Thoughts on Titus 3: We were once like that

Throughout Paul's letter to Titus, he gives Titus instructions on how to deal with his congregation that has been corrupted by it's society and was therefore having difficulty practicing the Christian faith.  In this third chapter Paul provides a couple of reminders that are helpful for us all to remember.

First, he reminds Titus that, before coming to faith, we were all negatively influenced by our society.  God didn't save us because we were good.  He saved us in spite of our being corrupt. 

Second, Paul reminds Titus that the appropriate focus for Christians is good works.  These are beneficial for all people and help keep us from getting distracted by other things.

Thoughts on Titus 2: Dealing with a troubled church

It is apparent from reading through the book of Titus that Paul is not a big fan of the people in the church at Crete.  He is very blunt in his advice to Titus.  So, how, practically, do you deal with a church full of less than savory characters?  You remind each group what their role is and why.  My impression is that Paul's view of the people at this church isn't that they are simply corrupt, but rather that they have been so poorly influenced by society that they don't know how they are supposed to act.  So Paul goes through each major demographic and tells Titus what areas to focus on.

I think there are a lot of churches today that could use this type of advice.  It isn't that the members of the congregation are inherently evil.  Rather, society has corrupted what they think is appropriate.

A few years ago I was at an inner-city church and having lunch with a young man who did not grow up in the church.  It somehow came out that I was a virgin, and he was stunned and promised to not tell anyone my secret.  My being a virgin wasn't a secret.  I didn't go around pronouncing it on the rooftops, but it's not something I kept hidden either.  But this young man thought there was something wrong with being a virgin.  In his culture, that was the ultimate insult.  He just didn't fully understand that Christians were supposed to abstain from sex before marriage.  It took a while to explain to him what the Bible says on the topic (and I'm still not sure he got it).

It would be an interesting exercise to go from church to church and figure out what instructions Paul would give the leaders on things to focus on with their congregations.  I am sure every church has some areas of cultural blind spots.  Hopefully the leaders won't have the same blind spots.

Thoughts on Titus 1: Paul, the blunt

“Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”  

Quoting an ancient poet, this is part of what Paul said in his instructions to Titus on how to deal with the people of Crete.  Can you imagine a contemporary church leader saying that to a pastor in the city where he serves?  I used to live in New Orleans, and there are lots of "interesting" things I could say in general about the people there (who I also love, oddly enough), but I'm not sure I would actually say it to a pastor serving there, especially in matters of guidance.

But there is something to be said for blunt honesty in dealing with ministry.  If you aren't honest about the issues your people face, it's awfully hard to adequately serve them.  If the people of Crete were actually evil, lazy, liars and you acted as if they were hardworking, honest people, you might have some difficulty in serving them.  They would be taking advantage of you left and right and you would never really be serving their needs.  So perhaps there is something to be said for bluntness in ministry.  But we should be cautious in who we say blunt things to.