Daily Meditations from John N N Ng'ang'a: Week of Dec 20-26th – Administration is also Ministry
Day 1
4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
As we saw earlier ….What you need as God messenger is :
Grace….God’s riches at Christ expense the prince of peace is possible only ruling in your heart
Peace…. Not absence of war but realization that the situation is still under God’s control
Even when you are energized for ministry ,absence of peace drains you …no wonder you need God’s peace at all times
if at peace in the heart even hard jobs will be easily accomplished
the peace that comes from Jesus gives you the confidence that you are on the winning side and hence the peace even in the face of of volatile situation
when Christ is enthroned in your heart, he gives peace from within and
releases you to serve him fully
Day 2
V5
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you
Serving Christ includes even the mundane Administration duties which makes it as important as preaching
Do you remember that Jesus had to put people into groups before the miracle of feeding 5000 could happen ? may be what stops our miracles is absence of organization !
We need to be organized for our groups to experience the miracle that will truly bring blessings and transformation to them We also need the practice of Evaluation to realize what is unfinished and then do the correction found necessary
this is much better than to wait till then end before evaluating. This will make the final product much better. Also note that Paul believed in plural leadership hence need for elders not just one elder per congregation.
One man led churches do not follow new testament pattern. There is value in shared leadership wherever more than 2-3 are gathered
Day 3
v6
An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
Not just any one in the congregation should be a leader. Paul gives a set of qualifications one needs :
blameless,: Reputation even among outsiders matters if church will be witness to the non Christians world we are seeking to reach. We must only allow into leadership people of good reputation…..even among non Christians
one wife..means in church there were polygamists who would go to heaven since saved (polygamy cannot stop you getting saved yet if already a Christian it would be a sign of your going to hell since you would be rebelling from the one wife message of the new testament according to Paul, polygamist can be saved but should not be in leadership( your big family is leadership challenge enough already )
children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild..assumes leader who still has small children who the parents still in control of ..must manage them well if to go ahead to manage the church. Adult children would members of the church in their own right .
Day 4
V7
Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless-not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain
A few more leadership qualifications include :
not overbearing….not bossy ,haughty, arrogant, domineering but meek
not quick-tempered..not fiery, easily incensed, hot blooded,..but easy to live with
not given to drunkenness….the old testament says that alcohol is not for kings but for those about to die..a Christian soldier does not fit in the drinking group.. you should not be drunk in the battlefield however much of a glutton you are
not violent..not fierce ,aggressive ,brutal ,cruel, sadistic, viscous, but friendly
not pursuing dishonest gain….false , fraudulent ,corrupt, or having deceitful wealth
Day 5
Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Here are things God’s messenger is to be in addition to the previous things we saw he was not to be
be hospitable….social, welcoming, warm, cordial
loves what is good..first rate, high quality, excellence
self-controlled..reasonable, measured, moderate, calm
Holy…saintly, consecrated, sanctified, sacred
Disciplined….closely controlled,regimented, obedient disciple
hold firmly to the trustworthy message…doctrinally sound..knows what is cardinal and what is not and cannot give in on the cardinal
refute those who oppose it…though meek but cannot soften on serious doctrinal issues to join cults however attractive to him
Day 6
Col 1:10 10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group
Church rebels need leaders discipline
Examples of the rebels:
circumcision group.. want us to keep their traditions even if with nom biblical support
some who teach for gain….con the congregation by twisting the gospel
some who attend to Jewish myths
some with corrupted minds
some unfit for doing anything good
Paul says that they need to be silenced and rebuked …it is not enough that you as leader are teaching right… you also need to let followers know what others are teaching is wrong ..Make the biblical stand clear on controversial issues
Day 7
Col 1:10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group
In Titus 1:10-16 Church leaders need to combat error because there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group
They are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach- And that for the sake of dishonest gain.
Like Cretans ,church members can be liars
But Why should leaders rebuke rebels ?
1. to Be sound in the faith
2. so that they Pay no attention to Jewish myths
3. Have actions that back their claim to know God…if you allow wrong teaching it will spoil the good testimony and eventually the witness of the church in that area