Today you should read: Titus 1:5-9
“Leadership is influence” ~ John Maxwell
Paul knew how important leadership was to the establishment of the church. He believed in it so much that he left one of his best disciples, Titus, in Crete for the sole purpose of appointing elders for the church. The same is true today for the church. We desperately need men to lead as overseers of our local churches, today maybe more than ever. Please note: we need women to lead too but not in this role. Not because women are not equal, but because that is how God has set it up per our passage today. The problem is we are very short on men ready to lead. This is not from a desire standpoint but from a qualification standpoint.
I know a lot of men and have heard of many more who desperately want leadership but they are nowhere near ready to be the kind of leader that God requires for his church. However, we need overseers and I want to challenge you if you are a man in your church to consider your own life. Ask yourself if God were to call me to lead in an elder role would I be ready? I want to talk about a couple things from our passage today that might help you think this through.
1. Are you a husband of one wife?
If you are single the question would be are you keeping yourself pure and are you preparing yourself for marriage if God were to call you to lead? Maybe he has called you to stay single like Paul, so are you staying pure in order to lead?
If you are a husband of one wife are you faithful?
Are you involved in an extramarital affair?
Pornography counts as infidelity. I know our culture has normalized pornography but God hasn’t.
Emotional affairs count too. If your female friend at work knows more about you than your wife, that is a problem. If you have to question it then it might be too far.
2. Are you above reproach?
Paul lists many shortcomings that we all need the Holy Spirit to work out of our hearts.
Are you actively working on this?
Remember the gospel should motivate us to act in godliness (John 14:23-24)
If your actions are off then your heart is off.
3. Are you true to the Word?
This is the most important thing for leadership. If you do not believe in the Word or stay true to the Word of God then you can’t lead.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”2 Timothy 3:16
Our obedience to the Word of God should come from our love for the gospel.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”Romans 1:16
I am very aware that leadership in the church is a tall order. However, God does not call perfect people to lead but he transforms broken people into leaders of his church. The key to the whole thing is a dependence upon God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”Ephesians 2:10
Posted by: Chad Wiles
JumpstartCPC.com 