When it comes to churches, what is often one of the most sensitive issues for determining who can serve as a minister? A minister – often referred to as the priest, bishop, pastor or elder –performs various roles in a church, according to the discretion of its church governance and/or religious denomination or affiliation. While individual ministers may end up having different duties, most of their respective churches can agree on the basic ministerial qualifications which focus on a person’s character. Basically, the Apostle Paul summarized these ministerial characteristics with the words, “the overseer must be above reproach….” (I Timothy 3:2a NIV) If all of the many positive commonalities in the ministerial qualifications could be summarized as “above reproach,” then what could possibly cause divisiveness concerning the qualifications of the minister?
In the Book of Timothy, the Apostle Paul explains many of the ministerial qualifications and characteristics with the following words. “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above approach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.” (I Timothy 3:1-7 NIV)
In the Book of Titus, the Apostle Paul reiterates many of the same words for ministers. “An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless – not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:6-9 NIV)
The Apostle Peter also explained the ministerial characteristics in a similar manner. “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, being examples to the flock.” (I Peter 2-4 NIV)
Overall, the above passages concerning a minister primarily focus on a person’s character and/or interactions with others, whether believers or not. The descriptions in these passages are many of the common themes you will find in the ministerial qualifications for many churches, religious denominations and/or affiliations. Unfortunately, many churches find themselves at a major dividing point when it comes to a few short words in these same passages – “Now the overseer must be…the husband of but one wife….” (I Timothy 3:2 NIV)
So how can these few words – the overseer must be the husband of one wife – become such a divisive point? An extremely literal interpretation could lead you to believe a minister must be a married male who was never divorced. A less literal interpretation would include the clause…if a person is married, he must be male who was never divorced. On the other hand, some people prefer to emphasize the literal interpretation of the “male only” stipulation while using a more open-minded interpretation a person’s marital status, even if includes divorce. Then again, was the intent of the passage even about a person’s sex or marital status? Was the Apostle Paul trying to instruct people to be involved only in heterosexual monogamous marriages instead of sexually immoral activities, especially since he confronted the church at Corinth about sexual immorality and marriage issues? (I Corinthians 5:9-11; 6:18-20; 7:1-2)
In summary, the direction of a church can vary greatly in how its leaders interpret the words – the overseer must be the husband of one wife. Why could these few words impact the entire direction of a church? Simply said, the standards for a church minister set the precedence (or example) for the rest of the congregation. Therefore, we need to seek God’s guidance in determining if our personal views for the ministry are aligned with God’s overall purpose for the church.
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