Looking For A Few Good Men—Part 2
                                 Titus 1:6-9 (#3)

Can you identify these characters?  Of course, they are Todo, Dorothy and her friends, from the timeless film, “The Wizard of Oz.” 

One of the most unforgettable scenes is when the troop finally reaches the Emerald City.  Inside the castle, there is a giant screen, smoke and lightning, and a voice that thunders, “Dorothy!; When Todo pulls back a curtain, there is a little man cranking a giant machine, speaking into a microphone.

Knowing he is exposed, the machine thunders, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! Look at the light show!”

The light show isn’t what they hazarded their lives for, they came to see a real person who could help Dorothy find her way home.
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People who know we profess the name of Jesus want to see a real person; they aren’t impressed by lightning and thunder, what they desperately need is someone who points the way home… some one who “walks the talk.”There are three specific areas:

There are three specific areas:*Walkin’ the Talk In the CHURCH— 1:5-16
*Walkin’ the Talk in the HOME— 2:1-15
*Walkin’ The Talk in the WORLD— 3:1-11

Titus is Paul’s special envoy, serving on the island of Crete. His ministry is described in verse 5:

…to “set in order” (verse 5)—a medical term meaning ‘to set a broken
     bone”— His mission was to straighten out things crooked.
…to “appoint elders” (Verse 5)—He was there to complete things left
               unfinished.

With all the urgent problems and the Cretans’ need to know Christ, it is striking that Paul begins with instruction about leaders. It is now a clique that “everything rises and falls on leadership.”

John Maxwell said something helpful here. He discusses “Five Signs of a Healthy Church.”  He says:

*Structure (Infrastructure) Gives A Church Size
*Community (Relationship) Gives A Church Morale
*Prayer Gives A Church Effectiveness
*Leadership Gives A Church Direction

What kind of leadership?  There were self-appointed leaders who were working havoc in the churches. Against a backdrop of self-centeredness, lying and corruption, Paul says, “God is looking for a few good men to lead his church.”  God is still looking for a few good men. 

This is the gold standard.  Education is good; the ability to work with people is important, but character is first. There are four areas described:

*Sexual morality—V6b
*Family leadership—V6c
*Inner character—Vv 7-8a
*Scripture Skill—V9

There are 5 negatives and 6 positives; each expressed in a single Greek word.  We are privileged to observe God building his leader, one organ at a time.

My plan is to briefly summarize each qualification, and then zoom in on one that is controversial.  Which one would that be? “the husband of one wife.”  The Listening Guide will be helpful. 

The first area is the big umbrella (repeated in verse 7); everything that follows explains what it means to be “blameless.”  Obviously it doesn’t mean “sinless” or none would qualify.  The word means, “not able to take hold of.”  Kent Hughes writes,

       “Not chargeable with some offense, not open for community accusation.” 

There is nothing in the elder’s life that Satan or non-believers can take hold of to blaspheme the Lord, criticize the leader or attack the church.

In the legal system of Paul’s day, this person was not subject even to indictment, much less trial.

In our early ministry, a widow in the church with no children wanted to put me in her will.  I gently refused her generosity, asking instead that she remember the church in her will.  I could just imagine critics in the community saying, “Ya, that preacher manipulated that vulnerable widow to pad his own pocket.”

Three areas of “blamelessness” specified:

*Relationships
*Conduct
*Inner Life (or character)

The first area, signaling priority, is home life—“having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.”

Just reading it gives a Christian dad a bad case of the dry mouth. It obviously applies to pastors and leaders whose children are yet at home under his authority.  His children must be Christians because they are a reflection of him and his leadership.

“tekna,” translated “children,” is plural.  In a family with multiple children, we are not necessarily looking at the beliefs and actions of one child but the character of the family as a whole.  The prodigal son was not a reflection of dad’s leadership or parenting, no more than the self-centered, “goody-two-shoes” son who stayed.

It’s gut-wrenching when an effective pastor or deacon loses his ministry or resigns voluntarily because of a rebellious, self-centered child or teenager. Kids, your actions and attitudes have far-reaching implications, not just for you but for your family.

In verse 7, the elder is one who is not “self-willed.”  One translation says “over-bearing.”  The word literally means, “pleasing himself.”  The first concern is his own rights. You will hear this pastor make statements like, “If you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”  He is unapproachable, arrogant, cocky and domineering.”  He is a rotten tatter—a dictator.

One writer says, “He is the man who is intolerant, who condemns everything that he cannot understand.”

”Quick-tempered,” means “quick-tempered.”  The phrase means, literally, “not soon angry.”  It doesn’t refer to an occasional outburst (as bad as that is), but a settled, seething anger; a fuse just waiting to be lit.  We say this person has “lost his cool,” “flew off the handle.”  People tend to walk on egg shells around this guy; he’s a volcano just waiting to explode!  If you don’t believe that, just cross him!

My experience over 30 years has been that independent fundamentalism has not only tolerated but produced this kind of leader.

”Not given to wine,” literally, one who “sits too long at his wine.”   In that culture, it was a call to moderation—self-control—but we should understand not only the culture but the content. John MacArthur notes:

     “The wine most commonly drunk in Paul’s day, as well as in Old
     Testament times, was either nonalcoholic or had very low alcohol content.
      Fermented juice was mixed with water (as much as 8 or 10 parts water to
      1 part wine) to lesson its power to intoxicate, particularly when the
      weather was hot and much fluid was consumed. Because water was
      frequently contaminated, as it is today in many third world countries, the
      slight content of common wine acted as a disinfectant and had certain
      other health benefits. Later in his first letter to Timothy, Paul advised the
      younger elder: ‘No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for
      the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.”  (Titus, 27).

A group of deacons were discussing this subject. One factually affirmed, “Well, Jesus turned water into wine.” “Yes, he did,” another admitted, “but he shouldn’t have!”

The culture was different; the content was different.

I believe that Scripture affirms that total abstinence is the best course.  Alcohol destroyed my paternal great-grandfather’s life and his family. He was so hated for his meanness and wickedness that someone found him drunk and poured battery acid over his head. 

If for no other reason, I have abstained because of the risk of exposing a child or grandchild to alcohol, who might prove later in life to have a proclivity toward abusing it.

”Not violent” is the next qualification. It has the idea of “not one who settles matters with a lashing of the tongue or the striking of the fists.” 

It was not uncommon in NT times for even grown men to settle disputes with their fists.  Synonyms include “meanness, retaliation.”   One writer says,

  “It is possible to hurt a person more deeply and permanently with
  cruel words than with a fist or club.

”Not greedy for money.”— An elder should not be known for taking advantage of situations to improve his financial status.

Gene Getz: “One of the marks of a false teacher or leader in Crete was his
                     impure motives in regard to material things.”

Another says, “This means adapting one’s teaching to the hearers in hope of
                     getting money from them.”

I’ve never figured out how sowing a financial seed in a televangelist’s garden could ever produce a harvest in mine.  It defies the law of the harvest, and Scripture.

”But hospitable” (Verse 8) is literally, “a lover of strangers.”  In Roman times, travel was unprecedented.  Rome built roads to the far reaches of the Empire.  Inns were notoriously dirty, dangerous and immoral.  So when Christians traveled, they needed a place to spend the night.

It means generous and caring for others.  Eager to help; having an outward (not inward) focus—Available, eager, ready to put oneself out to show the love of Christ.

”a lover of what is good.” —Carries the idea of having strong affection for good things and good people wherever he finds them.  It connotes emotional passion. You would expect to find him where good things are going on! Like a motorcycle rally in the Smokies!

”sober-minded”— Not somber, but literally, “One who is in his right mind.”  That is, he thinks about things like God thinks; sees things from God’s perspective.  He is able to differentiate between the temporal and the eternal. He looks at life through God’s glasses.

”Just’—has the idea of upright.  It denotes a leader who is proper, right and fitting. He reflects God’s fairness and righteousness.

”Holy”— Describes one who conforms to what he knows is pleasing to God.

”self-controlled.”—Applies to his appetites and actions. The Greeks used this word to describe one who had achieved complete mastery.  John MacArthur writes:

    “He lives an exemplary life on the outside because he submits to the Holy
    Spirit’s control on the inside.”  It is a fruit of the Spirit—Gal 5.

I find that if I am out of control in one area it spills over into other areas.

Now—Verse 6—“the husband of one wife.” (Also a qualification in I Tim 3:2)The Greek text says, “A one-woman man.”  The $64 question is: What does that mean?
 
In my view, it does not directly address the question concerning a man who has been divorced.  It is about the man who may be married to his first wife but ogles every attractive woman in a half-mile radius.  Whether or not he ever commits physical adultery, he commits moral (and mental) adultery if he harbors sexual desire for other women in his heart. He is not a ‘one-woman’ man, he is a lustful, unfaithful man.

The Greek text says,   The $64 question is: What does that mean? In my view, it does not directly address the question concerning a man who has been divorced.  It is about the man who may be married to his first wife but ogles every attractive woman in a half-mile radius.  Whether or not he ever commits physical adultery, he commits moral (and mental) adultery if he harbors sexual desire for other women in his heart. He is not a ‘one-woman’ man, he is a lustful, unfaithful man.Husbands and fathers should not entrust their wives and daughters in the counsel of such a man.  He is a fox in the hen house.

However, the divorce question is addressed; it falls under the big umbrella of “blameless.”—One who “can not be taken hold of.”  To disqualify such a man is not to pass judgment upon the reasons for a failed marriage.  Sometimes the divorce decision is not his to make.  Sometimes a spouse simply walks away.

In ministry and leadership, credibility is everything.  I have often been aware in premarital and marital counseling that I am offering help and counsel from my own marriage capital. 

How can I, with integrity, press upon a young couple anticipating marriage the necessity of …

…perseverance in hardship
…unconditional commitment
…the sufficiency of God’s power and grace in conflict

if I have not persevered or received God’s grace and power in my marriage.

I know what you’re thinking (I see it in your eyes): “Pastor, what about the man who was divorced before he was saved? Does he qualify as an elder?”  This qualification doesn’t address that question directly.  There seems to me that there is something about the nature of marriage that sets divorce apart from, say, a man who robbed a bank, went to prison, got saved there, and in later years became an elder.  I can’t be dogmatic here. 

Warren Wiersbe articulates the best view:

    “It means a pastor (could add elder, deacon) must not be divorced and
    remarried.  Paul is not referring to polygamy, since no church member, let
    alone a pastor, would be accepted if he had more than one wife. Nor is he
    referring to the remarriage after the death of the wife, for why would a
    pastor be prohibited from marrying again, in light of Genesis 2:18 and I Tim
    4:3….a pastor who has been divorced opens himself and to the church to
    criticize from outsiders, and it is not likely that people will consult a man
    who could not keep his own marriage together.”

One man writes:

      “Many a wise pastor has advised potential leaders whose marriages
      need attention not to lose church office despite the fact they are
      technically married. God requires a church to determine whether
      potential elder’s married is whole, healthy and solid. As a corollary, men
      with damaged or deficit marriages should not pursue church leadership
      positions, thinking that others will not care or notice. They will care and
      they will notice. 

I hasten to say that divorce is not the unpardonable sin.  It does not exclude a person from ministry or fellowship and in no way consigns you to be second class citizens in the kingdom of God. 

A study was done involving top corporate CEOs in America.  These men had risen to the top of their companies. The study was designed to answer one question:  “What are the common denominators of men who rise to the top?”

Many different fields were represented by the almost 100 men:  Business, entertainment, television, politics, sports, and so on. They discovered that they had nothing in common in terms of background, ability or education. There was only one common thread: 

A. All 90 were still married to their first wife
B. They all claimed to be happily married
C. To the last man, they were enthusiastic about the institution of marriage.

The study concluded that the stability that takes place when a husband and wife have a good relationship is one of the factors of their success.

This qualification is a call for each married person—and couple— to give priority to your married; and for every single person who desires to be married, to be the kind of person that God can lead, honor and bless.

It by honoring God in your date-life that you “walk the talk” and set patterns of thinking and conduct that leads to a satisfying, successful marriage.