Divorced Pastors...or Pastor's married to divorcees.

A pastor is to be above reproach.

Jesus told us that divorce and remarrige is adultry.

For that reason a pastor should not be divorced and remarried.

A pastor who is divorced but does not remarry is a different story.

 

I think scriptures are pretty clear. However, I differentiate between the divorsed man before salvation and the divorsed man after salvation. If a man married and divorsed before their salvation. Then re-marries I'm open to their ministry.

When it comes to the wife divorsing the husband and committing adultry I believe that free's up the man from having to abstain from marriage. And again I'm open to the ministry.

But these are the only two type exceptions I would concede.

 

James called his readers adulteresses in James 4:4, "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

Adultery is not limited to marital infidelity but it is anything that deviates from God's will.

 

So the rule is, that a Pastor can NEVER have committed adultery?

Men cannot be Pastors then.

Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

What about all the men who speak of their pre-conversion days of womanizing? I guess they cannot be Pastors either, by your logic.

 

Correct. If a minister just said "I'm fed up with her! I am leaving!" that would definitely disqualify him.

However, Paul said that a believer is not bound, and is in fact free, if an unbeliever should leave them.

But these things have nothing to do with divorce, really, but just have to do with having a good report.

 

AMEN! Why do people want to twist things, to try to add divorce in the text, when it obviously isn't addressing that? Why can they not just let the verse say what it says? Why do people look to fallible human commentaries, instead of the Word itself?

 

:laugh: I can't help but to laugh. You are one more slick dude, aren't you. :laugh:

 

Nothing slick about it. The text says nothing about divorce. It is not addressing that issue. Adding to God's word is just as bad as taking away. One of the things that Jesus condemned the Pharisees and the scribes for, is tacking on extra things...and they would have said "But that's what it says!" too.

But the fact is, it does NOT address divorce. It addresses Polygamy.

You remember, BTW, that Eve's first mistake was talking to the serpent, but her SECOND mistake, was adding an extra rule to God's word...

Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Lets stop adding to His word, shall we? There are enough REAL standards in there...we don't have to make up extra ones.

 

Matt, you don't have to hurt someone's feelings in order to convict them. That's not your job, nor is it in the best interest of discussion. Please stop insinuating that everyone who disagrees is reading what they want to into the text. When you and I stand before the throne, we will both be wrong on some things that we truly believed in our hearts. Things we thought were huge deals will be minor and things we quickly tossed aside will be major.

I'm not going to get hurt by being proven wrong or by having someone disagree with me. That would be pretty immature, kinda like the little kids I teach during the day.

One other thing. I believe Scripture is the final authority. That being said, I am not comfortable with the way it is used often on this board, in a self-serving, combative kind of way. Remember that we cannot merely cut and paste the parts that back up what we have to say, but we have to take it in its context and in light of the whole. People can "back up" nearly any explanation with Scripture, but they must use good interpretation.

Also remember that we must humble ourselves before God's Word, not using it to support our agenda, but actually listening to what it is saying.

I believe that this is situational. If the individual's heart is not right, they are excluded. But if that person demonstrates a changed heart and demonstrates the other qualities that are required, they can still be used in this manner.

That being said, there are situations of desertion or abuse where there is basically nothing someone can do to prevent divorce. In those cases, it might not have been an issue of that person's heart that led to the divorce. In any case, for Baptists, it is obviously up to the local congregation.

 

Takes a lot of guts to call someone Satan around here. Its a new one for me but man, you've got guts...not a lot brains, but guts for sure

 

Apparently you have a problem distinguishing between what is said and what you want to believe has been said, kinda like when someone accuses someone else of not much brains, and they are lacking in judgment and intellect themselves.

 

Well said. :thumbs:

 

In my many years as a Baptist, I have been shocked to see the below
1. Repentant murderers that were focused, committed and successful Pastors
2. Repentant Homosexuals thast were focused, committed and successful Pastors
3. Repentant Drug addicts that were focused, committed and succesful Pastors
4. Repentant Thieves that were focused, committed and succesful Pastors
5. Repentant divorced Pastors that were focused, committed and successful Pastors

I sure am glad my God is big enough to see the heart and use the willing.

 

Very well said.

 

I am twice divorced and plan on staying single. The hypocritical pastor who refused to do my second marriage even though I divorced my first wife because of adultery also remarried several years after his wife left him because of emotional abuse.

He had a master's degree in psychology and was very good at using that to make others feel inadequate. That's why I left that church after faithfully serving there for 20 years. After his wife left him, I spent the next three years praying with and for him and her. After three years she finally divorced him, and then he started taking his anger and bitterness out on me--using his knowledge of psychology on me.

It was too much like being with my dad again--the constant anger and criticism. I just won't go through that again; I'm still scarred from what my dad did to me--unable to trust or make friends except online where I can ignore anyone who is offensive since their opinion of me means nothing to me.

Add to the above list a man who was a hit man (killing whoever "needed" killing. He met Christ and was saved and became a pastor. I personally knew him.

 

1. Should a divorced man be unqualified to be a pastor? not necessarily
Jesus made it clear that God's plan was one man for one woman. If a man becomes divorced because his wife does not want to stay with a believer and divorces him I see no scripture that disqualifies him from being a pastor after a season/s time. (he must regain control of his household)
If, he divorces her even for reasons of fornication then he would be disqualified because 1 Cor 7:10,11 clearly states that a husband is not to divorce his wife. In the case fornication he would not be guilty of any adultery she commits (I think this because she was already committing fornication) but he would still be the one who divorced his wife.

2. Should a divorced man who remarried a different woman other than first wife be a pastor? NO if you want to follow scripture
A man who remarries a different woman other than his first wife would not be the "husband of one wife". 1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6

3. Does "husband of one wife" pertain only to polygamy? Only if we find that somebody left out "at one time" after wife in the orginal text.
Some say polygamy was a problem in the day this was written and they are right. But, so was divorce and then marrying another a problem in that day. Polygamy is still a problem today in certain countries and cultures just as divorce is too. If a man divorces his wife and marries another then he is still the husband of more than one wife even tho it is only one wife at a time. I think the scripture is clear in this matter. 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6

4. Should a man who was divorced and remarried to a different woman before he was saved be a pastor? NO, if you want to follow scripture
Matt 5: 31,32 and Mark 10: 3-12 God tolerated and forgave men and women for their sins. He forgives them even after they are saved. Nowhere in the scripture do I find that we are not still responsible for the consequence of our sin other than the consequence of spending eternity away from God and then even Jesus Christ took that consequence upon Himself for the saved.

5. Should a man who is married to a divorced woman be a pastor? NO, if you want to follow scripture.
Again, God's plan was, is and always will be ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN. Gen 2:24 says that they will become one flesh. How can there be one flesh with one man and one woman then the woman is put aside or has been put aside (divorce) and become one flesh with someone different than whom they were one flesh already? Ephesians 5:31 says to hold fast or join. How can a man hold fast or join a woman who is already joined to another?

The qualifications that God inspired Paul to write, were not intended to be a form of punishment but they were to structure the way God set up His Church. How can a Pastor/Elder or Deacon, council a troubled marriage about to split when they cannot defend this action by their own actions, without admitting that the wife he now has is a mistake? God blesses second, third and even more marriages when they come before Him to be blessed. All the other qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 can be met by change and repentance but, once a man has divorced and remarries another woman or marries a woman who has been divorced he can never be a husband of one wife. There are many services and ministries for all to be involved and called for but, God has a reason to put qualifications on certain offices of His Church
We tend to want to change with our culture of the time. We must remember that God sees the big picture and He knows what he wants no matter how fair or unfair we may feel it is.

 

Amen to that