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Elder My City, with Tim Schmoyer

Elder My City, with Tim Schmoyer

By: Tim Schmoyer
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 Paul tells Timothy that Biblical eldership is a noble task (1 Tim 3:1), so I want to aspire towards it. Like Boaz gathering city elders (Ruth 4:2) or the Proverbs 31:23 husband at the city gates, elders govern, serve, teach, and lead. It requires intentional growth in leadership, faith, marriage, parenting, business, and asset management. This training starts as a father in our home (1 Tim 3:4), qualifies us to be an elder in our city (1 Tim 3:5), and prepares us to rule with God in His Kingdom one day (Luke 19:11-27). Join me as I explore what it means to aspire to this noble task today.

read.timschmoyer.comTim Schmoyer Christianity Parenting & Families Relationships Spirituality
Episodes
  • You Don't Have What It Takes

    You Don't Have What It Takes
    Dec 12 2025
    Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Leave me a voicemail message to use in a future podcast episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerComment on the full post here: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/you-dont-have-what-it-takesA podcast listener named Christopher sent me a voice message and asked a very critical question about how we, as God-fearing men, actually gain the ability to live out a vision of fathering our homes, eldering our cities, and preparing for rulership in the Kingdom to come.“On this path of biblical eldership and male community leadership—in our homes and in our communities, with our families and those around us—where does the power come from to carry that out? I’m wondering if you could talk more about the Holy Spirit and inviting the Spirit into your life.”I love this! Christopher is asking the question that exposes whether Elder My City is actually biblical or just another self-improvement program with Scripture verses attached.Where does the power come from to live out this vision for men?Unfortunately, most Christian men approach leadership the same way we’ve been taught to approach sin: through self-management. Try harder. Get educated. Find accountability. Develop a strategy. Build better habits.I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that it doesn’t work. I tried it for decades.When I read about the elder qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 as someone who is temperate, self-controlled, respectable, able to teach, able to manage his household well, etc. I know it’s easy to treat them like a checklist of Boy Scout merit badges, but I don’t think these qualifications are merely accomplishments. They’re describing fruit. And fruit isn’t manufactured. It’s produced.I Spent One Full Year Focused on Galatians 5There was a season of my life where I took this very seriously.For an entire year, I read Galatians 5 every morning before my feet touched the floor. Before I got out of bed. Before I went to the bathroom. Before I did anything. I wanted to embed this into my belief system. I intellectually agreed with the passage, but if my belief in it was low. Maybe at a two or a three. I wanted to believe it at an eight or a nine and experience the transformation I knew would come with it.Consider what Paul says:“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:16-18)Paul then lists the works of the flesh—sexual immorality, fits of rage, rivalries, envy, all of it—and says those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let that sink in. We can talk about the Kingdom, but if we miss this thing, we miss it.The way I read the passage is that the issue isn’t the specific sins. Like, “Don’t do these things.” Rather, it seems to me that the issue is that you’re not being led by the Spirit.From there, Paul leads into the fruit of the Spirit.“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)We lose something in English here: “fruit” is singular, not plural. We don’t divide this up like, “Okay, I’ve got love, joy, and peace down, but I really need to work on patience.” That’s not how it works. You have the singular fruit—the love-joy-peace-patience-kindness-goodness-faithfulness-gentleness-self-control fruit. It’s all one package. You get the whole thing when you’re living by the power of the Holy Spirit.This list as well as the character that qualifies a man for eldership are not something you manufacture through effort. It’s something the Spirit produces through dependence. Which means the path from father to elder to ruler isn’t primarily about trying harder to reduce sin and increase righteousness. It’s about deepening dependence on the Holy Spirit.My Risky PrayerSo this became my prayer every morning:“Lord, teach me how to walk by your Spirit and not gratify the desires of my flesh. Teach me how to hear your Spirit’s voice. I don’t want to try harder to force more peace into my life. I want it to be the byproduct of having the Spirit active and alive and leading.”I’ll tell you—if you pray that prayer and ask Him to teach you, be ready for what comes next.Here’s what happened.I Failed My First TestI was walking through an airport terminal, on my way to catch a flight to speak at an event. And I look down ahead of me. I see some saltine crackers crushed up and ground into the carpet. And I had this little voice in my head. Not audible, but this strong feeling: “Clean those up.”What? No. I’ve got to get to my gate. I’m that guy who likes to arrive right when boarding starts. ...
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    40 mins
  • Training for Authority I Don't Have Yet

    Training for Authority I Don't Have Yet
    Dec 5 2025
    Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Leave me a voicemail message to use in a future podcast episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerComment on the full post here: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/training-for-authority-i-dont-haveI’ve really appreciated the feedback I’ve received lately from people who are following along as I explore this “eldership” role in more detail, especially the critical comments that point out the gaps I’m missing in all this.I want to address one of the most common critiques because it was helpful for me to wrestle through, so hopefully it is for you, too.The critique is best theologically summarized by my friend, Sonny Silverton, who commented on an earlier post:Do you delineate between πρεσβύτερος and ἐπίσκοπος or ποιμήν? Have you considered that Paul might be talking about ordained overseers vs older dudes who are merely wise and righteous?The heart of the question is this: “Tim, you’re talking about eldership as if it’s something for every God-fearing man out there, but the Bible doesn’t seem to treat it that way. The Bible talks about elders as men who are specifically selected and ordained by the laying-on of hands.”The honest answer? I hadn’t worked through the details of it yet, so I’m glad he pushed me in that direction. I’ve been writing about city elders and elder qualifications more generally because I still believe they are noble qualifications and roles that every man can aspire to live by (1 Timothy 3:1).But Sonny’s question forced me to dig a bit deeper into what Scripture actually means when it uses these three terms for elders. What I discovered brings a lot of clarity to what we’re aspiring towards as God-fearing men.Three Words, But One TrajectoryVery briefly, scripture uses three primary Greek words that English translations render as elder, overseer, or shepherd.* Presbyteros refers to an older man, someone with age, maturity, and experience. The guy has authority simply because of accumulated years and demonstrated character. These are the men at the city gates in Proverbs 31:23, the respected voices in community decisions, the ones younger men seek out for counsel.* Episkopos means overseer or guardian. It’s someone who watches over others with authority. Paul uses this term interchangeably with presbyteros in passages like Titus 1, suggesting these aren’t separate offices but overlapping roles. The overseer holds responsibility for the welfare of those under his care.* Poimen is shepherd, the one who feeds, protects, and guides the flock. Peter uses this image when he tells elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). The shepherd doesn’t just manage — he knows his sheep, understands their needs, leads them to good pasture.Scripture often blends these terms together. The ordained elder (presbyteros) serves as an overseer (episkopos) who shepherds (poimen) God’s people. An elder carries all three dimensions: maturity, authority, and care.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).The Office vs The CharacterYet scripture does create a distinction between the office and the qualifications of eldership. The office of elder (presbyteros) in the church requires ordination, the laying on of hands by apostles or those they appointed. Timothy himself was charged to appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5), establishing them with authority to teach, correct, and shepherd the congregation.Not every mature man holds this office. Paul is clear: these men must be appointed, recognized, set apart for this specific work.But the qualifications? Those belong to every God-fearing man who want to engage in this noble pursuit. Mature in the faith. Self-controlled. Hospitable. Able to teach. Managing his household well. Not a drunkard, not violent, not quarrelsome. Respected by outsiders.These aren’t requirements set aside solely for church government. They’re the portrait of biblical manhood at its fullest expression. They describe the kind of man who fathers well, works with integrity, speaks wisdom into difficult situations, and earns the trust of his community whether or not he ever holds an official church position.This is why Paul writes that aspiring to the office of overseer “is a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1). The nobility isn’t in the title. It’s in the character formation required to serve that way. It’s in becoming the kind of man whose life qualifies him for such responsibility.What this means practically: not every mature man will be ordained to church leadership. But every mature God-fearing man should be growing toward elder-level character. The qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 aren’t just for those who might someday serve as church elders. They’re the target for masculine development for all of us.City Eldership in the Old Testament (and us today)So where does this leave city eldership, the idea ...
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    27 mins
  • Business Makes Kingdom Men

    Business Makes Kingdom Men
    Nov 28 2025
    Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Leave me a voicemail message to use in a future podcast episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerComment on the full post here: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/business-makes-kingdom-men----I used to believe business existed mostly to fund ministry, that the people in the pews wrote checks so the people on staff could do the real Kingdom work.I grew up in a pastor’s house. Ministry shaped everything: Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday nights, and the hours between. I went to Bible college and seminary fully expecting to spend my life in full-time ministry. Business was necessary, sure, but it was for other people.However, as I read Luke 19 more carefully today, I realize Jesus doesn’t tell his servants to plant churches or care for the poor or grow in spiritual disciplines. In the parable of The 10 Minas, Jesus says this:Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, “Engage in business until I come.”… When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. -Luke 19:13, 15The master doesn’t hand his servants a theology quiz or a spiritual gifts assessment. He gives them money and says, “Engage in business.”Not prayer. Not Bible study. Not ministry. Business.This Parable Ruins My CategoriesWhen the master returns as king, he asks about ROI (return on investment). The servant who turned one mina into ten gets authority over ten cities. The one who made five gets five cities. The one who buried his mina?He’s slaughtered.Not demoted. Not reassigned to a lesser role. Killed. Jesus puts these words in the mouth of the returning king: “As for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.”I want to soften this. I want to explain it away as hyperbole or limit it to the political enemies mentioned earlier in the parable. But the servant who buried his mina is grouped with those who rejected the king’s reign entirely. Playing it safe wasn’t neutral. It was rebellion.Apparently, Jesus believes something I struggle to accept: fruitfulness isn’t optional. Multiply what the Master entrusts to you and receive cities. Bury it? You’ve declared whose side you’re on.To the master, one’s fruitfulness in business today seems to determine one’s fitness to rule cities in the age to come.I realize this makes most Christian men uncomfortable. Some of us have been trained to see business as secular, something we do to fund ministry or a necessary evil to provide for our family while we wait for the real work of the Kingdom to begin. But Jesus presents business itself as a proving ground for eternal authority.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).Why Business?When I think about my experience in starting, growing, and ultimately selling my business, a few reasons come to mind.* Business forces you to create value where none existed. It requires you to manage resources, assess risk, lead others, and bear the weight of both success and failure. It tests whether you can be faithful with what’s entrusted to you when no one is watching and the outcome is uncertain.* Business reveals character like few other pursuits. You can fake spirituality in a prayer meeting. You can coast on charisma in ministry. But business is ruthlessly honest. Did you create value or didn’t you? Did people freely exchange their resources for a solution you offered or didn’t they? Did you multiply what was given or let it stagnate?* Business joins God in His mission of being fruitful and multiplying, and his subsequent blessing to us to do the same. Any successful business revolves around solving problems for people. The whole endeavor focuses on turning someone’s chaos into order, exactly what God did when he took an empty and formless earth and turned it into something orderly and beautiful.The Bigger StoryWhen God created man, his first words to us were not “be holy” or “worship me” or “evangelize.” His first words were, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” Not only was it a command, but it was also a blessing. Genesis 1:22 starts the command by saying, “He blessed them…” We were created to work. And it’s good (until work is cursed in Genesis 3; it’s still a blessing, but now it’s toil).This is the original job description for us: Take what God has made and make it more fruitful. Extend order into the chaos. Multiply goodness. Create culture and civilization from raw materials. Take the garden and grow it until cities like it cover the face of the earth.This is what business does at its core. It takes resources, applies our creativity and effort, and produces something more valuable than what existed before. It’s subduing the earth. It’s multiplying ...
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    35 mins
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