The Rock Almighty. THE CHURCH OF GOD OR CHURCH OF MAN

 

• Author James Rondinone

PART 2 THE CHURCH OF GOD OR CHURCH OF MAN

WHAT’S THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT WE SHOULD INITIALLY BE LOOKING FOR WHEN SEARCHING FOR A PASTOR?             

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

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My name is James Rondinone.

I grew up in Massachusetts and began my own spiritual journey early on in life.

I attended Bible college, having completed a two-year Christian Leadership course of study, and graduated as valedictorian (summa cum laude).

I’ve written and published a number of spiritual books on various biblical topics.

These books can be found online.

Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2RB0Y7D Website: https://makingtheonerightchoice.com

The Rock Almighty Sunday Sermon: How To Overcome Crisis: Dr. Myles Munroe's Guide On Success & 2 Sides - A Memior

 

2 Sides - A Memior

• Author Heather Pagel

The pandemic created a world we were unprepared to live in. Sudden out of nowhere changes, then more change, and just when you felt safe enough to leave your home, more change was forced upon society, with the expectation that life would continue as it once was. How could we live in an unknown world with so much confusion, anger, and fear? The pandemic had created a different world, and some of us (i.e., me) didn’t know how to navigate it!

As a somewhat professional adult who has studied for 8 years within the Psychological field, I had to dig DEEP to find the necessary tools to help myself and my family through the lockdowns. I’m not talking about some of the harmful coping mechanisms that were evident in my family (drinking, smoking, sleeping too much, etc.); I’m referring to the healthy coping tools that families should utilize, like communication, adaptability, and the ability to manage and work with their emotions. I realize some adults didn’t have any “Tools in the Toolbox” to help them cope and persevere through the pandemic, so my family and I were lucky. We depended on each other, got annoyed with each other, shared our fears, and became a more robust family unit.

The lack of “tool” capacity hurt so many families during the pandemic that it isn’t even funny. Many children suffered just getting their basic needs met during the lockdowns and entered a world of neglect and abuse, or that abuse became worse. I live in a town with 26 000 people. I can’t imagine what the pandemic created in cities like Chicago or Las Vegas. Yes, in every town, there are two sides - one is the good side, and the other side is bad. If you are lucky enough to live and prosper on the good side and have escaped knowing about the bad, kudos!

During the pandemic, in my small world, I saw both sides. We hung hearts on our windows, put teddy bears in other windows, participated in a Wine Me group that dropped off goodies to strangers’ homes, and then heard literal cries of children who didn’t want to be hurt any further. The bad and the good, the pretty and the ugly, the miracles and the pain. Holding my family up while watching other families disintegrate was very difficult and depressing. Zoom, Teams, Facetime, Facebook Messenger, 1001 different learning platforms for schools, and texting on cell phones became the norm. The mandatory pandemic separations obliterated the in-person human connection.

The Good

Prioritizing crisis situations was continual during the pandemic. Schools shutting down was a complete shock to us all. Really? We said! Now What? Those of us who were the helpers, as Mr. Rogers would say, were trying to help an alarming number of people in more complicated situations than any of us had seen. During our St. Patrick’s Day celebration, I and around 20 or so residents in Watertown decided we needed to do something to help feed these kids who were just told to stay home and not return to school. We relied on the help of the nonprofit I run, 4 the Kids SD, and other notable businesses and employees. We collected a massive amount of donated food to distribute to needy families. We received the food, unloaded it, packed food boxes and bags, carried it to our distribution point, and distributed the food from their store parking lot. What a unique, humbling event.

Following this event, a larger entity was born. This was an organized collaboration of around 15 or so Nonprofit organizations, churches, and businesses in Watertown who wanted to continue with food distributions because the need was so great in our community. This began months of weekly food distributions and a food drive to help those in need. How amazing it was to be a part of something like this! This is part of that good side of the town I referred to earlier.

After those specific food distributions were completed, I was involved in further weekly food distributions out of a church parking lot. Numerous organizations and nonprofits gathered for these 6 weeks to ensure those suffering through the pandemic had enough food to eat. I was in charge of rounding up the volunteers and directing traffic. It takes a lot of people to pull off a successful food distribution! I talked with a woman during an evening distribution, and she told me she was 72 years old and had driven 45 miles to get a food box. Everyone was affected by the pandemic, but we had the tools needed to be the helpers!

The Bad

I usually have many irons on the fire at any given time, so besides feeding our families during a pandemic, I was also a volunteer caseworker. I am no longer a caseworker and wanted to mention that before sharing some complex stories. The pandemic tied the hands of the family courts, child protection, and anything related to family law. Children were abused and neglected, and we failed them as a society. I’m not blaming one entity, as it was a pandemic that we had to maneuver through, but the ball was dropped many times, and it was the children who suffered.

In-person visits halted during the pandemic. Zoom court hearings were held. Phone calls and video chats were used to ensure that children were cared for appropriately. Can you see the problem here? We felt helpless because what we could do now was limited, and the rules changed daily. I could no longer enter the homes, but I was dropping off food, toys, video chatting, and anything and everything I could do within the pandemic rules.

I remember trying to help a child get set up on one of the 4 different elementary school platforms their teachers were using to try to pull a rabbit out of a hat in hopes that at least one student caught the lesson (Bless their hearts!). I could not sit next to the child, so I was Zooming with the family and trying to help the parent understand how to log in as well as the student. I was failing miserably, as most of us were. So here sits a disadvantaged family, wrought with stress, unable to cope, with no tools in the toolbox, and ultimately relying on the helpers to know what to do, and we didn’t.

What I Learned

We fail our children. It is as simple as that. We failed them before the pandemic, more during it, and still, fail them. We will talk for 2 hours, flipping through a PowerPoint to convince us we are not failing them, but we still are. What am I basing this on since I’m no longer volunteering in the system? Look up the County jail roster; it’s the ones who are not listed that we need to pay attention to. I have stepped away from the rat race that was found to save my own soul from a complete breakdown.

Dare I say …that during the pandemic, those tiny, kind gestures are missed in our world right now. I would never want to go back and watch some of the families’ pain, but I miss how my family embraced the chaos. The closeness of a mandatory separation found within the helpers is missed. We have no reason to all work together without a requirement, it will probably never be seen again. I miss those whom I became extremely close to as I watch those friendships fade, and what I wouldn’t give to know is that it would take more work from me to keep those friendships afloat; after the end of the pandemic forced separation.

I am a mother of 2 amazing children, a Psychology Professor, a former CASA and Caseworker in the state of South Dakota.

Sunday Devotional: I Can See Clearly Now!

 

Gaining Better Vision

If you want to see clearly, ask God to help you see from His perspective. 

From Intouch Ministries

April 28, 2024

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Matthew 7:1-8

You may have seen videos on the internet of babies receiving their first pair of glasses. They fuss and fight a little as the frames are being put on, but almost instantly, they stop and stare. Things that were previously blobs of color suddenly have defined shapes. Their parents’ faces, once fuzzy, become clear. Their smiles tell you everything you need to know about the gift of vision.

In a similar way, clear spiritual sight is vital for believers, and it involves learning to see as the Lord sees. This requires a shift in our perspective, and today’s passage provides a practical blueprint for learning to discern with the eyes of Christ: “Do not judge” (v. 1). True understanding begins with an awareness of our sins so we can “take the log out” (v. 5) from our own eye and see ourselves and others for what we truly are—forgiven and beloved daughters and sons.

1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that God doesn’t see as man does. Seeing with the eyes of Christ means searching beyond surface appearances and asking the Spirit to help us look more deeply into the heart of things. Jesus truly saw people—He recognized their brokenness and compassionately sought their good. May we be willing to do the same. Learning to view others as God does is the joyous labor of a lifetime, and the rewards for doing so are great.

Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 18-20