Church leaders (1 Timothy 3)

In chapter three, Paul discusses leaders within the church.  In short, they should be examples of Christian character and values.

Interestingly, Paul mentions that leaders should be the "husband of one wife".  If I am not mistaken, I think this is the only place in the Bible where polygamy is explicitly discouraged.  If we think back to the Old Testament, men frequently had multiple wives.  David, a man "after God's own heart", had several.

This issue actually comes up in the modern context, particularly with missionaries and church plants in areas of the world where polygamy is still common.  In some areas, the only way to have any local leaders at all is to have a person with multiple wives.

Personally, I think polygamy is a mess.  That said, I am OK if church leaders in polygamous cultures are polygamous leaders.  If we look back to the Old Testament, God generally did not have a problem with it, but met people where they are.

Rather, I think Paul is outlining a general ideal of character evaluation for church leaders.  In context, character and their personal lives matter.  Paul is highly aware of the complicated problems that can arise with polygamy and does not want leaders to be pulled down by it.