As we continue reading the Epistles in our goal of reading through the Bible by the end of the year we come today to 2nd Timothy. Paul, the Apostle, made a very important statement in 2 Timothy 2:2, that describes a process for developing leaders in the church.
He is writing to Timothy, whom he trained to be a leader, and is now encouraging him to do the same with others. It’s a process of reproducing yourself so that when the work grows or you need to move on, the baton can be passed on to someone who is ready to assume leadership. Listen: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others also.”
The leadership role he was referring to was a teaching leader. The principle, however, could be applied to other leadership roles as well.
Notice some obvious, important points that he makes. Paul and Timothy were both leaders already. Paul wanted Timothy to implement a process of developing other leaders. To start with he was to identify reliable people to train. This training was not complete until those being trained were able not only to lead, but also to reproduce themselves in the lives of other reliable individuals.
A critical element in this process is having a pool of “reliable people,” or as the King James puts it, “faithful” people. Once you have a reliable or faithful person a significant part of the process is already in place. As you read this book you will discover some of the qualities to look for in identifying a reliable or faithful person.
