DEEP-DIVE SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE Based on: Everything Rises and Falls with Leadership Primary Text: Titus 1:1-9 Series: Titus (Week 1) Time: 90-120 minutes

LEADER PREPARATION

Read before your group meets

Overview: This session opens a five-week study in Titus, one of Paul's pastoral letters written to his trusted co-worker on the island of Crete. The central claim is deceptively simple but deeply challenging: who we are matters infinitely more to God than what we can accomplish for him. Paul's qualifications for leadership are not a list of talents — they are a portrait of character forged in ordinary, private obedience.

Big Idea: Godly leadership is not a position to be earned by skill but a character to be cultivated through surrender — and every follower of Jesus is called to it.

Essential Background:

• Titus is one of three "Pastoral Epistles" (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus), letters written by Paul to fellow pastors about how to order and lead local churches. They are not just for professional ministers — they reveal what mature Christian character looks like for all believers.
• The island of Crete had a notorious reputation in the ancient world. Paul will quote a Cretan poet in Titus 1:12 calling Cretans "always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." This is not ethnic slander — it is the cultural backdrop against which Paul calls the church to be visibly, countercurturally different.
• Paul wrote Titus around AD 64, between his first and second Roman imprisonments. He is a man who knows time is short and stakes are high. This letter has urgency baked into every sentence.

Preparation Checklist:

• Read Titus 1:1-9 twice, slowly, in two different translations (ESV and NIV work well together)
• Review the word studies below and practice saying them aloud — you don't need to be a Greek scholar, just a curious guide
• Think through your own honest answers to the discussion questions before the group meets
• Pray for each group member by name, asking God to do specific work in specific lives through this study

Facilitator Encouragement: You do not need to be an expert to lead this group. Your job is to ask good questions and create space for the Holy Spirit to work. The best thing you can say when you don't know an answer is, "That's a great question — what does the group think?" You're facilitating discovery, not delivering a lecture.

OPENING (5-10 minutes)

Icebreaker Question:

Think of a leader — in any area of life — who genuinely earned your trust and respect. What was it about them that made you want to follow them? What specifically gave you confidence in their leadership?

Let 2-3 people share briefly. Don't over-process this — it's a warm-up to get people thinking about what makes leadership trustworthy.

TEACHING TIME (15-20 minutes)

Share the following with your group in a conversational way. You don't need to read it word-for-word — hit the highlights and invite brief reactions as you go.

Historical & Cultural Context (5-7 minutes)

Crete was the largest Greek island in the Mediterranean — about 160 miles wide and 3,200 square miles in total. In Paul's day, it was a crossroads of trade, culture, and competing religions. Crete had a long history of Greek mythology (it was said to be the birthplace of Zeus), and its cities were known for a certain moral looseness and cultural pride.

Paul had apparently visited Crete and left Titus there to finish what Paul had started — establishing healthy, ordered churches in "every town." This is a big assignment. These weren't churches with centuries of tradition behind them. They were new, fragile, and surrounded by a culture with very different values.

Here's what makes this letter remarkable: Paul doesn't tell Titus to find the most talented communicators or the most strategically gifted administrators. He tells him to find people of character. In a culture that prized rhetoric, status, and cleverness, Paul's leadership criteria were radically countercultural. The church was meant to look different — not just in what it believed, but in who its leaders were.

Key Word Studies (5-7 minutes)

"Blameless" — anegkletos (Greek) This word doesn't mean sinless or perfect. It means "not open to accusation" — someone against whom a charge cannot be made to stick because their life is consistently above reproach. Think of it as having so many character witnesses that accusations simply don't gain traction. The bar isn't perfection; it's consistency.

"Overseer/Elder" — episkopos / presbyteros (Greek) Paul uses two words interchangeably in this passage: episkopos (overseer, one who watches over) and presbyteros (elder, one who is mature). Together they paint a picture: godly leadership is about watchful maturity, not organizational rank. These were not titles of honor to be sought for status — they were descriptions of a person whose life was already marked by wisdom and care for others.

"Sound doctrine" — hygiainouse didaskalia (Greek) The word hygiainouse is where we get the English word "hygiene." Sound doctrine is healthy teaching — teaching that produces spiritual vitality and wholeness. Paul is saying that truth isn't just theologically correct; it's life-giving. Doctrine that doesn't make people more like Jesus isn't functioning as it should.

Important Cross-References (3-5 minutes)

You can have group members look these up as you mention them, or simply reference them conversationally.

• 1 Timothy 3:1-7 — Paul's parallel list of elder qualifications. Comparing the two lists helps the group see what Paul consistently prioritizes across different church contexts.
• Hebrews 13:7 — "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." Leadership is meant to be imitable — worth watching and worth following.
• James 1:19 — "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." This directly parallels Paul's "not quick-tempered" qualification and roots it in the broader New Testament ethic.
• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 — "All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness." This grounds Paul's call to "hold firmly to the trustworthy message" — the truth we hold is not our own invention.

SCRIPTURE READING & OBSERVATION (10-15 minutes)

Read aloud: Titus 1:1-9

Have one person read it from the NIV, then a different person read it from the ESV or CSB. Two readings help the group hear the text freshly.

Observation Questions (no commentary yet — just notice)

1. What words or phrases are repeated or emphasized more than once in this passage?
2. What surprises you or strikes you as unexpected in Paul's list of qualifications?
3. What questions does this passage raise for you — things you want to understand better?
4. Notice the flow in verses 1-4: faith → truth → godliness → hope. What does that sequence suggest about how Christian growth works?

DEEP DIVE DISCUSSION (40-50 minutes)

Section A: Understanding the Text

1. Paul opens the letter by describing the goal of his ministry as "the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness" (v. 1). What is the relationship between knowing truth and becoming godly in Paul's vision? Is one possible without the other?

[Leader Tip: If the group gets surface-level, push deeper with: "Is it possible to know a lot of truth and not be godly? Is it possible to be genuinely godly without much theological knowledge? Where does that tension take us?" This question is designed to surface the connection between belief and behavior — the sermon's central theme.]

2. Look at the five "not" qualities and six "must be" qualities in verses 7-8. What do you notice about the pattern? Why do you think Paul lists what a leader is not before listing what they must be?

3. The qualification "faithful to his wife" (v. 6) and "children who believe" (v. 6) move leadership evaluation into the home before the church. What does it mean that the home is the proving ground for public leadership? How does this challenge or affirm how you think about your own household?

[Leader Tip: Be sensitive here — some group members may have prodigal children or broken marriages. The point isn't to shame anyone but to explore why Paul roots public character in private life. Acknowledge the nuance the pastor raised: we are not sovereign over our children's faith, but we are responsible for how we raise them.]

4. In verse 9, Paul says the leader must "hold firmly to the trustworthy message" so they can both encourage by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Why does healthy leadership require both of these — not just one?

Section B: Theological Connections

5. The pastor made a striking claim: "God measures maturity by ordinary obedience." How does the list in Titus 1 support or challenge that idea? What does it reveal about what God values most in a human life?

[Leader Tip: Draw the group's attention to the fact that nothing in Paul's list is a talent or a gift. None of it requires a platform. This is a profound equalizer — the qualifications for Christlike leadership are available to every believer. Follow up with: "What would it look like if the whole church pursued these qualities, not just the 'leaders'?"]

6. Paul describes the gospel as the "trustworthy message" that was "promised before the beginning of time" (v. 2). What does it mean that the gospel is not a Plan B — that God purposed it before creation? How does that shape the weight we give to it in our daily lives?

7. The pastor observed that we live in a culture of deep leadership skepticism — food, healthcare, government, and even the church have all produced betrayed trust. How does the biblical vision of leadership in Titus 1 serve as a direct response to that skepticism? What would it look like for the church to be genuinely trustworthy in a trust-depleted world?

Section C: Contemporary Application

8. The pastor said: "If what you believe never changes how you live, something has gone wrong." Where in your own life is there the greatest gap between what you say you believe and how you actually live? What creates that gap?

9. The qualifications in Titus 1 are written for elders, but the pastor argued they are a portrait of Christlike character for every believer. Which quality on the list do you find most challenging personally — and why?

[Leader Tip: Give the group 30-45 seconds of quiet before anyone answers. This question requires honest self-reflection, not quick responses. Model vulnerability if you can — sharing your own honest answer will give others permission to be real.]

10. The pastor drew a contrast between leaders who are impressive from a distance but hollow up close, and leaders who are humble and trustworthy when you get near them. What practices or structures help create the second kind of leader? What does accountability actually look like in a life — not just in theory?

11. The sermon highlighted the flow: faith → truth → godliness → hope (vv. 1-4). Thinking about your own spiritual journey, which of these four is currently the weakest link in that chain for you? What would it look like to strengthen it?

PERSONAL APPLICATION (15-20 minutes)

Invite the group to take 2-3 minutes of quiet, individual reflection before discussing. Resist the urge to fill the silence.

Reflection Questions:

1. In what sphere of influence has God placed you right now — home, workplace, friendships, church, neighborhood? Are you leading that sphere with the kind of character Paul describes?

2. The pastor was transparent about the specific accountability structures in his own life — weekly meetings, questions about how he fed his soul, his flesh, and others. What does your own accountability look like? Is it real and specific, or general and comfortable?

3. The pastor said, "You need to surrender. It's a surrendering. God, I can't, but your Holy Spirit inside of me can." Is there a specific area of character growth where you need to stop trying harder and start surrendering more?

This Week Challenge:

Choose one quality from Paul's list in Titus 1:7-8 that you sense God highlighting for you. Write it down. This week, share it with one trusted person in your life and ask them to check in with you about it by the end of the week. Accountability begins with a single honest conversation.

If you don't have that kind of relationship yet — someone who can ask you hard questions — consider that your first step. The pastor referenced Regeneration (Regen) on Monday nights as a place to pursue that kind of community and healing. That's worth exploring if something in this study surfaced a struggle you've been carrying alone.

PRAYER & CLOSING (10 minutes)

Prayer Focus:

Close your time by praying specifically for three things:

1. Character over competence — Ask God to do the slow, deep work of forming Christlike character in each person in the room, in the unglamorous places of everyday life.

2. Spheres of influence — Pray by name for the specific people each group member is called to lead or influence — spouses, children, roommates, coworkers, friends.

3. The church's leadership — The pastor asked the congregation to pray specifically for the church's elders and leaders. Take a moment to do that together — that they would be people of integrity, that God would guard them, and that the church would be led faithfully.

Suggested Prayer Format:

Invite anyone who wants to pray aloud to do so briefly. You might open and close the prayer time yourself, and let others join in the middle. If your group isn't comfortable with open prayer, offer to pray on behalf of the group, incorporating the three focuses above.

Closing Word:

Before you dismiss, remind the group: the sermon was the beginning of this conversation, not the end. This week, the real study happens in the ordinary moments — in how you speak to the people you live with, in what you do when no one is watching, in whether what you believe actually shapes what you do. That's where Titus 1 becomes real.

Next Week: Continue in Titus as Paul turns to the character of those who oppose sound teaching — and what it means to hold the line on truth with grace.