From January 4, 2004:
Within the Roman Catholic Church the title Pastor (Father, Priest, Reverend, etc) is a title that is earned by a select few. There are Protestants who simply claim the title of Pastor and start their own church. These days you can be ordained over the internet!
Here is a actual quote from one of the many ordaining websites: "After you receive ordination from XXXX XXXXX Ministries you will have the authority to do what thousands of people we ordained are now doing, perform a wedding ceremony. This is a wonderful opportunity to earn extra money to support yourself and family and your ministry" another site says "you can officiate one wedding ceremony or you can make weddings, funerals, baptisms, house blessings, etc. your business. You can even start your own ministry. You can become a legally ordained minister, instantly, online" God is now a home based business!
I meet people all the time who tell me they are a Pastor. Senior Pastor, Youth Pastor, Associate Pastor. Singles Pastor, Outreach Pastor. A Pastor is responsible for nothing less then souls and not just anyone should take on that responsibility. James tells us in the bible "Let Not Many Of You Become Teachers" (3:1-12) James does not say, "Let not many of you BE teachers" but rather, "Let not many of you BECOME teachers". This passage is not just a rebuke of those who try to BE teachers before they are ready, but a warning that many should not even BECOME teachers in the future! It is a mistake to believe that EVERYONE should become a teacher at some point in their service to Christ! Teachers shall receive "a stricter judgment" There is a grave responsibility involved in teaching others.
We can lead people to TRUTH - but we just as easily lead them to ERROR! Many are doing just that. Those who teach will be held accountable if they mislead others but what about the poor souls who follow these teachers? There are a few things a Pastor should NOT be... 1. A Pastor should NOT be married much less have children. Christ says "I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I" In marriage, a man and woman vow to place each other second only to God. If you are married, your wife and children should be first on your priority list. That puts your parishioners third on the list and is unacceptable. A true Pastor is married to the Church and has dedicated his entire life to such. He should have an undivided heart. 1 Cor.32-33: "An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affiars - how can he please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world- how he can please his wife and his interests are divided" 2. A Pastor should NOT be a woman. This is not a sexist comment. Read the Bible. 3. A Pastor should NOT start his own church. God has not called anyone to build a church on their own. Christ will build his church as he has done for thousands of years. 4. A Pastor should NOT be ordained by those without authority to do so. (That includes the internet.)A Bishop has the sole responsibility to ordain. He assigns priests, allows new parishes and churches to be developed. He must oversee all moral teaching and Scripture. A Pastor should be called by God to serve only him. You can serve Christ and the church without become a Pastor. Too many people are following men who have not earned, and should not be given the title or responsibility of Pastor. This is one of the reasons for the mass confusion among Christians today.
Being a nice guy and having good intentions does not qualify one to guide souls on a righteous path to Heaven. I would carefully examine who you choose to Shepard you in this life and know that few are truly Pastors no matter what them call themselves. "Let us pray for heretics and schismatics: that Our Lord God would be pleased to rescue them from all their errors; and recall them to our Holy Mother the Catholic and Apostolic Church."
9 comments:
1. A Pastor should NOT be married much less have children.
1 Timothy 3:2 says otherwise.
read 1 cor. 7: 6,7,32-34a,35 re. priesthood and marriage.
I don't think 1 Timothy does says that.
The passage begins by commending those who aspire to the office of bishop within the community, but the first sentence (1 Tim 3:1) may also imply a warning about the great responsibilities involved. The writer proceeds to list the qualifications required: personal stability and graciousness; talent for teaching (1 Tim 3:2); moderation in habits and temperament (1 Tim 3:3); managerial ability (1 Tim 3:4); and experience in Christian living (1 Tim 3:5-6).
Now, if "the husband of one wife" really meant that a bishop had to be married, then by the same logic "keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way" would mean that he had to have children. Childless husbands (or even fathers of only one child, since Paul uses the plural) would not qualify.
In fact, since Paul speaks of bishops meeting these requirements (not of their having met them, or of candidates for bishop meeting them), it would even follow that an ordained bishop whose wife or children died would become unqualified for ministry.
The theory that Church leaders must be married also contradicts the obvious fact that Paul himself, an eminent Church leader, was single and happy to be so. Unless Paul was a hypocrite, he could hardly have imposed a requirement on bishops which he did not himself meet.
As Annonymous refered to: Are we to believe 1 Corinthians 7: the married have worldly anxieties and divided interests, yet only they are qualified to be bishops; whereas the unmarried have single-minded devotion to the Lord, yet are barred from ministry?
I don't believe so.
Quite the extrapolation you made there, PB...
1 Timothy 3:2 says "the husband of BUT one wife", meaning no polygamy. And it infers that Pastors / Bishops / Overseers / whatever you want to call them CAN be married. Not that they MUST be married.
1 Timothy 3:2 contradicts your claim of "1. A Pastor should NOT be married much less have children.".
Ahh but who is the bride of Christ?
Yes, the CHURCH. Therefore to be follow Jesus a priest is married to one bride THE CHURCH.
Doesn't the Bible testify to the fact that Jesus valued celibacy, Jesus himself was celibate or single for the Lord.Read Mt. 19:11,12.
Where is clerical celibacy in the Bible?
Biblical evidence for the discipline of celibacy can be found in both the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old, Jeremiah was forbidden by God to take a wife in order to enable him to fulfill his ministry better. "The word of the Lord came to me: 'You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place'" (Jer. 16:1-2).
Ahh but who is the bride of Christ?
You're mixing an earthly concept with a heavenly one.
See Matthew 22:23-33. Marriage on earth is an entirely different concept than "The Bride of Christ".
I know where you are going and I think you are getting off track.
I point you to 1 Cor. 7
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