Moments in the life of a Pastor

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Author Archives: Giles


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10 Dealing with the Disobedient – Part 1

Titus 1:9-16

“9 He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong. 10 For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. 11 They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money. 12 Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.” 13 This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith. 14 They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth.15 Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.”

Paul now reminds us of the responsibility of Elders to refute the rebellious. It’s here that Paul deals with the tough topic of those who claim to be Christians but are actually living carnal lives. Paul reminds us that we have a duty to deal with the disobedient and that we shouldn’t try to skirt or shy away from this tough topic. This is not a fun topic and unfortunately because most churches care more about comfort than conviction they tend to avoid confronting the carnal because it could lead to conflict. Paul wastes no time describing those whom the Elders are to deal with as he reveals how to:

  1. Recognize the Rebellious

The word “for” at the beginning of verse 10 links it to verse 9. The reason Elders are to be men of the Word is because there are many who are not. This is a widespread problem today and not just something that was isolated to the island of Crete. Unfortunately many people today are basing and building their life on their wants instead of God’s Word. As we talk about recognizing the rebellious Paul reminds us to pay attention to two things, people’s lives and people’s lips. If you want to recognize the rebellious just look at their life and listen to their lips. Paul reveals several things about their:

  1. Life

·       Rebellious – This word refers to those who were literally “uncontrolled,” and unwilling to submit to authority. It’s also translated as “unruly” and “insubordinate.” It’s the same word that is used to describe rebellious children in verse 6. So let me ask you who is the authority in your life, are you submitting to scripture or to self. Is it based on your wants or God’s Will? Instead of giving control to Christ many of us fight to be in charge and call the shots. But I want you to notice that a rebellious life always results in ruin. But it’s not just our lives that are ruined but whole households. Our desire to do what we want to ends up ruining our relationships, we end up running over people and instead of reinforcing truth we end up removing and trash the truth.


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9. Vices and Virtues – Part 5

Titus 1:5-9

“I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.”

5.         Spirit-controlled instead of sin controlled – Vs 7-8

Leaders are called to live wisely not worldly. We are called to be just not jerks. Not only do we need to talk about alcohol we need to talk about anger. If you want to be a faithful leader then you are going to deal with your emotions. Look its ok to be emotionally engaged but it’s not ok to be enraged. Are you letting anger or the Almighty control you? Paul points to two devils that we need to deal with, a quick temper and violent behavior. Today instead of dealing with these devils we are blaming our behavior on others saying you make me so mad. Your anger comes out of you, it is in you. The people around you may have pressured you but they didn’t produce the anger, just like me squeezing a skunk doesn’t mean I make the stench. Do you want to know why you have a short fuse, it’s because you are following your feelings instead of following the Father. If we don’t start dealing with the temperature of our temper then we will become bruisers instead of blessings and instead of caring for people we will end up controlling people.

6.         A Foundation built of Faith not Feelings

If you want to be a teacher of truth then you have to be a student of scripture. One of the greatest weaknesses in the church today is pastors who are trying to preach the Word but not practicing it. We are called to use the bible to both encourage and exhort, to comfort and convict. Which means you are not always going to be the most popular person. Too many pastors today are spending their time trying to get people to like them instead of loving the Lord. Pastors you are not called to be people pleasers you are called to be truth proclaimers. There will be stressful seasons and it’s in those seasons that you need to trust God’s truth and let scripture sustain you. The question we need to be asking ourselves is not just are we in the Word but is the Word in us?

Paul didn’t call Titus to look for perfect people he called him to look for men whose love for the Lord was evident in the way they were living their lives. You see there was only ever one perfect person and they crucified him. I want to close by reading you a report from a search committee that were looking for the perfect pastor because it puts things into perspective:

We have not been able to find a suitable candidate for this church, though we have one promising prospect. Thank you for your suggestions. We have followed up on each one with interviews or by calling at least three references. The following is our report.

ADAM: Ancestry could not be confirmed. Good man but has problems with his wife.

NOAH: Had former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects. Great animal lover, but the last neighborhood received a flood of complaints.

MOSES: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator; even stutters at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly in business meetings. History says he was a basket case from the beginning.

DAVID: The most promising leader of all until we discovered his adultery.

SOLOMON: Has had serious relationship problems. Independently wealthy, so the church could pay him less and he can make up the difference.

ELIJAH: Prone to depression; collapses under pressure.

JOHN: Says he is a Baptist, but doesn’t dress like one. Sleeps in the outdoors, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

PETER: Has a bad temper, even said to have cursed on occasions. He’s a loose cannon.

PAUL: Powerful CEO type and fascinating preacher but has been known to preach all night.

JESUS: Has had popular times occasionally, but once when his church grew overnight to 5000, he managed to offend them all with too hard a message; eventually his flock dwindled down to twelve people… then finally to eleven, and even the faithful finally left his team. Critics report he seldom stays in one place very long, is easily distracted by poor, sick, and needy people, so doesn’t focus on ministry. Spends too much time in meditation, needs to attend more of the organizational meetings without making a spectacle of himself and displaying his temper. Oh… and he hangs around with sinners most of the time. Rumor has it he got crossed up with the government at one point, and they buried him with accusations. He’s not a quitter, however, and keeps popping up here and there. Summary: We intend to keep looking until we find the perfect pastor for our congregation.

Conclusion: Elders are not perfect people they are people who are continually pursuing Christ and living out His character.

When you read the qualifications set forth in scripture, God emphasizes the importance of

Leaders in the church are not just called to be theologically competency they are called to be possess Christ like character. Look information doesn’t lead to transformation just as the Pharisees, its information coupled with application that leads to transformation. So what do you need to apply today?