Mission: Possible

“This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (v5).

“Your assignment, Mr. Phelps…” At the beginning of “Mission: Impossible,” special agent Jim Phelps receives instructions for his next assignment. An ominous and authoritative voice says, “Your mission, if you choose to accept it…” The orders are very specific. The orders are also over-the-top, crazy difficult (that’s why the mission is impossible, right?!).  Phelps and his team always accept. At this point, the source of the message self-destructs and there’s nothing left of the original instructions. The legendary open begins. Light the fuse. Cue the music. The Apostle Paul has an impossible mission for special agent Titus. He accepts. He always does. But this message does not self-destruct. God preserves it for us in the New Testament. 

Paul gives Titus his assignment for his mission. The apostle has left his man on the island of Crete to wrap things up and put leaders in place in local churches. God has moved the man from Tarsus on to his next mission, probably in the Greek seaport of Nicopolis (Titus 3:12). He can trust the Big T. He did a great job on the impossible mission over in Corinth (2Cor 7-8). In a few years, Titus will be in the Croatian region of Dalmatia just before his mentor’s execution (2Tim 4:6). Titus is Paul’s “go to” guy. So it’s no surprise that this is who he turns to for this critical Cretan assignment.

Let’s set the scene. Crete is one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, just south of Greece. The Gospel of Jesus has washed over the island like a spiritual tsunami. There are believers and churches in many towns. But there’s no structure. It reminds me of the complaint I often hear. “I don’t like organized religion.” Well, they haven’t been to my church. It seems like we’re totally disorganized most of the time! Meanwhile back on Crete, there’s absolutely no organization. And that’s left a leadership vacuum. No pastors. No shepherds. No bishops. There’s no sustainable structure for discipleship that will continue after Titus leaves. There are also false teachers everywhere. Somebody needs to shut them up and shut them up quickly.

Titus is to “put what remained into order” (v5). Paul clearly wasn’t able to close the deal before his next divine deployment. That’s now up to the Big T. The apostle instructs his agent by using the Greek word epidiortho’o. It means to straighten out, correct, or arrange properly. The situation is MUCH better than it was, but things are still disorganized. You see, God is not messy and chaotic. He’s loves order and peace (1Cor 14:33). But the order and structure is there to serve God and His people, not the other way around. 

Jesus wants to put your life in order too. Before He got involved in the mess that was my life, I was like an unmade bed. Piles over here. Crap over there. I couldn’t find anything. I didn’t have a clue what was on my calendar…because I didn’t even have one! Slowly and surely, God’s Spirit produced fruit in my life. A HUGE part of that is self-control (Gal 5:22-23). Let’s be very clear, He’s got a lot of work left to do. But He’s made enormous progress in putting my life in order. Talk about Mission: Impossible!

A key component in providing organization and structure to the local Cretan churches is putting leaders in place. “Appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (v5). The word here is presbuteros, which means elderly or advanced in age. His job isn’t to find the oldest coots in each church and put them in charge. No, Paul’s talking about spiritually maturity here. Over the next few verses he’s going to list the qualifications for these spiritually mature leaders. At no point on the list do we see a minimum age requirement. 

What does that mean for you and me? A couple of things. First of all, we need to be good followers who are in willing submission to authority. This includes the church. And their authority has little to do with age. I know busloads of folks younger than me that are spiritually more mature than my wife’s husband. Another key point here is to make sure our churches have capable leadership. Elders, pastors, and other leaders are essential to point to the horizon and let us know where we’re going. We need them to teach good doctrine and shut up spiritual shysters. Finally, we can’t be afraid to step up into leadership when Jesus taps us on the shoulder. Feeling unqualified is the first sign that you probably are. Especially when you meet the qualifications listed in Titus 1:6-9. 

Titus has a huge task before him. Mission: Impossible. But one thing is for sure. He serves a Savior who specializes in such assignments. As Jesus told His own crew, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26). Light the fuse. Cue the music.