The irony in the American church today is that some people are more concerned about the structure of the US government than they are about the structure of their churches government.  There is not a person in the Land of the Free who would say, "it does not matter how the US government is structured as long as there is some form of leadership."  Yet that is precisely what they say about the church.  What are we thinking?

I remember how during the last presidential election that some of those who were most opposed to the idea of a "set man" in the church, were the same ones who were most concerned about who would be the "set man" in our nation.  Interesting, isn't it?  Folks, in the church or in the nation, careless government is always costly.

First Chronicles 9:17-27 tell us about the "gatekeepers" of the house of the Lord.  David and Samuel assigned them positions of trust.  There were gatekeepers on the four sides: east, west, north and south - two hundred twelve gatekeepers total.  However, we are told of four principle gatekeepers who were Levites.  They were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God.  They guarded God's house all night and "they had charge of the key for opening it each morning."  Such detail!  Is it any surprise that we see a similar thing being established in the emerging New Testament church?  This is certainly the concern of Paul in Acts 20:28-30:

 "keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the church of God.....I know
that after I leave, savage wolves will come in
among you and will not spare the flock.  Even
from your own numbers will men arise and
distort the truth in order to draw away disciples
after them."

Again, this was the reason Paul left Titus in Crete, to establish and keep order.  There are people set by God in every city who are to be God's gatekeepers. 

Notice next that the word "elders" is plural.  This is not just a call for local leadership, but also a call for plural leadership.  Plurality provides balance.  Where one will certainly have faults and deficiencies, the others pick up the slack.  Plurality lightens the load.  Plurality assures accountability.  But plurality does not necessarily mean a democracy where everyone has an equal voice.  Yes, we are all servants.  Yes, we are mutually accountable.  Yes, we share the decision making.  But there is still a need, and a biblical basis, for one person to be first among equals.

One person possessing such authority can make people nervous.  Everyone can quote the phrase, "absolute power corrupts absolutely", the only problem is that that phrase is not an absolute!  The concept is not found in the Bible.  But saying it certainly has the desired effect, which is to instill fear in the body of Christ.  The primary institution God established on the earth is the family.  And in the family, He set the dad as leader - the first among equals.  But this power does not corrupt the father because love stirs him to use his power for the well being of his family.  Power is corruptible, as are sex and money.  But all three of these things originate from God.  They are not inherently evil. 

The family of God is just that - a family.  Look at family relationships - there is a patriarch and a matriarch.  We should not be scared of the same thing in the church.  I love what Harold Eberle says:

After observing many, many churches, I can
tell you that no matter what form of government
a church claims to have, there is always one
person who openly or quietly holds the
greatest influence over the church.  Setting
up the proper government is never a matter
of keeping it out of the hands of one person,
but putting it into the hands of God's person.

God's set man in Crete was Titus.  His commission was twofold:  get things done and get things right.  In a leadership void two things happen - things do not get done and things go wrong.  Paul told Titus to stay in Crete to do the things yet undone, and to fix the things that had gone wrong.  Finish and fix, complete and correct.  That's what leaders do.  In every camp, God has a set one entrusted with the responsibility of keeping order.  Hell is trying to bring disorder.  In the absence of an order keeper, all hell breaks loose - literally.

Apostles are set men.

     "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles...."     - 1 Cor. 12:28

"First" is an order word.  Paul's epistles are about order, and order has to do with sequence - what comes first, second, and so on.  As  long as things are out of order, they do not produce.  The problem is that apostles make waves: not everyone likes them!  Paul said in 1 Tim. 1:1 that he was "an apostle of Jesus Christ by the command of God."  Paul says he is an apostle under orders.  The word apostle was a very common word in the ancient world.  It means "sent one."  Paul was sent under orders.  Today, apostle is a church word; in Paul's day, it was a military word.  When Caesar heard apostles were coming, he sent soldiers to oppose them because an apostle was one sent as an official envoy - it was an act of war!

Paul said he is an "apostle by the command of God."  "Command" is a very strong word.  Paul used it 8 times in his letters to Timothy and Titus alone.  We do not like this word very much, perhaps because we don't like anyone telling us what to do.  We have submission issues and resist yielding to authority.

 "for there are many rebellious people, mere
talkers and deceivers.....they are ruining whole
households by teaching what they ought not to teach...."  

- Titus 1:11-12

Paul tells Titus that there are those who oppose order.  They are "rebellious".  Literally the word is "insubordinate."  There are those in Crete with a fierce independent streak.  They are not willing to submit to a higher authority like that of Paul, or even scripture.  They were unwilling to be disciplined or accountable.  Barclay says they were like "disloyal soldiers who refused to obey the word of the Lord."  J.B. Phillips translates this verse, "there are many who will not recognize authority."

Paul's strategy for refuting the Cretes was to not give in to them.  He did not remain silent on the grounds that everyone has the right to his or her own opinion.  Paul called a spade a spade.  He cut at the root of their generational and regional stronghold of deception .  That is what apostles do.  They say things pastors would never dream of saying.  Friends, there is an inseparable link between truth and godliness.  When the "belt of truth" is unbuckled, the pants do not stay up for long!  What can I say?  Hope you and I won't be caught with our pants down for long and that soon we will be getting things back in order! 

Apostle Steve