Based on Titus 1:5-9
Qualification. It’s a word that can strike fear and anxiety in the hearts of both officer and enlisted alike. Phrases like go or no go, pass or fail. Did you qualify?
Well, what qualifies you to share Jesus with others? Do you need to be called as a pastor or teacher or staff minister in one of our Lutheran schools or churches? Do you need a diploma from a college or a seminary hanging on your wall that states, “Yes, I am qualified to do this”?
In our reading today, the apostle Paul talks about qualifications—not for a PFT or a gunnery—but what qualifies us to serve as those who share Jesus with others. And specifically in this part of his letter, he’s referring to those who are called workers like pastors and teachers and staff ministers. And in his letter to Pastor Titus, he lists those characteristics and attitudes and actions that God would want to see in called workers.
But as you listen to this list as I read it, you’d have to admit that this is a list not just for called workers, but characteristics and attitudes and actions that God would want to see in all believers in Christ.
Listen to the list. Paul says that he should not be “overbearing,