Building a Healthy Church: Characteristics of the Godly Elder, Titus 1:5-9

Today we are getting back into our study through Titus. We just finished Paul’s intro to the letter, and now he is jumping right into the nuts and bolts of what Titus is going to be doing in this ministry:
Titus is to put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town.
(Elder, Overseer, Pastor are all different aspects of the same office
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
Acts 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.)
Set into order is the Greek epidiorthoo (epi-door-thet-o) Ortho means "to set straight." i.e. Orthodontics—straight teeth, Orthopedics—Straight feet. Titus is to set things straight.
It seems these churches were new and weren’t fully organized yet. Churches cannot run by the seat of their pants. Our sin nature is too powerful, and our ability to twist the Gospel is too prevalent to not have Biblical order instilled.
Titus is to appoint Elders who will lead these new churches, but Elders must meet very strict qualifications. The church cannot ignore these qualifications. Unqualified leaders had infiltrated several churches already and were causing great harm to congregations. Many were false-teachers and charlatans, but some were simply unqualified for the role they were undertaking.
As we examine Paul’s list of qualifications, we will see a list that encompasses every area of the Elder/Pastor’s life. We will be looking at his home life, his personal discipline, and his ministerial responsibility.
As we walk through these qualifications, I want to challenge each of you. First, hold your pastor and church leaders accountable. Keep your eyes open and push us toward godliness. Second, Strive toward these qualifications yourself. Everything on this list is applicable to the healthy Christian life. God will not call all Christ-followers into Pastor/Elder ministry, but We can all strive to be qualified for it!