Titus 1:7 7It is necessary for the overseer to be blameless as God’s steward, not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
Paul introduces a new term for the leaders, overseer. The Greek episkopos combines the preposition epi, meaning “over,” and noun skopeō, “to watch,” and is sometimes translated as “bishop.” Whether this was a separate category of leadership is unclear in this passage, though the characteristics of elders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 include the descriptions of elders here in verse 7. It could be that one of the jobs of the elders of verse 6 was to watch over the God’s work and make sure the church kept true to the gospel and mission. This word may not be a particular job title but more of a job description. They are to be blameless (anengklētos, the same word as verse 6) as stewards (oikonomon) of God’s household, the church in Crete. God had put them in charge of his family. They were to do this job in such a way that no one could criticize them.
Paul then gives two lists of characteristic of overseers. He takes the best characteristics of the Greek and Jewish ethics and applies them to Christian leaders. The first list gives characteristics that they should not be. They ought not to be arrogant, a term that has at its root a selfishness that does not care about others in order to achieve one’s personal agenda. Next, they should not be quick-tempered by losing control of themselves because of anger. They should also not be ddicted to wine or being drunk, which results in a loss of self-control. Drunkenness could lead to being violent and acting like a bully. Selfishness also appears in the desire to pursue dishonest gain. Ministry leaders cannot be motivated by money, power, position, or prestige. Each of the above qualities does terrible damage to community, and appointing leaders like this will only harm the church. Cretans had a reputation for many of these things, and Paul is looking for leaders who have been transformed in Christ.
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