We’re going to begin by looking at Scriptures that are from the book
of Acts, the Epistles, and the book of Revelation that will assist us in
unveiling the qualifications, duties, and what the teaching content of
the messages of a pastor-teacher should be comprised of. You might ask,
why aren’t you not using the Old Testament and the four Gospels
Scriptures? This is simply because the revelation about the specifics of
the leadership of the New Testament church wasn’t unveiled in any of
those books.
I think we’d agree that most of the Old Testament Scriptures pertain
to the theocratic nation of Israel that operated under obedience to the
God-given institution of the Mosaic Law and its prescribed priesthood.
While the four Gospels do unveil in a limited way Scriptures that talk
about a new kingdom that was forthcoming, a power source that would
reside within by means of the indwelling of one of the members of the
Trinity, and a new attitude that focuses on the renewal of the thoughts
of an individual, however, the specific office of pastor wasn’t
mentioned until the revelation of such was disclosed to some of the
apostles and disciples, proclaimed by them, and recorded in the writings
of the New Testament canon. So, sit back, read, and enjoy what is about
to be presented.
By the way, there’s one more important thing to be aware of. This
study is going to present a lot of information about the office of a
pastor. If you try to use all of it at one time as an aide in either
assisting you in finding a pastor or in critiquing the pastor of the
church that you’re currently attending or have yet to attend, you’ll
probably become overwhelmed. So, what I recommend is to try and pick out
just a few ideas from each chapter and use these to make a
determination as to whether those in leadership pass what I’ll call the
Bible rating.
Where should we begin?
Let’s start by looking at what I consider the number one thing that should be clearly evident to us when searching for a pastor.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God.
From this verse, we can deduce this question.
Is the pastor born-again? Another way of asking this is, has the pastor received the indwelling Holy Spirit?
This is by far the most important qualification of a pastor. In other
words, was there an acknowledgment at a point of time when the pastor
acknowledged themselves as a sinner to God the Father along with
expressing a desire to turn from them and make a profession of belief in
Jesus Christ, the Messiah/Savior, as to who He is and what He has
accomplished? This is otherwise known as responding to the gospel of
Christ.
What should this gospel convey to a listener?
The gospel of Christ is the good news that Jesus Christ, the God-man,
who as one of the members of the Trinity, pre-existed time, left
heaven, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life obeying the
directives of another member of the Trinity, this being God the Father,
died on a cross paying the debt for the sins of all mankind along with
providing forgiveness for them thus satisfying the justice of God, rose
again after three days never to die again, was witnessed on earth by
over five hundred people in His glorified body, and ascended into
heaven. Belief in this Jesus is one of the conditions for a person
receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit. If a person has received the Holy
Spirit, then they’re born again (born anew).
The other condition is repenting of one’s sins.
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
The word repent means to change one’s views, designs, and practices
or to turn from one’s evil ways to God the Father, which precedes belief
in His Son. When an unbeliever repents and believes, they’ll receive
into their life (body) the person of the Holy Spirit.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for
you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief
of the truth:
This verse supports the conjecture that it’s the belief of the truth
(belief of the gospel of Christ, which includes repentance) that causes
an unbeliever to receive and thus be sanctified by the Spirit. This begs
the question.
How do you know if the pastor is born-again or born anew of the Spirit?
Just ask. Pastor, would you mind answering this question? Are you
born-again? If the response was, I repented of my sins to God the Father
and believed in His Son; God come in the flesh, deity (possesses the
divine attributes of sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal
life, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability, and
veracity), then Hallelujah.
If the response was, I hope I’m going to heaven because:
I believe in the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I was sprinkled with water as a baby or immersed in water as an adult.
I obey the tenets of the faith that I’m a member of.
There are many avenues for someone to get to heaven.
Then it should become obvious that this leader hasn’t received the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever taken a test in school where you’re asked to answer
many questions, but there’s one that has to be responded to in essay
form that’s worth the majority of the points? Well, this is that one.
Have you ever been given a box of chocolates, and when you opened the
cover, each one had a slightly different appearance along with a unique
ingredient inside that you couldn’t see? And you were afraid of picking
the wrong one?
My favorite candy filling is soft caramel. I can think of a number of
occasions at Christmas when I hoped that the sweet which I decided to
choose was exactly what I wanted. And when it wasn’t, I couldn’t just
spit it out in front of everyone. I’d quietly get up and go to the
bathroom, discharge it out into the toilet, and flush it.
Finding the right pastor is kind of like this. There’s many of them
that look good on the outside. They dress well. They speak well. They’re
kind. But do they really have the key ingredient that we just talked
about.
We’re off to a great start! In the next chapter, we’ll attempt to
answer this question. Who calls and qualifies a born-again believer to
the leadership office of pastor-teacher? But before we go there, I’ve
got an article for you to read about how important it is to choose the
right pastor as it would be in choosing the right kind of candy. Maybe
this is an over-reach, but I think you’ll enjoy this.
This story mentions a movie that was called Forest Gump. I don’t know
if you’ve ever heard of it or seen it? I did. In the movie, the main
character, Forest, says “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never
know what you’re going to get.”
HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT CHOCOLATE FROM THE GIFT BOX IN THE [BREAK ROOM]
Forrest Gump was wrong. [There’s] a way to know what you’re going to get in a box of chocolates — mostly.
[December] 13, 2016
This time of year, at least in the US, the gift packages and treats
come flying in (sometimes literally) from vendors and customers. People
are saying “thank you” or “hey, how about sending some more business our
way” — and they’re doing it the international language of business:
food.
The most commonly used phrase in this language is the classic
assorted box of chocolates. Sure, it’s a nice gesture. Most people enjoy
chocolate candies. They don’t need to be cut, chilled, prepared, and
[they’re] less likely to cause [guilt] due to their diminutive size.
But the box of chocolates comes with baggage — the anxiety of the
unknown. We’ve all been there. You mosey on into the [break room] and
see a surprise box of chocolates. You’re not an animal, so you’re going
to indulge. But you can’t stand the thought of biting into the raspberry
creme one, or worse, the monstrosity [that’s] the cherry cordial. You
so badly want the chocolate or vanilla buttercream, the nougat, or the
caramel one. But the thought of biting into the chocolate with the
orange creme sends you into a bout of existential vertigo.
Fear not, friends, [I’ve] stumbled upon a very simple rule to help
[you] navigate through the box of [chocolates]. If the candy is square
and tall, [you’re] safe — it’s bound to be a [non-fruit-filled] candy.
If it’s round, it will tend to be fruit [crème-filled]. Try it at your
own risk.
Now, some boxes of chocolates come with guides — a printed paper that
shows how the treats are laid out in the box, with their shapes, and
tells you what’s in them. This is great, and if you encounter a box with
a guide, you can safely dive in. But [it’s] not the common practice.
The square/circle rule can help you to pick what you’re looking for in
the absence of a guide.
I’m here to help, and I hope this principle has helped you. Let me know how it works for you this holiday season.2
Likewise, I’m here to help you in finding the right pastor to
co-labor with. You’ll find something in the final section of this book
that will provide you with the right spiritual ingredients so that
you’ll know what to look for.
Website: http://bit.ly/1RQnYJ8
Endnotes
2Mike Sturm. “HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT CHOCOLATE FROM THE GIFT BOX IN THE [BREAK ROOM],” 7 January 2021
.