By John A. Huffman, Jr.
Never minimize what encouragement your affirmation gives to someone who has been your mentor, your encourager throughout the years.
I thank God for people such as Richard C. Halverson, Bob Munger, Bryant Kirkland, Norman Vincent Peale and Billy Graham. These and other men and women deserve honor for the way they have mentored my generation. Right here, in the life of St. Andrew's, I could list dozens of men and women who have served as elders and deacons through the years who are worthy of this kind of honor, and there is a whole new generation of those growing up who will, in the next decade, also be worthy of this commendation.
Third, pay church leaders adequately.
Fortunately, you here at St. Andrew's do that. I can show you church after church in the United States that intentionally pays its pastor as little as it possibly can and then prides itself on the good deal it has. A careful reading of this text shows that the "double honor" can be translated "double compensation." Paul writes: "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching; for the scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,' and, 'The laborer deserves to be paid'" (1 Timothy 5:17-18).
Some of you will someday go to other churches. Make sure that this is taken as seriously there as we endeavor to do here at St. Andrew's.
Fourth, avoid false accusation.
Gossip can destroy people so quickly. Accusations can be devastating. How practical Paul is. He says, "Never accept any accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses" (1 Timothy 5:19).
Anyone can make an accusation. Make certain that accusation can stand the spotlight. Make sure that others, without a vested interest, have seen the same thing and are prepared to attest to it. Otherwise, it is simply hearsay and can be something of total fabrication. Satan would love to discredit persons who are faithful to the Lord with false accusation.
Fortunately, in our denomination, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. There are checks and balances. I have seen careful investigatory committees work in total confidentiality for a year or two, until they had all of the facts, and then acted only when they had all of the facts. In some cases, persons were vindicated when allegations were proven false. In other cases, person have been removed from ministry because the allegations were proven to be true.