“The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was lefty unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 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. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless-not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 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.” Titus 1:5-9

Dear Jesus, I thank you that for my whole life you have given me pastors and church lay leaders who not only lived with integrity and a love for what is good, but who also demonstrated a white knuckle grip on the gospel you won for us. I’m thinking of many moments at their feet in church pews, Sunday school classrooms and seminary quarters. All of them were very different men but had these two common denominators: 1) they lived worthy of respect and 2) they had a white knuckle grip on your word and grace. These two virtues held me up when I doubted the truth. I remembered them and the word they taught and it has always been a strength for me in the face of the wild liberal views and ever changing views of the world. Thank you for giving me this gift and I pray that you would give more and more people the same through your church. Make me the image of these men who are your image too. I want to be this strength for those sprouts growing up under my branches. Amen.

The greatest need we have in the church is leadership. We already have the gospel.