Titus 3:12-13

Titus 3:12-13 (ESV)

[12] When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. [13] Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing.

Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas, and Apollos are the four names mentioned in these final verses. Then, of course, you have Paul, who is writing this letter, and Titus, to whom the letter is written. He writes, “When I send… to you.” Six men mentioned in four verses. In the ministry of the early church there were no Lone Rangers. 

Over the past forty years or so there have been several tragedies and/or scandals surrounding cults and religious groups. In 1978 Jim Jones led over 900 people in his People’s Temple cult to commit mass suicide. In 1993 The FBI raided the Branch Davidian compound near Waco Texas. David Koresh let this group to hold off the FBI for almost two months. It ended with 80 people dead. Some committed suicide. Some died as the building burned and collapsed on them. These were tragedies. Then there are the scandals; everything from ultra-rich television preachers mishandling funds, to the hate and vitriol of the late Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church. The one thing these all have in common is that each of them were led by one man. There was no accountability. There was no wise counsel. There was no one to challenge them, encourage them, temper them, or guide them. One individual spoke for God and their followers were expected to listen.

Throughout the Old Testament there were lone voices. We think of Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, and the prophets. Yet even they had people who spoke into their lives at times. Moses had Aaron and Joshua. David had Jonathan and Nathan. Elijah had Elisha. What is interesting is that once you get to the New Testament there are no lone voices. The Apostles stayed together for the most part. Paul always had people travelling with him. Historically we know that even when the apostles separated Peter had Mark as a companion. Lone Wolf ministry did not happen in the early church.

There is danger in one man speaking unilaterally for God. The New Testament principle is that everything is established by two or three witnesses. Whether you are talking about receiving an accusation against someone, or agreeing together in prayer, two or three witnesses are required. Check out 1 Tim 5:19, and Mt 18:16, 19-20. There is wisdom in the counsel of two or three who are hearing the same thing from God. There is safety in the accountability of two or three who will challenge poor decisions and wrong actions. There is affirmation in the testimony of two or three that agree as to what they are hearing from God.

Why are there six people mentioned in the final four verses of Titus? Because in the church there is no room for Lone Rangers. The church is about the body, and Christ is the head. Any time a person becomes the head the church is in trouble. The method of operation for the church is to have leaders working together under the headship of Christ.

That speaks to the value of a plurality of leaders in ministry. It has another implication as well. It speaks to variety in ministry. Paul is wintering in Nicopolis. Titus is in Crete, but is to come to Nicopolis as soon as possible. Zenas and Apollos have been in Crete but are moving on. Artemas and Tychicus are coming to Crete. What is with all the moving around? Why don’t they just stay put and do ministry?

There is a time and a place for each ministry. Each of these men are gifted differently. As a result, each of them have a different focus of ministry. I have friends that settled into one ministry and spent the majority of their ministry life there. One man spent sixteen years in the same pulpit. One spent over twenty-four years in the same pulpit. One friend was in the same pulpit over thirty years. He planted the church. When he retired he became their Pastor to Seniors. He is still there. He has now been in the same church over to forty years. There is value in those types of ministries. On the other hand, the longest I have been in a single ministry is seven and a half years. Yet God has used me just as effectively, if differently, than he used my friends with long term ministries. Ephesians reminds us that God “gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). They each have the same purpose. They are to equip “the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). But each ministry looks different. Apostles, prophets and evangelists don’t do ministry like pastors and teachers. There is variety in ministry.