Amen. Well, good morning. Open your Bibles with me, beloved, to Paul's letter to his genuine child according to our common faith. Open with me to the book of Titus. What a special Lord's Day, not only to witness the ordinance of baptism. I bet you've never heard a testimony like that before. to have worshiped the Lord in song and praise, to sit under the preached word, and to take part in the Lord's supper later today and afterwards, to join in a fellowship meal with one another. Can you feel the heartbeat of the church? What a beautiful and living organism she is. Well, it's wonderful to have Brady back and our thanks to Cam and Diana last week for leading us as well. And in blessing upon blessing, we were encouraged and exhorted by Nathan last week in his exposition of 1 Corinthians 12, reminding us what it means to be a part of a body and why God refers to us as members of a body, why you and your gifts are needed. Why the church cannot function as she should without them. And why God has sovereignly placed you here, like Esther, for just such a time as this. With the very gifts you have, and why we are all commanded to be accountable to a local body of believers that we might be built up and spurred on in the faith. So that was a blessing. Our thanks to Nathan for that excellent reminder. May we put into practice what we've learned, eagerly jumping into body life, using the gifts that God has given us. Amen? Amen. We are excited to continue our journey as a church body in Titus this morning. If you'll recall, we have finally completed the opening salutation of Paul to Titus in the first four verses, and there we really enjoyed a positive treasure trove of doctrinal mountaintops with Paul using just really raw power, as our analogy goes, to get this rocket ship of Titus off the pad and into the air. designed, as we said, to raise our affections, to harness the power, and to direct and to guide us for the work ahead, that of setting in order the churches of Crete, by God's grace, in order our church in Lanesville. I'm not going to take our usual time to recap that salutation as we have much territory to cover this morning. However, if you've missed any of the first five installments of our series on Titus, they are available online. I would encourage you to get a hold of those. Today we bring in a very exciting chapter of our journey through this short but very powerful letter. And to be sure, as we approach verse five and on, we come upon one of the really driving forces, if not one of the primary motivations for our selecting this letter for Harrison Hills following our time in Mark. Paul is driving for one of the most important elements of church life, that of her architecture, how she is built, how is she to be modeled, how is she designed by her maker to function. before even considering the intricate furnishings inside and the decor and the beautification of her, even knowing how the foundation was laid, that if we are, as 1 Peter 2 proclaims, living stones, what is the structure upon which those stones are stacked? Here in Titus, Paul, well, not as much describing what or who the foundation is, what is the chief cornerstone, which a Christian would readily answer, that is Christ. But here, rather, Paul is illuminating. What are the pillars that are built on top of Christ as the foundation and that built up to Christ as the head? What provides that structure and the inner workings of her architecture? Even knowing that the foundation of the church is tried and true, being no less than the person and the work of Christ, we know the chief cornerstone, as Jesus called himself, is immovable and unbreakable, that the very bride of Christ for which he died can be confidently built upon. But it is here that so many churches stumble. Having been given the perfect foundation, we often jumble the architecture. And many fail to follow the blueprint drawings or model their beams and structures after the world. Or perhaps like a company or a business. Or perhaps we model her in pursuit of pragmatism or tradition. Meaning we do something merely because it seems to work or because that's how we've always done it. And we wonder why so many buildings fall. We know it's not the foundation. It's often, it's very often the structure of the building that causes collapse, whether it's built wrong or simply built too hastily. But thankfully, we have the building manual. The architectural drawings for the structure of the church are not a secret. They're not mired in a secretive mist. And should we expect any less? Should we think that the prize for which Christ died would be left to languish without direction on how to conduct herself? Beloved, the church is replete with instructions in scripture, but in many cases have failed to carry them out or allow time and tradition to overcome them. It is that desire for biblical fidelity that drives us this morning. Meaning it is a desire to be modeled as closely after God's word as possible that ought to drive us as a congregation. That is the fuel of our text, right? That is the driver for us to be in Titus. That we might examine and set in order his bride in Lanesville. that nothing might hinder her work in the lives of her people or her community. How her structure is designed and built will be instrumental on whether she will stand for generations or whether she will fall like so many before her. So with that, beloved, let us look to our text that will guide us for the next few weeks. Titus 1 verse 5. Titus 1 verse 5. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, as we begin this new part of our journey in Titus, Lord, we come as dependent people. Lord, as sheep who need the great shepherd, to show us in your word, Lord, the greatest of great, how are we to conduct the business of your bride? How are we to be modeled and shaped, Lord, that we may walk in fullness of spirit toward one another and toward the community in which you've placed us? Heavenly Father, we have much to learn, and Lord, we know that this requires the engagement of our hearts and our minds to grasp this. We ask that you would give each of us the ability to do that in great measure this morning. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. When the city of Philadelphia, the year 1787, the leaders of our fledgling nation were congregated at Independence Hall for the Constitutional Convention. And this convention aimed to determine really the structure of our nation's government. And the result of this convention, of course, was the very Constitution of the United States. As the convention neared its end, Benjamin Franklin was leaving Independence Hall. And a woman by the name of Elizabeth Willing Powell famously asked Franklin, what do we have, a republic or a monarchy? Of course, many of you know Franklin's reply. He told her, a republic, if you can keep it. Well, fast forward 200 years and something interesting has happened. Many today have forgotten that America was founded as a constitutional republic. After some of the events this week, some may say a banana republic. But most think we live in a pure democracy. YouTube is replete with interviewers on college campuses asking students what kind of government we have in the United States. And 90-something out of 100 will say we have a democracy. Of course, not only do we not live in a democracy, but the authors of our Constitution were generally opposed to those forms of government because of the very stifling effect that collective democracy had on individual liberty and on free market economies. And they weren't wrong. As we have moved toward collective democratic thinking in America, it has come at the cost of individual liberty. But all the while, the church of God is living within this culture. And unfortunately, the church is most often downstream of the culture, aren't they? Taking on many of the world's attributes and the world's characteristics. Often we much more see the church being influenced by the culture instead of the other way around. Well, just so as the culture has shifted toward this democratic mindset, there's a similar democratic mindset that has pervaded the church as well. A majority rule type of congregationalism that has grown within the church is in lockstep with the growth of democratic majority rule mindset in the culture. And just as it surprises many Americans to learn that our country is not a democracy, so it may surprise many churchgoers this morning that the church of God was not designed as a democracy either. If we were able to label or if we had to label the church's government, she is first and foremost a theocracy. She has a king whose head over all. Of course, Paul saturates his letter to the Ephesians with this type of language proclaiming that he put all things in subjection under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ also is the head of the church, he himself being the savior of the body. Paul tells the Corinthians, but I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. Paul goes on in Colossians, he is also head of the body, the church, and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything. He continues, he is also head of the body, the church, and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything. No, the church certainly is not a democracy. She has a ruling king. Scripture shows us the model of the church. Beginning as both the foundation and the chief cornerstone, and now as head over all, Jesus Christ is the chief great shepherd of the flock. And she even has her constitution. Written documents from our reigning monarchy. That is Scripture. And the king says that within the government of my body, I'm going to set in place leaders. I'm going to appoint under shepherds who follow the chief shepherd and who are bound by the constitution of scripture. Who are humble slaves to the word of the king. I'm going to place stewards in my house. I'm going to place managers that represent me to the flock. and I'm gonna call these men elders, presbyteros, and I'm gonna place the authority to teach, to govern, to lead, and to shepherd in very specific men with very specific qualifications. They are to be appointed as spirit-placed overseers to guide and to protect the precious sheep of God. Now, when we talk about church government, that may be a term that, well, either makes your eyes glaze over, I see a few of those, or perhaps these are terms that, well, you've never even heard them put together before, church and government. Some may even ask, what does it matter, right? Well, some churches have this, some have that. Hey, we all love Jesus, what does it matter? To be sure, I think I've seen more interest in the color of our bookshelves than I have in the governing of this church. Many Christians would perhaps be shocked to discover that scripture has more to say to elders and about elders than it does about other monumental topics, like our gathering on the Lord's Day, about the Lord's Supper, baptism, the use of spiritual gifts, always hot button topics, right? And I receive questions on these topics all the time, and that's wonderful. But how often do you think I'm asked about the governing of Christ's church? And yet this topic is more pervasive and more dominant throughout the New Testament than any of those topics. it is positively all over the New Testament. Without even broaching the topics of elders in the Old Testament, as we read this morning, which we see there as well. This is why, writes John Zenz, that we need to seriously consider the doctrine of eldership. It jumps out at us from the pages of the New Testament, yet it has fallen into disrepute and is not being practiced as a whole in local churches." And the effects of that, beloved, have been devastating. The moment we departed this model after the early church, it has been a positive wake of fractured chaos and disunity all while the sheep of God have suffered. Alexander Strzok in his seminal work titled, Biblical Eldership. Write that one down. That is a work I commend to every member. Biblical Eldership by Alexander Strzok. He puts his finger on this issue stating, Some of the worst havoc wrought to the Christian faith has been a direct result of unscriptural forms of church structure. Only a few centuries after the apostle's death, for example, Christian churches began to assimilate both Roman and Jewish concepts of status, power, and priesthood. Now as a result, church government was clericalized and it was sacralized. Under Christ's name, an elaborately structured institution emerged. that corrupted the simple family structure of the apostolic churches. It robbed God's people of their lofty position and ministry in Christ, and it exchanged Christ's supremacy over his people for the supremacy of the institutional church." You may have heard of that little institution known as the Roman Catholic Church. Conflating the Old Testament priestly system with the religious and political structures of the Roman Empire gave rise to a very powerful priestly caste. The simple structure and practices of the new community were lost. They were lost to a vast hierarchical structure of clergy that wielded unimaginable power over people, over property, over politics. Strzok continues, quote, I find it ironic that some evangelical leaders in America are more concerned about the structure of the United States government than the structure of the local church. I doubt that many evangelical leaders would say it doesn't matter how the US government is structured as long as there's some form of leadership. Yet that is precisely what I have heard some evangelical leaders say about the local church. Close quote. What should we be more passionate about? The government of a country, however great or fallen it may be? Or the government of an entity that is responsible for protecting and stewarding and heralding the greatest truth of all time? as possessors of a gospel reality so grand that Peter tells us that even angels long to look into this and understand it. The entity that is responsible for reflecting Christ upon the earth should her governance not command our passion all the more. As we will see, this plurality of elders Paul speaks to Titus of is the consistent pattern throughout scripture. Beginning in Acts all the way through, and it is just for such a reason to appoint just such men that Paul has left Titus in Crete. Look with me to our text. For this reason I left you in creed. Meaning Paul is saying this is primary, this is preeminent. If the structure is absent, if qualified leaders are not in place, then chaos awaits. The sheep will languish, growth will be stunted, false teachers are gonna proliferate, Judaizers will capture you. The church cannot function as she was designed. The building will collapse. Look with me even closer to our text. For this reason I left you in Crete. Why? Well, two reasons. One, to set in order what remains. And two, appoint elders in every city as I have directed you. That's why you're there, Titus. Now let's look to this first task. Both are, of course, interrelated to one another, but let's look at them individually here. What does it mean first to set something in order? Now here, of course, our Greek stops us in our tracks and lights the way for us. Our word here for setting in order is epideortho. This is the only usage of this word in scripture, and we know what does that mean. We stop, we pay attention. You'll recognize the root word there, ortho. Ortho, meaning to set straight. Now today we might think of orthodontics, right? To straighten out the teeth. In Paul's day, this would have been more talking about orthopedics, like meaning straightening out bent limbs or setting broken bones. We have a problem in the churches of Crete. Their bones are broken. It's bent, it's out of joint. They're without proper leadership. Verses 10 and 11, Paul gives us a small taste of what those problems were, saying, for there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, watch out for your religious folks, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. The building is collapsing under Jewish myths and commandments, we see in verse 14. They're languishing under poor doctrine, chapter one, verse two. Chapter two, verse one, excuse me. Titus tells us that the older men and the older women who are supposed to be wise and temperate, who are supposed to be discipling the younger, aren't doing so. The bones are broken, the teeth are crooked. Set it in order, Titus. Well, how? First order of business, appoint elders in every city. Now just like our salutation in our first four opening verses of Titus, Paul doesn't take the time to explain the mountainous truths that are expressed here. Paul speaks to Titus as one who knows. We see that right at the end of our text, don't we? What does Paul say? As I directed you. Paul is hearkening back to previous teaching and to previous commands. Titus, as one who's enjoyed that personal discipleship of Paul for some time now, who's walked many miles, who's sat in chains with the apostle. Paul does not need to explain to Titus what elders are, or that having a plurality of them is God's architecture for his church. Paul just simply tells him. But as we've shared in our previous verses, you and I did not have that benefit, did we? And many of us may not really know what the term elder means. And what that means for how God has structured his church. And to that end, I'm reminded back when our text in the Gospel of Mark, remember when we arrived at the topics of heaven and hell, and when we had to examine terms like paradise, and Abraham's bosom, and Hades, and Gehenna, and the third heavens, and all these terms, and they can be confusing. Hopefully we cleared the air for you on that. But the same confusion can kind of be felt perhaps for titles given to leadership in scripture as well. Thankfully it's quite simple. Hopefully we can give clarity on this as well. So we have a number of titles that we see used in scripture. Of course we see elder, but we also see overseer, bishop, pastor, teacher, shepherd. We see all these. And we want to examine these and kind of dispel some of the fog that surrounds these. If we look to the term elder, or our Greek presbyteros, you'll hear that word presbytery in there, right? Or presbyterian. We see this term 66 times in the New Testament, and literally rendered it means old man, right? It simply means of age. But as we examine the usages, particularly the 40 plus uses in the four gospels, we see that this is used to denote an office of dignity within Jewish religious life. We see throughout the gospels terms like the scribes and the elders, or the chief priests and the elders, right? This was a title of Jewish leadership. So it naturally follows that the early church, which began as Jewish, would adopt this title. But why does the early church not have their own chief priests? Why not have our own scribes? Why not have our own king? Why use elder? Why is this the pattern of scripture for the church? Well, we have no chief priests because Christianity affirms the priesthood of every believer, 1 Peter 2. That there is no special class of Christian. Why no king? No Tetrarch? The scripture declares that we are co-regents with Christ. No kings or monarchs as believers. Why no scribes? They were interpreters of the law, yes? But now every believer has the right and authority to read and interpret and apply the teachings of scripture, to memorize it, study it, hide it away in your heart. That is the privilege of every believer. So as we consider that the early church was birthed Jewish, are there chief priests or popes? No. Christ is the high priest and we affirm the priesthood of every believer. Monarchal positions, no. Christ is king and we are co-regents with him. Scribes, no. Every believer has the right to hold that book in their hand and read it. So what term does the early church have that's disconnected from all of those and yet conveys the duty, the maturity, and the requirements of this office in the early church? It's elder. But what are these other terms? In fact, right here in Titus 1, if we look down to verse 7, another title pops up. What do we see in verse 7? For the overseer must be beyond reproach. We see that same title overseer in 1 Timothy 3, episkopos. That's the Greek word for overseer. That also means bishop. You'll recognize that word Episcopalian in there. All right, is Paul all of a sudden speaking of a different person or a different office from verse 5 to verse 7? No, it's the same person. Well, there's your first clue on where all these titles are headed. Let's look closer at that in a parallel text. We're going to be spending a lot of time in as we get to the qualifications of elders in coming weeks. Something of a parallel account in Timothy. 1 Timothy 3, 1 through 7, and there in Timothy, Paul lays out the qualifications for episcopa, also meaning overseer or bishop. And those requirements in Timothy are identical to the requirements for presbyterus, or elder, here in Titus. Now if you look to 1 Peter, in fact, turn with me there if you would, beloved, pick up your Bibles, turn with me to 1 Peter 5. We're gonna see another term here. Look with me to 1 Peter 5. Verses one through two, 1 Peter 5, one through two. It reads this, therefore I exhort the elders, there's one, Presbyterus, among you, as your fellow elder, and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd. Okay, there's a second title, right? The word there is poimeno. Alright, a poimen. This is where we get our word pastor from. So the elders are to shepherd, pastor, the flock of God among you, overseeing, there's another one, right? We know that one, episkopos, overseeing, not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God, and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness. So all three right here, presbyteros, elder, poimen, pastor, shepherd, episkopos, overseer, bishop, all three. Do we see where this is going? Look with me one more time. Turn a couple pages over to Acts 20. Look at Acts 20, beloved. Acts 20, verse 17. Sometimes it's helpful for us to lay eyes on the text and not just hear it. Acts 20, verse 17. Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church, Presbyteros. Now move from verse 17 down to verse 28. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you what? overseers, bishops, episkopos, to shepherd, there it is again, poymen, pastor, shepherd, the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Again, all of these titles intertwined, right? What does that tell us? Whether it is elder or overseer, bishop, pastor, teacher, shepherd, they're all the same office. The different titles are there to simply highlight the different emphasis and functions that they perform within that office. When Paul speaks of elder, he's speaking to the character of the man, who he is. When Paul is speaking of an overseer or bishop, he's speaking to what this man does. And when Paul is saying shepherd or pastor, he's speaking of how he ministers. So boil down to a single sentence for you note takers out there, right? Put very simply, elder is who he is, overseer, bishop is what he does, pastor, shepherd describes how he does it. Okay, one more time. Elder is who he is, overseer and bishop is what he does, pastor and shepherd is how he does it. I pray that brings some clarity to those often confusing topics when we see all those titles, when we see all these different names. But we also observe as we talk about the role of elder, it's always in plurality. A plurality, for those who may not be familiar with the term, simply means more than one. As we highlighted from the outset, Titus is not only to appoint an elder, but Titus is to appoint a plurality of elders. And put very simply, beloved, nowhere in scripture do we see a local church being governed either by congregational majority rule or by a single man. That model is not presented to us. The church wouldn't even know how to do that by scriptural model, even if they wanted to. Short of modeling it after a secular democracy or a business, which is what many churches in America do. Still, we see neither of these models in Scripture, and both for very good reason. And where that plurality of elders did not exist, where a plurality was not appointed, or where unqualified men were appointed, like the Isle of Crete, the command of Scripture is to set that in order. We are not a business. We are a body. We are not a corporation, a council, or a committee, or a commission. We are a community. We're not a democracy or even a denomination. Shock! It is divine. The church is a called out people joined together in common faith, joined as brothers and sisters in the family of Christ. We are of the household of faith. Listen to a description of the church in her very founding from Acts 2. Catch the outline. Hear the heartbeat of who she is. Beginning at verse 42. Acts 2, 42, and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. And they began selling their property and possessions. No, they weren't socialists. And were dividing them up with all as anyone might have need. And daily devoting themselves with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house. They were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved." Boom, boom. That's the heartbeat of the church. We should hear that. And as the church is exploding in number, as the Lord was adding to their number daily, how does scripture say these churches were to be led? How are they to be governed and taught and guided? Well, fly with me. A quick overview. Tell me what you see. Listen for the plurality of elders. I know this will be rapid fire, but press in. The juice is worth the squeeze. Looking first at the churches of Judea and the surrounding areas there. In Acts 11.30. It reads, And as many of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the service of brothers living in Judea. And this they did, sending it in the charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders. James 5.14 exhorts the church, is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. How about the main church in Jerusalem? Who governed that body? Acts 15. Remember the big Jerusalem council? The Grand Puba. Acts 15 verse 2, And when Paul and Barnabas had not a little dissension and debate with them, the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. How about looking to the Pauline churches that were established in Derbe and Lystra and Iconium and Antioch? What do we see? Acts 14, 21-23 tells us, After they had proclaimed the gospel, they being Paul and Barnabas, to that city, had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, through many afflictions, we must enter the kingdom of God. Watch the pattern here. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, Having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. How about the church at Ephesus? Acts 20 verse 17. We looked at this one earlier. Now from Miletus, he's sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. Timothy, of course, was sent to the church in Ephesus, right? That's where he ministered primarily. And 1 Timothy tells us the elders who lead well, are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor at preaching the word and teaching. How about the church in Philippi? Philippians 1.1, Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the overseers and deacons. There's that word, and now you know. How about the churches in Asia Minor, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia? To all the churches scattered of the persecution, right? This is of the dispersion. Peter's epistles written to them, right? What does Peter say? 1 Peter 5.1, we looked at this, Therefore I exhort thee, elders among you, as your fellow elder, and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed. The church of Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians 5.12, had elders. The church in Rome, Hebrews 13.17, had elders. And of course, how about the island of Crete today in Titus? Hundreds of small churches appoint elders as I have directed you. Now, beloved, that pretty much covers every known area that Christianity had spread to in the New Testament. There are no priests, no scribes, no kings. just faithful laborers. Men of exceptional character, maturity, knowledge, and ability known as elders. Those that God had called and prepared for the leadership of their church. And nor do we see that there are any type of super elder in the body. There are variations of gifts and functions within an elder body. There are differences of life experiences and abilities. Some may be more gifted in administration and others more gifted in speaking. Some are vocational, others are not. Some might have formal seminary training, others may not. Some are outspoken, others are quieter, but all carry the same charge, the same office and title. Meaning there are certainly distinctions between your elders, but there is no hierarchy. Our first model is this, of this is Christ. Jesus trained 12 apostles, not one. Now were there some who were prominent in that group? Yeah, right? They had diversity of giftedness to be sure. And yes, we certainly see that Peter and James and John, they stood out as leaders, for sure. And even speaking of Peter, Strock writes, quote, as the natural leader, the chief speaker, the man of action, Peter energized. He strengthened and he ignited the group. Without Peter, the group would have been less effective. When surrounded by 11 other brothers who were his peers, Peter was stronger, he was more balanced, and protected from his impetuous nature and fears. Together they comprised a more effective team of leaders, close quote. And yet scripture gives Peter, for example, no special title. He was not the Supreme High Bishop of the Jerusalem Council. He was not the Senior Apostle, Lord Peter. He was just Peter. And in fact, that verse that we just read from 1 Peter, he refers to himself as what? As a fellow elder. There were no super apostles. Some of the 12, we may not know in this life what exactly they did for the Lord. We don't know exactly what some of the lesser known apostles did besides dying for their Lord. But newsflash, beloved, that's how it is with 99% of those who serve the Lord. The greatest people in the history of the church, you have never heard of them. You've never heard of them. In the age of celebrity pastors and personalities, we need to hear this. The most faithful laborers in the Lord will never be recognized on a stage. We will never know most of their names. You who humbly serve week after week in children's ministry, you who labor behind the desks in audio visual, you who print and hand out bulletins, you who clean and vacuum to the glory of God, that's just perfect. That's just to God's plan and design. These are some of the greats in the kingdom of God. I stress this diversity of gifting yet equality amongst elders for a reason. As we aim to set in order our church, we must highlight that we see no call in Scripture as well to demarcate or to differentiate between what we might call pastor and elder, as we have shown. What do we mean by that? A very troubling trend has emerged in churches that elevate what they call a senior pastor over elders, or even call them lay elders. Oftentimes to make matters even worse, it's not uncommon in these structures that we see the senior pastor as a permanent fixture and the elders are voted in on a rotation. Saints, that is a gross misunderstanding of how Scripture portrays the elder. Of the calling and the duty of the elder. There is no such thing as a lay elder. Whether vocational or not, there are no pyramids in the church with the senior pastor at the top and the lay elders below him and the deacons below them. This structure simply is not found anywhere in these pages. In fact, we don't see any blueprint in scripture for any higher ecclesiological authority than that of the local church. Under the headship of Christ, that rule of the church is expressed through preaching and teaching of the word, the exercise of baptism, and the Lord's Supper, all under the guidance and the shepherd of equal elders. This is the model of scripture. To add hierarchy above her, to usurp autonomy of the local body, is to say that she is somehow not sufficient in herself. But beloved, she is beautifully drawn, beautifully drawn. And this architecture of divine drawing is not going to be improved or expanded upon. Its boundaries and office are a clear mandate to a faithful church. And beloved, I know that this is a lot to process and to take in. You might be listening to this one again online. We'll speak much, much more of these topics as we make our way through this text and following texts outlining the requirements for these elders. There's much to teach and preach on as we seek to set in order what remains. But beloved, I pray that none of this sounds simply academic in our ears. or sounds simply like matters of administration or technicalities. If so, we've not captured the heart of this. This is the very ordering for that by which Christ died and for which Christ died. even week after week as we rightfully drill down and we seek after biblical fidelity in all matters of how we conduct our services, right? The Lord's Supper, baptism, all of these wonderful gifts to us, all of these commands for us to be faithful in, yes and amen. And yet scripture says far more about how she is to be governed than any of those vital commands. Beloved, God has not left it up to us to sort it out and to do as we please or to simply be patterned after the world or after tradition. He's given us the clear model in scripture for the architecture of his church. Many of you know we lived for some time in Asia. We loved our time there. We enjoyed traveling all over that part of the world. One of the most incredible buildings in Asia, one of the greatest pieces of architecture, is a skyscraper on the island of Taiwan called Taipei 101. This is a very special building. This is a special building. In the heart of the building is a giant ball. A 728 metric ton sphere of steel. And if you visualize the building as a person, this ball is actually located right where the heart would be. Its purpose is to act as a seismic damper or a giant pendulum. It's designed to counteract the effects and to act as a stabilizer. against earthquakes and typhoons, every pressure and threat against the architecture and structure of Taipei 101, every force that comes against this giant sphere moves in the opposite direction of that movement to stabilize her. Recently, this system was put to the test. A 6.8 on the Richter earthquake rocked Taipei 101. Now, what could have been a disaster had she not been built this way, she stood fast. The videos you can watch online showing the heart of the building counteracting the forces upon her is incredible. She was built to sustain every force, every pressure, every attack against her, and when pressed, she stood fast, because she's built with a special heart. The architects knew, if we're going to build a structure this grand, the typhoons are gonna blow and the ground will shake and crack beneath her. She must be built for it. Our foundation is sure. If our pillars and beams be in place, if living stones are stacked upon one another, at the heart of the building is the living word of God. living and active, and counteracting the forces upon her, stabilizing and giving strength to her structure. Without the foundation, she doesn't stand. Without the beams and the pillars, she doesn't stand. Without the sphere at the heart, she will certainly fall. God has designed his church magnificently. He's given us all we need to weather the storms, to protect its inhabitants, to provide shelter for those who are seeking it, and to stand against all elements until He returns. Beloved, may we desire this for our flock as the Lord builds His church. Let us pray. Oh, Heavenly Fathers, we approach these deep and often difficult matters in the governance of your church. Lord, we pray against all that it not sound academic, Lord, or technical or administrative, but Lord, this is the heartbeat of your church, the church that you love and for which you died. Heavenly Father, as we continue our walk through Titus, Lord, we ask that you would give us clarity of mind, that you would give us courage in leadership, that you would give us boldness in your word. Lord, You have put a sphere within the heart of Your church, and it is Your Word. And Lord, we ask that we might look to it. Lord, that it might be a stabilizing force to us, that it may move in the opposite direction of everything the world is wanting to put towards us. Lord, that we might stand. We pray all these things in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.