Paul's Letter To Titus 1

The Apostle Paul’s strategic mission of expanding the church and spreading the Gospel was significant considering the challenges he had to conquer. His life and example was and is applicable to modern cross-cultural leaders and organizations. Philippians 2 is a letter written by Paul to the church of Philippi. It was prepared during his imprisonment in Rome for spreading the Gospel of Christ in an area where people predominately and traditionally believed in Judaism. His writing in this passage highlights Christ as the ultimate example of humility and Paul’s encouragement to his followers to keep the unity, as they are the light of the world.

The first letter to the Christian community was sent from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, though Paul was the main author. Paul was writing to them to clear up their misunderstandings about the return of Christ, also considers it as instructions in holy living. Paul wrote about his longing to visit the church in Thessalonica but

Paul is the author of the book of Titus. The book of Titus was written around the years 63-65 A.D. The letter was addressed to Titus who was a gentile and a companion of Paul. Paul called Titus his “True son”. Titus along with First and Second Timothy are called Pastoral Epistles. The reason for being categorized that way is because the letters emphasizes the reason for having leaders within the church. (Votaw, Clyde W. pg.130-38) The book 's theme is instructions to Titus on how to run the churches in Crete and to encourage Titus in faith. The first readers of this letter would be Titus, some of the leaders within the Crete churches, Zenas and Apollos who Paul gave the letter to give of Titus. Paul and Titus most likely visited Crete

Christianity was still quite young at the time Paul wrote to Philemon and was faced with much opposition. The Church existed as local bodies of believers, meeting primarily in homes because there were no church buildings for worship. Persecution of the Church was prevalent and their survival depended heavily on dependence on one another and unity. Many misconceptions and even blatant lies

Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, showcase many qualities that any person in a position of leadership should have. Whether this is someone who is starting out in ministry, holds a position in a church, or even the ordinary Christian, Paul demonstrates qualities that every follower of Christ is called to practice. Believers should be people willing to strengthen and improve their character, and Paul provides the necessary tools in his letter to the Corinthians. Looking further into the qualities and characteristics of a leader, this paper will focus on how Paul utilizes them or encourages the church of Corinth to do so.

Basically in a nut shell, everyone has offended God, but God has a solution. Paul was focused on building up the kingdom of God (Wright 995), and he was not afraid to share and teach the gospel. However, Paul had not visited the church in Rome and was unfamiliar with their problems. So this letter is a bit different than his others. It is not written in the form that we are used too. Paul had already finished his work in the Mediterranean and really wanted to travel to Spain (Osiek 1829). So scholars say that heading to Rome and teaching the Romans would help finance this trip. Seeing how he was from there, it might have crossed his mind to help him. This seemed like a really good plan for Paul. However, being a converted follower of Jesus could present some unforeseen

The Apostle Paul (formerly Saul) is responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout the areas of Asia Minor and Greece. Through his 3 mission trips to the region Paul created a base of support for the Christian faith and implemented a support strategy for future growth. The time period for his journeys was 45 AD – 58 AD. The story of Paul is interesting from the perspective that the man best known as the author of most of the New Testament started out as a devout Jew and despised the Christian faith. After his conversion he made it his life’s work to spread the Christian message throughout the world. To this end, Paul made several mission trips to the area of Asia Minor and Greece.

Good and virtuous leaders are exemplified throughout the bible, but what was required of these early church leaders and are the requisites applicable to modern leadership? As leaders continue to incorporate a biblical ethical component to their leadership practices, it is hoped that good ethical leader succession will be duplicated. This applied exegetical paper will utilize a socio-rhetorical criticism approach to convey what was expected of the early church leaders and how those expectations can relate to modern leaders. I will analyze Titus 1 a Pastoral Epistle written by Apostle Paul through the process of Social and Cultural Texture analysis. Then, the analysis will explore the virtue and ethical leadership ideas of the Apostle Paul. Lastly, this paper will highlight how the ethical concepts are applicable to modern leadership practices.

Apostle Paul was not always a preacher of Christianity, Paul’s parents were Jewish as well as Roman citizens. Paul was to be a Rabbi though his future plans changed, on Paul’s journey of scorning Jesus, he had a vision in which Jesus asked why Paul scorns him, then commissions Paul to preach his message to the Gentiles who received mercy through Jewish unbelief. Around A.D. 56-58; Apostle Paul wrote the Romans, verses 8:26-30 states, “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

God gave Paul a mission to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. They traveled from city to city spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the message was not always being received. It is really no confirmed certainty on why John Mark eventually left Paul and Barnabas to return to Jerusalem. The Jews went on record as being in opposition to the Gospel, but Paul kept preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul saw that the Gentiles were very receptive to the Gospel.

Paul visited Ephesus on his first missionary journey, on the way from Greece to Syria. After his third missionary journey, he stayed there and pastored the Ephesian church for 3 years (Easton, np). “Though Paul was not the first to bring Christianity to Ephesus, for Jews had long lived there, he was the first to make progress against the worship of Diana” (Orr, np). Because of his strong ties to the church, Paul cared deeply about the faith of the believers there (Macarthur, np).

1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, also known as the Pastoral Epistles, attempt to describe proper hierarchy in the early church. They reject the idea of having women being significantly involved in the community. Libertarian theology interprets Christianity through the viewpoint of the poor. Leftist theology is a more liberal political party. It advocates equality and rejects the idea of social hierarchy. These three ideas were considered heterodidascalia, or “the other teachings,” in the early church (Menendez, 185). The Pastoral Epistles attempted to limit the number and type of people who could have power and authority, and they did this by “[addressing] specific church leaders and [targeting] specific groups” (Menendez, 186). By narrowing the gap between the secular and religious groups, it is possible to “deepen the national dialogues” (Menendez, 187). Based on the conservative, Pastoral interpretations of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, there is no room for equality amongst the people and it seems to me like they are taking certain rights away from these different groups of people. If the Pastorals were more sensitive to the three issues stated above, it could allow a better understanding between the state and church.

In the book of Titus, Paul addresses Titus on how to carry out the task of choosing church leaders. Paul wrote to him so as to challenge him in the way he ought to go. He did this as he was almost leaving Titus behind to go on with the work of God. Titus was to be left with the duty of finishing the work that was pending in Crete. He was charged with the task of appointing leaders for the churches in every town by laying down particular qualifications for the local church leaders[10]. According to the qualifications, it is apparent that the character of a leader matters a lot. The qualifications are divided into

Paul begins the letter of Romans by introducing himself and stating his mission. Concisely stating the gospel message, Paul encourages the Roman Christians to “bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name” (1:5), or for the glory of Jesus Christ. He goes on to write of his desires and intentions to visit Rome in order to preach the gospel of Christ to the Jews as well as the Gentiles. Paul continues by explaining his excitement for the gospel as well as the need to live the gospel out in our lives. Finishing the first chapter, Paul presents the inexcusable idolatry, sinfulness, and evilness of the ungodly.

In this letter Apostle Paul showed how great his love was for the church of Philippi, showing his gratitude for their financial support to further the work of the ministry and to express his concern about their spiritual walk. His only thought was about advancing the cause of Christ and building the Philippians’ faith to continue their mission in spite of the persecution they were facing. Within their church many of the people were at odds and some were trying to hinder the spread of the Gospel. Because of this, Paul encourages the church of Philippi to "stand fast, be of the same mind, rejoice in the Lord always but by prayer let your request be made known and the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (4:1-7).