The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching;
The word "overseer" gives problems to some. Is he a military-type? Is he a general or sergeant? Is he an inspector? Is he like a chairman of the board of directors? Those titles suggest status and authority in the carnal world, but they do not capture the New Testament concept of "overseer." The qualifications given here in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1 show that the men who desire the office of bishop are men who, like Paul, wish to imitate the chief Overseer, Jesus himself. Peter refers to Jesus as "the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls" (1 Peter 2:25). Jesus, as Shepherd and Bishop, did not communicate superiority but emptied himself and became humble that he might serve man’s needs (Philippians 2:5-11). A shepherd spends quality time with his sheep: protecting them, talking with them, learning them by name, seeking for the lost and straying ones, rescuing, providing for their physical needs. His task is a noble one, and we should not become alarmed at the thought of elders becoming authoritarians who carry a big stick. If they first meet the qualifications set forth in scripture, they will be too much like their "Chief Shepherd and Bishop" to play the role of an army general or resort to playing penny politics as carnally minded men tend to do.