Timothy – His Life and Lessons in Leadership
One of the great privileges in life is to be mentored by an amazing teacher. One of the best biblical examples of mentoring is the relationship between the apostle Paul and Timothy. Paul would have met Timothy for the very first time approximately in 50 A.D. when he was between 22-24 years of age. In Acts 16:2, Luke wrote the believers in both Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy. According to bible scholars, based on this information, Timothy would have traveled between both cities and developed relationships with the local people as they admired and commended him. This dismisses the notion that Timothy was a teenager as some may suppose. Nothing is mentioned of Timothy’s father except for the fact he was a Greek, therefore, clearly he was mentored by his mother Eunice and Grandmother Lois as noted in 2 Timothy 1:5. Both women likely encountered Paul during his first missionary journey to Lystra in 46 A.D. The account of this journey is noted in Acts chapter 14. It was during Paul and Barnabas’ first visit to Lystra that a crippled man was healed by the power of God, and the locals mistaken these men for gods who had came to them in human form. They believed Barnabas to be Zeus and Paul the god Hermes. A local priest for these pagan gods brought a bull and wreathes to be sacrificed, and both Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes explaining to the people they were not gods, but there is a living God to trust. The Scriptures indicate they barely stopped them from sacrificing, and unbelieving Jewish men came from Antioch and Iconium who did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah winning over the crowds who joined in and stoned Paul. The crowd dragged Paul out of the city thinking he was dead. The believing disciples gathered around Paul, and miraculously he got up went back into town, and then the next day, he and Barnabas traveled to Derbe. They returned to Lystra to encourage and strengthen the believers and help them choose elders for the church. Paul and Barnabas left a lasting impression with the believers in Lystra and their influence upon this church most likely strongly influenced Timothy’s mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. Another important consideration is Timothy would have been a teenager at the time of Paul’s first visit to Lystra. He may have been a first-hand witness to Paul and Barnabas ministry creating a strong impression of God’s hand upon their example stamped upon his memory.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he wrote: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).
Since Timothy’s father was a Greek, a Gentile, he would have learned the Scriptures from his mother who was a Jewess. In the context of first century Jewish tradition, a child began his religious training at age 5 and would continue until 12-13 years of age, obviously his mother and grandmother provided him the traditional religious education necessary to be part of Jewish society.
As we reflect on this part of Timothy’s life, there are couple key points for reflection. The first point is to realize the significance of discipling children beginning at tender young age. Timothy’s mother and grandmother were a strong influence in the formation of his character and spiritual growth from the day he was born. In today’s society, we need to follow their example. In a 2020 Barna study entitled, “Guiding Children,” the following observation was noted. “Children who are most active in church tend to engage with the Bible outside of church, to attend church activities other than Sunday worship (such as Bible studies, camps or children’s / youth events) and to pray together with their family as well. They are also about twice as likely to engage in outreach activities and volunteerism, demonstrating that the level of dedication in this group to the overall mission of the church is not only internally focused, but expresses itself in outward action.”[1] This provides credence for church leaders to develop and sustain vibrant children programs especially so as the likelihood to make a decision to follow Christ is greater at a young age.
The second point is pastors need to identify men to shepherd, in Acts 16:3, Paul chose Timothy. He was an obvious choice because he was active in the church exhibiting character and leadership traits. Timothy was also spiritually prepared from his upbringing and most likely possessed a servant’s heart and a moldable spirit to learn and grow. Paul chose him, the question for today’s church leaders is who are you choosing to grow and develop in your spiritual leadership pipeline?
[1] 58% of Highly Engaged Christian Parents Choose a Church with the Kids in Mind, (January 30th, 2020): accessed July 13th 2023, https://www.barna.com/research/children-church-home/.
