Titus Chapter 1 - Leadership

INTRODUCTION :

Hope and I have been praying for quite some time about where our little church is headed and you have probably noticed a few new ways to stay connected, to give and to reflect on our mission here on Sundays and throughout the week.

Let me share our vision and mission from day one, and the scripture we have felt called to reflect in our purpose as the body here in our community.

Vision - Church at the Vineyard for the Community

Mission - Meet the need for Biblical Community, Spiritual Connection and Discipleship

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

As we have grown and matured as a body of believers, we are led to consider what leadership looks like or could look like in our church family.

Simply put, this isn't a Jerry and Hope show.  It's all of us being the Church, together.  Some of you are incredible prayer warriors, while some of you provide direct input into the teachings we have on Sundays, and others who serve with a fearless heart to give back to the community and meet the needs of others!

So… How do we “operate” a maturing church with transparency, accountability and biblical foundation?  How do we run a Men’s and Women's ministry?  Who decides where the financial giving that comes in, goes?  How do we continually honor God in all that we say and do? How do we impact the broader community with our existence here on Sundays?

For the next three weeks, we are going to be going through the Book of Titus to help us gain some insight and encouragement from the early church.

The Book of Titus is a letter from Paul to Titus, a Greek believer, who was leading the churches on the island of Crete. Let's check out Chapter 1…

READ Titus 1: 1-16

• Introduction and Greeting (Titus 1:1-4): Paul introduces himself as a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. He addresses Titus, his fellow missionary, and provides a greeting of grace and peace.

• Mission for Titus (Titus 1:5): Paul left Titus in Crete to put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town. This was a difficult task, as we will discover, and Paul wrote this letter to instruct and encourage Titus.

• Qualifications for Church Leadership (Titus 1:6-9): Paul provides a list of qualifications for elders, emphasizing integrity and sound doctrine. They must be above reproach, husband of one wife, children are respectful, they must not be arrogant, quick-tempered, a drunkard, violent or greedy, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

Let's finish the summary of the chapter and then we will come back to this list and cross reference it with other scriptures.

• Dealing with Offenders in the Church (Titus 1:10-16): Paul warns about insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers.. He instructs Titus to rebuke them sharply so that they may be sound in the faith. Paul says the Cretans are known to be liars, evil, lazy gluttons. The flock/church must be protected from those who issue false teachings for selfish gain.  These teachings must be silenced, and they should be “rebuked as necessary to return them to the faith”. The ability to rebuke offenders in the Church is also a responsibility of an Elder or Overseer.

Now let’s go back and dig a little further into Church Leadership.

Let’s first cross reference a similar passage in 1 Tim and make some observations. 

READ 1 Tim 3: 1-13

A few things to notice…

• While Titus uses the word Elder and Overseer, 1 Tim uses the word Overseer. We also see a very similar description of the qualifications for both. Therefore, we can draw the conclusion that the terms are interchangeable.

• 1 Tim adds to our understanding of church leadership by adding a separate but similar description of Deacons. The word Deacon in Greek means servant. We don’t have time today to go into a detailed breakdown of the differences through all the cross-referenced scriptures but what we can say for the purposes of this discussion think of an

• Elder or overseer as a pastor/shepherd, preacher/teacher, and equipper of the saints

• Deacons then oversee the responsibilities within the church and also participate in the equipping. For example: the Mens/Womens/ Community outreach, etc – 

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• The point is that strong leadership starts with people who have strong faith and belief in Jesus and first demonstrate that leadership in their own homes and families before taking on the responsibility of leading others. 

• It is a “ground up “ network of building and growing and living.  

• Leadership is not a popularity contest or power grab - those people are to be dealt with seriously because as we studied earlier this year, Christ is the Head of the Church.

CONCLUSION:

The letter was written to guide Titus in his leadership of the churches in Crete. Paul directed Titus to establish a group of faithful elders to oversee the doctrinal purity and good conduct of the believers in Crete which we are called to continue today. These leaders are called to a very high standard and must be willing to follow the example of Jesus, to equip and to protect the flock.

Next week we will look at Titus Chapter 2 and the charge to teach sound doctrine.