Elder Qualifications – Hospitable

An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach…
1 Timothy 3:2

… but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, …
Titus 1:8
(emphases mine)

Not only is being hospitable essential for elders, it is also a requirement for all believers:

Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
1 Peter 4:9

This is a compound word that is specifically a love of strangers. Hospitality flows from a supreme love for God that results in a biblical love for people – the fulfillment of the second great commandment.

And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’”
Matthew 22:37–39

In New Testament times, traveling believers often had to rely on fellow believers for accommodations. Travel could be dangerous and Christians were not always well-received. The book of Hebrews encourages us to show such kindness to strangers.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2

Hospitality is a way for elders to get to know those who are new to their congregation. It is also a way for new people to see the life and testimony of the church elders. This is a reminder that biblical leadership must never be isolated to meetings that are held behind closed doors. Elders are fully engaged in the lives of the believers they serve.

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Rocky Wyatt

Rocky Wyatt came to know the Lord as a young teenager and began working in youth ministry when in college. After serving in churches in Utah, California and Colorado, Rocky moved to Texas to serve as Youth Pastor at Countryside Bible Church. He served there for 26 years where he eventually moved from youth ministry to serve as an Associate Pastor.

Over the course of his ministry, Rocky has always had a desire to train men for pastoral ministry in the context of the local church. In 1992 he started XL Ministries, an organization that is committed to helping churches establish intensive internships for pastoral training. In 2020 he left his position at Countryside Bible Church to become the Executive Director of XL Ministries and now works full time assisting churches in training men for ministry.

He is co-author of The Youth Ministry Training Manual, a textbook for training youth pastors, and has also written multiple other resources for use in various local church ministries. He is currently working on a book to encourage churches to take the primary responsibility to train pastors.

Rocky is married to Pamela, has two sons and daughters-in-law, and ten grandchildren. 

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.1 Corinthians 15:58