Third John is the shortest book in the New Testament. It is also one of the least appreciated. John’s short letter (only 129 words) written to a church leader somewhere in Greece. Though we don’t know the exact situation being addressed in the note, clues in the book give us a pretty good idea of what’s going on.

John is writing to a church leader named Gaius, announcing his plans to visit the churches in the region for the purpose of dealing with a conflict that has arisen between him and another leader, a fellow named Diotrephes. He sent a letter to Diotrephes, only to have him ref...