Trailblazin Ministries Blog

Faith

Would I Be Ordained?

Written by LaRosa Johnson
Sunday, 29 July 2007
Filed under: Faith, Ministry, Stuff on the Web

I was just recently checking out my friend Jesse's blog and he was talking about his thoughts before becoming an ordained minister/pastor. His father is also a minister and is on the counsel that he has to sit before; being a gracious father, he gave Jesse his questions beforehand, which he decided to publish up on his blog. I took a look at them and decided to take a stab at answering them. Here are the questions:

1. Do you desire the office of a bishop? (1 Tim 3:1)
2. What are your top 3 priorities as a pastor?
3. What do you see as the greatest challenges the church faces in the 21st century?
4. How far should the church go in seeking to attract the unsaved to worship services?
5. You mentioned your belief in the preservation of Scripture. In what sense is the Bible preserved: in a single translation, manuscript, etc.
6. How should your church respond if a convicted child molester begins attending your services?
7. Describe the process and purpose of church discipline.
8. Explain your understanding of the Bible's teaching on divorce and remarriage. Address ministry limitations regarding this issue.
9. Is there any reason we should not approve your ordination?

Here were my answers that I posted as a comment on his blog:

1) Yes

2) #1 - leading my flock, teaching them the Word of God and how to read/study it for themselves... #2 standing for Biblical truth and sound doctrine, standing against false doctrine... #3 being a voice for the Lord in the community, being a witness of the gospel and sharing the love of Christ

3) The constant rise of false doctrine and people having no desire for the things of God, and showing people that the Bible is true in every way possible

4) Not very far; I believe church is for the edification of believers and equipping them to go outside the walls of the church and share the gospel with the unsaved

5) Manuscripts are the greatest tool we have in preserving Scripture as the shear number of manuscripts that we have allows us to have as solid as a text as possible. But even when translating, we should do our best to keep from straying from the original meaning of the text and reading our own interpretation & feelings into it

6) Welcome him/her with loving arms because even they can receive the saving grace of our Savior, treating them like we would any other member. Even with that, still recognizing that we are fallen, thus, being aware not to put them in a position of ministry where they are alone with or overseeing children.

7) The short answer: approach the believer, if they don't change, bring along another witness or two... from there, if they still fail to comply, bring it before the church as a whole and excommunicate if they still refuse to submit/turn from their sin... and this is the same with an elder/pastor, although this instance does require at least two or three witnesses to establish the matter (so as to prevent slander or false witness)... i forget the passages right off hand, but one was in Matthew and I believe the other is 2nd Timothy

8) Marriage is supposed to be a lifelong commitment that isn't entered into lightly, as it is a covenant made before God and man. Quite frankly, we shouldn't divorce, but the few biblical allowances for divorce that I've seen include: adultery, abandonment, and abuse. If divorcing for one of those reasons, then remarriage is a possibility. As far as limitations towards ministry, it does say that we are to be the husband of one wife. Personally, I think this should be taken literally, but it more likely implies that we should be a "one woman man" only having eyes for our wife; thus a person can be remarried, as long as their previous marriage ended for one of the above reasons (or becoming a widow/widower)

9) Nope. I'm just a sinner saved by grace, relying on the Lord and the Holy Spirit on a daily basis to lead, guide and direct me in this. This office is not one that I can hold and carry out in my own power, but only through the strength of Him who is in me. But I firmly believe that He has called me to this office to be a leader in His church.

Needless to say, it's food for thought and something to consider when the time comes for myself.