2 Timothy 1

I used to participate in a "ToastMasters" club. It's a club for people who want to improve their public speaking ability. One of its key tenets is "evaluate everything" -- after every opportunity anyone had to speak, even the smallest opportunities, we tried to give encouraging, constructive, meaningful advice about how they did and what they could improve. We even evaluated the verbal evaluations!

This sometimes was easy -- some people had obvious opportunities to improve. But others were very, very good public speakers. Poised and polished, interesting and informative, humorous and entertaining -- they had the whole package!

How do you help someone grow and improve who is already doing an exceptional job?

But ToastMasters insists that everyone can improve, and that since the speaker is seeking to improve it is our obligation to do our best to help.

It's a bit like trying to choose a gift for "someone who already has everything".

We may face a similar challenge when trying to encourage, or mentor people in the Christian walk. We may tend to dismiss the need or dismiss our ability to contribute meaningfully, but that misses the mark in our commitment to the growth of our fellow believers.

Paul's letter to Timothy gives us a model to follow.

Writing to a beloved co-laborer in ministry

In Paul's second letter to Timothy, Paul is writing to a "son in the faith". He know Timothy's family and their faith. Timothy had a good reputation when Paul first encountered him, so Paul put him to work in ministry right away (Acts 16:1-3).

When Paul's ministry was growing too controversial in Berea, so that crowds were being incited to violence against him, Timothy was one of the men Paul left behind to continue the work after he left to draw the negative attention elsewhere (Acts 17:10-14). But not wanting to be without Timothy's assistance for too long, he wanted them to rejoin him as soon as possible (Acts 17:15)

In Athens, Paul had been supporting himself by working at tentmaking (his former occupation) with Aquilla and Priscilla (also tentmakers). But when Timothy was able to rejoin Paul, he was able to turn his full attention to proclaiming the gospel (Acts 18:1-5).

On another occasion, rather than leaving Timothy behind for followup work, he sent him on ahead for advance work (Acts 19:21-22). And Timothy was one of the men accompanying Paul on that trip to Jerusalem that led to his trip to Rome as a prisoner.

And all that is just what is recorded in Acts! We see in Paul's letters other indications of just how valuable Timothy's work is to Paul, and of just how trusted Timothy is.

We don't have any indication that Paul is in any way dissatisfied with Timothy's ministry and yet there are some exhortations he will give Timothy for improvement and growth. We can learn from them some ways we out to challenge ourselves and some ways we can lovingly and helpfully challenge those we respect in the faith.

• Remember your legacy

Timothy's legacy was that of a believing son and grandson of two women whose reputation for faithfulness was well-known. Not all of us have a legacy of that kind.

But, all of us have one of some type -- perhaps not a family legacy that we received, but one we seek to pass on. Or maybe we gain inspiration from those who've gone before us in circumstances like our own, regardless of any family ties.

What legacy do you and I have to keep in mind? What are we doing to create, continue, or enhance it?

• Rekindle your gift

Timothy's walk with the Lord had started some time ago. And then or shortly thereafter he'd received some spiritual gift when Paul laid hands on him. We don't know what it was. But Paul was concerned that Timothy continue to give it the same high priority he had when it was first received.

God gives each of us gifts as well. What gift should we be rekindling or maximizing?

• Don't be ashamed

We will always be mocked by some. I've lived long enough and tried to reason often enough with intelligent and reasonable skeptics long enough to recognize the truth of what scripture tells us -- that there is a supernatural component of our inability to come to a common view of "truth" (see 2 Thess 2:10-12, 2 Cor 4:4, John 9:39).

We need to accept it, prepare for it, and not be cowed into timidity by it.

• Hold to the standard

Timothy had been taught soundly. But already, false teachings were being introduced into the church that were very alluring to those who were not well-grounded. He would be under pressure to yield to the fad-of-the-day teachings when instead they should be opposed -- but with love and faith.

I see such parallels here to our current situation. Our culture has, in just a few short decades, broadly rejected large segments of the biblical view of sexuality and morality and is now applying pressure to us to endorse that rejection. We walk a tightrope -- on one side we must hold to the truth (which is on the side of the Biblical position), but we must be ever so careful to do so in a loving and faithful way.

What aspects of sound teaching are you and I struggling to keep hold of today?

• Protect what you've been given

By this, I understand him to mean the "seal" of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13, 2 Cor 1:22). If that is the correct understanding (other ideas have been proposed), then Paul is calling on Timothy to guard his own salvation, his position in Christ. That interpretation gains weight when, with his next words, Paul mentions some who've "left him (Paul)" and presumably the faith.

I know that that raises questions about the idea of eternal security -- and I frankly can't answer them all. But is there really anything inconsistent with challenging someone to "hang on tight" in an amusement park ride even if the real basis for your trust in their safety is in the seatbelt they're secured with instead of the strength of their grip?

What are we doing to ensure we stay firmly rooted in Christ?

What I love about these exhortations is that they're so challenging, yet so non-threatening, that we can apply them to ourselves or offer them to those in discipling relationships with us equally well. We offer them to those we love as Paul did. We can receive them in humility as Timothy would have.

Let's do both!

SCOTT PURCELL | Elder

Scott committed his life to Christ as a child under the teaching of his parents and church. He graduated from Ozark Christian College in 1989 with bachelors degree in Biblical Literature and served 8 years as Minister of two churches in Missouri and then 3 years as a Church Planter in San Marcos. Since then, he has worked as a technical trainer at Dell and Rackspace. In 2008 Scott and Nan joined HCBC-NW and then Hutto Bible in 2011. Scott serves in Small Group leadership, as secretary to the Elder board, and as the elder over IT and Discipleship. Scott and Nan have been married since 1985 and have three children (Mindy Schultea (married), Kate, and Matthew) and two grandchildren.