How to Build a Pastor

I have to admit that this text is a tough one to preach. The meaning isn’t that tough - but the text itself is not inherently about Christ. The text is about what a pastor/overseer ought to look like. And the role of a pastor should never be to draw attention to himself; but to draw attention to Christ. You should not leave a sermon thinking “Wow! My pastor sure is qualified to be a pastor!”. And as I have said before I don’t want you leaving any service thinking: “What a great pastor!” or “What a great sermon!” But my hope and prayer for each Sunday is that you leave thinking “What a wonderful savior! What a mighty God!”

For the sake of time, I will divide the qualifications in 5-9 in two weeks. The first sermon we will look at what I would argue are preliminary qualifications. It seems that Paul has listed the qualifications in verse 6 as the bare minimum.

While these qualifications are not all inclusive - church’s will often require more than what is listed here - but they should never compromise and require less.

Paul at some point planted this church on this Island of Crete - and left Titus there to lead the church. Since we do not have any mention of Titus in Acts or Paul’s ministry on Crete, we cannot specifically identify when Paul planted this church. We do see that Paul lands on the Island in Acts 27 on his way to Rome - but many have suggested that this may be too short of a time for him to have planted a church there. (While it is indeed a short time on Crete, that doesn’t mean it is too short to plant the church there.) Some have suggested that he likely returned to Crete and planted the church during the events of Acts 28 after he is released from his imprisonment.

So we see from Titus 1:5 that Paul, having a plan, left Titus in Crete.

The Plan

Titus 1:5 ESV

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—

Paul in verse 5 instructs Titus for why he left him in Crete. There’s a few notes that I want to point out concerning how Paul presents this to Titus.

Titus is there… Paul is not pastoring by proxy. He has left Titus to pastor. He has passed the baton. This is an island, Paul is not trying to continue to pastor the church through a video screen or far off correspondence. Online church isn’t church. A pastor ought to be local. Titus may have come from the outside - but he was there on Crete with these people. He wasn’t taking a ferry to Crete every Sunday just to preach - he was there among the church in the life’s of the church members.

Shepherds should be able to name their sheep. Every person in a church should have elder who knows their name. Now I’m not saying that all big churches are evil - the church in Acts 2 was huge. But the modern way in which many engage in church where they drive from 45 minutes to watch a video of a pastor, who is preaching in another building to thousands of people is far from the New Testament model of church.

There are two specific reasons for why Paul left Titus. To Maintain Order and to appoint elders.

Maintain Order - The church is not to be a free for all. There needs to be an order. Paul elsewhere instructs that all things should be done decently and in order. So Paul has left Titus there to put into order what Paul was unable to leave orderly. This does not mean that Paul left a mess that Titus needed to clean up. Paul knew that there was more work to be done, and he was unable to remain on Crete longer, and left Titus, whom he deeply trusted to lead this church.

Appoint Elders - elders here is plural - it ought to be expected that churches have more than one elder. When we look through the New Testament elders is regularly used in the instance of there being more than one. Acts 14:23 states that Paul and Barnabus appointed elders in every town.

Some times plurality is not possible because there is not another qualified elder. There is a world of difference between a church that is convicted of the plurality of elders, without the ability for a plurality of elders, and the pastor who operates as a CEO and pushes away any shared responsibility. The Pastor is not, and should not be a CEO nor a dictator. A plurality of elders can help to prevent this.

The New Testament uses elder/pastor/overseer and shepherd synonymously. So whether I say pastor/elder/overseer or shepherd I am referring to the same office.

I should also note that elder does not make an assertion on age, contrary to how it may sound to us. We know this because of what Paul tells us about Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

Timothy, and Titus, were younger pastors… now I think it’s apparent that this is not an issue here… though some have sought to make age an qualification where the text does not.

Now I’ve mentioned already that you can have extra qualifications… one example of this is that when Jim was aiding in the pastor search here - he has suggested that one of the things that he was looking for were candidates who had worked other jobs before. There’s a common trend of young men who go from high school to college - get a bachelors in Bible - then immediately go to seminary, breeze through that - and by 24 are looking for their first pastorate. The hardest thing that has ever happened to them is that their goldfish died - or their girlfriend broke up with them. They 0 life experience and are seeking to apply the text to people struggling with life, work, death, children departing from the faith, drug addiction, divorce, infidelity. So it’s not necessarily wrong to find a young pastor… his youth should not be the focus - but his example.

So from just verse 5 we learn that Paul’s plan for leaving Titus in Crete is so that he might raise up a plurality of pastors in every town on the Island of Crete. Pastors should be local, establish order, and in plurality.

And in the next section we learn that they should be qualified. This morning we will only look at the first three qualifications that read as preliminary qualifications before Paul gets to an extended list in 7-9.

The Qualifications

Now 1 Timothy 3 is a similar text with similar qualifications. However, 1 Timothy 3:1 begins with the assertion that the aspiration for the office of overseer is a good thing.

So it is a good thing for a man to desire to be in the role of elder but desire is not enough. I would also add that the desire is still important - if a man has all the qualifications and not the slightest desire for the pastorate then putting him in that position would be dangerous to the church, and the man.

Titus 1:6 ESV

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.

The very first thing that Paul mentions is that the overseer should be above reproach. This is the only qualification that he mentions twice. Here he begins with seems like an assumption that if one is above reproach then… but later in verse 7 he will reinforce that and state that it is necessary for him to be above reproach.

Paul is emphasizing that it is significant that no one be able to speak against the pastor. One possible translation for this word is that he is without stain.

In short, the first question of evaluation is how is his life? What is his reputation like? Is he respected among the community?

The second question is: How is his family?

A Pastor’s Family

A pastor’s family is a window into his home and his life. If you are watching carefully you can learn a lot about the pastor by how he children, and his wife, act.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that in order to be qualified for ministry a man must be married and have kids. But his reason for not having those may be an indication of if he is fit for ministry.

Husband of One Wife

The first statement about the pastor’s family is that he is the husband of one wife. The most literal translation of this phrase is “a one woman man”, for this reason the church has historically asserted that both polygamists as well as men who are divorced are disqualified from the office of pastor. The only qualification that is given for an elder’s wife is that he only has one. Pastor’s Wife is not an office found in the New Testament. Even in 1 Tim nothing is mentioned of an elder’s wife. She is just as much a church member as everyone else - a married pastor is not a 2 for 1 deal. You don’t get an extra employee for no pay. Yet, this is how many churches treat their pastor’s wife.

Now there might be reasons why a man who was abandoned by his wife, against his own actions or will, might not be disqualified. But in many cases, divorce has been shown examples of pastors who sacrificed his family on the altar of ministry. Thus disqualifying himself. A man’s wife, and a man’s family are his primary ministry. This can be seen by these qualifications mentioned first and above all the others.

Before I move to children, I do wish to further state that while the pastor’s wife is not an office in the church. The wife of a pastor can teach us about the pastor himself. If she is his primary ministry - then in her we see the fruit of his labor when he’s not shepherding the flock.

The second statement that Paul writes is that the children are faithful.

Faithful Children

Children are believers and not open to the church of debauchery or insubordination. At first glance, it seems as if more pressure is on the pastor’s children than his wife… The most literal reading of this phrase is “his children have faith”.

It is a difficult phrase - and thus some translations read “his children are faithful.” We have to be careful how we understand this. The pastor is not responsible for the salvation of his children. That is the Holy Spirit’s job.

And if we think that this means that the pastor’s children are believers - then as baptists we could never call young pastors… and given what we have already said about age… and this statement event existing - we cannot interpret this text in that manner.

So for this reason - I think we must favor - faithful children.

The pastor, and the father of every home, is responsible for the teaching and the discipleship of his family. A pastor cannot, as much as he tries, force his children to be believers - however, he can and is expected to, teach his children the faith at home. Whether the Lord has elected a pastor’s children unto salvation is up to the Lord - but the pastor ought to do all that he can to point his children to Christ that they might believe.

The pastor also is expected to raise his children in a respectable manner. And it ought to be an example to all the church.

The charge of debauchery could also be understood as wild living.

Plutarch, a non-Christian Greek author used the word where we get debauchery and further described it as:

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament ἄσωτος, ἀσωτία

“Going about in women’s clothing and engaging in lighthearted vagabondage”

So clearly those are excluded from how a pastors children ought to act.

Then there’s the charge - insubordination - unwilling to submit. Refusing to submit to authority.

We celebrate independent children in our day. However, that’s a problem here.

This isn’t demanding perfect. However, it is condemning a stubborn, disrespectful child who never listens to anyone. A pastor’s children ought to be respectable and submissive. Does the child listen to authority? How does he act in Sunday School? How does he act in other church events?

Now children are sinners too so expecting perfection is foolish - but even their sinfulness will give an idea of what is and is not acceptable in the home. It is easy to spot a child who never receives any discipline at home. It is also easy to spot a child who effectively runs the home - and the parents do whatever they say. It’s sadly become quite common.

I want to give two examples…

Author and Former Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN John Piper has 5 children. One of his sons Abraham is not a believer. Abraham left the faith when he was 19. He was placed on church discipline. Then 4 years later was restored. He has since left the faith again. Is Piper now disqualified from ministry? No. Because Piper was faithful to teach the word to his children. This is demonstrated by his four other children. Pastor John offered to take a leave of absence following his son’s apostasy. The elders having studied this text deemed it not necessary. Additionally, Piper has several other children to which the elders can compare to see if there is a trend. Abraham left the faith, but Barnabas did not. His daughter Talitha was even in one of my online seminary classes. The window into John Piper’s home shows that he was faithful to teach the faith to his children - but one of his children wanted to sin more than they wanted Christ.

There is a church that I know of, who had a pastor who stepped down because his wife left the faith. From the beginning of hearing this story, I thought there was something a bit fishy about the narrative that the church as a whole was told. There were some in the church that thought that there was something odd as well. At some later point, it began to become obvious that it was not just his wife that had left the faith - but his children as well. And based upon the actions of the children - it was demonstrated that the pastor had not been faithful in his home to lead his family in the faith. That pastor had been disqualified, and that was revealed by how his family acted. And I suspect that this was all in the background of the pastor’s resignation without it being exposed to that whole church.

And as Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:4-5 if a man does not know how to manage his household…

1 Timothy 3:4–5 ESV

4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

Comparing the two examples, I think we see one example of a pastor was faithful but child pursued sin, and the other a pastor who failed to instruct and guide his family in the way of the Lord.

The focus in 1 Timothy is not about the children believing, but about them being obedient. They can be faithful towards dad, even if they are faith less towards the Father.

If you see Haddon at Bible Club and he’s picking on all the other kids, he’s cheating in the games, he’s talking about inappropriate things, using foul language - that gives a sign into what is happening at home… Where did he learn that? Where is the discipline?

I cannot control whether or not the Holy Spirit regenerates my children… but I can eagerly pray that he does, and I can teach them the scriptures and point them to Christ at every opportunity.

Now as we look at these qualifications, and as we look at the next few verses in 2 weeks, I want to make a note that this isn’t just me publicly presenting my own job evaluation.

This gives us a guide on what you should look for if at some point you are at a church - here or elsewhere - when you need to install a new pastor. Or if the Lord blesses us with another qualified man who we wish to install for the role of elder - we need to be aware of these qualifications.

Those are both in hypothetical… but what about in the today. How can we apply this today…

This instructs you how you can pray for Jim and I. This instructs you how you can keep us accountable.

This is a reminder for Jim and I how we ought to act as elders.

This is also a guide for how a young man who aspires to be a pastor ought to aim to live his life - as are the following verses.

This is also an indication of who you ought to listen to. Just because someone has a radio show does not mean they are qualified to be speaking as a pastor. Just because someone has a YouTube Channel, or a tiktok following does not mean they are qualified to speak on the Scriptures - they may even be correct in their interpretation - but if they are not qualified for the office of pastor -and and still acting as one - then they clearly do not hold the Scriptures in high enough esteem to be obedient to the charges here.

No Pastor is sinless. There is no pastor who will perfectly demonstrate this - but it’s not the pastors job to be perfect. It is his job to point to the one who is perfect. The goal is not to look at the pastor and think that he is perfect - the Pastor’s goal is to point each and everyone one of you to the one who is perfect.

A pastor’s goal should not be to draw attention to how great of a husband he is, or how awesome of a dad his is. The pastor’s goal is to point to Christ and say how awesome of a savior he is. A pastor’s goal should not be to increase, and to build a great platform, and to be heard by as many ears as possible - but rather to teach the Scriptures, to magnify Jesus, and communicate to lost sinners that there is salvation to be found in Christ Jesus.

Praise God, that he uses broken and sinful men to glorify himself. But look to him not me - rejoice that Christ Jesus became a man, lived a life of obedience to God’s laws, died in our place, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God - and he offers forgiveness for all who believe in him.

Look to Christ.