...... Man Ever Hold Any Kind Of Pastoral Position In A Baptist Church?
In the thread on Charles Stanley, it was brought up whether or not it is biblical for a single man (i.e., a man who is not married) can ever possibly hold any kind of pastoral position at all in a Baptist church.
Contrary to what I've heard some Baptists tell me, I believe that it's possible for a single man to hold some kind of pastoral position in a local church.
Here's why:
1) The very one who founded true Baptist churches--the Lord Jesus Christ--was a single person while He lived here on earth and founded what I designate as a true Baptist church.
It seems to me that if the very Founder of true NT Baptist churches was single when He founded them, why do some folks advocate that--at least in their way of reasoning--it borders on some kind of sin for a single person to hold some kind of pastoral position in a local Baptist church?
2) What about Timothy? In 1 Timothy 4:12-14, the Apostle Paul clearly indicates that his "son in the faith" [1 Tim. 1:2] was ordained as a pastor of the church in Ephesus (the recipient of a letter by the Apostle Paul and by the Apostle John [via the angel who held the lampstand of each church described in Rev. 1-3]).
If both the Apostle Paul and "the angel" considered the church at Ephesus to be a true NT church that possessed the authority to ordain the single man Timothy as pastor, it would appear that, by extension, the Lord Jesus Christ did too because, while that local church did have some problems, one of them was not the marital status of her pastor--the single man Timothy.
Then there's the Apostle Paul himself. While some scholars seem to believe that Paul was married, there's really no clear-cut NT statement that comes right out and tells us whether or not He was married.
If he was married at the tim
In the thread on Charles Stanley, it was brought up whether or not it is biblical for a single man (i.e., a man who is not married) can ever possibly hold any kind of pastoral position at all in a Baptist church.
Contrary to what I've heard some Baptists tell me, I believe that it's possible for a single man to hold some kind of pastoral position in a local church.
Here's why:
1) The very one who founded true Baptist churches--the Lord Jesus Christ--was a single person while He lived here on earth and founded what I designate as a true Baptist church.
It seems to me that if the very Founder of true NT Baptist churches was single when He founded them, why do some folks advocate that--at least in their way of reasoning--it borders on some kind of sin for a single person to hold some kind of pastoral position in a local Baptist church?
2) What about Timothy? In 1 Timothy 4:12-14, the Apostle Paul clearly indicates that his "son in the faith" [1 Tim. 1:2] was ordained as a pastor of the church in Ephesus (the recipient of a letter by the Apostle Paul and by the Apostle John [via the angel who held the lampstand of each church described in Rev. 1-3]).
If both the Apostle Paul and "the angel" considered the church at Ephesus to be a true NT church that possessed the authority to ordain the single man Timothy as pastor, it would appear that, by extension, the Lord Jesus Christ did too because, while that local church did have some problems, one of them was not the marital status of her pastor--the single man Timothy.
Then there's the Apostle Paul himself. While some scholars seem to believe that Paul was married, there's really no clear-cut NT statement that comes right out and tells us whether or not He was married.
If he was married at the tim
