Paul explained that the reason he left Titus in Crete was to “put what remained into order”. The churches there were not healthy. They were vulnerable to false teaching and the first step to fixing that was to appoint godly elders to lead the churches in every city.

The biblical pattern for church leadership is for each local body of believers to be led by a group of godly men. Paul uses two words to describe the church leaders: elder and overseer (or bishop). There is no idea of one man over one church or one man over many churches but rather many men over one church.

The qualifications Paul lays out for elders are substantially the same as found in 1 Timothy 3. An elder must be a man who is above reproach or blameless. They must be a man of integrity. This is not an expectation of sinlessness but of general righteousness of behaviour. He should be a one-woman man in the sense that his marriage should be an example of purity to the church. His children should be faithful and not accused of debauchery or insubordination. An elder should set an example of godly leadership in his home before he is appointed to lead the church family. An elder is God’s steward. He is leading God’s congregation, not his own. Paul repeats the call that he be blameless.

Next are five characteristics that are not befitting an elder. He should not be arrogant or self-willed—he needs to be one who works with others of differing opinions. He should not be quick-tempered. He must not be a drunkard. There is no biblical prohibition against drinking, the issue is a lack of self-control. He must not be violent. He must not be driven by greed.

On the positive side, he should be hospitable with his home freely open to strangers. He must be a lover of what is good, not linked to what is shady, questionable, and wrong. He must be self-controlled which is the positive counter to character issues of a quick-temper, drunkenness, violence, and greed. He should be upright, his dealings with others should be just. He must be holy, his relationship with God must be right. He must be disciplined, another way of expressing that he must be in control of his actions and emotions.

Probably the most important qualification for an overseer of God’s church is that he must be faithful to God’s word. He must hold faithfully to the word he has been taught. With a sound biblical foundation and knowledge, he must instruct others towards godliness and rebuke and correct those who speak against the truth.

Paul says that anyone who desires to be an elder desires a noble task (1 Tim 3:1). If that is you, then this is the list of character traits you need to be working on in your life. If you do not desire the task of elder (or as a woman you are unable to fulfil this particular task), that doesn’t mean you are off the hook for these character qualities. If the elders who lead the church need to live like this as an example, then this is the list of character traits everyone needs to be working on in their lives. Which character trait will you ask the Holy Spirit to help you with today?