Look with me at verse 4. "And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory." Now I see this as motivation. And motivation means everything. Peter knows that the motivations of an elder determines not only what they do, but the manner and attitude in which they do it. Peter also knows motive, just like heart, can make good works ruinous works. What does he say in this verse? "Christ is coming back." What does he say? "The chief shepherd is coming back." And he's saying that pastors and elders, they will give an account.

This speaks up the judgment seat of Christ. And then he says, "Some will be rewarded for their deeds as an elder." Another passage that helps us see this reality, this elder giving an account, is 1 Corinthians 3 starting in verse 12. What does Paul say? "Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one's work will be made manifest. For the day will disclose it or reveal it, because it will be revealed by fire." And he goes on to say, "Some will receive a reward." So what do we see? There's a lot of Scripture here that we've seen and studied, but we see the office of the elder.

Now let me continue on. Notice number 5, the office of the deacon. The office of the deacon. If you would, turn back with me to our Acts 6 passage that we marked earlier, Acts 6. Let's read together starting in verse 1. "Now at this time, while the disciples were increasing in number..." Now I'll pause here. This was at the beginning of the explosive growth of the church. People were coming to faith in Christ and coming into the life of the church in big verse.

"But notice, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic or Greek Jews against the native Hebrews or the Jewish Christians, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. And the twelve summoned the congregation to the disciples and said, 'It is not desirable for us to neglect the Word of God in order to serve tables. But select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

But we will devote ourselves to prayer, to the ministry of the Word.' And the statement found approval with the whole congregation, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and then Philip, and Procreus, and Nachenor, and Tymond, and Parmenius, and Nocilus." What do we see? A whole list of those, seven who were appointed. In verse 6, "And these they brought before the apostles, and after praying they laid their hands, or they commissioned them to the Word." Now some of you might have noticed, but the office of Deacon is not mentioned in the list given in Ephesians 4.11. Think about that.

Paul did not mention the Deacon in that list. He lists the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the elders, or shepherds or pastors. Well if that is the case, where does the office of the Deacon come from? We must see that the office of the Deacon comes out of a serious problem within the life of the church. In the development and growth of the New Testament church, the apostles found themselves too busy with too many responsibilities. And I want us to see the problem, the solution, in the progressive development of the church and of the office of the Deacon. First the problem of the church, in the church. I read that earlier in Acts 6.

The problem here in Acts 6 is multi-sided. It is very deep. It is not just a need for servants to address a food distribution problem in the church. This was a Jew-Gentile problem. This was a problem concerning widows. And the widows in that culture were a very, very vulnerable group. This was affecting the greater ministry of the apostles because this problem was pulling them away from prayer in the ministry of the Word. So this was a problem and it was becoming a major, major crisis in the church. But we saw the solution starting in verse 3. The solution to the serious problem came from the apostles and it came from within the church.

They chose from themselves seven men who were qualified for this leadership position. They appointed them to meet the physical needs under the authority of the apostles. This distribution of responsibility allowed the apostles to remain focused on their ministry of the Word and prayer. And then third, I want us to see the progression and the development of the office. If we turn over to 1 Timothy 3 starting in verse 8, we see so much concerning the deacon. The office of the deacon and the qualifications of the deacon.

Verse 8 reads, "Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain." And again, if we continue, we see the qualifications. When we get into the book of Timothy, we see that the New Testament church has developed. The New Testament church has grown for some 30 years. Paul had traveled all over the Gentile world evangelizing the lost and organizing them into the local church. And we find the church more organized and more complete in its development. All the offices have been given for the overall health and the success of the church.

And from Timothy and other passages, we see some specifics concerning the office of the deacon. Now, I will give us two specifics here. The office of the deacon. We see in 1 Timothy 3.8 and in Philippians 1.1, this office of the deacon mentioned. Now the term deacon and the term for serve in the New Testament are very similar. As a matter of fact, they appear approximately 100 times in the New Testament. But in 1 Timothy 3.8 and in Philippians 1.1, they are the only places in the New Testament where it refers to the office of the deacon. And then the function of the deacon. The function of the deacon comes from two places in Scripture.

We see this in Acts 6. We see this in other places as well. 1 Timothy 3. Now the function of the deacon comes from the meaning of the word itself. The word deacon in the original language simply means to serve or service. And the function of the deacon also comes from Acts 6, which I referenced earlier. Those original seven were chosen to wait on tables, to distribute food to those widows. Now in moving away from what I call the body of the message, I want to make application of what we have seen here. Truthfully, we've covered a lot. We have touched on every office given to the church that's found within the New Testament.

We had a quick examination of the apostle, the elder, and the deacon, but I briefly mentioned the prophet and the evangelist. I want to take some time to show us how this understanding of what we have seen in the Scriptures relate to us. First, the office of the apostle. The office of the apostle. Now question, how does the office of the apostle relate to us here at Nola Baptist Church? I'll give you one word, and I'd like you to write this word down and remember it. That is the word authority. The apostles, they have authority over us. Through the writings of the New Testament, they exercise authority over us.

Only of the 27 New Testament books over 20 were definitely written by an apostle. As we submit as a church and as individuals to the authority of God's word, we submit to the writings of the apostles. This goes all the way back to pillar number three, which is the word of God, the sufficiency of the word, and the authority of the word over us. But I want to flesh this out a little more that will help us see. Now for me as an elder, a God called, God appointed elder, if I personally walk into another church, I do not have authority over that church unless it is given to me by the existing elders and pastors in the life of that church.

But if the apostle Paul or any other apostle were to walk into our church, they do have authority over us. Truthfully, the apostles do walk into our church with authority through our submission to the authority of God's word. So I want us to see how we relate to the apostles. They have authority over us and we have their writings. And that's why we adhere to the word of God as a pillar in the life of the church. So then second, the office of the prophet. Again, this is a lot more that we could say here, but we believe that this office is ceased. It died along with the office of the apostle.

Another words, we do not believe in apostolic succession. Now I know this could be another discussion for another day, but we do need to see the office of the prophet in the context of the New Testament church. But third, the evangelist, the evangelist. Now we see the office of the evangelist as alive and well in the church today, but this leads us to that same question. How does this office relate to us here at Nola Baptist Church? I give you a specific way. I see our friend, Ed Lacy, as a God called evangelist who exercises the guilt of evangelism in the United States as well as around the world.

God has uniquely gifted him as a God called evangelist and he goes around the world exercising that gift. God uniquely calls and uniquely gifts certain men to proclaim the gospel and to bring sinners to Christ. And most of these men do travel and they go from church to church, area to area, need to need, and they exercise this gift. I remember when I went to India in 2014, I met many men who proclaimed that they were evangelists and they traveled to unchurched regions preaching the gospel and starting churches. But then fourth, the elder or the shepherd or the pastor, whatever language you choose to use.

This question, how does this office relate to us here at Nola Baptist Church? Well, we must understand that we are an elder led congregation. We adhere to the teaching we find in the New Testament that the church is to be governed and led by elders. The church is to be pastored or shepherded by elders. The word of God is taught by elders. The church is overseen with authority by elders. And this comes straight out of the scriptures that we've read and studied earlier. I hold the office of an elder as does Brother Keith. We have been called by God to this office and we have been called by God to this office here at Nola Baptist Church.

And we exercise our spiritual gifts within this office and within this calling. Now on a more personal level, I read to you one of my life verses. One of the verses that I'll meditate on and pray through very often is First Peter, Chapter 5, in those verses from Peter to elders. Because I desire not only to do the job, but I desire to have the heart of an elder as Peter expresses here. This is our calling. This is our heart. This is our duty. This is our job. And as I have said many times, to be honest with you, I can never pastor a church who does not see church leadership as we have seen in the scriptures. This is just biblical.

And then the fifth point of application, the deacon. I want us to see the deacon. Now this similar question or familiar question. How does this office relate to us here at Nola Baptist Church? We believe in deacon ministry because it is in the New Testament scriptures. We simply have not seen the need for deacons as of yet. But yet the time is drawing near as our church grows and needs arise. Some of you men here, you have served as deacons in other churches. And I know that. And I will push back from what I have seen in many Baptist churches. Deacons do not govern the church. It's not biblical.

Biblically they serve in physical needs under the authority of the elders. It is clearly taught in the scriptures. That is the biblical model. Many if not most of Baptist churches that we have been a part of, they are deacon led with most not being biblically qualified for either the office of the deacon or the office of the elder. Now a few more words personally. This automatically can make some people think, "Well pastor you're against deacons in deacon ministry." No, if I were to express that, I would be against the teaching of the scriptures.

But just like we adhere to what the scriptures say with elder ministry, we adhere to what the scriptures say of deacon ministry. I yearn for the day when we have biblical deacons who can do some of the work around the church. And I believe in elder ministry and deacon ministry we see it fleshed out in the scriptures and beautifully done in the life of the church. Now three questions and then we'll move to close. Very practical questions. These could have come up in your mind. As a matter of fact some of you have asked me these questions. But I think they need to be asked.

The first question, "Will we ever have other elders?" Well the answer to that is yes. That is one of our prayers regularly. We pray for the men that God would lead and raise up and bring to us who would function in the office of the elder. As the church grows we need more men who are called of God and qualified of God to lead in this capacity. It was my privilege as I was in the Philippines to minister with men who were elders in the life of their church. Some are vocational elders and some are lay elders or bi-vocational elders. So yes we will have more elders in the future.

The second question, "Will we ever have deacons?" I think I've answered that question. Yes, when that time arises God will bring men who are qualified, called of God to serve in that deacon ministry. And then the third question which might surprise some of you, "Will we ever have committees here at Nola Baptist Church?" Well I'll answer that question in two ways. Not in a capacity in which many of you have seen, but sure why not? Let me explain what I mean. There are many ministries. There are many things that can be done in the life of the church with a ministry team or a committee or a group of people that come together.

It really doesn't matter what you call it. But sure there are many times in the life of the church where lay people come together, call themselves a committee or a team or a group and they roll up their sleeves and they just do a task. They're serving in the life of the church. Again I push back. I've seen many churches that are committee run by men and women who are not qualified. Now that is not what I'm talking about and I think that's obvious to most of you. Now what have we looked at this morning? Truthfully a lot of information very, very quickly.

I've given you the title of the message but I want to call your attention to the title of the message. The church is served by biblical church leadership. This is the ninth pillar of the church. It is non-negotiable. If we do not have church leadership properly, we cripple the church. And as a matter of fact, I echo what I said earlier. If we're not careful with unbiblical church leadership, the church can become a non-church. But come to the title with me. The church. Christ's church is served. See that's what leaders do. They serve by biblical church leadership. Church leadership comes right out of the scriptures. It's a simple title.

But it describes what the ninth pillar of the church is and what we seek to have in the life of Nola Baptist Church. Let's pray together. Let's pray over what we've learned. We'll sing a verse in worship. And then we will close.