Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business
Words of Faith 8-24-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Titus 1
[5] The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. [6] An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

If Paul left Titus in Crete to "straighten out" the church that which was left unfinished, what does it mean to straighten out? The Greek word used here means to make upright or straight. It also means to "raise or rear" as a child is trained. For this purpose, Paul called for leaders called "elders."
The word "elder" has been used in many ways throughout history. But here, in the simplest form, Paul simply designated that there should be "elders" in every town. Order will not come to the church from outside the town or from some hierarchy. "Straightening" is an issue of local leadership that is older.
The word used is presbyteros from which we get "Presbyterian." Literally, the word simply means "older." The term had been used in Judaism to describe members of the Sanhedrin, but it literally means elderly. There should be appointed in each town a group of appointed leaders who are older.
We may ask: Does "elder" mean older in years, older in wisdom, or older in faith? Probably all of these, but certainly not just older in years. Being "elder" certainly has more to do with years walking with the Lord than anything, but it will also call for specific character qualities.
But don't miss this. Years are involved. There is a certain wisdom that is only gained with the passing of years. There has been a trend in recent years to plant intentionally uni-generational churches rather than multi-generational churches. Because of the difficulties in reaching a specific generation that is being lost, some have targeted a market specifically to reach one generational layer. This makes sense, but there is also danger here.
There is danger in forming a highly dynamic church where this is no "elder" leadership to shape and raise or "straighten out." Because of the mass market for religious and spiritual experiences, the uni-generational approach both removes the exuberant energy of youth from older churches and at the same time risks crashing a fast-growing ship that has not learned the ways of the sea.
God's design was for God's people to be "raised up" by those who are older in life and faith. The character qualities of those older church leaders are straightforward and similar to what we found in the letters to Timothy.
An elder leader but have excellent character. They must be "blameless" or without reproach. They must not practice the pagan way of polygamy, having more than one spouse. This admonition does not seem to preclude those who have remarried, but the issue of divorce certainly falls under the need to be "blameless" and above reproach. They must be a leader who is faithfully raising their children to believe. The children of an elder leader should not be open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
The description is a bit daunting. We know that there are no perfect people, no perfect believers, and no perfect leaders. The standard is high, not to be a point of discouragement but rather to make sure that we value the right things. As we will see, there were slick teachers and religious charlatans that were already working their way around the circuit of churches. Leadership is not to be based on personal charisma but on observable character. The interesting thing about the lists of character qualities is all things that can only be observed locally. The idea of ecclesiastical structures that isolate leadership from the people is simply not founded in scripture.

Lord God, I pray for intergenerational joy in Your church. I pray for leadership that is wise and a ministry that is robust and energetic. Give Your creativity as you apply Your guidance and wisdom. Help me to know how I fit in. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.