An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
Titus 1:6
Whenever I’ve applied for a job, there’s been a job description that had a list of things that I must do. Some of these must do things are written out in great detail while others are just assumed.
And I’m not alone. Just talk with anyone about their job and I’m sure you’ll get a list of what their employer expects of them. Sometimes the list is simple and easy to follow. Other times it’s hard to figure out. And other times it’s downright impossible.
Take the case of Richard. He worked for me and was a skillful programmer. He could understand business problems and then create software solutions very quickly. He was friendly and a good communicator with both management and everyone on our team. But Richard had a most unique personal challenge.
He stunk. And that’s putting it mildly. He really smelled bad. It wasn’t that he didn’t take baths. On the contrary, he washed at least once a day. Sometimes more. It was so bad that people avoided Richard like the plague.
When I gently asked him about it, he told me about his problem. He’d been diagnosed with TMA[1] and there was pretty much nothing that could be done. It wasn’t because of anything that he’d done or didn’t do. No, it was just the way he was.
And that’s what Paul wants Titus to look for in the elders he’s to select and install in all the churches. It’s not so much about what these people do, it’s all about who they are. People can fool you if all you do is look at the outside for a little bit. But when you look into a person, you can see what makes them tick. Who they really are.
That’s why the first thing Paul tells Titus to be on the lookout for in potential elders is blamelessness. These people are to live their lives in such a way that there’s no trail of breadcrumbs that would lead people to question their integrity or honesty.
It isn’t that they’re perfect, but they watch over their words, thoughts, actions, attitudes, text messages, and social media posts so that the only thing people can judge is their being like Jesus. There’s no evidence to make any accusation or charge against them.
And then Paul winds up with two final things that elder is to be innocent of.
Wild. This is someone whose life is lived in a reckless way. Their decisions are focused on themselves. They easily spend money they don’t have on things they have and give nothing to others. Their words and actions are to bring attention on themselves. They are the center of their little world and everyone else has to live their lives accordingly.
Disobedient. When someone is disobedient, it’s all about them. They don’t let anyone control them. Like a wild animal, they are unmanageable. They are so stubborn that no rules apply to them. These are the kind of people that dig their heels in all the time. No matter how small or big the question, they just have to get their way.
As you look back over the descriptions of wild and disobedient, is it any wonder why Paul would say these kinds of people need to be excluded from becoming elders? That they should not be leaders in the family and church of Jesus?
Maybe it’s just me and my simple mind, but I look at it this way. A Christian is someone who’s asked Jesus to be their savior and God. That means Jesus has been given the right to run their life. He calls the shots. He’s in charge. We’ve given up the right to live the way we want, and we choose to live his way. To live for him.
Now, that description of a Christian sounds like the total opposite of someone that’s wild or disobedient. When we’re wild or disobedient, we’re in charge. Doing whatever we want. But being a Jesus follower says that we’ve given up the right to do what we want and replace that with whatever he wants.
I don’t think you need any advanced Bible training or higher education degrees to figure this one out. But it certainly looks like it because the church looks like it’s full of lots of people that would be judged to be wild and disobedient.
This doesn’t mean that there should be no wild or disobedient people in the church. On the contrary, if we excluded people with sins and problems, churches would be even more empty than they already are.
What Paul’s telling Titus is that leadership roles in the church shouldn’t have people with these kind of character flaws and sins. No matter how talented or gifted they are, they’re not leadership material. Their teaching and communication abilities may be great, they’re not qualified to be elders. So, where do we fall on the wild and disobedient sides of life? Are they things that we must do? Or are they things that we fight hard not to do?
Noodling Questions
Why are wild and disobedient especially bad things for elders to be?
How is it so important for elders to live obediently to Jesus?
Since everyone has flaws, which ones should not allowed in elders? Explain.
[1] Trimethylaminuria (TMA) is a disorder in which a volatile, fish-smelling compound accumulates and is excreted through both sweat and breath
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