DECEMBER 20 – Reading 354

by Chris Rainey | December 20

“ELDER CARE”
(Titus 1:1 – 3:15)

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you . . . [an overseer must be] hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. – Titus 1:5,8

“I don’t necessarily believe in organized religion.” – Will Smith

I always enjoy hearing people say they don’t believe in organized religion. If they had ever been a part of an actual church, they would know that we might be a lot of things, but organized is not one of them. (OK, Marcia and I once attended a church in Louisville, Kentucky that had several thousand members, and the efficiency with which they did communion was a sight to behold.) Which brings us to today’s text, where Paul leaves Titus in Crete to “put what remained in order and appoint elders” (1:5). A church needs organization to function well, and early on the leaders in the early church saw this as a need and attempted to address it. The answer was to bring in morally sound, family-oriented Christians to lead. This likely applies both to pastors or elders in a congregation. 

One thing I notice from this list that we probably don’t see enough of in our contemporary church is the quality of hospitality (1:8). It is listed here as an essential quality of spiritual leaders, but I think our urban/suburban way of life makes showing hospitality quite challenging due to busyness, geographical distance, digital preoccupation, careerism, etc.. It is much needed, however. According to a 2023 U.S. Surgeon General advisory, loneliness is a public health epidemic due to its prevalence and negative effects on physical and mental health, with approximately one in two Americans experiencing loneliness.  People are likely dropping by our churches to deal with their loneliness. Will there be hospitable people around to invite them into the life of the kingdom?

Application:
We often think of the items in this text as requirements for a board member or pastor position. What if we thought of them not in terms of position but rather in terms of progress in faith? Would that make a difference?

Reflection:
When selecting church leaders, it is inevitable that opponents will actively seek out flaws. Therefore, it is preferable for a prospective leader to have as few demonstrable faults as possible.

Closing Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the example of spiritual leadership laid out in your word. Help us to not only seek these qualities in those who lead us, but to pursue them in our own lives—especially the spirit of hospitality, so that we may be agents of your love who counteract the loneliness so prevalent in our world today. Amen.