Zadok Discipleship Course - Armed for War · Dr. Steve Foss

Lessons 25-28

The Attributes of a Leader - All 16 Standards

Concept Review Test · 30 Questions · 50 Points · Dr. Steve Foss

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Date

About This Test

Lesson 25 - Attributes 1-2 (Blameless, Vigilant): The prophetic warning about public exposure; who the standard applies to; spiritual gifts vs. approval of God; blamelessness beyond obvious sin; vigilance as preventive structure; Peter's failure; the wedding account.
Lesson 26 - Attributes 3-6 (Sober, Good Behaviour, Hospitable, Apt to Teach): Sober defined as moderate as to opinion or passion; Keith Green; doctrinal extremes; good behaviour as testimony; the airport queue; hospitality as a way of life; preaching vs. teaching; Hebrews 5 maturity test.
Lesson 27 - Attributes 7-9 (Not Given to Wine, Not a Striker, Not Greedy for Filthy Lucre): The Timothy medicinal account; alcohol's first physiological effect; four tests for gray areas; the Georgia church account; the quarrelsome leader disqualified; mammon vs. God; the Chicago designer stores account.
Lesson 28 - Attributes 10-16 (Patient, Not a Brawler, Not Covetous, Rules Own House, Not a Novice, Good Report, Proved): Hupomonē defined; Paul at Lystra; David's 17-year wait; covetousness vs. wanting the anointing; heart follows treasure; quick elevation destroys; good report in job, conversation, and love; Saul vs. David; Deuteronomy 8:2.

This is a concept test, not a memorization test. Every question asks you to apply what you understood. Click Submit & Grade My Test for instant feedback.

Part A

Multiple Choice - 20 Questions · 2 pts each · 40 pts

Lesson 25 - Blameless & Vigilant

Question 1

A church board discovers their pastor has a private sin he has never addressed. Their response: "Look at the fruit of this ministry - thousands saved, miracles, a growing church. This doesn't disqualify him." According to Lesson 25, what is wrong with this reasoning?

A. It is correct reasoning - God's endorsement through visible fruit overrides personal character failures. B. The sin needs to be weighed against the fruit to determine whether it is serious enough to warrant action. C. This is the precise inversion of biblical values. The operation of spiritual gifts is not the same thing as God's approval, and it is not a mitigating factor against character failure - it makes the failure more serious. The standard is blameless, not blameless except for the vice the board chooses to overlook. D. The reasoning is flawed only if the sin has become publicly known and is causing damage to the church's reputation.

Question 2

A leader personally believes eating at a bar is entirely lawful. But they serve a congregation that includes many new and struggling believers. Lesson 25 says blamelessness requires something specific in this situation. What is it?

A. To consider not only whether the action is righteous before God but whether it is above reproach before the watching world and younger believers - and to order their life accordingly, even if it means foregoing something lawful. B. To explain their position on Christian liberty clearly so that the congregation understands their freedom. C. To exercise their liberty privately and simply avoid being seen by anyone from the congregation. D. Nothing specific - blamelessness only covers actual sin, not actions that are lawful but might create misperception.

Question 3

A youth leader knows they struggle with lust. Their strategy: "I'm Spirit-filled. I know the Word. I trust God to give me strength when temptation hits." Lesson 25 says this strategy is insufficient. What does it prescribe instead?

A. Daily fasting and extended prayer to build sufficient spiritual strength to overcome in the moment. B. Accountability to a mentor who can be called during moments of temptation. C. Memorizing specific scriptures about purity that can be declared in the moment of temptation. D. Building preventive structure around the vulnerability before the moment of pressure arrives - removing the opportunity entirely. The vigilant response is not to trust willpower in the moment; it is to ensure the moment never develops. Like the wedding account: the temptation never came because there was no opening.

Question 4

The prophetic word that opens Lesson 25 says: "What My leaders do not expose on the altars of repentance, I will expose on the altars of public humiliation." How does the lesson characterize this word - threat or mercy?

A. It is a threat - a warning that God will punish leaders who refuse to repent by deliberately destroying their reputation. B. It is a mercy - the discipline of a God who is determined to have a pure and holy church. Public exposure is not God's preference; private repentance is. But He will not allow His house to remain impure indefinitely, and the pattern of public exposure will increase because He is purifying His church. C. It is a statement of historical pattern with no specific application to contemporary leaders. D. It is a conditional warning that only applies to leaders who have refused multiple private confrontations from other leaders.

Lesson 26 - Sober, Good Behaviour, Hospitable, Apt to Teach

Question 5

Keith Green was not reckless by nature. He was godly, gifted, and genuinely Spirit-filled. Yet a moment of high spirits led to a fatal decision that violated basic safety protocol he knew well. What does Lesson 26 say this account illustrates about sobriety?

A. That God sometimes allows tragedies to humble gifted leaders before their success breeds uncorrectable pride. B. That even the most gifted leaders should avoid private aircraft and high-risk activities. C. That emotional extremes - even joyful, positive ones - create dangerous blind spots. Keith Green was not reckless by nature; he was unguarded in a moment of extreme. The mountaintop is as dangerous as the valley - both are where the enemy hunts, and both require the sober watchfulness that steady center-ground provides. D. That God does not protect leaders who make careless decisions, regardless of their spiritual state.

Question 6

A church is known for an extreme emphasis on one genuine biblical truth - pushing it far past balance, applying it in isolation from every qualifying Scripture, until it has become distorted. Lesson 26 says this is a product of which leadership failure?

A. Failure to teach - the congregation has not been equipped to hold truth in balanced proportion. B. Failure of hospitality - an insular community that stops receiving outside correction. C. Failure of good behaviour - the leaders have modeled the distortion through their personal conduct. D. Failure of sobriety - extremes of opinion drive every major doctrinal abuse. Every distortion begins with someone taking a genuine truth and pressing it past the balancing point of Scripture, applying it in isolation until the truth becomes a weapon.

Question 7

A senior pastor is highly effective in public ministry but his associates report he never talks to them, never pours into them, and only addresses them to give instructions. He sees this as appropriate professional boundaries. What does Lesson 26 call this failure?

A. A hospitality failure - and it is epidemic. As platform grows, leaders become insulated by layers of staff and structure. The very people who most need what the leader carries cannot reach them. Ministry was meant to look like a table with extra seats and a door that stayed open, not a stage with an inaccessible audience. B. A reasonable professional boundary that protects the leader's limited time and energy for highest-priority ministry. C. A teaching failure - he has not equipped his associates to grow independently without his direct involvement. D. Not a failure at all - ministry to large congregations necessarily requires different relational structures than small settings.

Question 8

A church consistently produces emotionally moved people who make decisions at altar calls but show little long-term life transformation. Lesson 26 diagnoses this as a failure of which attribute - and what is the specific consequence it names?

A. Hospitality failure - the church has not created environments of genuine relationship that sustain transformation. B. Failure to be apt to teach - a congregation consistently preached at but not taught will produce people who know that God can help them but not how He expects them to live. Encouragement without instruction produces people who feel better temporarily but change very little permanently. C. Sobriety failure - the emotional atmosphere of revival services has not been balanced with sober instruction. D. Good behaviour failure - the leaders' personal conduct has undermined the credibility of the message they preach.

Lesson 27 - Not Given to Wine, Not a Striker, Not Greedy for Filthy Lucre

Question 9

A believer argues: "Paul told Timothy to drink wine for his stomach - that's New Testament permission for leaders to drink socially." What does Lesson 27 say this argument misses?

A. Paul's instruction is a general license that applies broadly to any medicinal or social use. B. Timothy's stomach condition was unique and therefore the permission cannot be generalized. C. The instruction was about grape juice, not fermented wine, making the argument invalid. D. The very fact that Paul had to tell Timothy to take wine proves that Timothy's normal practice was to avoid it entirely. It was a specific medicinal remedy for contaminated water - not a social license. The passage is evidence for the opposite of what the argument claims.

Question 10

A believer is considering participating in an activity they know is lawful but has some misgivings about. Lesson 27 provides four tests. Which combination of questions best represents the complete framework the lesson prescribes?

A. Is it forbidden in Scripture? Does my pastor approve? Will it affect my health? Is it expensive? B. Will it make me feel guilty afterward? Does it align with my values? Would I be comfortable if others knew? C. What is my honest motive (motive test)? Does it build spiritually (profitability test)? Will it cause another to stumble (stumbling block test)? Does it create an appearance of evil (appearance of evil test)? Failing the majority of these means avoiding it. D. Is it mentioned in the New Testament? Does it involve money? Does it affect my prayer life? Will it limit my ministry?

Question 11

Someone in a discussion group with a leader repeatedly presses theological controversies, looking for an argument. The leader feels obligated to defend truth comprehensively. Lesson 27 says this instinct, while understandable, reflects what misunderstanding?

A. The leader lacks confidence in their theological position and therefore feels the need to defend it. B. A leader does not need to take the bait. Foolish and unlearned questions generate strife; a leader speaks the Word, stands on the Word, and simply refuses to be dragged into fruitless debate. You have the living Word. You have no need to win arguments. C. Defending truth publicly is appropriate, but it should be done through formal teaching settings rather than group discussions. D. The leader should engage the arguments but use a Socratic method rather than direct assertion.

Question 12

A well-known minister consistently wears designer clothing worth thousands of dollars, justifying it as reflecting God's blessing and building credibility with affluent donors. Lesson 27's Chicago account speaks directly to this posture. What does it say?

A. Lusting after expensive things and seeing nothing wrong with it is the posture of someone serving mammon, not God - even if no explicit sin is involved. A leader consumed with acquiring costly things is not serving God as their master. They are serving mammon, regardless of how they frame it spiritually. B. The quality of a leader's clothing is irrelevant to their spiritual fitness as long as it does not involve debt. C. The issue is only the excess, not the quality - reasonable luxury is an appropriate sign of God's blessing on ministry. D. The minister should be transparent with their congregation about their purchasing habits so trust is maintained.

Lesson 28 - Patient through Proved

Question 13

Paul was stoned at Lystra, dragged outside the city, and left for dead. The next day he got up and walked back into the same city. Lesson 28 says this was not willpower. What was it - and what does it reveal about patience?

A. An act of apostolic courage that was unique to Paul's specific calling and should not be generalized. B. The result of Paul's exceptional physical toughness and resilience developed through years of hardship. C. An expression of Paul's deep love for the people of Lystra that overcame his personal pain. D. The patience of Christ - hupomonē: the heroic, brave steadfast endurance that not only bears but contends. This patience is not a personality trait or a product of willpower. It is a supernatural inner fortitude forged by God through a process that cannot be rushed or faked. That is a leader.

Question 14

A young minister watches a famous leader announce he is passing his ministry mantle to his son. The young minister screams at the television: "That should be mine!" God's response was to bench him for a year. Lesson 28 identifies a specific diagnosis deeper than bad attitude. What is it?

A. Immaturity - the young minister had not yet developed the emotional stability required for high-level ministry. B. Pride - an inflated sense of his own calling that made him feel entitled to another's place of ministry. C. Covetousness - desiring what God had not given him. And worse: most who chase a minister's mantle want the platform, the fame, and the money - not the suffering, the decades of faithfulness, and the years in obscurity that produced the anointing. They covet the fruit without the root. D. Jealousy - comparing his own ministry progress unfavorably to that of the senior leader's son.

Question 15

A leader claims they are focused on God but spends the majority of their discretionary time pursuing industry recognition, expanding their personal brand, and cultivating relationships that increase their visibility. Lesson 28 says Matthew 6:21 exposes what about this leader?

A. They are simply a driven person whose ambition God will sanctify over time as their character matures. B. Their heart is where their treasure is, regardless of what their mouth says. The heart does not lead the treasure - the heart follows the treasure. Where time and energy are being invested reveals the true location of the heart, and this leader's heart is in fame, fortune, and recognition. C. They are struggling with a spiritual attack of ambition that prayer and fasting will resolve. D. Their pursuit of visibility is appropriate as long as the ministry content they produce is biblically sound.

Question 16

A church rapidly elevates a young person to a prominent ministry role because they are extraordinarily talented and anointed. Lesson 28 warns this is a pattern that almost always ends the same way. Why - and what does it do to the person being elevated?

A. The novice elevated too quickly will almost always be filled with pride and fall. Quick exaltation destroys rather than builds. The church is coveting the talent and throwing the person to the forefront in direct violation of Scripture. We lose them by exalting them before their character can bear the weight of the platform. B. The elevation is fine if the person demonstrates genuine humility and submits to ongoing mentorship. C. The concern is primarily for the congregation, not the young leader - the congregation may receive immature teaching. D. Rapid elevation is acceptable in seasons of revival when the church needs more workers in a short time.

Question 17

A minister with a powerful platform consistently arrives late to work appointments, treats support staff dismissively, and is known in the marketplace as an unreliable business partner. Their congregation is unaware and considers them a spiritual giant. What does Lesson 28 say about this leader's qualification?

A. What happens outside church life is a private matter and has no bearing on ministry qualification. B. The congregation's perception is the primary measure; the outside reputation is secondary as long as no scandal breaks publicly. C. A good report of those without is a specific qualification in 1 Timothy 3. Christians should be the best employees, most reliable partners, and most consistent workers in any setting. The world measures the credibility of the gospel by how its representatives behave in the ordinary moments of daily life - and this leader is failing that test. D. The disconnect indicates a spiritual attack against their reputation that the congregation should pray against.

Question 18

David was anointed king as a teenager and waited approximately seventeen years before taking the throne. Lesson 28 uses this as an illustration of what principle about leadership development?

A. God delays because He wants leaders to experience sufficient suffering to develop compassion for those they will serve. B. The longer the wait, the greater the eventual authority - God assigns waiting periods proportional to the size of the calling. C. God was building David's political and military skills through the years of preparation before the throne. D. God was not in a hurry. He was building the only thing that can sustain a leader under the weight of genuine authority: character. The testing and proving process cannot be rushed - quick exaltation almost always leads to self-destruction, and no genuine authority can be sustained by talent alone.

Question 19

A leader neglects their spouse and children consistently, justifying it as "the cost of ministry." They have a thriving church and hundreds of disciples. What does Lesson 28 say about this trade-off?

A. The fruit of the ministry demonstrates God's approval, suggesting the trade-off is acceptable in this season. B. It is not spiritual sacrifice - it is disobedience. God places family responsibility second only to a personal walk with Him. A leader who cannot shepherd their own household well cannot rightly shepherd God's household. Neglecting family for ministry is often rooted in insecurity or building one's own kingdom rather than God's. C. It is an understandable compromise that God extends grace for in seasons of exceptional ministry demand. D. The family will ultimately be blessed by the fruit of the ministry, making the temporary sacrifice worthwhile.

Question 20

Saul was anointed powerfully by God but collapsed in disobedience and was ultimately rejected. David went through years of testing before receiving the throne and became a man after God's own heart. Lesson 28 uses these two as a contrasting case study. What is the central lesson?

A. Saul's failure was primarily theological - he did not understand the nature of obedience in the covenant. B. Saul was a failed leader because he was chosen by the people; David succeeded because he was chosen by God. C. A leader elevated before their character is built will be destroyed by the weight of the anointing. Saul was gifted and called but had not been proved - his character could not sustain the authority. David was tested across many years, found faithful in small things, and built the character that could carry genuine authority. Character before platform, always. D. Saul's failure illustrates that even genuine spiritual anointing can be counterfeit if the character is flawed.

Part B

True or False - 10 Statements · 1 pt each · 10 pts

Lessons 25 & 26 - Blameless through Apt to Teach

1. The sixteen attributes of 1 Timothy 3 are the aspirational ideals of an elite spiritual class - ordinary small group leaders and youth workers are not held to this standard.

TRUE FALSE

2. Major leadership moral failure rarely arrives suddenly - it is almost always the culmination of a gradual process involving small compromises, a slow drift of watchfulness, and a progressive lowering of guard.

TRUE FALSE

3. Sobriety as a leadership attribute primarily refers to abstaining from alcohol - its main concern is avoiding substance impairment rather than emotional and doctrinal balance.

TRUE FALSE

4. Good behaviour as a leadership attribute extends to restaurants, hotels, airports, and all daily contexts - not just the platform. How a leader treats waitstaff and service workers is part of their qualification.

TRUE FALSE

5. The Hebrews 5:12 maturity test measures spiritual development by the size of a leader's platform, the prominence of their gifts, or the number of years they have attended church.

TRUE FALSE

Lessons 27 & 28 - Not Given to Wine through Proved

6. The four tests for gray areas (motive, profitability, stumbling block, appearance of evil) are not legalism - they are love expressed as preferring your brother above yourself.

TRUE FALSE

7. A leader who refuses to be drawn into theological arguments and declines to take the bait of a quarrelsome person is being cowardly and avoiding their responsibility to defend truth.

TRUE FALSE

8. The power of patient endurance (hupomonē) is released in the midst of the battle, not before it - it is forged through a process of tribulation that cannot be rushed or bypassed by any leader.

TRUE FALSE

9. A leader who has successfully navigated major public ministry without moral failure has demonstrated the kind of proven character that qualifies them to elevate novices into prominence, since they understand the challenges from personal experience.

TRUE FALSE

10. God tests what He trusts with genuine authority - every leader must be proved over time, and those who resent or resist the testing process are resisting the very process that builds the character authority requires.

TRUE FALSE

0 / 50

Part A - Multiple Choice (20 questions × 2 pts)

Part B - True or False (10 questions × 1 pt)

Total

"What My leaders do not expose on the altars of repentance, I will expose on the altars of public humiliation. Blameless defines the standard. Vigilant describes the posture. Character before platform. Always."

- Dr. Steve Foss, Lessons 25-28 · 1 Timothy 3:2-7 · Romans 5:3-5

Lessons 25-28

The Attributes of a Leader - All 16 Standards

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