“Appoint bishops for yourselves, as well as deacons, worthy of the Lord, of meek disposition, unattached to money, truthful and proven; for they also render to you the service of prophets and teachers. Do not despise them, after all, for they are your honored ones, together with the prophets and teachers. And reprove one another, not in anger, but in peace, as you have it in the gospel. But to anyone who acts amiss against another, let no one speak to him, nor let him hear anything from you until he repents. But your prayers and alms and all your deeds so do, as you have it in the gospel of our Lord.”
Didache is an early Christian work, a.k.a. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. It was viewed as canon by some early church leaders and is included in The Apostolic Fathers, written in the late first or early second century. This excerpt, translated by Tony Jones, is from section 15.1-3.
We live in a day when Christian leaders mail letters, make calls, and send emails crying out for money to make ministry happen. Sound familiar? Are you weary of such pleas? I am. I have been guilty of making them and have determined what’s wrong with them.
The idea that money was needed to make ministry happen was not only viewed as a sin in antiquity, it had a name. Those afflicted with this malady were known as “lovers of money” or “attached to money”. Paul told Timothy that leaders must not possess this trait (1 Timothy 3:3).
It’s encouraging to find that the second and third generation Christians are maintaining this view in this fresh translation of a late first or early second century document. Local leaders must not be attached to money! Furthermore, they must call for peaceful reproof and repentance.
Search your heart and your language. I have. Do your requests betray your source of help, hope, and confidence? Mine have. Whether or not you are in ministry leadership, if you find yourself in need like I do at times, join me in taking a different posture: the one instructed in Scripture.
Let us make our requests known to God in our prayers. And let’s continue to give alms and exhibit deeds that demonstrate the gospel as this ancient source reminds us.