Titus 2 for Life

Helping ourselves and others transform the culture.

 What is Titus 2 for Life?

   Titus 2 for Life is a Biblical, pro-life mentoring ministry.  It was started in 2002 by Linda Bartlett after she stepped down from the role of national president of LFL.  That year, Linda began serving as Director of Outreach for Word of Hope, the abortion healing ministry of LFL.  Titus 2 for Life operates under the direction of Word of Hope.

   25 years on the speaking trail gave Linda countless opportunities to listen to the stories of women.  These women helped her understand that abortion is not a woman’s first choice.  It’s a choice that changes her life (and the lives of others), but only after other choices have been made.  These choices begin with the decision to trust the world and self rather than God’s Word for life.

   Titus 2 for Life is a mentoring model for Lutherans who are frustrated by fellow Christians who defend choices of death when situations of life become desperate.

 What is the purpose of Titus 2 for Life?

  The purpose of Titus 2 for Life is to:

• Assist LFL and pro-life congregations in mentoring a new generation of Biblical leaders.
• Lead women (and men) away from loud voices to hear the whisper of the Spirit.
• Contrast worldviews (ideas of the world vs. ideas of God).
• Build a culture of life through Biblical manhood and womanhood.
• Reconcile sinful people with their Heavenly Father through the mercy of Jesus Christ.

   Titus 2 for Life strives to provide mentoring opportunities and connect women to God’s Word for life through in-home “teas,” campus “coffee houses,” and weekend retreats.  Training retreats offer encouragement, resources, and opportunities for outreach to LFL leaders, clergy wives, and pregnancy center workers. 

 What influence can Titus 2 for Life have on the culture?

   When St. Paul was inspired by God to write the young pastor named Titus, the prevailing culture was immoral and embraced pagan ideas.  It would seem that there might have been all kinds of suggestions St. Paul could have offered Titus with the goal of encouraging men and women to stand against the immorality and decadence.  But, St. Paul was inspired to focus on the importance of “older” men and women teaching and equipping “younger” men and women to live godly lives.

   We, too, live in a culture that embraces immoral and ungodly ideas.  But, we have been blessed with the divine blueprint for holy living.  If we trust that God’s Word is the same today as yesterday, we should also trust the importance of an older generation mentoring the younger.  From God’s perspective, this is the best way for Christian men and women to transform the culture.

 What is the connection between Titus 2 - a Biblical model for mentoring, and Lutherans for Life?

  (What follows is Linda’s explanation.)

   Long experience in LFL proves that many of us are frustrated by the response of fellow Christians.  So many Lutherans, for example, agree that abortion is not a good thing.  However, these same people remain silent or even defensive not only about abortion, but many of the choices that come before an abortion such as sex outside of marriage.  God’s Word has a lot to say to modern Christians.  He even provides a model for life in Titus 2.  At this time, let’s note the specific instructions given to women:

   Tell older women to live their lives in a way that shows they are dedicated to God.  Tell them not to be gossips or addicted to alcohol, but to be examples of virtue.  In this way they will teach young women to show love to their husbands and children, to use good judgment, and to be morally pure.  Also, tell them to teach young women to be homemakers, to be kind, and to place themselves under their husbands’ authority.  Then no one can speak evil of God’s Word.  (2:3-5 GOD’S WORD)

   In all of my years in LFL, I have yet to meet a woman who said she did not love live.  However, many Christian women have told me they felt unable to nurture or protect life.  They have told me they did not feel encouraged in their role as wives or mothers.  Many of these women are well educated, with successful careers.  A Lutheran parish nurse, for example, told me, “I was a young woman in the 70s who believed I could bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan!”  She went on to explain that, because she had allowed herself to be deceived by the ideas of the world, her family suffered.  Failing to trust God, she could not recognize that motherhood is a vocation with powerful influence on generations to come.  

   American women are the best educated women in the history of the world, yet a high percentage is ill-informed about their origin and noble purpose.  These women are untrained in purity, selflessness, and loving others as themselves.  Experience at a caring pregnancy center proves that girls know a lot about recreational sex but very little about marital love and procreation.  These girls are untrained in the ways of building healthy families and, therefore, positively influencing society.  Even many Christian women have not the faintest clue about how to build a culture of life.  When difficulties arise, a high percentage of Christian women seek the “wisdom” of Oprah, Dr. Phil, and “self-help” books rather than trusting the Father God who created and redeemed them.  

   2 Timothy 3:1-7 best illustrates the need for Titus 2 and also explains its connection to pro-life ministry.  You must understand this: In the last days there will be violent periods of time.  People will be selfish and love money.  They will brag, be arrogant, and use abusive language.  They will curse their parents, show no gratitude, have no respect for what is holy, and lack normal affection for their families.  They will refuse to make peace with anyone.  They will be slanderous, lack self-control, be brutal, and have no love for what is good.  They will be traitors.  They will be reckless and conceited.  They will love pleasure rather than God.  They will appear to have a godly life, but they will not let its power change them.  Stay away from such people.  Some of these men go into homes and mislead weak-minded women who are burdened with sins and led by all kinds of desires.  These women are always studying but are never able to recognize the truth.

   Who are the “weak-willed women” spoken of in Timothy?  The Concordia Self-Study Bible notes that these women are “unstable women who are guilt-ridden because of their sins, torn by lust, and victims of various false teachers.”  

   My friend, Jane, told me, “When my daughter was born, I wanted to be the kind of mother my mom was to me . . . but, I was not encouraged to do so.”  Jane explained three things that led her off the path of life.  She was without a mentor because she and her husband moved far away from Jane’s father, mother, and church family.  Her husband did not share Jane’s faith in Jesus Christ nor did he encourage her to surround herself with Christian friends.  She was intimidated by both husband and peers to believe she would never find “identity” in motherhood.  This was the “thinking” that resulted in grave consequences including the abortion of her second child and a divorce.

  Today’s Christian woman is in need of older women who will teach younger women how to respect themselves as Jesus does, bring out the best in men, make a home, love children, and care for neighbors.  Today’s Christian woman needs a model for building a culture of life and a future of hope.     

   God has provided such a model for living in Titus, chapter two.  The model is unpopular, however, for two reasons: 1) It follows the created order by being gender specific and, 2) it goes against the grain of modern feminism by teaching God’s ideas of purity, homemaking, and patriarchy.  So, here is another connection between Titus 2 ministry and LFL.  Both require all believers in Christ to rebel against the lies we have been told about our origin, gender, and freedoms. 

   Titus 2 is a simple model for use by Lutherans – and all Christians -- who love life.  It is foundational for a healthy society because it follows the created order designed by God and explained in Genesis.  It is foundational because it transforms the culture beginning in the home.  The Christian home is God’s first “training camp” where children learn how to fight for life in the battle against Satan, the world, and our own sinful flesh. Today’s Christian needs a model for life that does not wrap Jesus around worldly ideas but, instead, consistently leads believers away from chaos to peace, from despair to hope, from death to life.  Titus 2 is that model.

   By now, you may better understand the connection between the mentoring ministry of Titus 2 and Lutherans For Life.  But . . .

 What are the specific connections  between God's Word in Titus 2 and choosing life?  Healing from an abortion?  Dating and courtship?  Marriage and family?  Bio-ethical issues?  End-of-life issues?

   The connections, as Linda and other pro-life Lutherans view them, might be explained in the following way:

• CHOOSING LIFE: God’s Word in Titus 2 tells women to live their lives in a way that shows they are dedicated to God (2:3) and . . . show love to husbands and children (2:4).  Being dedicated to God means hungering after truth and then trying to trust it and live it.  Dedication to the Creator God means seeing Him as the Master Designer not only of each human life, but of the way each life should be lived.  There is order in loving first a husband and then a child.  A Titus 2 woman appreciates the protective covering and support of a godly husband’s love which encourages her to choose life for her child and, therefore, build family.  Families are the foundation for healthy, thriving societies.  
• HEALING FROM AN ABORTION: God’s Word in Titus 2 encourages older women (in age, experience, or spiritual maturity) to teach young women.  Women who have been wounded by abortion but then experienced the forgiveness and merciful healing of their Savior, Jesus Christ, can steer younger women away from the choice of death.  An older woman can offer hope to the younger woman who lives in denial or despair following an abortion.
• DATING & COURTSHIP:  God’s Word in Titus 2 tells older women to be self-controlled (not to be gossips or addicted to alcohol) and examples of virtue (2:3).  In this way they will teach young women to . . . use good judgment, and to be morally pure (2:4,5).  A Titus 2 woman helps a younger woman discern between the ways of God and the ways of the world in matters of speech, dress, behavior, and life choices. 
• MARRIAGE & FAMILY:  God’s Word in Titus 2 emphasizes the importance of the created order when it tells women to place themselves under their husbands’ authority (2:5)  The Biblical woman understands this instruction in light of Genesis 2:18, 22 and Ephesians 5:25, 33.  She knows that God is a God of peace, not chaos.  His created order is for her good and the good of family and society.  She sees the role of homemaker (2:5) as a noble vocation with generational and societal impact.
• BIO-ETHICS & END-OF-LIFE:  God’s Word in Titus 2 connects women to bio-ethical issues and end-of-life issues by telling the older generation to train the younger to be kind (2:5).  God’s kindness is sacrificial.  It is true compassion in that God came to earth not to remove suffering but to suffer with us; to suffer for us!  God’s saving kindness has appeared for the benefit of all people (2:11)!  When we practice His kindness, we build a culture of kindness!

 What are the consequences of using the Titus 2 model?

   A Titus 2 woman finds joy and hope in God’s guidelines for Christian living.  After all, says Titus 2:11-13, God’s saving kindness . . . trains us to avoid ungodly lives filled with worldly desires so that we can live self-controlled, moral, and godly lives in this present world.  At the same time we can expect what we hope for – the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!

   Titus 2 is for life!  It’s not a human idea; it’s God’s idea.  It’s not a new concept; it’s been used since it was inspired by the Holy Spirit.  It’s not for women only; it’s for men, too!  (See Titus 2:1-2, 6-8.)