He Must Not Be Violent: Meditation on Titus 1:7b

He must not be violent . . . 

No quick-tempered men can be appointed as elders in the Christian church. Much like the prohibition on arrogance, the implications for this qualification are sobering. Any man who has a consistently short fuse, manifested in biting sarcasm, impatience, inability to be corrected, thin-skinnedness leading to grudge-holding, etc., would not have been considered as an overseer by Titus in Crete. Though these men may have been theologically sound, disciplined in their work, pious, they would at the least have to be sidelined for a season of discipleship and maturation. Again, sobering.

What interests me this morning is the quick-temper that erupts into violence, which is separately rebuked here. At least in this context, violence is a common enough temptation for these men that it receives its own treatment. This cannot be limited to Cretans (evil beasts though they are, Titus 1:12), for Paul makes the same point in his qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3:3, where we read He must not be violent, but gentle.

On the surface, this affords a source of humor in a list of serious vices. “I guess I’ll have to give up my life of violence!” I must confess, I have never been involved in any sort of brawl, and feel much more convicted by the prohibition of arrogance. But the more I reflect on it, pastors do find themselves frequently in situations of escalating tempers. Ours is a business that often makes people angry. Just a week ago, as I sat in a family’s living room, a twenty-one year old man pointed his finger at me and yelled, “I would never go to your church, because you’re not qualified to be a preacher!” Moments later, his middle-aged father pointed his own finger at me and shouted, “When you’re in my house and I tell you to shut up, you will shut up!” (Thankfully, these were not members of my church!) In an environment of such verbal attacks, my temper rose within me much more quickly than I would have ever expected. God was merciful in this instance and kept me from anger, but it is well within my capacity for sin to return hostility for hostility. I feel quite confident that I am sinful enough to even come to blows in the right situation, if God himself did not intervene. But no matter how justifiable the violence may have seemed at the time, the reputation of the brawling preacher would be forever marred, and the Gospel would be tarnished. As pastors, we are called to a violence whose fury cannot be compared to throwing fists and screaming expletives – we are at war with the god of this age, armed to the teeth with the Gospel of a risen King so fierce that crucifixion and death itself were unable to hold him. (Acts 2:24; cf Colossians 1:3-14)

But this leads to a final practical observation: if I occasionally find myself in atmospheres of sinful violence as a pastor, how much more might many of the men of my church find themselves tempted in a completely worldly working environment? If I would exhort them to trust in the sovereignty and justice of God enough to believe he will make all things right in his time, I must model this, even when doors are slammed in my face, or am provoked in a church softball game.  May we all exhibit the meekness of Christ, who endured the abuse of Pilot, knowing that he would one day call him forth to judgment. He must not be violent.

Brown’s Visitation Strategy, Part 2: Resolution

Yesterday, Charles Brown (1806-1884) spoke to the issue of frustration in pastoral visitation of his flock (see below). Today, I’d like to share the resolution Brown arrived at when a serious illness forced him to scale back his workload:

“First, I visited only twelve families a week – six on each of two days, – but kept to this with almost undeviating regularity. Second, I took care to have the visits well and thoroughly arranged, and carefully intimated. Third, I gave up the plan of formal exposition of each house. relying on the pulpit for the more formal teaching of the flock, I now went to their houses for a different purpose -viz., to hold free spiritual intercourse with them, and make their acquaintance . . . it had now became an object with me to get the rest to take a share. ” (The Ministry, 86)

Well, the result of this change of method was that, in the first place, by the simple changing of my voice to a conversational tone, and sharing the conversation with others (though, of course, I took the chief part), I underwent scarcely any fatigue, and secondly, that I occupied no more than twenty minutes, on an average, with each visit – praying shortly before the close.” (87)

Brown’s change: scheduled visits, brief, and conversational. The result: visitation of six families a day at twenty minutes a shot. This enabled him to visit every member of his congregation for seven consecutive years, “with deep joy and satisfaction.” Surely there is something to this. I think a certain spiritual atmosphere would have to be fostered through the pulpit ministry for a twenty minute “conversational” visit to uncover important spiritual matters. It would require agreement on the front end between pastor and people on the nature of the visits and their scheduling. But what a glorious vision!

Again, surely there is something to this.

Brown’s Visitation Strategy, Part 1: Frustration

Without question, my favorite part of Charles J. Brown’s The Ministry are the four pages dedicated exclusively to the issue of “Pastoral Visitation.” Brown begins, first of all, with the assumption that all pastors will visit their flock. But he realizes that this task is not without its difficulties and questions. I want to post first the account he gives of his original frustration in the task of visitation, and then tomorrow post the resolution at which he arrived. So first, the frustrating beginning: 

“In order to get through the work – as I fancied, more effectually – I took what was called a day’s visiting commencing soon after breakfast, and ending late in the afternoon. Finding usually a large family Bible set down for my use, I took it, and expounded a passage in every house, engaging afterwards in prayer. By degreees, this became so exhausting that I was obliged, or at least tempted, frequently break in upon it, and soon found the visiting of the entire congregation to be a herculean task, requiring not less than two or three or four years.” (85)

I cannot say that I have attempted to expound an entire passage of Scripture in every house of the flock, but I have experienced both exhaustion and frustration in pastoral visitation. This can come through not knowing how to turn a conversation to spiritual things, grappling with my own lack of experience in this area, wondering how to start this whole pastoral visit in the first place, and any number of other struggles. Perhaps you have experienced the same. I think Brown’s resolution tomorrow will help point the way ahead.

Paul Martin and Pastoral Labor in God’s Power

I have quickly come to appreciate the grace of God in pastor Paul Martin of Grace Fellowship Church, Toronto. It was Paul’s commitment to systematic visitation I highlighted in an earlier post. Since then, Brother Paul was kind enough to e-mail me the list of pastoral questions he uses in visitation, which has been of immense help to me and will receive further attention here at a later date. Today I stumbled upon his preaching ministry via sermonaudio. I listened to an ordination charge he delivered recently entitled, “The Fuel to Pastoral Courage.” I was stirred by his words in on Colossians 1:29: 

“It was a purpose of Paul to model for us the thing we need most in Christain ministers: a life on fire, not with personal energy, not with programs, not with self advancement, but rather, a life having been set on fire by having been in the presence of God’s glory!  A man who has met with God is purposeful to expend himself, but in the unending strength of God. He’s a man intent on making nothing of himself and much of God with all of his strength!”

Amen! I commend the whole sermon to you, and thank God again for the work being carried out in his strength at Grace Fellowship.

Charles Brown: Personal Godliness in the Pastorate

This quote from Charles Brown in The Ministry echoes Paul in his qualifications for elders in Titus 1:7.

“Personal Godliness, in short, is the foundation, and an indispensable prerequisite, of the Christian ministry. It is the foundation of it. I venture to say that it is three parts out of four. No doubt, there is a fourth part which is quite necessary. But so prominent and pre-eminent, is the godliness, that I think an unlettered peasant, with the love of Christ burning in his heart, were fitter for the ministry than the most learned of men ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’”

Charles Brown, The Ministry (Banner of Truth), 11

He Must Not Be Greedy for Gain: Meditation on Titus 1:7b

He must not be greedy for gain. . .

Paul says ministry for ”shameful gain” is a mark of the false teachers in Crete just a few verses down. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty-talkers and deceivers, especially in the circumcision party. These must be silenced, because they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what ought not to be taught.  (Titus 1:10-11) According to Paul, greed in the pastorate means alligning ourselves more with Cretan false teachers than true overseers of the house of God. This is a similar warning to the one given by Peter in 1 Peter 5:2-4: “. . . shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly . . . and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the fading crown of glory.” The idea here for pastors is that there is only one crown for which we should be laboring, the one that will be given by Christ, when he appears to take account of his precious flock on the last day. But the prospect of other crowns, other gain, outside of Christ, will always be enticing.

This can be seen in a number of cartoonish manifestations in television preachers who manipulate their listeners into sending in “seed money” to their ministry in hopes of receiving the blesisng of God via their unique “anointing.” This Balaam-esque behavior is transparently wicked to most of us, and has no place in the church. But it is also seen in more domesticated manifestations when the pastorate is “professionalized” so that the goal becomes the same of any secular career: a steady climb to earthly success, higher salaries and more prominent platforms. The call to such greediness is heard when people remark, “That’s a great place to start,” when you tell them you are in an obscure, rural setting. It is seen in young ministers posturing for notoriety at conferences and online, or boasting in personal achievements in the ministry on resumes. It can be felt when pastors lead their churches to do “whatever it takes” to reach their community, even when that means unbiblical practices to increase membership. The siren call to greedy gain goes out every time knowledge surfaces of unconfessed sin within the flock, and confronting it means risking good standing with a large family in the church. I can feel myself being tugged with greed even in the direction of faithful oversight, when it means that I am neglecting my wife. The applications could go on and on, because man has been in the grasping business from the very beginning. (Gen 3:1-7)

 I think Paul speaks to the issue of Christian “gain” most powerfully in Philippians 3:7-9: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ . . . “ This is the blueprint for all Christian longing: the only gain that we encourage our flock to run after is Christ himself. It is our job to hold up all of the worldly visions of gain in light of the glory of God, and expose their emptiness. Is the goal of preaching not to stir up a hunger for Christ, through the revelation of his glory in the Word? Christ is a far greater gain than physical health, sexual pleasure, monetary riches, education, social acceptance, the praise of men, our own families, and anything else this world could afford apart from him. If our fervent prayer is that the church would believe this, they must see it first in us. As always, the pastor is the pace-setter.

He must not be greedy for gain. Oh, that I may gain Christ, and be greedy for nothing else.

An Ancient Lesson in Pastoral Ministry from the Apostle John

Dr. Greg Thornbury shared this powerful story of the apostle John in a chapel message a few years back, and today it came flooding back to my memory. It has nourished my soul today at the end of a week that has had its share of pastoral burdens. I couldn’t copy the text here without bringing over all the lengthy footnotes, but it is well worth the 5 minutes it will take to click on the link and read Eusebius’ account of the beloved disciple going after one of Christ’s sheep.

Pastoral Resolutions of Philip Doddridge

“I have many cares and troubles: may God forgive me, that I am so apt to forget those of the Pastoral office! I now resolve,

1. To take a more particular account of the souls committed to my care.

2. To visit, as soon as possible, the whole congregation, to learn more particularly the circumstances of them, their children, and servants.

3. Will make as exact a list as I can of those that I have reason to believe are unconverted, awakened, converted, fit for communion, or already in it.

4. When I hear anything in particular relating to the religious state of my people, I will visit them, and talk with them.

5. I will especially be careful to visit the sick.

I will begin immediately with inspection over those under my own roof, that I may with the greater freedom urge other families to the like care. Oh my soul! Thy account is great: it is high time that it be got into better order. Lord, I hope thou knowest, I am desirous of approving myself a faithful servant of Thee and of souls. O watch over me, that I may watch over them; and then, all will be well.”

- Dr. Philip Doddridge (1702-1751), after returning home from an ordination service (quoted in Charles Bridges’ The Christian Ministry, n. 349).

He Must Not Be Arrogant: A Meditation on Titus 1:7b

He must not be arrogant . . .

When Paul says that an elder must not be a drunkard  in the same verse, probably no one is all that shocked. This is a pretty reasonable standard for someone in Christian ministry: to be governed by the Holy Spirit rather than a slave to alcohol. But when he says that an elder must not be arrogant, he hits far closer to home for many of us. Especially those of us proud that we have never been drunkards. This is not presented as an optional qualification, hopefully met by most elders; if there is an arrogant man in the Cretan church, Titus must not appoint him as an elder. He is ruled out. The implications of this mandate, if taken seriously, are little less than shocking. Along with not being quick-tempered, or a stumbling drunk, or violent, no arrogant man is to be appointed to the office of elder in the church of Jesus Christ.

Or perhaps it is not so shocking. When viewed in light of the Gospel, arrogance perhaps seems more out of place than physical violence in a believer. There is simply no room for a self-inflated view at the foot of the cross. As Paul will write in Titus 3:3, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” What a humiliating picture of what was once my life. And then Paul recounts the great rescue of God in verse 4-7: “But when the goodness and lovingkindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Praise God!

If this is what God has done for us in the Gospel, there could be no more absurd attitude to indulge than arrogance. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, pride is “the anti-God” state of mind. The cross does not accomodate our pride. The cross crucifies it. If this is the basic message of Christianity we hope to instill in our people, an arrogant overseer of souls who is too blind to see his own daily rebellion is worthless to the Kingdom of Christ. This is indeed a “hard saying” for me this morning. How many times am I motivated by pride and selfishness throughout the day? How many times do I want people to think much of me and my preaching more than I want them to think much of God? How many times do I indulge my own wants rather than go serve my people in the name of Jesus? This will never do. But does this construct an unattainable standard of righteousness? No. Certainly, pride is lurking behind every corner for any elder, and it is only the blood of Christ that can qualify us for right-standing with God or an office in the church. But to actually be marked as an arrogant man, so that people are thinking as soon as they see you walking down a hallway, or whenever they hear your name, “Yeah, he certainly thinks a lot of himself,” is ridiculous and completely unacceptable. It disqualifies a man from the pastorate just as surely as being a polygamyst or a bar-room brawler, according to Paul in this passage.

He must not be arrogant. God, deliver me today from my own pride, which is always a waiting snare, and may I walk in humility before you and before my people.

He Must be Above Reproach: A Meditation on Titus 1:7

For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach.

This brief sentence contains key insights for the work of pastoral ministry. As Titus is working to appoint “elders in every town” in Crete, there are qualifications that must be fulfilled. Paul spells these out in the surrounding verses, but here is something of a catch-all, and its broad sweep does not reduce its gravity. First, the elders are described as overseers. This is given fuller treatment elsewhere in Scripture (Heb 13:17, 1 Peter 5:1-5, etc.), but here it is simply assumed that the elders are those who “keep watch over your souls.” They do not simply fill a pulpit, nor are they CEO’s running a corporation with savvy business and marketing schemes. Their task is far weightier and more demanding and more humbling than this. They are engaged in soul work.  No matter how many times I reflect on this phrase, it cuts me deeply that God would entrust the precious souls for whom Christ shed his blood to mere sinful men. But this is what he has done, and as a pastor, I must labor in this work. This demands more than hard work in the study of Scripture, though it certainly does not demand less than that. It also means knowing my people, crying out to God on their behalf, applying the Word privately to them, and generally denying myself that they might be shepherded along in the great journey. This notion is counter-cultural in our churches today, but Paul refers to them as “overseers” here almost casually, almost as if to imply, of course this is their duty! Indeed, as overseers, elders are stewards of God, entrusted with the care of his own treasured people, and as in the parable of Jesus, we can be sure that we will all give an account for our stewardship. Oh, that I would consider these matters every morning before I head into the office to begin my study, or when I am tempted in the afternoon to not make a phone call or to put off a pastoral visit for another day. We dare not reduce the pastoral office to less than the task of shepherding the flock of God, overseeing the souls of our people. Lord, deliver me from the evil of pastoral mediocrity and unfaithfulness today.

Fttingly, as a steward of God, these overseers must be above reproach. It is non-negotiable that our character be unquestioned. It will never be enough to know theology, even good theology. It will never be enough to be committed to the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture. It will never be enough to be a Biblical evangelist, preaching the Gospel, pleading with sinners, and trusting in the sovereignty of God. And it will never be enough if we re-capture the vision of pastoral ministry as oversight of souls, if we are not above reproach. As the Puritans would often note, the pastor’s first work of oversight is of his own soul. I wondered in college why they spent so much time on this subject; I do not wonder any more. How easily can I come to a text with a mind only to deliver a stirring message to others, never applying it to my own heart. As Paul will go on to say, this “above reproach” character is tried so often in the inner motives of our hearts. I may not be secretly clicking on pornography in my office, but am I arrogant? I may be seen as a model of virtue by my neighbors down the street, but do I inwardly desire to be exalted in the eyes of my peers and professors and congregation above Christ himself? I may not be particularly gripped by materialism, but am I neglecting to rightly love my wife? The overseer must be above reproach, and my heart is so deceitful. May God in his mercies equip us.