Week 49 Titus
Paul and Titus spent time starting several churches in Crete. Paul left. Titus stayed. Now in his letter to Titus Paul said: I left you on the island of Crete so you could a) complete our work there and b) appoint elders in each town.
Whatever completing-our-work meant in general terms Paul also gave Titus a specific directive about the qualities of people in leadership. It’s a pretty interesting list. An elder had to:
be well thought of
be faithful to his wife
have kids who believed & who weren’t rebellious
have a blameless life
be hospitable
love all that’s good
live wisely & be fair
live a devout & disciplined life
be a strong believer…
and… he couldn’t be arrogant quick-tempered a heavy-drinker violent or greedy.
I sit thinking about the list.
…before I could be a church leader I’d have to be assessed based on this list
…if the Selection Committee probed very deeply I wouldn’t make it
…I don’t figure the list is just for elders (for example a non-elder can’t cheat on his wife)
…and it’s not a comprehensive list (for example addictive gambling or vengeance aren’t listed).
I quit thinking about the list. Guys have told me several times that the church is full-of-hypocrites. Maybe that’s so. But seeing this list makes me think that if it is full then a) it’s pretty seriously failing Paul’s test and b) hypocrisy is likely just one of the problems.
Note: quote and list from Titus 1:5, 6-9 (NLT)