General Articles

Biblical Pattern for Pastoral Ministry: Part 6 :: By Dr. Donald Whitchard

Published on: by RR7

1 Timothy 3:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:1-4: “How to Seek a Shepherd”

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the house of God?), not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those that are outside lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:1-8, NKJV).

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:1-4, NKJV).

Over the years, I have looked at the classified advertisements in our state denominational newspaper as well as other sources that present opportunities for pastoral ministry in the local churches. Here is my take on what the average church is looking for in a pastor:

Someone 30-39 years old or older, or no age preference listed.

Someone who has had 5-10 years of experience, or a recent seminary graduate

Someone with a family

Someone who adheres to the denominational statement of faith or confession based on Scripture

Someone with an advanced degree, such as a doctorate

Someone who can assume the responsibility of a “Chief Executive Officer,” so to speak

Someone who will give direction and vision to the church

Someone who has never been divorced (even if they weren’t saved when it happened)

Someone who is good with youth, senior adults, children (name your age group)

Someone trained in pastoral care and counseling

Constant availability at all hours

A mature prayer warrior

A comforter of the sick and afflicted (can’t have one without the other)

A seasoned preacher, teacher, scholar, listener who will keep office hours and set aside time for committees, visitation, special events, crises, marital conflicts, hospital visits, attend denominational meetings when scheduled, keep records of personnel… the list can go on.

No wonder that the average Southern Baptist pastoral tenure is less than three years and an estimated 1,500 pastors leave the ministry each month, according to past trends and facts. Many pastors feel overworked, underappreciated, the subject of gossip and attack, failures in their roles as fathers and husbands, and subject to bouts of depression, often with no close friends or contacts with whom they can confide. Some turn to pornography, affairs, substance abuse, or have compete emotional breakdowns altogether. Many pastors suffer divorce, and some have abandoned the faith in these last days. It is said that only 5% of all seminary graduates are in the gospel ministry after five years or longer.

With facts like these, why do men go into the Christian ministry at all? As someone who answered that call years ago, I can say that it definitely was not a random career choice on my part. I had to serve the LORD, and it has cost me in many ways; but I do not regret the course or direction in which He placed me, although I had ideas of my own on how to do the LORD’S work, which He politely ignored and used me in spite of my good intentions. I’ve been a pastor, a chaplain, and a teacher over the past thirty-plus years, and now He has seen fit to put me in a place of instruction and comfort as a writer of Bible studies such as these study guides and aids for DVD Bible prophecy courses, and the maintaining of a personal website dedicated to exposition of the Scriptures.

As of now (and things could change), my days of active public ministry are at a conclusion due to fluctuating health concerns, but my service to Him continues, just in a new area where I can reach those who probably wouldn’t darken the door of a church. I feel that internet outreach and evangelism will continue to broaden and be used by the Lord Jesus as a tool to spread the Gospel where I couldn’t or wouldn’t be allowed to do in a public manner. God opens doors that we thought never existed. Glory be to His name.

Let’s now focus on what the apostle Paul is presenting to Timothy as far as pastoral qualifications go, as defined by the Word of God. Paul operated in the offices of teacher, preacher, pastor, and missionary as he spread the message of Jesus Christ across the realms of the Roman Empire. His adventures, experiences, and character molded him into the ideal mentor for Timothy and served as the example of what he wrote to him concerning this sacred and revered office, ultimately founded on the model and life of the Lord Jesus Christ. In these eight verses, Paul listed the essential requirements for anyone called in to the gospel ministry:

The pastor must be blameless. He should have no vices or habits that make him suspect to his flock.

He should have only one wife. This was an admonition against polygamy, which was a part of Roman culture. Divorce doesn’t sit well with any potential congregation.

He should be someone who doesn’t get emotionally unraveled and needs to maintain a serious attitude about his office and responsibility. There is no excuse for flippancy or immature attitude towards things that don’t go one’s way.

He needs to be on constant good behavior, and be a good example to everyone.

He needs to be hospitable. He should welcome his flock into his home when needed. His office should be a place where people feel welcome. However, he needs to be firm in informing them that he has to have set hours for study and solitude with God, with few exceptions for disturbance. Many pastors have their studies at home for this reason.

He is to be a teacher, having the ability and observable gift to explain the doctrines of the faith and Scripture to both new believer and seasoned saint. He should be teachable as well, studying the great works of godly Biblical scholars and the advice of the mature believer whose life and example is noteworthy.

He is to be sober and clear-minded.

He should never resort to violence in word and deed, but control his temper.

He should never be in the ministry for material gain and personal wealth.

He needs to have a gentle attitude towards the flock.

He should not want to pick verbal arguments with other people, especially minor matters of conviction and belief that don’t violate or compromise the whole of Scripture.

God FIRST, then the welfare and devotion to your family is of utmost importance. Everything else can wait or be rescheduled, if possible. You may have several pastorates, but only one family. Keep that in perspective.

The prime responsibility of any pastor towards his people is to feed them the Word of God without apology or restriction. If it gets them mad, it needed to be preached in the first place. He is also to protect his flock from all questionable and contrary teaching, no matter the source or person. He is to not be afraid to call out false teachers and personalities who do not line up with the standards of Scripture, no matter how popular or powerful they are. He is to rebuke anyone or any teaching that conflicts with the Word and to scrutinize anyone who speaks to his people. Their spiritual well-being is at stake.

All of this is to be approached with prayer, much study, and a firm reliance on the written Word. It might not win the serious man of God any celebrity points or wide favor, but the Lord Jesus Christ knows who His true Shepherds are, and will reward them, and all who serve Him accordingly (1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Matthew 25:23, 34; Mark 9:41).

Shepherds, hang tight. God’s got this.

drwhitchard@aol.com

www.donaldwhitchard.com

 

 

Coming Economic Crash :: By Terry James

Published on: by RR7

The state of the economic condition of America and the world is often the subject of conversation in and around my office environs. One of our financial “experts,” whose name you would recognize, consistently voices our collective amazement. The comment goes something like: “The economy being in this building bubble for so long, without a massive correction, is unprecedented.”

We all agree that is true, and that the fact has to go far beyond the natural world of fiscal reality. The economy is propped up, we conjecture, held up by supernatural rather than natural forces.

By this, we who are in our ”conflab” sessions (yes, I know the word is confab, not conflab) mean we believe the holdup of the crash that is inevitable, according to all that is part of reality, has some heavenly determined purpose.

Again, I wrote of this as far back as 2010. I wrote that I was convinced–and remain so—that neither the United States nor the world would experience a crash of catastrophic dimension, at least not during this dispensation—the dispensation of grace (Church Age).

Those who emailed during 2010–2011 expressed that some in secular media as well as high-profile prophecy teachers were predicting any-day financial collapse. We would one morning awaken to a world like in that of the Dark Ages, economically speaking, the emailers feared.

My series at the time, “Scanning a Fearful Future,” involved ten articles on Rapture Ready that painted a different picture. I believe I was impressed by the Holy Spirit that such a collapse was not going to occur—at least not at that time.

I’m still impressed that such a dire situation is not in the offing—not yet, at least.

A recent opinion piece shed some light on the matters I believe are involved in consideration of the economy and biblical perspective. The article sets the stage for prophetic eventuality.

Financial writer and book author John Rubino sees the world careening toward a debt reset at an increasing pace.

Rubino explains, “The coming monetary reset and what that means for gold and what that means for the rest of the global financial system, you don’t need a war to bring that about because we are making enough financial mistakes that will get us there in no time flat now without geopolitical turmoil….”

“If you add a big war in the Middle East into the equation, then anything can happen. A scenario right now that is very, very feasible is we start shooting in the Middle East and Russia and China is on the other side of this in one way or another. They help Iran, and we have our allies helping us, and we start using these next generation weapons that are breathtakingly powerful. Nobody has any idea what’s going to happen when we start throwing these things at each other…. Oil spikes to $100—$150 per barrel, and that tips the already extremely fragile global financial system over the edge. So, we get the ‘Greater Depression’ or the monetary reset or a hyperinflation or whatever we get sooner rather than later. It’s a disaster for everybody when it happens that way.” (Tyler Durden, “The End Stage Has Begun,” Rubino Warns “We’re Past The Point Of No Return” Zero Hedge, Rapture Ready News, January 10, 2020)

The writer is correct. Such a scenario—or scenarios—would, it seems, bring American and world economies into an era that would likely eclipse, in disastrous ramifications, the Great Depression of the 1930s.

World debt is at an astronomical high—one absolutely unfathomable back in 2010–-2011, when I wrote ”Scanning a Fearful Future.” The tremendous fiscal gravity should have long ago brought the great adjustment the writer claims as necessary and inevitable.

In that series, I explained why I believe that crash, that great “reset,” won’t happen during this dispensation. For America and the world to experience a total economic collapse—or even a collapse of tremendous, if not catastrophic, proportion—would mean the world situation would take years, if not decades, to recover. That is, the world would not be anything like Jesus, Himself, prophesied for the time of His next catastrophic intervention into the affairs of fallen mankind.

The Lord said that when He next intervenes, there would be buying, selling, marrying, giving in marriage, building, and planting—i.e., business would be going along just fine, like in the days of Lot, when Sodom was perking right along when the fire and brimstone began to fall.

As a matter of fact, I am convinced the Lord was prophesying that a great, economic boom will be in place when He next intervenes. A great, economic boom is what the economic experts are telling us we are having at present. The Dow Jones Industrials went over 29,000 points on Friday, January 10—something not thought anywhere near likely before the Trump presidency.

Jesus, in giving the “days of Lot” prophecy, wasn’t talking about the time of His Second Advent as given in Revelation 19:11. At that time, two-thirds to three-fourths of mankind will have been killed through the twenty-one specific judgments of God’s wrath upon a rebellious world. It will not be business as usual at that terrible time in human history

“So what!?” you say. “So what if the world collapses, then takes all that time to recover? The Rapture could be that far off in the future.”

That, of course, is possible. We can’t name the timing of that blessed hope’s intervention. But, we are told to determine the times and seasons—the general time frame of that great event. We are told to “look up and lift our heads” when we “see all these things begin to come to pass.”

What things? What are we to be looking for that will tip us off as to the nearness to “our redemption drawing near”?

“Convergence” is the word we hear most often in prophetic terms. At least, it is the term we who are of the pre-Trib view of the Rapture use. It means the coming together of all the signs Jesus and the prophets gave in the Olivet Discourse and throughout God’s Word, signals that indicate we’re at the very end of this dispensation and near the beginning of the Tribulation, the last seven years of human history before Christ’s Second Coming. We are seeing these many signals proliferating on a daily basis!

Jesus forewarned that judgment would begin falling the very day He is next revealed. That will be when the whole world will know something of unprecedented, world-shaking import has occurred. That will be the moment when Jesus will say “Come up here!”

All believers will vanish from this judgment-bound planet and appear with their Lord and Bridegroom.

The collapse is coming. But first, I believe, so will the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.