Series: Underserved Grace

Scripture: Titus 1:5-9 (Main passage); 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Tim 3:1-7

Title: Choosing Your Elders

Bottom line: Choose elders who are blameless under-shepherds where they live, work, learn, and play. 

From Danny Akin: “God believes leadership of the local church is so important that He addresses the issue in detail four times in the NT: Acts 20:28-38, 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; and 1 Peter 5:1-4. 

Emphasis in each list falls on a leader’s personal character and theological competency. God is primarily interested in who you are and then what you do. He well understands that the latter will flow from the former.

Ultimately, pastors are to be examples to the church of how the gospel produces godliness.” P. 234

Episodes:

1. Context (5)

2. Blameless (6a, 7a)

3. The Elder as Husband (6b)

4. The Elder as a Father (6c)

5. The Elder as a Christian Man (Personal qualities) (7-8)

   1. Not...

   2. But...

6. The Elder as a Theologian (Pastor/under-shepherd) (9)

7. Our process at Grace CF.

   1. Pray.

   2. Pursue someone you feel led to ask. 

   3. Ask. If they decline, you’re done.

   4. If they agree, share their name with the elders. 

   5. The elders meet with.

   6. Candidates put on ballot if no serious issues.

   7. Church votes; super majority of members who vote required.

8. Next steps: Pray, Prepare, Partner, and/or Pursue

   1. Pray for our current and future elders.

      1. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[a] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. (Acts 14:23)

      2. Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. (Heb 13:17)

   2. Prepare yourself or help him prepare.

      1. ”To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1 Peter 5:1-4)

   3. Partner with current elder/pastor (apprentice).

   4. Pursue becoming an elder. Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 

      1. “Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.” 1 Tim 3:1 NIV

Notes from Bible Knowledge Commentary

Titus 1:5–16 (BKC): 

II. Qualifications of the Elders (1:5–9).

1:5. As with Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3), Paul had left Titus behind to provide leadership to the fledgling church in Crete. Now the apostle reiterated his previous instructions, both for Titus’ sake and for the congregation’s. The organization of the Cretan church was unfinished due to the brevity of Paul’s visit. Thus Titus was to straighten out (lit., “set in order”) the situation by appointing elders in every town. Titus was now acting as an apostolic agent (cf. Acts 14:23) in Paul’s absence. His authority in the Cretan church was an extension of Paul’s own. Such authority ended with the close of the Apostolic Age.

1:6. As in 1 Timothy 3:2–7 Paul listed the qualifications for elders (cf. comments on 1 Tim. 3:1). There the list numbered 15; here 17. Yet both lists cover essentially the same qualities: (1) the elder must be blameless (anenklētos, “unreprovable”). In 1 Timothy 3:10 Paul used this same word of deacons, while in 1 Timothy 3:2 he used anepilēmpton to express the same thought of the elders. (2) Husband of but one wife probably means that the elder should have been married only once (see comments on 1 Tim. 3:2). (3) The elder must have his own household under control. This involves not only the matter of discipline (1 Tim. 3:4–5), but also positive spiritual influence as well. His children must be believers who are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. The apostle had explained why this requirement is important (1 Tim. 3:5).

1:7. Here Paul switched from the term “elder” (presbyteros) to overseer (episkopos). The two words are plainly interchangeable in the apostle’s thinking, referring to the same church office. The term “overseer” is singular here, but this certainly does not mean that there must be only one episkopos per congregation. Rather the word is used here in a generic sense. Paul was simply affirming that these qualifications are required of all overseers. 

The need for blamelessness is repeated from verse 6. The reason this quality is so important is that an overseer serves as a steward of God. Damage to a church leader’s reputation is damage to God’s reputation. 

Then Paul resumed his list with five vices which must not characterize an overseer: (4) not overbearing, not arrogant and self-willed; (5) not quick-tempered (cf. James 1:19–20); (6) not given to much wine; (7) not violent (cf. 1 Tim. 3:3 for this and the previous vice); (8) not pursuing dishonest gain (cf. comments on 1 Tim. 6:5).

1:8. Whereas verse 7 lists negative characteristics to avoid, verse 8 lists positive qualities to be sought. The elder must be (9) hospitable (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2); (10) one who loves what is good (cf. Ps. 15); (11) self-controlled, or temperate and sensible (sōphrona; cf. Gal. 5:23; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 2:2, 4); (12) upright (dikaion, “just”); (13) holy (these last two are, with blamelessness, two of the characteristics Paul himself had modeled [cf. 1 Thes. 2:10], but neither is mentioned in 1 Tim. 3); and (14) disciplined (in contrast to the vices of Titus 1:7; cf. 1 Tim. 4:7–8).

1:9. Not only must an overseer meet moral and spiritual standards in his personal life, but he must also be a reliable man of the Word. (15) He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught. This last clause, “as it has been taught,” actually comes first in the Greek, for emphasis. According to Paul, an elder is a conservator of the truth, one who must understand it, hold it fast; (16) encourage others by teaching it; and (17) refute those who oppose it. To be qualified as an elder a man must be a capable handler of the truth (cf. comments on 1 Tim. 3:2).

Notes from Warren Wiersbe’s BEC

Titus 1:5–9 (BEC): Ordain Qualified Leaders (Titus 1:5–9)

One reason Paul had left Titus on the island of Crete was that he might organize the local assemblies and “set in order” the things that were lacking. Titus 1:5–9 (BEC): That phrase is a medical term; it was applied to the setting of a crooked limb. Titus was not the spiritual dictator of the island, but he was Paul’s official apostolic representative with authority to work. It had been Paul’s policy to ordain elders in the churches he had established (Acts 14:23), but he had not been able to stay in Crete long enough to accomplish this task...

...Titus 1:5–9 (BEC): The fact that these standards applied to Christians on the island of Crete as well as to those in the city of Ephesus proves that God’s measure for leaders does not fluctuate. A big-city church and a small-town church both need godly people in places of leadership.

“Titus 1:7a (BEC): The steward of God” (v. 7a). A steward does not own but manages all that his master puts into his hands. Perhaps the most famous steward in the Bible is Joseph, who had complete control over all of Potiphar’s business (Gen. 39:1–9). The most important characteristic of a steward is faithfulness (Matt. 25:21; 1 Cor. 4:1–2). He must use what his master gives him for the good and glory of his master, and not for himself personally (see Luke 16:1–13).

Titus 1:7a (BEC): The elder must never say, “This is mine!” All that he has comes from God (John 3:27) and must be used for God. His time, possessions, ambitions, and talents are all loaned to him by the Lord; and he must be faithful to use them to honor God and build the church. Of course, all Christians ought to be faithful stewards, and not the pastors only!

Notes from “Opening Up Titus” commentary

"The third title, steward, is hidden by the NIV translation of verse 7. A more literal rendering would be, ‘an overseer must be blameless as a steward of God’. The steward was the man whom a wealthy master would put in charge of his household or business. It was a position of considerable trust. It required someone who was wise and faithful and trustworthy. And here Paul says that an elder is a steward. He is to manage the affairs of God’s house, ensuring that the work of his divine Master gets properly done and caring for his Master’s servants."

"Elder, overseer, steward—these are the words Paul uses for the leaders who are to be appointed in our churches. Singly and together they mark the position out as one of considerable responsibility. Evidently a Christian of high calibre is required"

"Clearly, Paul’s description is of considerable use to those who already are elders. It calls us to self-examination and to seek by the grace of God to be far more the Christian leaders that God intends us to be. The primary concern of these verses, however, is not with being the right kind of elders, but with appointing them. What kind of men should your church be setting apart for eldership? What kind of men does God want in that office? Here in Titus 1 we have a very clear answer!“

"Summing it all up at the start

The apostle begins with a summary word and later on, in verse 7, repeats it. It is the word blameless, and it gathers into one the various elements of the apostle’s description.

We do have to be careful here not to impose on this word a meaning that it is not intended to bear. ‘This does not of course mean,’ writes John Stott, ‘that candidates must be flawless or faultless, or we would all be disqualified.’ The idea is rather that of being ‘above reproach’. Morally and spiritually, the elder is to be exemplary. No one should be able to accuse him of either serious misconduct or a general pattern of inappropriate behaviour. He should have a good reputation among outsiders and within the church as well. And as far as doctrine is concerned, he should be sound."

The commentator breaks these qualifications down into these categories:

The Elder as Husband

The Elder as a Father

The Elder as a Christian Man (Personal qualities)

The Elder as a Theologian 

The Elder as a Father

"Paul has more to say about the elder’s home life. Not only must he be a faithful husband; he must be a good father, one ‘whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient’. Something needs to be said here before we come to the details. It has to do with the previous point as well. Paul is not saying that a single man, or a widower, or a man who has been divorced on biblical grounds, or a man who has no children, or a man who has only one child cannot be an elder; that in order to be an elder a man must be married with children. What Paul is doing here is focussing on the norm. For the most part, the men in the church who would be eligible for eldership would be married men with children. It is this general situation that he has in mind.

As far as the elder’s children are concerned, Paul insists that they ‘believe’ (NIV). In other translations these children are described, not as believing, but as faithful—faithful in the sense of submissive or obedient to their father’s will. This is a preferable understanding. What is in Paul’s mind is not belief but behaviour. He is not saying that an elder’s children have to be Christians. But he is insisting that they be under their father’s control and ‘not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient’. In his first letter to Timothy the apostle makes the same point: ‘The overseer … must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect’ (3:4). Then follows the reason: ‘If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?’ (3:5). If a man cannot look after his own household it cannot be expected that he will be able to take care of God’s church. Failure in the one area will lead to failure in the other."

The Elder as a Christian Man

..."Moving now to the positive, an elder ‘must be hospitable’. The word ‘hospitable’ comes from one which means ‘love of strangers’. It is primarily about caring for and welcoming into our homes those who need hospitality or would greatly benefit from it. Examples in our day would be visitors to our congregation, believers who have recently joined us, the lonely, the needy, the singles who are away from their families, etc. Hospitality is a duty that devolves upon us all. Paul makes that clear in Romans 12. And in Titus 1 he tells us that it is one of the qualifications for eldership"