Men only for pastor - and.....

[Salty]

Found this while surfing.............

13. We believe that the Bible teaches that the following officers of the church should be held by men only:
A. Pastor
B. Deacons
C. Treasurer
D. Trustees

Do you agree that only men should be Treasurer and Trustees?

Open for discussion

 

[Reynolds]

Found this while surfing.............

13. We believe that the Bible teaches that the following officers of the church should be held by men only:
A. Pastor
B. Deacons
C. Treasurer
D. Trustees

Do you agree that only men should be Treasurer and Trustees?

Open for discussion

I don't know what a trustee is in a Baptist church. I grew up in very fundamental SBC church. We always had a woman treasurer. I never thought anything wrong with it. She just wrote checks and kept books. Deacons authorized spending.

 

[Salty]

A trustee acts as the legal body of the church - there are usually a group of 3, 6 or 9. Then are the ones who sign contracts and other legal documents.

 

[Reynolds]

A trustee acts as the legal body of the church - there are usually a group of 3, 6 or 9. Then are the ones who sign contracts and other legal documents.

I would consider them deacons and that role reserved for a male.

 

[Salty]

I would consider them deacons and that role reserved for a male.

But Scripture does NOT include those duties of a deacon.--

 

[Reynolds]

But Scripture does NOT include those duties of a deacon.--

Explicitly, no, it did not include them. The thread runs consistent through new testament that women in church do not have authority over men. Giving a job of trustee or administrator to a woman would give that authority.

 

[Salty]

Explicitly, no, it did not include them. The thread runs consistent through new testament that women in church do not have authority over men. Giving a job of trustee or administrator to a woman would give that authority.

I do not see a trustee as holding authority over men. If anything - the trustee is under authority.

 

[Salty]

I started a new thread - to expand this discussion

 

[rlvaughn]

13. We believe that the Bible teaches that the following officers of the church should be held by men only:
A. Pastor
B. Deacons
C. Treasurer
D. Trustees

Do you agree that only men should be Treasurer and Trustees?

I think ideally the church treasurer should be one of the deacons, who would, of course, be male. That is consistent with the service given in Acts 6. Nevertheless, treasurer has never been a "position of authority" in any church I've been connected with, and if it is just a matter of keeping books I suppose a woman would not be disqualified if there is no deacon qualified to do so.

What is the job and position of trustees? We don't have any of those, and no other church I've been in has had any.

 

[Salty]

I think ideally the church treasurer should be one of the deacons, who would, of course, be male. That is consistent with the service given in Acts 6. Nevertheless, treasurer has never been a "position of authority" in any church I've been connected with, and if it is just a matter of keeping books I suppose a woman would not be disqualified if there is no deacon qualified to do so.

What is the job and position of trustees? We don't have any of those, and no other church I've been in has had any.

Under New York State Law - an Incorpated church must have trustees:
Here is a statment from a NY State Baptist church - that sums it up:
Trustees are officers elected by the church, individuals are elected for three year terms. Union Baptist Church is incorporated under the laws of the State of New York and therefore is required to hold an annual corporate meeting for the purpose of sharing an audit report that is conducted by a Certified Public Accountant and to hold an election of officers. The chair person of the Trustees Ministry, consistent with New York State law, is the President of the Union Baptist Church Corporation. The Trustees take care of the financial and physical property of the church.

The church I pastor - is not yet incorporated - thus currently we do not have trustees.
As I stated before - The Trustees are responsible for signing any legal documents - on behalf of the church.

Some will say a church should not be incorporated. The advantage is that currently - since our church is not inc, as pastor, I can be held financially responsible for any lawsuit. Upon INC - the church legally becomes a person - and than any lawsuit would be against the church.

 

[Salty]

I think ideally the church treasurer should be one of the deacons, who would, of course, be male ....

The purpose of deacons is to take care of the physical needs of the congregation.

IMHO - being a treasurer, clerk, trustee, does not come under that description.

 

[rlvaughn]

Under New York State Law - an Incorporated church must have trustees...

Thanks. Not sure what Texas law states, but have never been in an incorporated church, so had no reason to find out.

The purpose of deacons is to take care of the physical needs of the congregation.

IMHO - being a treasurer, clerk, trustee, does not come under that description.

No, not specifically, but since in our day caring for the physical needs of the congregation (including benevolence, helping widows, etc.) often includes using the checkbook, I think it is a good fit. The only biblical example of the role of treasurer that I am aware of was filled by an apostle (and not a good one, at that).

 

[Reynolds]

Under New York State Law - an Incorpated church must have trustees:
Here is a statment from a NY State Baptist church - that sums it up:
Trustees are officers elected by the church, individuals are elected for three year terms. Union Baptist Church is incorporated under the laws of the State of New York and therefore is required to hold an annual corporate meeting for the purpose of sharing an audit report that is conducted by a Certified Public Accountant and to hold an election of officers. The chair person of the Trustees Ministry, consistent with New York State law, is the President of the Union Baptist Church Corporation. The Trustees take care of the financial and physical property of the church.

The church I pastor - is not yet incorporated - thus currently we do not have trustees.
As I stated before - The Trustees are responsible for signing any legal documents - on behalf of the church.

Some will say a church should not be incorporated. The advantage is that currently - since our church is not inc, as pastor, I can be held financially responsible for any lawsuit. Upon INC - the church legally becomes a person - and than any lawsuit would be against the church.

We are required by the State of Georgia to have corporation directors. Our bylaws state that our deacon board is our board of directors.

 

[Steven Yeadon]

I believe that the Word of God on women holding authority over men is clear (1 Timothy 2:12). While the part of this verse that talks of women teaching men must be in interpreted in life of other verses, no where in the bible do we see a woman wielding actual authority over a man in the church, as far as I know. As such I would not want a woman trustee, a position I agree is good for a deacon. Neither would I want a woman "anything" that would allow her to direct the affairs of men in the church. I would even include youth minister as a male only role given it has authority over young men.

 

[Steven Yeadon]

I should say, we do not see a woman holding authority in the church over a man in the bible. The Old Testament does show women wielding prophetic and temporal authority such as Deborah and Huldah. There are women who are prophets in the new testament in Philip's daughters. However, never do we see a woman wielding controlling authority over men in the church in any of the New Testament.

 

[Baptist Believer]

However, never do we see a woman wielding controlling authority over men in the church in any of the New Testament.

What does "controlling authority" mean, and where do we see anyone exercising it in the New Testament?

 

[Steven Yeadon]

What does "controlling authority" mean, and where do we see anyone exercising it in the New Testament?

Great point. I will need to do a quick study on what the Word of God means in this case sometime tomorrow or a little later. The crux is what God means in the use of the word authority.

 

[Revmitchell]

A trustee should be a trustee

A treasurer should be a treasurer

A Deacon should be a Deacon

None of those roles should be mixed.

Deacons are not administrators of the church. That is a dangerous place to put them.

 

[Reynolds]

What does "controlling authority" mean, and where do we see anyone exercising it in the New Testament?

Whatever you define

A trustee should be a trustee

A treasurer should be a treasurer

A Deacon should be a Deacon

None of those roles should be mixed.

Deacons are not administrators of the church. That is a dangerous place to put them.

Why?

 

[Revmitchell]

Deacons are not administrators of churches. They are servants directly to the people to see to the physical needs. Saying that does not leave room to place them in every physical role in the church. Deacons are not decisions makers they are pastoral support. Nothing more.