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Is My Church Complete?
5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self- controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1)
At first glance, I hardly notice what Paul is saying in verse 5 because I am already anticipating the list of qualifications that comes after. Over the time I have been studying God’s word, and specifically the leadership of the church, verse 5 has stood out more and more to me and it has left me with this question - is my church complete?
According to Paul, he left Titus in Crete to work with the churches there as he moved on to preach the gospel elsewhere. What’s interesting to me is not that he left Titus behind (Paul did this often as he saw need), but that he says that he left Titus behind to “appoint elders in every town”. Why? Because a local church is incomplete without them.
First, it’s important to consider what an elder actually is. The word ‘elder’ is the same word that, depending on the translation you use, can be translated bishop, presbyter, shepherd, pastor, or overseer. Oftentimes in religious settings, these words carry different meanings and offices, but no matter which word you have heard used, they are the same according to God’s word. Titus is expected to appoint these in every town in Crete using the qualifications that Paul gave him.
So, what does an elder do?
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. (Acts 20)
When Paul gathers the Ephesian elders before he journeys to Jerusalem, he offers an overview of what they were to be doing in their roles as elders in Ephesus: they were to watch over and take care of the other Christians in their local church, protect those Christians from the false teaching of others and emotionally invest in their local group. This is what a good elder does for his church.
Now that we know who elders are and what role they serve, we come back to my original question - is my church complete? Does my church have those who are qualified to serve the group as elders? If so, have those men been appointed to carry out that role? If not, why not? God desires every church in every town to have elders, so we all need to ask ourselves, “is my church complete?”
