1 Timothy 1. It is fitting that we just read these words at the end of Hebrews: Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith (Hebrews 13:7). Today we start reading 1 Timothy, which is a letter from the Apostle Paul to a young pastor named Timothy whom he has been mentoring for several years. As Paul’s ministry expanded, so did the team of people working alongside him, and he chose to intentionally invest in their spiritual growth and leadership development. We call that discipleship!

Timothy was leading the church at Ephesus, and they had a problem with false teachings and poor leadership from some people in the congregation. Timothy was instructed to …charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than stewardship… certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussion desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions (1:3-7).

Gee, that sounds rather like some things I see on the internet these days! Different doctrine… myths… promoting speculations… vain discussions… confident assertions made by people without understanding. Today, just like in the days of Paul, people tend to listen to things they want to hear. And some teachers act very confidently, speaking compellingly and loudly about things they are probably not qualified to be teaching on… but people follow them anyway.

Which leads me to ask, who are you listening to? Who do you allow to speak into your life? Do they speak truth? Do you even know the background, biases, lifestyle, and education of those whom you listen to regularly? Maybe you should research that.

Paul tells Timothy that, as a pastor, he has a responsibility to stop false teachings from spreading in his congregation and to control who teaches from a place of authority. It might not be possible to stop all the voices in Ephesus (or in our country), but church leadership does have a responsibility to evaluate and correct those who speak and lead within the community.

What a church believes will shape how it lives and behaves in its city. Our theology informs our way of life, and correct doctrine matters. The church must stand against whatever is contrary to sound doctrine (1:10). Whenever a community called itself Christian but failed to act accordingly, Paul encouraged Timothy to call out the poor character and false teachings and thereby restore the integrity of the church. Wage the good warfare., holding faith and a good conscience (1:18-19).

How the church was perceived in the community was important to Paul – he desired that followers of Jesus be known as people of integrity, humility, patience, mercy, and service to others.

How is your church perceived in your community? What part can you play in correcting endless speculations, false teachings, and useless discussions?