As found in our Bibles, the Pastoral Epistles, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (=PEs), were originally sent by the apostle Paul to two of his closest coworkers in the gospel, Timothy and Titus. The letters throw open a window on how churches formed their identities and developed responses to altering circumstances.1 They are personal letters2 that have become paradigmatic in the history of the church for pastors, priests, elders, bishops, deacons, ministers, and other church leaders. The letters, however, are as much ecclesial as they are pastoral. The language of these letters to his close coworkers prompts us to focus our attention on the “house” or “household of God,” the oikos/oikonomia theou.3