Is the Pastoral Role Biblical?

I believe that a church should be run by a plurality of elders. And I think you're on to something that most of them should come from within the church. However, I can see a case where the preaching elder would come from without, and then he could train others and raise them up from within the church.

As to turning down one church for another, I don't think that meets the criteria of "filthy lucre." If one church offered about 1/2 of what a pastor and his family need to live on and he took a church that paid exactly what they needed, it wouldn't be filthy. Even though you could say that he turned down one church so that he could take a pastorate that would pay him twice as much.

 

Hi link, would agree. As to all coming from within, I also agree that would be best, however IF - one has to come from outside I would place a one or two year "trial" period before it became permanent so that the man could be seen in action, evaluated as to spiritual qualifications etc.

I would also request a number of references and check them before asking someone to come to candidate.

 

One might consider that the NT church of the First century met in homes, was decentralized and probably was quite different than our churches today. If we are going to try to use the NT methods we might have to change our complete concept of the local church. Plurality of elders was necessary for the decentrailized church.

Today our churches are more centrally located and do not need a board to run them. The NT clearly uses the names of pastor, elder and bishop interchangeably, and there is no reason it cannot be one man in smaller church. Our church which is quite large has plurality of elders. senior pastor, associate pastor, youth pastor, and two part-time assistants.

As to where he comes from, inside, outside, it probably does not make much difference. Our mobile society is quite different from the First Century when a man might never leave his home town. Let's use good common sense in our application of biblical truth to our day and realize that our church is probably quite like the NT one in doctrine and varied in practice.

 

I bet a great many Pastors would LOVE to split up their work load with dedicated men willing to do what they have to do each and every day.

Unfortunately - there are a lot of people who want to make rules, and few people who want to get up at 3:00 in the morning to try to comfort the family whose teenage, drug abusing, unsaved child was just killed in a drive-by shooting.

Plus - I think it must have been easier, when the church had 12 members, to know who you could trust to use Christian judgment and standards than it is in today's world where some churches boast of memberships larger than some small town populations.

 

"we might have to change our complete concept of the local church."

Oh, mercy, we should never do that.

What is so sacred about a not necessarily sacred way of doing things?

"As to where he comes from, inside, outside, it probably does not make much difference. Our mobile society is quite different"

Uuuh, so we don't need to do it the Bible way because we are different?

Actually, talk to some of the churches that have called, what they were thinking was a good man and finding later that they got a lemon, would differ on your "does not make much difference."

That is the point of homegrown leaders, you know what you have from years of watching them.

In my mind elders are not paid pastors though the teaching elder might well be. Elders were called from the congregation, not hired from outside.

 

That sounds like a great idea to me!!
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