Book Review: A Qualified Man by Jacob Tanner

There was an old commercial on TV years ago when I man came upon someone who was injured. The gentleman asked everyone to stand back as he attended to the injured. A woman asked him, if he was a doctor. The man, comically, answered, "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." 

In today's culture, many think they are experts because they meet certain qualifications. Doctors have medical school, lawyers have law school, and mechanics have some form of training. In the church, we have seminary which has been debated if that applies today because of the debt they might accumulate. While seminary training may not appear in the Bible, there are qualifications for a man, yes, I said man, to be an elder/pastor in the church. 

In his latest book, A Qualified Man: Cultivating the Quality of a Godly Leader, Jacob Tanner looks what Titus 1:5-9 says about the Biblical qualifications for church leadership. The passage reads as follows from the English Standard Version (ESV), which is what Tanner used in the book:

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. 

Based on this passage, Tanner addresses the purpose of elders along with they must be men who love their wives and children. Based on the ESV translation of Titus 1:6, Tanner believes that an elder must have children who are believers, which I will address later on. 

Elders must be men who are above reproach, not perfect men, but men who are known to be holy. Elders must be men who are trusted with the Word of God and must be able to teach others as well as able to defend the Bible. 

Going back to Titus 1:6 about children being believers, this is where I have a big issue. I think the translation and interpretation of that passage is misleading. The Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) has Titus 1:6 saying that an elder's children must have "faithful children, who are not accused of dissipation, or rebellious." To have faithful children does not imply that they are believers, but an elder's children are respectful and obedient to him in his house. To imply that an elder must have children who believe means that when a child is born in his home, he or she is not a believer right away and therefore the man cannot be an elder. Not all children come to faith at a young. Some come to faith as a teenager or even a young adult. This implies when a new child is born, the elder must step down so he can convert his child. The same with adopting a child who may not be a believer. 

This is a book much needed today in the church. The body of Christ needs to be reminded what God's Word says about the qualifications of elders. Despite my disagreement with the interpretation of Titus 1:6, I recommend this book for all leaders and future leaders. 

I received this book from G3 Press in exchange for an honest review.