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1-2 Timothy and Titus: Pastoral Epistles
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Lesson OneOverview of Pastorals (1 Timothy 1–6; 2 Timothy 3–4)20 Activities|1 Assessment
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 Timothy 1–6; 2 Timothy 3–4
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In | Workbook: Themes of the Pastoral Letters
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In | Outline of 1 Timothy
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In | Outline of Titus
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In | Themes of 2 Timothy
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In | Teaching Christ and the OT
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In | Hymns in the Pastoral Epistles
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In | Workbook: Exodus and 1 Timothy
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In | Interpretive Lenses for the Bible
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In | The Faith and the Truth
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Behind | Paul's Final Letter
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Behind | Paul and His Scrolls
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Behind | Paul's Use of the Old Testament
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Behind | Onsite: Paul's Final Words - View from the Mamertine Prison
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Behind | Scripture in Emerging Tradition
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In Front | Scripture and Other Traditions
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In Front | Bundling Traditions and the Bible
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In Front | Workbook: What Do You Use to Supplement Your Bible Reading?
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson TwoFalse Teaching (1 Timothy 1; Titus 1–3; 2 Timothy 1–4)18 Activities
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 Timothy 1; Titus 1–3; 2 Timothy 1–4
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In | Workbook: Paul, Timothy and False Teachings
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In | Paul, Timothy and False Teachings
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In | False Teachers and False Teaching
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In | Workbook: Key Themes in the Pastoral Epistles
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In | Healthy Doctrine
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In | Tales, Myths, Genealogies, Quarrels
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In | Workbook: Gossips in the Pastoral Letters
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In | Opponents and False Teachers
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Behind | Genealogies and Myths
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Behind | Mythology and Ritual
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Behind | Jewish Background of the Myths
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In Front | Twenty-First Century Mythologies
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In Front | Science, Logic, Spiritual Insight
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In Front | Christianity Today: Do You Believe a False Teaching?
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In Front | Christianity Today: Why You Shouldn't Call that False Teaching a Heresy
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson ThreeChurch Government (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1–2 Review)18 Activities
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1–2
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In | Workbook: Requirements for Overseers and Deacons
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In | Church Government and Leadership
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In | Roles and Offices
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In | Office Is Secondary to Role
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In | Intuitive and Organic
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In | Identifying Elders in the Early Church
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In | Workbook: Paul’s Titles—Images for Ministry
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In | Workbook: Secrecy, Ethical Teachings and Church Membership
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Behind | Synagogue Roles in the Church
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Behind | Similarities: Synagogue and Church
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In Front | Workbook: Didache and 1 Timothy
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In Front | Church Structures and Roles Today
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In Front | Plurality and Balance
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In Front | Plural Leadership in Church Plants: Dr. John Kremidas
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In Front | Workbook: Reflection
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson FourMentoring in Ministry (1 Timothy 1, 6, 2 Timothy 1–4 Review)21 Activities|1 Assessment
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 Timothy 1, 6, 2 Timothy 1–4
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In | Workbook: Paul the Mentor
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In | Paul the Mentor
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In | Pauline Authorship
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In | Parallels in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy
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In | Pauline Passages in 2 Timothy
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In | Paul and Timothy: A Case Study
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In | Workbook: Final Charge to Timothy
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In | Three Illustrations for Joining Paul in Suffering
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In | Workbook: Three Illustrations for Joining Paul in Suffering
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In | Workbook: 2 Timothy and Psalm 22
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Behind | Mentoring in a Roman Environment
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Behind | Mentoring in a Jewish Context
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Behind | Onsite: Mission Expansion Through Disagreement
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In Front | Personal and Holistic Mentoring
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In Front | Empowering the Next Generation: Pastor Sameh and Nader Maurice
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In Front | Onsite: Succession and Mentoring - View From St. John's Church
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In Front | Paternalism and Partnerships
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In Front | Reciprocity in Ministry
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson FiveWomen in Ministry (1 Timothy 2–3, 5, 1 Corinthians 11 Review)21 Activities|1 Assessment
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 Timothy 2–3, 5, 1 Corinthians 11
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In | Women in Ministry
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In | Women and the Household Codes
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In | Paul's Case for Blamelessness
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In | Adam and Eve—Silence and Listening
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In | Other Views on Women and Gender
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In | Trajectories of Freedom
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Behind | Liberated Women in Roman Life
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Behind | Esther, Judith and Paul's Ethic
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In Front | Equality in the Early Church
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In Front | Paul and the Chinese Church
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In Front | A House Church in Salem, MA
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In Front | Women's Roles in the Church
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In Front | Onsite: Women's Roles in the Church - View from Ephesus
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In Front | Onsite: The Prophetic Sisters of Phrygia
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In Front | The Laying on of Hands
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In Front | The Hermeneutic of Emancipation
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In Front | Concerns in the Pastorals
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In Front | Workbook: Guiding Questions - The Pastoral Epistles
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity|1 Assessment
Lesson 3, Activity 8
In | Identifying Elders in the Early Church
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That fact that elders were not likely voted into their roles doesn’t mean it would have been unclear who elders were. These are roles that would have emerged organically, often as a matter of common knowledge, and Paul went out of his way to distinguish elders from false teachers in the Pastoral Letters to remove any lingering doubts. Read Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 1, and identify the marks and characteristics of elders in the church.
| Elder | False Teacher |
| House manager | House wrecker |
| Blameless | Defiled conscience and works |
| Not pursuing dishonest gain | Unscrupulous teaching for gain |
| Not quick-tempered or intemperate | Acting like a wild beast |
| Holding fast to sound tradition | Embracing myths and human commands |
| Truthful and refuting error | Liar, deceiver, teaching error |
Table adapted from: David A. Ackerman, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, 2016, p. 409.