The Church Needs Shepherds” - Titus 1:5-16 | This is the Church | Pastor Antoine Lassiter

Paul leaves Titus in Crete to set right what remains unfinished and appoint elders in every town. People are coming to faith, but gathering people is not the same as growing people. False teachers are ruining households, chasing dishonest gain, and claiming to know God while denying him by their works. The church needs faithful shepherds who can help believers recognize the difference between what is familiar and what is faithful.

Following Jesus changes how a person lives, and that takes time. Access to Christian content is not the same as spiritual care. An online preacher may offer encouragement without ever knowing when someone is drifting. A personal relationship with Jesus was never meant to become an entirely private one. Spiritual maturity includes the humility to receive help, correction, and care within the church.

Paul’s qualifications begin with character, not platform. Family life, anger, money, hospitality, and self-control matter because shepherds are trusted with painful places in people’s lives. The church must never become so desperate for a gifted leader that it overlooks a dangerous one. Pastoral leadership is stewardship: the people belong to Jesus, not to the person leading them. The holiness required of elders also models the maturity every Christian should pursue.

Faithful shepherds must both encourage with sound teaching and correct what contradicts it. Biblical correction aims at spiritual health, not humiliation or control. Love sometimes tells the truth a person does not want to hear, but it never gives leaders permission to bully.

The church’s hope rests in Jesus, not a perfect pastor. The strongest shepherd is still a sheep who needs grace. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, laid down his life for his people and continues caring for them through faithful leaders. Those leaders point beyond themselves, helping believers follow Christ rather than become dependent on a personality.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Spiritual Content Cannot Replace Personal Care. Christian information can fill a week without placing a believer among people who notice spiritual drift. Faithful care includes walking through struggling marriages, hard decisions, and the slow work of growth. Receiving that care is not a failure of maturity; it can be the humility maturity requires. [14:19]
• 2. Character Matters More Than A Platform. Gifting and character are not the same thing, and the ability to explain Scripture does not prove submission to it. Paul insists on integrity because spiritual leaders enter places of deep trust, where abuse can leave lasting damage. The church must not overlook a dangerous leader simply because that leader is gifted. [18:11]
• 3. Correction Seeks Health Rather Than Control. A sharp rebuke has a redemptive purpose: helping someone become sound in the faith. Faithful correction points back to Scripture rather than making people afraid to ask questions. A leader’s desire to win an argument or prove authority must never be confused with protecting and restoring a person. [26:09]
• 4. Faithful Shepherds Point Beyond Themselves. Even the strongest shepherd remains a sheep who needs Jesus and the grace being proclaimed. The church cannot rest on one person’s personality, gifting, or reputation. Faithful leadership helps people see Jesus more clearly rather than admire a leader more deeply. [29:23]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:48] - Qualifications for Elders in Titus
• [04:11] - A Platform Does Not Make Truth
• [06:14] - Crete’s Need for Faithful Leaders
• [08:28] - Following the Shepherd Includes Receiving Care
• [09:48] - New Believers Need Discipleship
• [12:58] - Christian Content Is Not Christian Community
• [16:48] - Shepherds Must Live What They Teach
• [19:39] - The Church Belongs to Jesus
• [23:11] - Shepherds Must Teach and Correct
• [26:09] - Correction That Protects and Restores
• [28:41] - Jesus Is the Good Shepherd
• [30:55] - Recognizing Faithful Care After Spiritual Harm
• [32:03] - Prayer and Responding to Christ
• [32:46] - Discerning a Call to Shepherd

Bible Reading

Titus 1:5-9
“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— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” [01:44]

Titus 1:10-11
“For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” [11:03]

Titus 1:16
“They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” [06:14]

Observation questions

1. In Titus 1:5, what work remained unfinished in Crete, and what needs among the believers made appointing elders important? [09:48]
2. In Titus 1:6–9, which areas of a leader’s everyday life does Paul emphasize? How do these differ from the abilities people often look for in a leader? [17:25]
3. According to Titus 1:10–11 and 1:16, how were the false teachers’ motives and actions harming the church? [11:03]
4. What two responsibilities does Paul give elders in Titus 1:9? [23:20]

Interpretation questions

1. Why would appointing qualified elders help a church move beyond gathering people to helping them grow? What care does a believer need that access to Christian content alone cannot provide? [14:19]
2. Why does Paul place so much weight on character when choosing elders? How might a leader’s behavior with family, anger, or money affect someone seeking help with a painful struggle? [18:23]
3. How should Paul’s warnings against arrogance, anger, and bullying shape the way an elder carries out correction? What would distinguish correction aimed at spiritual health from correction aimed at control? [26:32]
4. What difference should it make that an overseer cares for God’s household rather than something he owns? How should that shape a leader’s expectations of people’s loyalty? [19:53]

Application questions

1. Who in your church knows you well enough to notice if you are struggling or drifting? What might help you build that kind of relationship rather than relying only on Christian content? [14:37]
2. Following Jesus can mean changing patterns that feel familiar. Is there a habit or attitude you have tended to excuse because it seems normal in your family or surroundings? What might a faithful next step look like? [12:31]
3. Which quality in Titus 1:6–9—such as hospitality, self-control, or patience—most needs attention in your life right now? What is one practical way you could pursue growth in that area this week? [21:36]
4. Think of a time someone offered you needed correction. What made it difficult or helpful to receive? How could you become more open to biblical correction while still recognizing and rejecting manipulation or bullying? [27:18]
5. Without sharing anything you would rather keep private, what helps you feel safe receiving spiritual care? What boundaries or signs of accountability would matter as you build trust with a leader? [30:58]
6. Faithful leaders help people follow Jesus rather than become dependent on themselves. As you consider the Christian voices you trust, what helps you distinguish growing devotion to Christ from attachment to a personality? Is there anything you would like to change? [29:29]