Rev. Craig Troxel continues the Podcast discussion of qualifications for elders, emphasizing the need for godly character. Ruling elders are to be sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, and hospitable. 

On today's episode we also discuss a recent article by Murray J. Smith
“An Overseer must be…Able to Teach” (1 Tim 3:2): ΔΙΔΑΚΤΙΚΟΣ as the Center of the Character Chiasm in 1 Timothy 3:1–7” JETS 69.2 (2026): 301–320
An online pdf is available here.

Lawerence Eyres says, “hospitality does not mean just an open door to one’s home. The hospitable man is one whose heart is first open to the lonely, the rejected, the alien among men of all kinds, and in all conditions.” (The Elders of the Church, p. 30)

Craig's Three Book Recommendations:

• The Pastor: His Call, Character, and Work. Written by faculty and friends of Old Princeton, with an introduction by Sinclair B. Ferguson. Banner of Truth, 2021. (The chapters in this book have been selected from the two-volume Princeton and the Work of the Christian Ministry, also published by the Banner of Truth.)
• Charles Bridges, The Christian Ministry, With an Inquiry into the Causes of its Inefficiency, Banner of Truth.
• Samuel Miller, The Ruling Elder: The Warrant, Nature, and Duties of the Office in the Presbyterian Church. Available in various formats.

Photo by Sam Carter on Unsplash