ADVENT/CHRISTMAS/EPIPHANY 2006
From the editor…
What Kind Of Bishops Should The Church Seek?
What should one look for when he or she considers someone as a possible
bishop? Since my diocese has been recently involved in an
Episcopal election, this query has been center stage. Titus 1 moves us
toward an answer.
One theme is personal holiness. The person “must not be arrogant
or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,” for
example. These are quite internal and personal qualities that are
not often noticed, much less valued, in our superficial, image- based
culture. How many search committees for bishop do you know who
consider a persons’ attitude to money as part of the process?
Having a firm grip on apostolic Christianity is vital. The
prospective Episcopal candidate “must hold firm to the sure word as
taught.” He needs to know the apostolic message, understand it,
grasp it and not hold it loosely or let it go. There is something
more. The person should “be able to give instruction in sound
doctrine.” How do we know what is sound? It is all captured
in that beautiful two word phrase “as taught.” It is not just any
apostolic word it is the one taught by the original apostles; we are to
pass on what they passed on faithfully to the earliest church. As
Saint Paul puts it “I delivered to you as of first importance what I
also received” (1 Corinthians 15:3).
Those two qualities are sobering enough, but there is yet something
more. The candidate should also be able “to confute those who
contradict” the sure word as taught. A good bishop can recognize
heresy and false teaching, ex-plain what the incorrect teachings are
fairly on their own terms, and then show them to be wrong through a
clear counterargument.
May the Lord give us more bishops who are personally holy, teachers of
apostolic doctrine, and confuters of false teaching as we go forward
into the twenty-first century.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall S. Harmon
Contact Dr. Harmon by e-mail at ksharmon@mindspring.com
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