Would It Be Worth My Time?

Dear brother,
Pray for God to lead you in such a decision. In my experience you will not just have difficulty getting a Senior Pastor job, but any full-time Christian job. I know of a music minister who is divorced and he has had an extremely difficult time (bi-vocationally). Remember that Scripture holds the "one-woman man" standard not only for Elders, but also for Deacons...in other words, this was an important principle for any position of leadership within the church. I will be interested in the advice others provide.

 

We will be praying for you.

What are you doing now in serving the Lord? Are you active in your local church? Serve God where you are trusting Him to widen your depth of ministry.

It would also depend on why your wife divorced you. Your local church might understand best so serve Him there.

 

First off, would Andersonville or Covington or one of those admit you with a divorce?

Second, I would imagine you're going to have a hard time in an IFB situation having had a divorce, regardless of the circumstances. As someone who used to be IFB and still have many friends in the movement, you'd be dead in the water. (don't get me started.....)

I simply don't know enough to counsel you. How long were you married? How long did you try to reconcile? What counseling did you go through? Was church discipline involved? If you and your pastor and home church can walk through this together, then and only then should you seek out a paid staff type ministry. Here the ordination of your home body would be paramount. Perhaps their "theology" won't let them. Who knows.

Your instincts ask a good question. I wouldn't want to spin my wheels either. Yet, no matter what, you owe it to the Lord to get the best preparation you can get, no matter what. If you can afford it, if you can do a good RE program, I'd do it. But first, see what ministry avenues are available to you realistically. More opportunities are available for chaplains and counselors who have been divorced than for pastors/elders or evangelists.

Will your pastor let you be mentored? Can you assist him and get your feet wet? Will your home church allow this? That will say a lot.

 

First of all, is God calling you... Answer THAT question, and all else will fall into place.

IF God is calling you, then don't let anyone stop you.

IF God is not calling you, then don't pursue it.

Get into a good church, and let God show you...

 

I would piggyback Tom's post by inquiring as to why you feel that you are called into the ministry even though you are not currently serving in Christ's church? What evidence do you have of a call?

 

Find a church and serve God there. If you're not serving God where you are, you won't serve Him because you go to an online seminary.

 

A ton of issues here that must be handled first...

-get in a church: get settled and involved. I'm not sure a PCUSA is going to get you where you need to go. Theologically, think "polar opposite of a strict IFB." Bouncing around from denom to denom doesn't make you a viable candidate for minsitry positions.
-begin to work on finances. I'm not a fan of going into debt for seminary expenses. You dig a hole it's hard to crawl out of. Save up.
-meet with a pastor and get some good counseling. You've got a ton to work through.

 

Yeah I'll echo the get into a church thing.

You need to go and find a strong, Bible believing church to be part of. Get plugged in and start fellowshipping with other Christians.

Then, after some time, see if you can start teaching a small group or something lower key. After that see if others begin affirming your calling.

Get some good accountability structures in place. Make sure you're giving well. Get your family squared away.

Often we know we are called when others affirm that we are called.

While divorce isn't an automatic disqualifier, from what you have shared I would be hestitant to recommend you for that process right now. Get some space between you and your former wife and begin doing the things of God. I usually say there needs to be about five years or more between a divorce and entrance to vocational ministry for a man called by God. If you are really called than God has something for you. But He does not call people into something when they have other things to mend first.

There is some great advice in this thread from others.