St. Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus reflect how quickly the church developed structures that we recognize today. Then, as now, the issue of finding good leaders in the Church was crucial. When the Apostle lists all the qualities for a bishop — “temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money” — you can be sure he listed them because there were bishops who did not possess those qualities. I find it consoling to know that the issues of the 21st century Church are not all that different from the first century Church. Now, as then, we depend on the Holy Spirit to help us move beyond the human frailties of the leadership.
