Knowledge Of Youg Pastors

[ December 11, 2002, 10:15 AM: Message edited by: Jessie ]

 

Great Question! I like to go to Pastors and older women who are living the life that I would like to live. One's who are walking as they are talking.
Also 1 Timothy 3 tells the qualifications of Pastors. I would say that a Pastor who meets the qualifications listed there would probably be a good counselor, regardless of his age.

HCL

 

Would you go to Timothy or Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Timothy 1:20). Yes, I'd gravitate toward a more experenced Pastor but examine their life. There are plenty of young pastors who have the battle scars to prove their abilty to fight the good fight, ...and to give advice about it to those of us in the midst of the battle.

 

While I would prefer an older Pastor, I have a question. How do you suppose a Pastor gets so wise? Does he wakes up one morning at age 60 and thinks, "Now I am old enough to serve the Lord with wisdom."???? Or do you think that he spent many years learning from his years of service?
We have a very young Pastor, age 33. I know that he is not as experianced as our Pastor that retired at age 83. But I also know that he is "called" and that the Lord will provide him with help along the way. That doesn't mean that I don't think that he will make mistakes out of his own ego, but he will learn from those mistakes.
As I said earlier, I would prefer an older Pastor, but I am satisfied with a young Pastor knowing that the Good Lord provides.

 

1 Timothy 4:12. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

This was Paul's advise to Timothy.
A pastor can be either old and foolish or young and wise.
Age should not be the criteria, but character.
I've seen 12 year olds who could be trusted to date and 40 year olds who couldn't.
The question should be maturity, not age.
The two are not the same.

MR

 

Well, I've never seen any twelve-year-old I would want in a dating situation! But that aside, experience does count. There are exceptions, and I am assuming Timothy was one. But it is very often the younger men in ministry who are prone to make rash judgments. But that is the same with all of us when we are young -- it's one of the hazards of youth.

And yes, there can be old and stupid people, no question about it. But when a person has walked with the Lord for a long time, there is a wisdom there and a knowledge and trust and quiet faith that simply has not had the time to be developed in the younger pastor yet.

Book knowledge is nice -- of the Bible or any other book. But the experience that comes with time is what gives what one reads in the Bible especially, the depth of meaning which it was written to have.

Thus, my choice is always with someone who has been walking with the Lord for a long time -- and his character will tell me how closely he has been walking. If you want an example of someone on this board who exemplifies the kind of character that walking closely with the Lord through many years and problems has, I offer you Barnabas. I doubt there is a person on this board who has been here any length of time who does not respect and cyberlly-love this man for his quiet strength and gentle, humble character. All respect to him, I doubt he was always like this! It takes a lot of faith in the Lord and obedience to Him through trials and pain to produce a character with that humility, kindness, and strength. That is the kind of character I look for in a pastor to show me how closely he has been walking with the Lord. And when Bible knowledge is added to that, which pastors should have (there is nothing more weird than attending a church and realizing you know more Bible than the pastor does!), you have a man who honestly can pastor folk.

The Chinese, I think, have a traditional wisdom that says a man is not deserving of respect until he is 40.

The years do count.

[ December 06, 2002, 12:00 AM: Message edited by: Helen ]

 

[ December 11, 2002, 10:16 AM: Message edited by: Jessie ]

 

Rehoboam got into trouble as a new and young king when we sought advice. He listened to his contemporaries and to the counselors of his father, Solomon. In choosing the advice of his contemporaries he acted foolish and split the kingdom in two. Age and experience are important factors.

 

I know of one very young pastor who did not like children to be in the main worship service.

He was very critical of their behavior. Then,
He had children...You guessed it! His ideas of how children should act changed. And he had to eat the words: My child would never act that way

I prefer an older pastor, but we can learn from the young also. I can remember that I was young once and how my ideas have changed. With experience, we are able to determine if the pastor is leading us in the right direction.

At some stage in our lives, we do learn that things are not just black or white, but sometimes gray.

 

I could be wrong, but I do see this thread as a veiled reference to myself. I don't know how many other posters here were born in May of 1978.

I am not a pastor. I am apprenticing to be one. I have readily acknowledged that I have much to learn.

Timothy was a very young man also. He might have been less than 24.

Something Paul told Timothy was to preach a certain doctrine and see to it that no one contradicts it.

Since Paul spent such a great deal on the issue of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, I am willing to say that this is an important issue with God.

If you think I lack grace, pray for me.

I do not lack a desire to find truth at all costs, no matter where it leads me.

 

[ December 11, 2002, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: Jessie ]

 

I have attended a large church with a young pastor and let me tell you I will never ever again do this. It was the biggest mistake I have ever made.

His ego was so big. He went from being on fire for God to being as cold as a cucumber. A 33 year old should never be hired as a large churches pastor. I imagine there has been some this young who has been wonderful but I have always had more older experienced pastors.

The congregation went from 850 in attendance to 550. He lost 50 families in less than a year.
The church never makes its budget but they spend so frivously. He does not know how to deal with death so when one of his members is dying he refuses to be there. None of his staff stays with the person. They all abandon the family.

 

I started to pastor a church at 21. I didn't have a clue how to provide counselling, so I let the people answer their own problems by letting them talk. Ten years later, I learned the best way to counsel is to listen, say little, and people will often discover their own problem and solution.

I don't think age is the factor at all. For example, a young doctor, fresh out of med school, has all the up-to-date information about medicine. He or she just may be the best diagnostician of disease. What he/she ,may lack is what we commonly call bedside-manner; the way to listen; the way to talk. So it is with the young minister.

There is no doubting the authority of God's word, and we are certain that God cares, but quoting scripture and telling people that God loves them, is not always the immediate answer that applies in a given situation. Experience in ministry and dealing with people teaches this. As we used to say, "When I left seminary, I had all the answers. One week in the field and I had more questions."

If I were to advise any young man just starting out in ministry, it would be this: Be available, and be willing to listen.

Cheers in the Lord,

Jim

 

I have only ever asked the advise of my own pastor. He just happens to be the same age I am. I never heard of shopping around for the more experienced pastor etc, in which to ask advise. I trust the one I have...if I didn't I wouldn't stay at the church I attend.

If you mean of the staff or other church members who would I ask?...I do have a hard time asking advise from anyone who isn't at least where I am in experience.. If I want advise about marriage for instance... I would listen to the advise of a person who has been married for 25 years or more successfully then say someone who isn't married at all...or who is recently married... I am not a fool.

[ December 06, 2002, 06:37 PM: Message edited by: WisdomSeeker ]

 

PTW, I admire your knowledge and your commitment to your work and to the Lord. Continue to Walk with Him and grow.

We love you.

 

I once had a young friend who was a pastor in a
small church, and they would not give him a
chance. From my point of view, although I was
then a friend, they expected him to come in as
a 30-year-old with a60-year-old's head and
experience.

Oh course, it did not help that there were some
specific lies told about regarding him.

My pastor is Very Young. He's a couple years
younger than I, so he MUST BE! 8oD

 

My Pastor took over our church when he was 23 years old. He was voted in by the membership who were primarily older than him.

I think that age doesn't mean nearly as much as being completely surrendered to God and His leading.

 

This thread has reminded me of my own experiences. I kept thinking I was too young to be a pastor, but the churches I ministered to kept disagreeing. For example, when I came to my current place of ministry (9 1/2 years ago), I was just 28 (I am now 37). I had been an interim pastor for them for almost a year when they decided they wanted to ask me to come as their permanent pastor. I told them that I thought I was too young, but they disagreed. They said that generally they would have preferred an older man because , as a general rule, an older man will have learned more from experience and have more wisdom. However, they told me that in their judgment I had a lot more life experience than many who were much older than I was. They agreed with me about a few points I made about where I still saw my youthfulness as evident (e.g. my lack of patience with how slow some people were to grow), but they felt that it only showed up a little and did not see it as a problem. As it turned out, the rest of the elders were as impatient toward these as I was (there were a few "church bosses" and backbiters in the congregation!). At any rate, I just obeyed God's call as He continued to speak through the churches. Looking back now, I think the major problems I faced because of my youth were with the assumptions older people often made about me due to my age, rather than with any great lack due to my age. At any rate, it is still my personal opinion that most pastors really don't reach their prime until they have been at it for about twenty years.

Hang in there, PreachtheWord!

Pastork

[ December 06, 2002, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: Pastork ]