Personal Pastoral Papers

Pastoral Papers as submitted

Our personal mission statement:

Making Disciples in Love:

To walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called (Ephesians 4:1-3),

to use the tools that have been given (Eph. 4:11)

to build the body of Christ,

to equip the saints (Eph. 4:12)

until all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:13).

Speaking the truth (His Word) in love,

utilizing the Spirit of power, love, and sound mind,

making disciples who no longer live in fear,

no longer infantile in thinking, tossed by every wave and wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14-16);

growing up in every way into Christ.

Denison Bible Church

Questionnaire for Pastoral Candidates

Fall 2021

1. What do you see as your role as Pastor of DBC?

The Biblical role of a pastor-teacher is primarily to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (Eph. 4:11-12) To do this, an adequate amount of time must be spent studying the scriptures (2 Tim. 2:15, Acts 6:1-4). The words that Paul wrote to Timothy have been a battle cry for myself and my family. “Share in the sufferings as a good soldier of Christ. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” (2 Tim. 2:3-4) This teaches that the things of this world must not distract from the purpose that God has for each of us. He has been steadily revealing His desire for my life as well as that of my family as we part with the things that distract us from being efficient soldiers and ambassadors for His purpose.

As a pastor-teacher it is imperative that I teach the full council of God (all 66 books) as boldly and clearly as possible, that I submit to the teaching authority of the Spirit within me to reveal His truth. In this life I will never arrive at the full knowledge and understanding of God, but it is sure that as long as I am alive that His knowledge is what I must seek!

As a believer in Christ, it is my responsibility to be equipped and built up for the work of ministry. (Eph. 4:12) It is my responsibility to not walk as the gentiles walk, in the futility of their minds. It is my responsibility to seek first His kingdom and not my own desires. It is my responsibility to pursue the pure milk of the Word. (1 Peter 2:2) It is my responsibility to adhere to Colossians 3:12-17 and Romans 12:9-21.

As a pastor-teacher and as a believer, I will fail to measure up perfectly to these responsibilities. I believe that the congregation will fail to measure up to these responsibilities, as we both are still human. Therefore, I beg for grace in all aspects and pray that if chosen I would give grace as I have received it from Christ.

I thank God for such passages as 1 Cor. 1:26-31, for I am one who is not wise according to the worlds standards, not powerful or of noble birth. But God chose the foolish, the weak, the low and despised.

2. What is your view of Pastor and Elder Relationship?

It needs to be a picture of the church working properly, an example of what the rest of the body should be.

Friendship, communication, spiritual maturity, brotherly love, an assembly working together.

3. What general Theological position do you hold concerning the Bible?

The Bible is the final say on theology. It is inerrant, infallible, absolute Truth. When something seems confusing it is human error not the Word. It must be interpreted using itself – one interpretation and that interpreted by itself (2 Peter 1:20). A consistent hermeneutical approach must be taken through out scripture, if the literal meaning fits, it must be used – One interpretation, many applications.

I have tried to stay away from all “ism’s” as each that I have studied has had at least one serious perversion of the clear teachings of scripture. I am a disciple of Christ, raised and reared in the faith by Bob Norris who was also a non-denominational disciple of Christ. While Bob was my teacher, I hold to no man as having “it all together” and I take Paul’s words seriously when he says that it is wrong to put one man above and not hold strictly to Christ.

4. What is your view of End Times?

The Church Age ends with the immanent rapture of the Church which is followed by approximately 7 years of Jacob’s Trouble. At the end of Jacob’s Trouble, we (church age believers) return with Him at His second coming and the “landing of Jerusalem.” This ushers in the 1,000 year reign of Christ, at the end of which will be a massive rebellion. The rebellion will lead to the final Judgment of Satan and the unbelievers who will then be sent to Hell for eternal punishment.

5. What do you see as your daily schedule?

- I consider myself full-time, I am available 100% of the time whether at the church or home.

- I study until around noon, but am still flexible.

- I work with the family on the farm in the afternoons, we welcome interruption.

6. What is your view of visitation – Elderly, members, hospital, etc?

The sick/shut-in/alone/hurting (physical, spiritual, emotional)

- All of these need much attention. While I have a desire to spend much time with all of the above, and will, scripture will tell us that each and every part of the body has a role to play in these circumstances and we should each come around these individuals as I have personally witnessed the body of DBC currently do.

7. What websites do you use for information?

Basicstraining.org

blueletterbible.org

duluthbible.org

middletownbiblechurch.org

8. What books have you read in the last year?

• Many books of the Bible multiple times

• Normal Christian Life by Watchmen Nee

• The Art of War by Tsou Sun

• The Basics by Gene Cunningham

• Rebound and Keep Moving by R.B. Thieme

• Psalm 119 by Gene Cunningham

• Christian Warrior by Gene Cunningham

• Spiritual Gift of Tongues by Moses Onwubiko

• The Faith-Rest Life by R.B. Thieme

• Common Sense 101 by G.K. Chesterton

• A Popular Survey of the N.T. by Norman Geisler

• Building in the Faith: Foundations by Drue Freeman

• Bible Training Center for Pastors (Vol. 1-10):

◦ #1 Bible Study Methods Rules for Interpretations by Dennis Mock

◦ #5 Bible Doctrine Survey by Dennis Mock

◦ #9 Church History Survey by Dennis Mock

• Isolation of Sin by R.B. Thieme

• The Barrier by R.B. Thieme

• Defending the Faith: Foundations II by Drue Freeman

• Signs and Wonders by Moses Onwubiko

9. What movies do you and your wife enjoy?

John Wayne movies, the Marvel movies, action adventure (ie: Bourne Series)

10. Explain your view of premarital counseling.

Premarital counseling provides a great opportunity to get a couple to start (if not done already) thinking about the meaning and commitment of marriage, hopefully a time for them to talk about things that should be figured out before marriage.

11. Would you marry a Christian to a non-Christian?

No, marriage is ordained by God. Without God it is a simple agreement/contract between 2 people and their government. For two believers, it is a union of three; two people and God. It is designed to portray the relationship of Christ and His body.

12. What is your plan for evangelism?

As the local body of Christ grows in the grace and knowledge of Christ each one’s confidence in who Christ is and who they are in His eyes should grow, which in turn should lead the body to listen to the prompting of the Spirit when given the opportunity to share Christ with others.

13. What is your view of your wife’s involvement at DBC?

My wife, family, and I serve together as a team. As members of the Body of Christ, by God’s grace, they will continually seek growth in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As they pray, study, and submit to the power of the Holy Spirit, He will be able to use them in the Church not only with the spiritual gift they were blessed with, but also through the love of Christ working out in and through them!

14. What in general is your view of women’s role in the Church?

Scripture tells us of many great examples of women serving the local church in a variety of ways, however there are some specific areas that they are not Biblically eligible for, such as Pastor-teacher and elder. At times, under the authority of men, women are able to teach. These must be women that are mature in the faith and have the same character as is outlined in scripture for them.

15. What is your view of Tobacco and Alcohol use for believers?

“All things are lawful, not all things are profitable.” As long as used in moderation, they are not a sin. These are no different than any other fleshly pleasure: food, sugar, pop, popularity, sex.

16. Would hospitality be a part of your ministry at DBC?

Our home is open to all, we enjoy having people over and spending time with them, whether they are believers or unbelievers.

17. What is your definition of legalism?

Anything that man tries to do to gain standing before God.

18. What is your view of polity/government in the church?

The structure of the local church has some flexibility as it pertains to the function and effectiveness of the local body. Generally speaking, I see scripture as showing that the elders are the administrators with the pastor being among them, then the deacons, then the congregation. The elders should have a strong unity of the faith, being as much on the same page theologically as possible. They should work as a unit to further the training of the Body in Christ and administer to the needs of the local body. It is imperative that there is a head to this body of elders, much like that of a marriage. Also, just like a marriage, full communication, respect, and love must be present to function properly. It is important for the elders and deacons to know their individual strengths and weaknesses so that they function together at optimal efficiency in the administration and service of the church. While I personally don’t know the exact strengths and weaknesses of the elders at DBC, it is obvious that they know their roles and carry out their missions.

19. What are the top 3 social issues the church should address?

1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

There is no greater issue in the world/society today than the lack of Christ in the hearts of people. Today, churches have used social issues to draw crowds and/or to divide peoples. If a church keeps its focus on teaching the truth about faith, the confidence of hope, and the power of the love of God, people will be changed, communities brought together and Christ will be glorified.

20. What counseling experience/abilities do you have? Safeguards?

Over the 10 years of business ownership my wife and I had the opportunity to counsel many employees. During our marriage we have met on many occasions with about every type of person, from homeless, to wealthy, to young, to dying of old age, with a variety of concerns, from what to do for a living, what to do for an education, to raising/disciplining/educating children, to dealing with the loss of loved ones, to different stages surrounding divorce and marriage, war, business dealings, and personal sin.

Also, my wife and I have sought the counsel of mature believers many times for various reasons, mostly pertaining to guidance and direction for our lives through the teaching of the Word of God. The Word of God holds the answers to every problem we will ever face, every decision we will ever make, and sometimes we need a pastor to help guide us to finding that right answer.

Integrity between males/females to Pastor/wife

- It has been a standard for my wife and I to avoid at all cost being alone with the opposite sex.

- Males call me, females call Bre – If a female needs to talk to me we are on speaker phone with my wife’s phone and wife present.

- If at the church, my family will be there with me.

- We have one e-mail account that we both check often.

- We have one account for social media.

Thank you for your consideration,

Jesse Seltmann

Our Doctrinal Position:

1. The Holy Scriptures:

We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God—authoritative, inerrant, and God-breathed (2Ti 3:16; 2Pe 1:20-21; Mat 5:18; Joh 16:12-13).

2. The Godhead:

We believe in one Triune God, existing in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deu 6:4; 2Co 13-14).

3. The Total Depravity of Man:

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God, and is totally unable to retrieve his original condition (Gen 1:26–27; Rom 3:22-23, Rom 3:5:12; Eph 2:12).

4. The Person and Work of Christ:

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man; that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice; that our redemption is made sure to us by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Joh 1:1-2, Joh 1:14; Luk 1:35; Rom 3:24-25, Rom 4:25; 1Pe 1:3-5).

5. The Personality and Work of the Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, indwells all believers in the present age, baptizes them in the Body of Christ, and seals them unto the day of redemption; and that it is the duty of every believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9; 1Co 12:12-14; Eph 1:13-14, Eph 5:18).

6. Salvation:

We believe that salvation in every dispensation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8-10; Joh 1:12; Eph 1:7).

7. The Eternal Security of Believers: We believe that all believers are kept secure forever (Rom 8:1, Rom 8:38-39; Joh 10:27-30; 1Co 1:4-8).

8. The Church: We believe that the Church, which is the Body and will be the Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again believers of this Age, irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations (Eph 1:22-23, Eph 5:25-27; 1Co 12:12-14).

9. The Personality of Satan: We believe in the personality of Satan, who is the open and declared enemy of God and man (Job 1:6-7; Mat 4:2-11; Isa 14:12-17).

10. The Blessed Hope:

We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air (1Co 15:51-57; 1Th 4:13-18; Tit 2:11-14).

11. The Tribulation

We believe that the Rapture of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Daniel’s seventieth week—the latter half of which is the time of Jacob’s trouble—the Great Tribulation (Dan 9:27; Jer 30:7; Mat 24:15-21; Rev 6:1-19, Rev 6:21).

12. The Second Coming of Christ

We believe that the Great Tribulation will be climaxed by the Premillennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to set up His kingdom (Zec 14:4-11; Mat 24:15-25, Mat 24:46; 2Th 1:7-10; Rev 20:6).

13. The Eternal State:

We believe that the human soul and human spirit of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do, at death, immediately pass into His presence, and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming—when soul, human spirit, and body reunited will be associated with Him forever in His glory; but the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium, when the soul and body reunited will be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction, separated forever from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (Luk 16:19-26, Luk 16:23-43; 2Co 5:8; Phi 1:23; 2Th 1:7-9; Jud 1:6-7; Rev 20:11-15).

14. The Responsibility of Believers

We believe that all believers should seek to walk in such a manner as to not bring reproach upon their Lord and Savior, that it is the obligation of every believer to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all the world (Act 1:8); that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember the work of the Lord in prayer and to support it with their means—as the Lord has prospered them (1Co 16:2).

15. Church Ordinance:

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be observed until His return (Mat 28:19-20; 1Co 11:23-26).

16. Sovereignty:

We believe that God, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is sovereign, and exercises supreme and absolute rule over all creation as a part of and consistent with the essence and attributes of deity (1Ch 29:11-12; Dan 4:35; Psa 24:1; Eph 1:11; 1Ti 6:15)

17. Spirituality: We believe that spirituality is both an absolute and a relative condition in the life of a believer in this dispensation. The absolute concept relates to the filling by means of the Spirit, and the relative concept relates to spiritual growth. We believe that a believer becomes carnal through an act of mental, verbal, or overt sin and that absolute spirituality or fellowship with Christ is restored solely by personal confession of that sin to God the Father (Joh 15:7-8; 2Co 5:6; Gal 5:15; Eph 5:18; Rom 6:11-13; 1Jo 1:9; 1Jo 1:5-10; 1Jo 2:1-2; 1Co 11:31).

18. Spiritual Gifts: We believe that God the Holy Spirit—in grace and apart from human merit—sovereignly bestows spiritual gifts to believers in this dispensation. The permanent spiritual gifts which exist today are pastor-teacher, evangelist, service, ruling, exhortation, teacher, ministry, helps, giving, and mercy. We further believe that the temporary spiritual gifts were apostle, prophet, tongues, interpretation of tongues, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits, faith, healings, and miracles. Tongues and the interpretation of tongues ceased in 70 A.D., and the other eight temporary gifts ceased with the completion of the Canon of Scripture (Rom 12:6-8; 1Co 12:8-10; Eph 4:11).

Concerning Doctrine Taught in the Church...

A question has been raised in regarding how I would handle a situation where doctrine is taught by another in the body (or possibly a visitor) that I stood opposed to.

My stance is that scripture is the final authority on all doctrine. 2 Peter 1:20-21 states that only scripture interprets scripture and that it is not left up to man’s opinion. There is no contradiction in scripture, if there is an apparent contradiction it is because man has made an error.

As a pastor-teacher it is my responsibility to not only feed the sheep, but to guard against false teaching. If, as pastor, I hear a teaching that I believe to be contrary to what scripture says I will first search the scriptures, compare scripture with scripture, and go to the original languages to see if what I heard was in fact true. If I find what was said to be contrary to scripture, I will then approach the one teaching the contrary doctrine with questions to see if that which was taught was possibly a misunderstanding on either of our parts, this is often the case and thus serves as an excellent opportunity for both parties to grow in the faith. If the doctrine taught is believed by the teacher and contrary to what I see in scripture I would ask that myself and the one opposed search the scriptures together in the desire to find the pure milk of the Word (2 Peter 2:1-2). I have found that when both parties are willing to sit down and do whatever it takes to seek Truth from the Word, that amicable resolutions can be made. However, when pride gets in the way and one or the other are unwilling to search scriptures together then the issue needs to brought before the elders and possibly some other type of mediation and eventually one or the other needs to step down from the role of teaching. In the case of guest speakers I really like to know there theology and background before speaking. A lot can be determined through adequate conversation. Example… Caleb from the RP church and I have spent enough time together in some amazing conversation and fellowship that we have a pretty good working understanding between us and there is a level of professional respect that when a mixed group is together having a devotion/teaching we focus on areas that we agree on and avoid topics and doctrine that will cause division thus the reason that men’s breakfast is focused on Psalm 119 and getting people into the Word.

Ultimately anyone who teaches needs to consider the fact that they will be held accountable before God for every word that they teach. They hold responsibility for the souls that they teach and lead (Heb. 13:17). We must be careful with phrases such as “I think”, “I believe”, and “Scripture says”. When I say “I think” this is a matter of opinion that honestly holds no water before God. When I say “I believe” it means that I believe it to be true and have a fair amount of Biblical evidence to back it up. When I say “Scripture says” then that is the position that whether I like it or not this is the clear teaching in the Word of God.

The purpose of a pastor-teacher as stated in Ephesians 4 is to equip the body and build the body, until we attain to the unity of the faith (that which we believe) and the knowledge of the Son of God…..that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by every wind and wave of doctrine. 2 Tim. 4:1-5 is the commission to pastor-teachers. The books of 1 and 2nd Timothy, Titus, 1 John, and Peter all have a lot to say about staying true to the Word and warnings against false teaching.

I have witnessed the effects of duel doctrines being taught in the same body multiple times. It leads to a congregation that is divided and confused. I have witnessed the stagnation in the lives of those that get caught between two doctrines. It is not my desire to let that happen in this body, and in fact it is my responsibility as a pastor-teacher to address doctrinal divisions and protect the flock whether that flock be my family, this church, those at X4, or whoever God decides to call me to lead and feed His sheep.

- Eve was inattentive to the Word of God in the garden and it was detrimental to her and Adam (and us).

- Satan took scripture out of context to tempt Christ … Christ used the Word correctly and overcame the temptation.