Shortly after I retired I was appointed to finish the term of our Texas District Area B Vice President who had also retired. He resigned his position so he could move closer to family. I accepted the position with the agreement that I would serve until the convention that summer and my name would not appear on the ballot to continue in that position.
One of the duties of the office was to interview, along with a committee, any seminary applicants from this area of Texas. This was to try to ensure they were good candidates for full-time ministry. I did eight or nine of those interviews in the six months I held the office. Since that time, I have been a part of the interview committee under the current Vice President several times. I did so again last week. In preparation for these interviews, I turn to God’s Word. Here is what I read before the interview last week:
1 Timothy 3:1–13 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”
Every time I read those words, I am convicted of all my shortcomings. How did they let me in? If that were a checklist for seminary applicants, our seminaries would be empty! Who can live up to this? No one. Yet these are the ideals that God holds before us. We strive to be the people God has called us to be in Christ. We try to live this way with the knowledge that we have already had all our shortcomings, sins and failures covered by the blood of Jesus. He has paid our debt and given us restoration and life instead of our deserved condemnation. We strive to live up to His ideals in response to all He has already done for us.
Join me in praying that more will answer God’s call to enter into ministry as we continue to proclaim Christ to the world.
