What is a Pastor?

Introduction

Thank them for the opportunity to return and explain confusion

Honor Pastor Williams as Pastor Emeritus and the next pastor here has some might big shoes to fill

And I want you all to know that the pastor search committee has been amazing with me and my family and they have an extremely hard job… actually I was thinking what would it be like if key biblical figures themselves were looked at by a pastor search committee

Pastoral Search Report

Adam: Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told of how his wife and he were former nudists

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Abraham: Known to tell a few white lies with one being offering to share his own wife with another man.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.

Solomon: Great preacher but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.

Elijah: Prone to depression-collapses under pressure.

Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.

Hosea: A tender and loving pastor but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation.

Deborah: Can't figure out how she is going to be the husband of one wife

Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, and reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of foreign river.

Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.

Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Amos: Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people.

John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper—even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.

Paul: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.

Timothy: Too young.

Jesus: Has had popular times, but once when his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all and this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he’s single and has no children.

So as this is a trial sermon and you all will be voting on me and my family next week I thought it would be good to explain what exactly is a pastor

I. A Pastor Loves His Calling

I. A Pastor Loves His Calling

1 Timothy 3:1 ESV

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

1 Timothy 3:1–7 ESV

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Vs. 1 teaches that

Exp

1 Timothy: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary A Compelling Calling

The man truly called to the ministry is marked by both an inward consuming passion and a disciplined outward pursuit. For him the ministry is not the best option, it is the only option. There is nothing else he could do with his life that would fulfill him. Accordingly, he works diligently to prepare himself to be qualified for service. While some may be called later in life, from that point on nothing else will do.

This is a God-ordained position as well as the office of Deacon

Vs. 1 teaches that

Pastor is ordained to take care of the spiritual needs of the church

English Standard Version Chapter 6

Seven Chosen to Serve

6 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering

3. So we know pastors tend to the spiritual needs of the people but what does that look like. says that pastors do this to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

Now this does not mean the pastor does not do these works but he is training others to do these tasks along side him.

ARG

Why is it important to train others and have everyone doing the work of the ministry.... Burnout and fatigue… A pastor is not as effective if his tank is always near empty. How does a church and pastor protect from this…

A pastor must learn to delegate the work. In Moses’ F-I-L Jethro visits and instructs him to delegate the work. A Church will only grow to it’s full potential if all hands are at work in the ministry that needs to be done.

APP

Pastors train others and are the example but we ALL should enjoy equipping and discipling one another

II. A Pastor Models Behavior

1 Timothy 3:2–3 ESV

2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

1 tim 3.

There are generally four different ways this phrase has been understood:

1. elders must be married

2. elders must not be polygamists

3. elders must have married only once in their life

4. elders must be sexually pure and therefore totally committed to their wife (biblical monogamy)

Must Be Married

, “To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am.”

Paul was not only an apostle, but also a pastor (he served for three years as the pastor at Ephesus, for instance), so he certainly could not be commanding Timothy to examine potential elders on the basis of what he himself was not qualified to undertake. Likewise, he also says to the Corinthians that as apostles, they had “the right” to “take along” (marry), a believing wife, “even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas [Peter]” (). Even though he did not personally choose the option of marriage (or that he had in fact been married before but at the time of his statement, was speaking as a widower (as many would contend from ), Paul could have served as an elder and yet have remained single.

EXP

Jesus was single

No Polygamy

Paul could have used a couple of different phrases to speak against polygamy if he had truly wanted to. For instance, he simply could have said, “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, having no more than one wife,” or “having no more than one wife at a time.”

In the passage, the phrase is used to speak of a widow and whether or not she is to receive some financial assistance from the church. Even though Paul uses the corresponding phrase, “one-man woman,” or “one-husband wife,” he is essentially speaking of the same kind of qualification and speaks to whether a female widow had demonstrated a faithfulness to her one husband (who is obviously now deceased).

We can conclude that because polyandry (a woman who would be having at least two husbands at the same time) was repugnant both to the Jews and Romans, Paul would have no real need to address this issue in the church. Therefore, if Paul used the corresponding phrase to refer to these polygamist men in , he would be very confusing to his readers, and certainly should have been far more specific.

Only One Marriage

A third group of interpreters view this “one-woman man” phrase as meaning that a man could marry only once in his lifetime. This view also will often reflect the belief that once divorced, a man could never remarry, with some even going so far as to say that a widower could not remarry! As in the first view however, this plainly contradicts other passages of Scripture. distinctly says, “A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” Likewise, says, “The married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning her husband.”

Nowhere in God’s Word does it state that remarriage after the death of a spouse automatically renders a man no longer “above reproach.” Indeed, Paul himself urges young widows (meaning those who were still in their prime childbearing years) to “get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach” (). Immorality being rampant in that pagan society, and with Christianity being so new, Paul was saying the best way to avoid a lasting reproach was to become married.

Finally, Paul even warns Timothy a chapter earlier that some false teachers were actually forbidding marriage (), and those men should be exposed. Surely, this no-marriage view in would need to be clarified since he condemns those false teachers only a chapter later! Lastly, it would also set up a very difficult double standard. Those outside the spiritual leadership of the church could marry or remarry, while those within leadership could not.

Marital Faithfulness

The fourth view says that Paul is simply emphasizing in this phrase, “one-woman man,” the concept of marital faithfulness to one’s present spouse. This seems to be the most natural way to interpret the phrase. Strauch concludes,

…the phrase ‘the husband of one wife’ is meant to be a positive statement that expresses faithful, monogamous marriage. In English we would say, ‘faithful and true to one woman’ or ‘a one-woman man.’…Negatively, the phrase prohibits all deviation from faithful, monogamous marriage. Thus, it would prohibit an elder from polygamy, concubinage, homosexuality, and/or any questionable sexual relationship. Positively, Scripture says the candidate for eldership should be a ‘one-woman man,’ meaning he has an exclusive relationship with one woman. Such a man is above reproach in his sexual and marital life (Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership, 192).

In other words, are you completely committed to the wife you now have? Is your love for her ever growing and do you serve and love her as Christ loves the church ()? It is possible that if our English Bible translators had simply translated the phrase literally, much confusion could have been avoided. But since the phrase has been translated as “the husband of one wife,” it has evoked much needless debate and anguish.

Above reproach=such that no criticism can be made, blameless

Husband of one wife= literally meaning from the original Greek is he is to be a “One-man woman”

Sober-minded= temperate, self-controlled

Respectable- modest, appropriate

Hospitable= friendly and welcoming to strangers or guests.

Able to teach=

Not a drunkard= Not addicted to wine

Not violent but gentle=

Not quarrelsome= not argumentative

Not a lover of money=

ARG

Part of equipping and discipling others is being an example to others

Notice it never says “perfect”

App

We are all examples to others are we walk our daily Christians walk

This is set out for the pastor but in him being the example these characteristics should be applied to every believer

We do not have a happy report to give. We’ve not been able to find a suitable candidate for this church, though we have one promising prospect still. We do appreciate all the suggestions from the church members, and we’ve followed up each one with interviews or calling at least three references. The following is our confidential report on the present candidates.

Adam: Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told of how his wife and he enjoy walking nude in the woods.Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Abraham: Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man’s wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.

Solomon: Great preacher but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.Elijah: Prone to depression-collapses under pressure.Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.Hosea: A tender and loving pastor but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation.

Deborah: Female.Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, and reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of foreign river.Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Amos: Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people. Might fit in better in a poor congregation.John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.Peter: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper—even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.

Paul: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.Timothy: Too young.Jesus: Has had popular times, but once when his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all and this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he’s single.Judas: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We’re inviting him to preach this Sunday. Possibilities here.

III. A Pastor Leads His Family Well

1 Timothy 3:4–5 ESV

4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

EXP

The one verse that comes to mind is , “ Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

but first we should define what a proverb is, “a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or piece of advice.”

so by it’s definition this ‘sometimes’ or ‘most of the time’ happen when you raise a child the way it should go

ARG

Too many times I hear stories of pastors balancing work and family… but that isn’t what the Scripture teaches… the Scripture teaches here that he must manage his household well and then he can handle God’s church… A pastor’s family is his FIRST ministry… no ifs ands or buts about it.... if a pastor doesn’t care for his only family first he isn’t fit to serve as a pastor.

App

Again this applies to every believer as we must minister to our families first and foremost

IV. A Pastor has Experience

1 Timothy 3:6 ESV

6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

EXP

He must not be a recent convert… a pastor should have experience to know what is coming his way (I served under two different men who have been in their pulpits now for 40+ years)… they drug me through the trenches and helped mold and shape me.

He may become puffed up with conceit… this is a position that brings a lot of authority and you must know how to balance that with love, mercy, and grace because if you don’t balance that you...

Fall into the condemnation of the Devil.... condemnation means “judgment” and this verse teaches that this pastor whose sin is pride, the same as the devil, will suffer his consequence. This means that Satan disqualified himself as God’s messenger and chief angel by the sin of pride and the pastor wold also disqualify himself for this same grievous sin.

so if he shouldn’t become puffed up he needs to stay humble and have the mindset of Christ which is He didn’t come to be served but to SERVE… A pastor is served last at communion for this exact reason

App

We should all seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ before taking on roles at the church no matter role

V. A Pastor is Loved by the Lost

1 Timothy 3:7 ESV

7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

EXP

A pastor should be well thought of by outsiders so he doesn’t fall into a trap of the devil… We as Southern Baptists do not beleive we can lose our salvation so what kidn of trap is this… it is the trap of losing our testimony or witness for the Lord

Tell story of Gina’s Coworker in JC (WES)

1 John 2:1–8 ESV

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.