Verses 5-9 of the first chapter of Titus have to do with leadership in the church. There are several vital requirements if the local church is to be a true center of spiritual worship , fellowship and service. The members must be truly born again (Jn.3:3) ; they must be separated (2 Cor.6:14) ;dedicated (Rom. 12:1) and spiritual people (1 Cor.3:1) and there must be harmony and concord in the church (Psm. 133:1-3). However, one other vital requirement that there should be right leaders ; for whether a church is strong or weak, powerful or lacking in vitality , will depend to a large extent upon the leadership of the church. No-one knew this better than Paul. It is one of the main reasons he wrote the Pastoral Epistles. Here in Titus 1:5-9 he authorizes Titus to appoint leaders in each of the establish churches , and then he describes the kind of people who shall be entrusted with this responsible position of leadership. He uses three words to describe leaders in the church.
I. ” Elders ” (v:5) This suggest maturity and dignity. An elder must be a man of spiritual stature and not a novice.
2. ” Bishop ” (V:7) The word means ” overseer “, so a leader in God’s work is one who sees over that work.
3. ” Steward ” (v:7) A steward acts on the behalf of another ; a steward in the church is one whom God has placed there to work under His direction.
Tomorrow we shall look at the qualifications for spiritual leadership (verses 6-9)