Leadership Matters – part 5
Titus 1:5-9 (6)
March 9, 2025
I certainly want to thank Daniel for filling in last week.
• It is a blessing to have capable men like him who are willing to do the work to stand before you and rightly divide God’s word.
THIS MORNING we are going to return to our study of the book of Titus
And we return right in the middle of our segment on leadership.
We have said it many times, “Leadership Matters”
The Bible has so much to say regarding the negative effect that bad leaders can have on God’s people.
Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”
Ezekiel 34:5 “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.”
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
Aside from the prophets and priests, how much of the pain and suffering of the Old Testament is the direct result of the leadership of BAD KINGS?
• Do we remember the effects of Solomon’s immorality and the influence of pagan worship he allowed into the nation?
• Do we remember the effects of his son Rehoboam’s arrogance and how the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms?
• Do we remember the effects of Jeroboam, the northern kingdom’s first king, and his idolatrous decision to replace Jerusalem as the ordained worship site?
• Over and over in the kings we read, “he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat”
• It was Ahab who corrupted Israel with Baal worship.
• It was Ahaz who corrupted Judah with worship of Assyrian gods.
• We could lay the entire exile of Israel into Assyria and the exile of Judah into Babylon at the feet of their bad leadership.
And when we get into the New Testament it doesn’t get any better.
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
Ultimately Jesus exposed those bad leaders in Matthew 23
Matthew 23:1-4 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”
Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
Bad leaders bring condemnation and judgment on their people.
But the flipside is also true.
Good leaders bring blessing and salvation to their people.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
• How blessed was the nation of Israel when they actually listened to the leadership of Moses?
• How much blessing did David bring to his people?
• We think of kings like Hezekiah or Josiah who brought about deliverance and revival by leading their people to walk by faith and obedience.
• We think of prophets like Haggai who led the people to rebuild the temple and to bring an end to the temporal judgments they were experiencing.
LEADERSHIP MATTERS.
It is an issue that every church and every church member
Should be intently concerned about.
AS WE HAVE SAID,
The world has all sorts of ideas regarding what makes a good leaders.
• Experience, education, charisma, culture, ingenuity, success, etc.
But fortunately for us,
Scripture outlines for us what to look for in a leader in the church.
God has not left it up to us to determine what we think is best,
God has laid out for us the specific qualifications
Of what to look for in the leadership of the church.
And we have been examining it.
#1 THE PURPOSE
Titus 1:5a
“For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains”
• Titus was to be a spiritual chiropractor for the church; a spiritual orthodontist.
• He was to help the congregations all over the island get in order.
#2 THE DIRECTIVE
Titus 1:5b-9
“appoint elders in every city as I directed you”
Titus was to set the church in order and then appoint leaders
To direct the flock from that point forward.
We discussed the office.
• The Title – elders, overseers, pastor/shepherd
• The Job– they set an example, oversee, and shepherd the flock
• The Plurality – the New Testament shows a model of plurality in leadership
• The Appointment –elders were identified by the church and appointed by Titus
• The Gender – that the office of elder is restricted to men
And then we began looking at:
THE REPUTATION
This is where we are learning how to identify these men.
• Paul gave Titus a list of qualities.
• If a man fit these qualities he is approved.
• This is how you spot who is ready.
• And they are based upon his reputation.
This is why we see the same phrase used twice:
“above reproach”
• (6) “if any man is above reproach…”
• (7) “for the overseer must be above reproach…”
The phrase indicated a man that could not be indicted.
• It is NOT a perfect or sinless man,
• It is a man who could be evaluated according to the qualifications
• And the congregation would have no grounds for accusing him of being unfit.
That is how these men are going to be evaluated.
And, as we said, in Titus Paul focuses on two main areas of examination.
• His Home
• His Church
• 1 Timothy adds a third…Those outside the church
We are currently looking AT HIS HOME LIFE.
We started this two Sunday nights ago, looking at His marriage.
(6) “If any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife…”
I don’t want to hash all back through all of that,
But I would say, if you missed that please go online and listen.
It is too important an issue for the church to rightly understand
And everyone needs to be aware of it.
What we are talking about here is a “one-woman man.”
• We are looking for a man who is not adulterous.
• We are opening his folder on sexual immorality.
Affairs, pornography, unbiblical divorce and remarriage, filthiness, perversion, etc.
As we examine the men of the congregation as potential leaders,
We are looking for the men who have a solid reputation
Of being faithful to their wife.
Now we also said, I still stand by it, I DO NOT believe this to be a “one offense and disqualified forever” issue.
Paul is not here giving a list of who is disqualified forever.
He is giving a list of how to spot who is presently qualified without debate
Certainly REDEMPTION plays a role in this,
• You would be hard pressed to find a man in any culture and in any age who
was not guilty of heart-adultery or lust even before redemption.
But also, even among the redeemed,
• It may be true that a man has made mistakes in his past, as we all have,
• But if he has shown a faithful track record of repentance, sanctification, and
faithfulness for many years since, I do not see a permanently disqualified
man.
• We are far more concerned with what a man is today, and perhaps what he
has been over the past decade than we are with what he was 20 or 30 years
ago.
The qualification given here shows us who is immediately qualified,
But other men, after some investigation, through the lens of redemption,
May also be considered.
But we look at his faithfulness to his wife
Because that is a wonderful indication
Of how faithful he will be to the bride of Christ.
If he is not faithful to his own wife, how can he be faithful to the church?
THAT IS THE POINT.
• Do you see men who are faithful to their wives?
• Do you see men who are one-woman men?
• Do you see men who are examples of self-sacrificing love?
• That is what we are looking for.
WELL, THAT IS WHERE WE’VE COME SO FAR.
I’m sorry for the lengthy introduction and catch up, but it is so important that we all get this. If you’ll all show up on Sunday night we won’t have to do all of this.
BUT LET’S MOVE FORWARD.
Still talking about his reputation in his family.
(6) “if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.”
Now we look at the children he raised.
Just like it is important to look at how a man loves his wife,
It is equally important to see how he raises his children.
And let me just shoot straight here.
I find this to be the most difficult requirement to handle.
FOR ONE, sound commentators and authors and theologians are all over the place as to what this qualification actually means and how it should be applied.
You’ve got men like MacArthur
• Who say the man must have genuinely redeemed and believing children, who even when they are grown and out of the house do not engage in any kind of wild living for the rest of their lives.
Such a position certainly POSES QUESTIONS:
• Does there ever come a day when the father is no longer responsible for the decisions of his grown children?
• What if those grown children apostasize later in life? (John Piper)
• What if the father seemingly shepherds them well even in their rebellious state?
Such questions have led other commentators
To a little less direct of a response.
Men like Alexander Strauch
• Say that it is not redeeming belief that Paul is referencing, since no man can guarantee the salvation of his son since salvation is the work of God.
Of course this comes with its OWN SET OF PROBLEMS.
• If we are talking about unredeemed men, is there any certainty that they won’t become wild living?
• If they don’t have the Spirit of God how can you be sure that those children won’t fall into grievous and embarrassing sin?
• And if they do, what do you do with the elder then?
Or we could listen to men like Gene Getz
• Who says the issue is only the reproach that falls on the father as a result of the child’s living.
• He points out that if the child doesn’t live anywhere near the father, and his behavior is not in the public view then it has no negative effect on the ministry of the father.
HOWEVER,
• What is to keep the child from moving home?
• In a social media world, a child can become very public living miles away.
Beyond those scenarios.
• What do you do if a man has multiple children?
• What if 9 are faithful believers and 1 is a prodigal?
• Does 1 prodigal nullify the 9 faithful?
• What if it is split 5 and 5?
• Which 5 are the aberration?
• What if the man is saved after his children are grown?
In many ways these are unanswerable questions.
Namely because Paul does not address such situations or issues.
He does not elaborate.
He does not dive into various scenarios.
Paul gives us one, short, concise sentence by which to evaluate.
“if any man is above reproach…having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.”
THAT IS IT.
AND I JUST POINT ALL OF THOSE OUT TO YOU TO AGAIN SAY,
No matter where you land on this issue there are going to be questions.
We live in a messy world with messy circumstances.
The church of Jesus Christ
• Is being built in a fallen world
• And it is being led by men who needed redemption.
There are always going to be sticky and confusing issues.
OUR OBJECTIVE THIS MORNING
• Is to do our best to navigate Paul’s command to Titus
• And to rightly apply it to our understanding of how we select men to lead the church.
So let’s start working on it.
LET’S START BY EXAMINING THE CRITERIA
What does it actually say?
Well, let’s start with the word “children”
TEKNON in the Greek which simply refers to “ones offspring”.
If you want to talk about “little children” you use the term TEKNION
So we assess that all children of all ages are in view here.
• And certainly that makes sense since Paul will in a moment mention sins like “dissipation and rebellion” which are not really toddler level sins.
• Those are more likely to occur in teenagers and grown children.
When considering a man for leadership we examine his children.
• We look at his young children in his home.
• We look at his teenage children in their freedom and adolescence.
• We look at his grown children even as they leave the house.
And the first criteria Paul mentions is that they “believe”
• “having children who believe”
Now, first of all, if we want to just do a word study,
• The word here is the same word used of genuine and faithful believers throughout the New Testament.
For example:
Matthew 25:21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”
• There it is twice used and clearly referencing true believers.
Acts 16:1 “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,”
• There it is used regarding Timothy and translated “believer”
Galatians 3:9 “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
But it is also a word that just speaks of “basic faithfulness”.
Luke 16:11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?”
So it is a word that means “faithful” and it is perhaps
The best way to describe one who is a genuine Christian.
But is Paul here requiring genuine Christianity from every child raised by this man?
• MacArthur says “yes”
• Other faithful men say “no”
NOW, we certainly would NOT absolve a man of a responsibility to lead his children to the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
• We certainly do not teach that a father has no duty or responsibility there.
• We certainly do not encourage a passive “let go and let God” approach.
• There is a sense in which we certainly hold a father responsible for the faith of his children.
And even as it relates to shepherding God’s people we think of passages like the one we already quoted:
1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
Or even what the writer of Hebrews taught:
Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”
We certainly see that
In the same way as a shepherd is responsible for the souls of his flock
So also is a father responsible for the souls of his children.
However, we would also quickly point out that
No shepherd or father can guarantee the salvation of his flock or his kids.
• We know salvation to be a work of God, not a work of man.
• We know that salvation is something God works in the heart of that child, it is a personal thing.
SO IT WOULD SEEM IMPOSSIBLE
To hold a man totally responsible for the saving faith of his child.
After all, do we not see God lament
In the Old Testament at the waywardness of His children?
Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin;”
Isaiah 30:9-11 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
Malachi 1:6 “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’”
That is the continual problem of Israel that
Despite the perfect spiritual leadership of God, they refused to believe.
We are certainly aware of Judas, who was one of the 12, but we do not hold Christ responsible for his apostasy.
It would seem then that the point of the qualification here is that
These children be orderly and faithful to a right standard of living.
I think this walks in step with the qualifications Paul gave to Timothy.
1 Timothy 3:4-5 “He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),”
Paul doesn’t mention salvation there,
Only that the father did a good job of managing his household.
The idea there is that he keeps them under control with dignity.
With that in mind I think it best to understand Paul’s criteria here is that
WE ARE LOOKING FOR A MAN WHO RAISES DIGNIFIED CHILDREN.
They know how to live.
This fits with what we’re expecting from an elder in the church.
A shepherd, elder, overseer may not be able to
Guarantee salvation in every person in his church,
BUT HE CAN CONTROL THE BEHAVIOR OF EVERY MEMBER.
If they live wild he is called to discipline them,
And then even potentially remove them from the flock.
We are talking about a man who knows how to oversee;
He knows how to control his flock with dignity.
When Paul wrote to Timothy in his letter he said:
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
There it is again,
• Can he control the flock?
• Can he manage the conduct of his people?
And the way you are going to analyze that is whether or not
He has been able to manage the conduct of his children.
SO THAT IS FIRST.
He must have faithful, orderly, well-managed, dignified children.
And that is really what the CONTEXT INDICATES.
Paul expounds on what he means by “having children who believe”
And THEN says, “not accused of dissipation or rebellion”
• If he was talking about genuine redemption he would have said something more like, “having children who believe, filled with the Holy Spirit”.
It is their faithful, dignified character in view.
Specifically that they are “not accused of dissipation”
“dissipation” is equivalent to being a prodigal.
Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,”
1 Peter 4:3-4 “For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;”
You understand “dissipation” there.
Paul says a qualified elder needs to have children who are not accused or charged as free-living, prodigal, drunks.
The other word used is the word “rebellion”
It comes from a word that means “not made subject; disobedient”
1 Timothy 1:9 “realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious…”
We see it later in Titus:
Titus 1:10 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,”
It just refers to a person who does not submit their life in the areas where God calls for submission.
• They don’t obey parents
• They don’t submit to governing authorities
• They don’t submit to church leadership
• They ultimately don’t submit to God or His word.
These are just wild-living, unsubmissive, disrespectful, prodigal people.
And when we are looking for elders
We are looking at his kids to see if that is how his kids behave.
If they don’t, then this man is what you are looking for.
The qualification reads like an easy or obvious evaluation.
“appoint elders in every city as I directed you, namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.”
It is a quick evaluation.
• Does he love his wife properly?
• Has he raised his kids properly?
Can you find any red flags here?
• If not, then this is the type of man you are looking for.
NOW FIRST, LET’S ASK WHY?
Why do you want a man who manages his household well?
Namely because of the similarities of fathering and shepherding.
Many times in the New Testament ministry is compared to parenting.
• Paul even called Titus “my true child in the faith” up in verse 4.
When Paul wrote to the Galatians:
Galatians 4:19 “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you”
He wrote to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 4:14-16 “I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.”
2 Corinthians 12:13-14 “For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong! Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.”
John wrote to his congregation as his children:
3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
And to the Thessalonians Paul even compared his ministry to that of parenting.
1 Thessalonians 2:3-8 “For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”
• There he was gentle like a mother.
1 Thessalonains 2:9-11 “For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children,”
• There he exhorted and encouraged and implored like a father.
The role of a shepherd is very much like the role of a father.
If the man didn’t father well
You have no reason to expect he will shepherd well.
So we look at his kids and determine what kind of shepherd he will be.
• Are they orderly, dignified, well-behaved children?
NOW – WHAT IF THEY AREN’T?
• We already established that at times even God’s children are ill-behaved.
• We already pondered what if it’s not all of his children, only some.
• We already pondered that he may have done it right, but the world simply
corrupted his kids.
I get that this is a sticky issue.
So let’s get back to THE HEART OF THE QUALIFICATION.
Paul says that when we examine a man’s married life
And how he raised his kids we are doing so for one main reason.
It is to determine whether or not that man is “above reproach”
THAT IS THE ISSUE.
IS HE ABOVE ACCUSATION OR CONDEMNATION?
And let me just give you some things to think about
Before you ordain a man whose children are out of control.
Well for one, there is a REPUTATION issue at stake.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
Sometimes an elder has to do some confronting.
• Grown prodigal rebellious children will undermine him at every turn.
One of the issues we consider is that
The congregation needs to trust the counsel of it’s leaders.
Wayward children will undermine the man’s credibility.
The presence of wild children can make shepherding very difficult.
Another reason is the ABILITY issue.
We said that parenting and shepherding are very similar in their job description.
• If he hasn’t done it well with his children, we should not expect that he will start doing it once he is ordained as an elder.
Remember the admonition to Timothy?
1 Timothy 3:4-5 “He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?)”
That is a real issue that must be considered.
And that leads to a third issue which I would call the HYPOCRISY issue.
Rebellious children can indicate that something is internally wrong
Which were not able to see.
One of the reasons we examine the kids of a potential elder
Is because they are more prone to show us
If what we are seeing is A MIRAGE.
If a man’s children grow rebellious it may be an indication of
Hypocritical or Inconsistent or Dominating leadership.
One glaring example of that in the Old Testament is Eli.
1 Samuel 2:12-17 “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” If the man said to him, “They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD.”
We find then that God promised judgment on those boys.
1 Samuel 3:12-14 “In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. “For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them. “Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
God revealed that the wild living of Eli’s sons was due to inconsistency on the part of Eli.
• He did not rebuke his sons.
• He was a bad leader
• Under his leadership the ark of God was actually stolen by the Philistines.
• We would not have known about Eli’s failures, but they became evident in his sons.
It could be that a man has
No conviction or justice or discipline or consistency in his home
You know it because his grown children are wild and uncontrolled.
But THE OPPOSITE could be true as well.
• Even today has a father been prone to legalism?
• Has he pushed his sons to an impossible standard?
• Has he led void of grace?
• Has he frustrated his children and caused them to give up and turn away from the faith?
Colossians 3:21 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.”
If children rebel against that, you need to pay attention and dig deeper
Because they might be showing you a real problem.
AND MY POINT is that we must take this qualification seriously.
• I DO NOT read this as an obvious or eternal disqualification of a man.
• I DO believe that under further examination he may be acceptable.
• But if he has wild children you cannot immediately ordain him either.
So perhaps the best way is to say it like this.
I don’t like using the term “disqualified”, in fact Paul never uses it.
Let’s simply talk about those men who are IMMEDIATELY QUALIFIED,
And those men who may be POTENTIALLY QUALIFIED.
For a man to be immediately qualified he must be a one woman man with believing children who are not wild living.
A man with a past of immorality, or with questionable children
May be potentially qualified under further examination, but as a congregation you would have to know why.
You would have to dig deeper.
AND HERE IS WHY.
THE FLOCK OF GOD IS THAT IMPORTANT.
We may love the man.
• We may respect the man.
• Indeed he may be a godly man.
• And it may be painful to not immediately ordain him.
But the flock of God is more important
You cannot overlook God’s criteria
For the sake of a personal relationship or personal admiration.
You just can’t risk the flock.
A man can only be immediately ordained
IF he is faithful to his wife and IF he has obedient children.
And IF he fits the other qualifications we will see later,
And there is ONE MORE THING I would say here.
Let’s say you are a man who desires eldership,
But you are concerned about your eligibility
Because of the condition of your children.
Let me say this to you.
THERE IS NO SHAME IN PRIORITIZING YOUR CHILDREN.
• That is to say there is no shame in focusing on shepherding your children first,
before you come to shepherd God’s flock.
After all no man with a shepherd’s heart
• Is going to be content to abandon his family just so he can be an elder.
• Is going to try and hide his lost children so he can be an elder.
The heart of Christ
Was to suffer humiliation, reproach, and rejection
In order to save his lost sons and daughters.
There is no shame in focusing on shepherding your family correctly
Before stepping into the role in the church,
In fact that may be more godly.
But the admonition to the church is clear,
Even if all our questions are not answered.
As we look for men
Who are immediately and unquestionably qualified for eldership,
1. We are looking for men with the reputation of being faithful to their wives
2. And men with a reputation of raising godly children.
And we take that man and we say:
• Would you do for the bride of Christ what you have done for your own wife?
• Would you do for the children of God what you have done for your own children?
That is what we are looking for.
(more about his reputation tonight)
