TITUS CONNECTION Volume 18, Number 5 – May, 2024

Welcome Everyone.  I hope you find the two articles that are below interesting and challenging.  They fit extremely well within the WILD culture.  What kind of authority do you have?  The other question is who is your Titus or Timothy?  It does not matter your age, you have something to share with another Christian.  Thanks.  Mike

John Maxwell has said, “A leadership position does not give someone leadership authority.”  The premise from day one when you learned about leadership development is having a position or title is the lowest level of authority someone can have.  People will do what you say because of your position not because there is any relationship that has started to build together.
Leadership authority is a result of moral authority.  “Moral authority is the recognition of a person’s leadership influence based on who they are more than the position they hold.  It is attained by authentic living that has built trust and it is sustained by successful leadership endeavors.  It is earned by a lifetime of consistency.  Leaders can strive to earn moral authority by the way they live, but only others grant them moral authority.” (John Maxwell)
In a team, it is the other team members who grant someone on that team moral authority.   Individually we must earn that authority by living lives of integrity, trust, consistency, courage, honesty, commitment, adding value to others, being inspiring, helping others to make the right decisions for the right reason, and respect.  Each person on the team needs be pursuing these qualities, then other team members grant the individual that moral level of authority.
Chuck Olson states moral authority this way.  “People follow people, not positions.  Your business card may say you’re a leader and in-charge, but if your bank account of moral authority is overdrawn, you will be forced to rely on extrinsic factors to rally your followers.  No amount of skill, wealth, personality, education, or accomplishments can compensate for the absence of moral authority.
Perks and paychecks are the currency required to enlist people in a project, but moral authority is the currency required to enlist people in a movement.  Andy Stanley in his book, Next Generation Leader, observes: ‘Your position will prompt people in your organization to lend you’re their hands…But your moral authority will inspire them to lend you their hearts.’”
How do you develop moral authority?  What is about to be shared is nothing new as you have gone through leadership and team development with WILD.  It is carrying through on what you and I need to do.
1.       Be competent.  Do not make those working with you have to follow through on what you are telling them to do because they must (position level).  Get to the point where you demonstrate competency in how you are leading (production level).  Then help develop your peers and trainees become competent in what they should be competent in.  As you do this, you gain a reputation for excellence.
Read 1 Timothy 4:9-16 –  In what areas of your spiritual journey do you need to develop?
2.       Be courageous.  Facing fear in its face, you do the right thing.  Doing the right thing is much more difficult when times are difficult and uncertain.  Courage gives you impetus to go further than you ever had before, try what you never tried before, to be able to stand alone when you have never stood alone before.
Read Joshua 1:1-9 – How courageous are you?
3.       Be consistent.  Consistency involves being, who you are.  Do not like a mountain range, where you have high peaks and low valleys when it comes to consistency.  Work at being steady, doing as well as you can on a consistent basis.  Here lies integrity, being the same privately as you are publicly.  If you wrong someone, pursue restoring the relationship immediately.  With being consistent, your reputation positively develops, people see your growth in yourself and what you say will be relevant as your words match your behavior.   Read Ephesians 4:20-5:4 and consider from this passage how apply truths from this portion will help you develop consistency in your faith.
4.       Be of great character.  This area also speaks of being, doing the right thing no matter what.  Integrity is also central to your character.  Practice what you preach.  Be respectful and real, willing to let people see you are not perfect.  Lay aside the masks that keep people seeing who you truly are.  Pursue becoming more and more humble, making others your focal point.  Credit God for your blessings and others for your successes.  Make life about others.
Read Daniel 6:1-14 – What were some of Daniel’s character qualities?

Have you ever dreamed of being given the keys to drive a super nice car or occupy a well-made home?  And then realize that you are the owner?    The apostle Paul in a similar sense did that for one of his guys he had mentored and trained, Titus.
“I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share.  May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.  I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you.” (Titus 1:4-5 NLT).  For Titus, he had as his spiritual father, Paul developed him.  Titus spent a great deal of time with Paul, observing, listening, questioning, and being shaped into a solid young man of faith.
No doubt they had put in immeasurable number of hours together to the point that Paul had no qualms or concerns about leaving Titus alone on the island of Crete to complete the ministry work Paul and he had started.  Paul had all the confidence in the world in Titus because they had bonded, lived life together and Paul knew how Titus would deal with whatever came up for him.
You only get to that level of confidence in another person by going together to the good and difficult times in life.  Paul saw how Titus would handle adverse situations.  They had long conversations about the truths in the Bible, Paul’s spiritual encounters including getting knocked off his horse and how Jesus personally had interacted with Jesus.
When Paul told Titus he was putting Titus in charge of overseeing and developing the leadership on Crete, Paul knew this job was not too big for Titus.  Paul did the same thing with Timothy (read 1 and 2 Timothy), placing him in charge of churches in Ephesus.  For both Titus and Timothy, Paul flipped the “keys” of leading the churches in their respective areas because Paul knew them.
Before you think that this was easy work for the two guys, just read those books and see some of the issues they would face.  Both had to faithfully teach the truth of scripture to people who did not always want to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading.  Timothy was young and some who were supposed to follow with Timothy did not think too highly of a young guy leading them (1 Timothy 4:12-14).  Dealing with false teachers and staying focused on Jesus were other issues that the two guys dealt with.
No matter where Paul went or did, he did not do a solo act.  There were always people around him he was mentoring and discipling.  Even when in prison, he had companionship. Check Philippians 2:19. We read about the many people Paul had with him as you read through the books in the Bible he wrote.
How does this apply to you, that you need to end up in jail?  Nope. Rather who are you hanging around with, a person or several individuals who can build into your life, who can help shape areas of your life that will significantly be used in the future?  Sometimes you must ask people if it is okay to spend time, life with them.  Ask questions, observe how they live life, listen when they share life’s truths and experiences.
The other side of the equation is who should you let hang with you.  You must know some younger people that could use some encouragement, someone to do something with or a person who needs listening ears.  The interesting truth is as you build your life into another person, your life’s influence multiples.  It is not a solo act that impacts the world for Jesus.  It takes networking with others through being helped and helping others that long lasting legacy happens.
Paul’s influence became much more far reaching because he involved others in his life.  What he knew, understood, and experienced was handed off to the Titus’ and Timothys in his life.  He did not keep it to himself.  What do you that you should give away?