Being a Pastor and being Single

Please tell me Chadnrachel, how does being married further the ministry? You said " but I believe idealy that God wants pastors to marry for the ministry's sake."

If anything, it could seem like more of a hindrance, and actually Paul SAYS it is : 1 Corinthians 7:25-27a

25) Now converning virgins I have NO commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgement, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful (obviously referring to his celebicacy and his ability to go unmarried without being consumed by lust.)
26) I suppose therefor that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is GOOD for a man so to be. ( Now Paul states that it is GOOD for a man to be unmarried and not tied to a wife. )

Now here is the verse that I believe disproves that belief you hold, : 32) But I would haev you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. 33) But he that is married, careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

Now, if we just use logic here, as well as take into accounts the lives and ministry of Jesus,John The Baptist, Daniel, Paul, I believe we can say that it is a foolish and legalistic notion to require Pastors to be married with a family to Pastor a church.

As someone mentioned earlier, there are quite a bit of unbiblical qualifications placed on seeking to join the ministry, which is just wrong and most definetly hurts the church. Why does it hurt the church? Because it is unbiblical.

The requirement of seminary education, I believe I can understand that to an extent, but what about the requirements for seminary? Have you ever examined them? The prices? They are ridiculous.


They no longer function as soley just a non-profit organization to train up young men whose desire is to serve God, but they distinguish it to " we only want these types of people training in our seminary" which paraphrased sounds like " Only God can use these types of people to Pastor a church."

Now, what are those types of people? People obviously who are blessed with a well-working intellect, because many seminaries require 4 years of college. What else? Must have efficient financial status : Seminary can be very expensive, especially when you consider that you need some form of college training!

So, all in all, sorry for going off on a tangent, but I was just trying to show how there are many 'trends' in American Church's that are not exactly Biblical.

 

christianyouth, I don't belive being in the ministry and being a pastor are the same thing. I do agree that a pastor should be married, but this is for the role of pastor / overseer only...not all forms of ministry. I really don't see where Scripture supports a single pastor. I might be wrong on this, but I believe the requirements are not that hard to understand.

 

Are you looking for biblical theology or are you looking for logical theology?

 

I agree. You can't compare the ministries of Jesus, Paul and John the Baptist to that of an overseer of a church. If anything, Christ is the Head of the Church...and He has a bride.

 

webdog

You went from a pedigree to a hound . . .

from city boy to country boy . . .

That observation was great country boy logic.

:thumbs:
:thumbs:
:thumbs:

 

Huh?

 

Didn't quite get this one either. I don't think I like the country boy/city boy comparison.

 

I have always found it interesting that one of the biggest issues brought up about single pastors is how they might relate to members of the opposite sex. I have heard time after time when people are considring youth pastors that they don't want a single man because he might want to date members of the youth group. My thought is that a man wanting to date children is not a problem marriage is going to solve. The same goes for pastors dealing inappropriately with ladies in the church. Married pastors, is our marriage the only thing that keeps us in check? I should hope not!

 

web 'dog'

playing on your moniker . . . I complemented your ability to utilize horse sence . . . horse sence an attribute that one may find in 'city folk', but will almost always find in country folk.

God bless

:thumbs:

 

El G--

some of your quotes concern me:

Your posts insinuate that folks who think its OK for a pastor to be single are espousing an unbiblical view and have a low view of marriage.

I think that's too harsh...not because I believe we should always "make nice" and not speak the truth, but because I disagree with your interpretation of "husband of one wife."

I think the Catholic model is wrong. But I also disagree with its opposite--requiring married pastors as a Biblical mandate. I don't have a problem with individual churches doing so as much--"local church autonomy." If it's a church's preference, then fine. But I don't agree with it being a biblical requirement.

Forgive me for repeating myself...

IMO, Scripture is giving guidelines on how a pastor's family life must not detract from his ministry. Polygamy, adultery, not managing his family--these hurt his ministry. We are taking a descriptive passage--i.e., "This person's family life should be above reproach...here are examples:" and we're making it prescriptive for all ministers--i.e., "All ministers' families must look like this." I think it's a faulty hermeneuitc to insist on a married pastor.

Furthermore, the passage talks about children. If you're gonna be consistent with your hermeneutic, then a pastor must have children as well.

So, would you...

• disqualify widowers from ministry?
• disqualify those who try to have kids and can't?
• disqualify those who have children that die in infancy? Or are stillborn?
• disqualify those who adopt? How about foster parents?
• disqualify ALL pastors, or only senior pastors, who didn't fit the mold?

So not only do I see hermeneutical problems, but many practical ones as well.

I also think we should be very careful in insinuating that single folks are "risky candidates" for ministry. Granted, Paul told us that it is better to marry than burn with passion. But, married folk with kids are quite capable of terrible sexual sins. We've had two in our tri-county area in the last several years who messed with kids. Both scumbags were married, with children.

We probably won't agree on this one, but I had to put this out there.

Peace,

Rbell

 

Rbell

Did not read your post after about the first sentance

. . . what I said was the truth. And if Truth scares you, you can hide from it or address the underlying problems.

Our 'churches' have let the culture of the world in. We are now having to find replacements for the traditional pastor model - male, married once, with children. The problem of homosexuals or women in pastorate roles would not be a problem if we were still following the model of 40 years to 2000 years ago.

Are single men in ministry wrong? No. But, Paul (single) instructed his representative (single Timothy) to ordain men that were married . . . Do we extrapolate what? That single men can be in ministry - yes. That married men can be ordained as overseers? Most certainly.

That most single men should be senior pastors . . . I do not think so.

I do not know where you think that I would go with my theology - but, I would not go where you would go . . . my view of scripture is absolute.

 

If being single isn't "good" (my understanding of your previous statements) then why does Paul encourage people to remain unmarried?

With the view advocated by some of single vs married pastors it would seem that verses 32-34 would indicate that a single pastor would have more to give the Lord and thus the church than a married pastor would. It would seem that to take the view that Paul says a pastor must be married would mean that Paul contradicts himself in 1 Cor. 7 since singleness is held up as a very good thing - as being better than being married in that people have more to give to God as a single.

Why then would pastors be required to be married, and in essence be required to be divided in that they are not soley concerned about the things of God but also the things of their wife?

 

This is comparing apples to oranges. Serving God as a pastor, compared to serving God as an evangelist are not one in the same.

 

The text talks about managing your household well...children included in that. Having children is not a requirement listed, but being the husband of one wife is. How can a single man...with no family...manage his household well?

 

If one believes the Bible then that nonsense will not be taught but rather the Bible will be taught instead.

I always like to ask those brand of preachers about where that puts Jesus.

 

Don't follow Jesus then if that is what you believe to be biblical.

 

Is Jesus the pastor of a local church? He's the Head of it...not a pastor in it.

Are you also holding pastors up to the same authority of Christ? I would tell you, then, to not worship Christ if you believe that...worship the pastor!

 

It's a shame you didn't read my post...I thought it was a doggone good one.:laugh:

Friend, I hold the Scriptures in high regard, and don't see myself "running from the truth." I wish you would have read what I said...I didn't disagree with scripture; rather I saw a descriptive list, not a prescriptive one regarding being married & having kids.

If you want to dismiss what I say with "you don't believe the Bible" then I guess we just can't discuss this issue.

But I have problems linking a single pastor with the demise of Christianity. You want a gay pastor, or an adulterous one? Big problem. You want a pastor with no control on his family? Big problem. You want a single pastor? I certainly think there are questions for that minister and church to discuss...why he is single, how he will approach dealing with touchy issues, making sure character issues aren't in play, etc.,--however, I don't see that as a Biblical violation.

You and I agree on a great many issues on this board...I think your tone is a bit harsh toward me on this particular issue (which, in the grand scheme, is a peripheral one, IMO). But hey, I'm a Baptist...I'm an expert in disagreements!:thumbsup: :laugh:

Peace,

RBell

 

So the Bible is clear that God has ordained certain people to remain single, what can those single people do in the church? I mean, what ways can they serve?

Just curious.
God Bless,
Andy

 

Christ was single and those who do not believe the Bible will elevate their pet doctrines (opinions) above Christ. Does not Paul advocate singleness for reasons of serving Christ with a focused mind?