”This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him. I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace. I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong. For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money. Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.” This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith. They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth. Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.“
Titus 1:1-16 NLT
It is clear that knowing the law is not enough to be a leader in God’s kingdom. To be a good leader means living the law. Interestingly enough, the law that needs to be lived is not a simple matter of following rules. In fact it is quite the opposite. For the most part, the description of Elder to Titus is one that can be quantified. It is a matter of quality. An Elder is a man of a certain character. This is to say that he doesn’t seek to live the law but rather seeks to be a godly man and thus ends up fulfilling the law. This is precisely why there is no biblical quantifier for Eldership. There is no degree or certificate that one can produce to show that they should be in this position. Instead, they can only show the examples of their lives in the mundane. It is the caliber of relationships that they have. For instance, a child who is well behaved demonstrates that his parents value order, submission and respect. All of these qualifiers are a result of patient dedication to a godly life that adheres to Christ’s example of self sacrifice. Without this, things like a loving family, sobriety and work ethic cannot be sustained for very long. In leadership, our focus should be on character rather than on certifications and degrees.
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