“When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at
Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed
Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. And let
our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of
urgent need, and not be unfruitful. All who are with me send greetings to you.
Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.”
(Titus 3:12-15 ESV)
Sometimes our greatest inspirations and challenges come from
the most unlikely sources. For me, Titus
3:12-15 has served as a beautiful picture of what a God-centered,
Gospel-centered ministry should look like.
It has everything: Nobodies who are Somebodies to God’s Kingdom, ministry
planning, a call for a congregation to step up and serve, and the love and
affection that exists among God’s people.
Truly, this text is a diamond in the rough.
Paul has some requests and concerns about continuing ministry
at Crete. He wants Timothy to join him
for the winter at Nicopolis, but he doesn’t want him to leave Crete until spiritual
reinforcements arrive in the form of Artemas and Tychicus. He has a word for Cretan believers: When
Zenas the lawyer and Apollos pass through (they delivered the letter to Titus),
see to it that they are taken care of.
They will need food, a place to stay, clothing, and money as they
continue their journey of taking the gospel to other peoples. This challenge must be met by the believers
of Crete who have just been instructed that their belief must transform their
behavior, that their doctrine must ignite good deeds. It was an opportunity to practice what Paul
and Titus had preached.
There are some very important questions for church and
ministries to consider. Questions that
can indicate the spiritual health or weakness of a ministry.
·
Is your
ministry centered on one person? If
the work of Crete centered on Titus, they were in trouble because he was going
to Nicopolis for the winter and he would eventually end up in Dalmatia (2
Timothy 4:10). If the work at Crete was
built upon Titus, it would fail. Too
often we see that disaster occurs when a ministry or a church is built around
the personality and charisma of ONE person.
In such cases, continuity of ministry is impossible because the entire
ministry is built around the abilities, gifts and personality of a single
individual. Here is a lesson for church
leaders: If we don’t prepare our churches to continue and minister in our absence,
then our presence among them has been futile!
We have not made disciples; we have made cheerleaders who watch the game
rather than participate in it.
·
Is there
room for people like Artemas and Zenas in your ministry? These men are never mentioned anywhere
else in scripture. They are not in a Top
100 Bible Heroes list. Yet, these men
are faithful to the work of God, and they are beneficial to the people of God.
·
In our
ministry, do we challenge people to be contributors
or do we call people to be consumers?
Paul instructed Titus to challenge
the Cretan believers to step up and meet the needs of Zenas and Apollos. Their devotion and determination to minister
to these brethren would give evidence of their salvation; because the new
produces a zeal for good works (Titus 2:14).
Sadly, many churches have a phobia when it comes to challenging members. We are afraid to challenge our members in the
several areas: giving money (yes, I said it), working in the local church
(Sunday school, Children’s church, nursery, building maintenance, etc.), ministering
(visiting the sick, discipling younger believers, evangelizing their neighbors, co-workers, friends and family
members), or giving up their precious time to serve the Lord. Rather than challenging people to contribute,
we sit back and call people to consume.
We see the result of the Church as Consumption mindset all around us: 80%
of the work in a local church is done by 20% of the people. What would happen if only 20% of our body
functioned? Would we be healthy,
energetic and active? No, we’d probably
be in a deep coma awaiting the coroner to pronounce us dead. Such is the case with the body of
Christ. Get rid of the consumer mindset:
“What can I get out of my church?”
Replace it with the mindset of a contributor: How can I be faithful to
and serve my church?
