Choosing leaders in Corinth

In the Jewish culture, families were the center of everything. As children grew, they learned trades from their parents, were educated by their community. When they were young adults, the community would support them as they got started in life and they in turn would grow to support the community. In pagan cultures, like Corinth, Greece, this pattern was not as prevalent. The religion and trade and work ethic of their society allowed for a lot of behavior that did not encourage responsibility, that did not benefit the character and fabric of their culture.

The Bible has some strict requirements in the New Testament for those who were to be leaders in the church: husband of one wife, godly children, hospitable, not given to drink, not a gossip. In those areas where Christianity grew in a Jewish culture, these men would have been easily identified. In Corinth, probably less so. The characteristics of a church leader were not as valued in non-Jewish cultures. And yet the church still required godly leadership.

Paul, the apostle to Gentile churches, would often send leaders into the area to search for elders. They would pray and seek men that could lead the church. Their concern was godly character, and they trusted the Lord to provide such leadership everywhere they went. One thing they did not do was throw up their hands and abandon the standard. So what if the culture did not encourage the kind of men they were seeking--they trusted that what God commanded, He would supply. Do you think it was easy in Corinth, to find men who qualified? Read 1 & 2 Corinthians. This was a very pagan culture, with all kinds of problems even in the church. But what God commands, He supplies.

Don't lower your standards just because your culture is putrid. God sees you, and He knows what surrounds you. He is very capable of supplying what you need. Pray, keep your eyes on Him, and wait.