Statement of Faith and Doctrine

SECTION 1 – Doctrine of the Bible

We believe in the Bible as the verbally (every word) and plenary (completely) inspired Word of God as contained in the original manuscripts; that all portions of Scripture are equally inspired and contain no contradictions; that the Scriptures are to be the only rule of faith and practice for the believer in Jesus Christ; and that the Canon, the sixty-six books of the Bible, is complete. Nothing shall be added to it nor taken from it. The scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the Church. II Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 1:1; II Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18, 19.

SECTION 2 – Doctrine of God

We believe that there is one and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit Whose name is Jehovah, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; that He is inexpressively glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections; and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence, and obedience; they are equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. We believe that Allah is not a name for God but that he is a demon or Satan Himself impersonating God but not the God of the Bible. Genesis 1:1; Exodus 15:11; Psalm 83:18; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29, 30; John 1:1; 10:30; 14:16, 17; I Timothy 3:16; Ephesians 2:18.

 SECTION 3 – Doctrine of Jesus Christ

We believe in the essential deity and virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; that He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, not having human father, and is true God and true man; that He is man’s only hope of salvation from sin, being the only mediator between God and man; that he died, and was buried, and rose again the third day for our sins according to the Scriptures; that His return for His Church, the Body of Christ, which He will take with Himself into heaven is imminent; and that He will come to this earth to set up His millennial reign. Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18; John 1:1-4; 10:309; 14:6; I Timothy 2:5,6; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:46.

SECTION 4 – Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit to be coequal with the Father and with the Son. He is a person. He came to this earth as the fulfillment of Christ’s promise. He convicts, regenerates, indwells, seals, fills, empowers, and guides the believer. John 16:7-13; 3:3-5; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13,14; Ephesians 5:18.

SECTION 5 – Doctrine of Man

We believe that God created man in His own image and that man sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is a conscious and eternal separation from God. We believe that all men are born with a sinful nature, evidenced by sinful acts; that man is totally depraved; and that if he is not born again, he is eternally lost. Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Luke 16:23; Revelation 21:8; Romans 3:10-23; 5:12; I Corinthians 15:21,22; Revelation 20:11-15.

SECTION 6 – Doctrine of Salvation

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through the mediatory offices of the Son of God, Who, by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature; that being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, yet without sin, He honored the divine law by His personal obedience and by His death made full atonement for our sins; that, having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven and uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with the divine perfections, He is in every way qualified to be the suitable, and compassionate and all-sufficient Savior.

We believe that a person is saved when he, in the simultaneous act of repentance and faith, accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord in all that He is without exception. The believer is kept by the power of God and is eternally secure in Christ. The basis of our salvation is the precious blood of Christ according to I Peter 1:18-19, which states that we are redeemed, “. . . with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

We believe that the scope of Salvation included forgiveness of all our sins, past, present, and future; a perfect standing before God as in Jesus Christ; and the changing of our earthly body to be conformed like unto the body of our Lord at His return for His own.

We believe that the attitude either of reconciliation or enmity toward God is eternally fixed at death. We further believe that there is an appointed day for the judgment of the wicked when they will be cast into the lake of fire, there to remain in everlasting conscious punishment and torment. John 1:12; 5:24; 10:28,29; Romans 6:23; I John 3:2; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; II Peter 2:9; Revelation 20:12-15; 21:8.

SECTION 7 – Doctrine of Justification

We believe that the great Gospel blessing, which Christ secures to such as believe in Him, is justification; that justification included the pardon of sin and the promise of eternal life in Heaven; that it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood, by virtue of which faith His perfect righteousness is freely imputed to us of God; that justifications brings us into the state of most blessed peace and favor with God and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity. John 1:16; Acts 13:39; 4:4,5; 5:1,2; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 5:1; Galatians 3:6; Philippians 3:9; Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:24.

SECTION 8 - Doctrine of the Freeness of Salvation

We believe that the blessings of Salvation are made free to all by the Gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by the cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel, which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation. Isaiah 55:1; Romans 16:25,26; John 5:40; 3:19; II Peter 3:9; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 1:12.

SECTION 9 – Doctrine of Grace in Regeneration

We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated or born again; that regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition to the mind; that it is affected in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel; that it’s proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith and newness of life. John 3:3; 3:8; II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 5:9; Galatians 5:16-23; I Peter 1:22-25.

SECTION 10 – Doctrine of Repentance and Faith

We believe that repentance and faith are sacred duties and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God, whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, and helplessness and of the way of Salvation by Christ; we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; and at the same time we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our prophet, Priest, and King, and rely on Him alone as the only and all sufficient Savior. Mark 1:5; Acts 11:18; Ephesians 2:8; Acts 2:37-38; Romans 10:9,10.

SECTION 11 – Doctrine of God’s Purpose of Grace

We believe that election is the eternal purpose of God according to which He graciously regenerates, sanctified, and saves sinners; that being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, God’s purpose comprehends all the means in connection with the end; that grace is a most glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy and unchangeable; that grace utterly excludes boasting and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, highest degree; that it may be ascertained by its effects in all who truly believe the Gospel; that it is the foundation of Christian assurance; that to ascertain it with regard to ourselves demands and deserves the utmost diligence. II Timothy 1:8,9; II Thessalonians 2:13,14; Exodus 33:18,19; II Timothy 2:10; II Peter 1:10,11; Romans 8:28-30.

SECTION 12 – Doctrine of Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of His Holiness; that it is a progressive work; that it is begun in regeneration; and that it is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit – the Sealer and Comforter, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, Bible reading, and prayer. I Thessalonians 4:3; I John 2:29; Romans 8:5; Philippians 2:12,13; I Timothy 4:12,13; II Timothy 3:15-17; Romans 12:1,2.

SECTION 13 – Doctrine of Perseverance of Saints

We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end; that their perseverance attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. John 3:21; I John 2:19; Romans 8:28; Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 1:13,14; I Peter 1:7; Jude 24; II Peter 2:20-22.

SECTION 14 – Doctrine of law and the Gospel

We believe that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government; that it is holy, just, and good; that the inability which the Scriptures ascribe to fallen men to fulfill its precepts arises entirely from their ability and to restore them through the mediator, to unfeigned obedience to the Holy Law and of the means of grace connected with the establishment of the visible church. Romans 3:21; 7:21; 8:7,8; 8:2,4.

SECTION 15 – Doctrine of the Church

We believe that the local Church is composed of:

1. A local group of believers who are autonomous and self-governing with no ecclesiastical organization in authority over them.

2. Believers who are baptized by immersion;

3. Believers who are organized; they have for their officers – pastors, deacons, and such other leaders as God has given special gifts to render as a ministry to the church;

4. Believers who meet regularly for fellowship, worship, and Bible study.

5. Believers who observe the ordinances of baptism and the Lord ’s Supper.

6. Believers who carry out the great commission.

I Corinthians 12:13; Acts 2: I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 16:19; Acts 2:41,47; I Corinthians 12; Hebrews 10:25; I Corinthians 11:23,24; Matthew 28:18-20.

SECTION 16 – Doctrine of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. We believe that the Lord ’s Supper, in which the members of the Church by the sacred use of the bread and wine (grape juice) are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ, is to be preceded always with solemn self-examination. Acts 8:26-39; John 3:22,23; Matthew 28:19; I Corinthians 11:23-28; Acts 2:41,42.

SECTION 17 – Doctrine of the Lord’s Day

We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day and is to be kept sacred to religious purposes by abstaining from all secular labor, except works of mercy and necessity; by the devout observance of all means of grace, both private and public; and by preparation for that rest which remains for all the people of God. Acts 20:7; Psalm 118:24; Isaiah 58:13,14; Hebrews 4:3-11; Matthew 28:1,2; John 20: 19,26; I Corinthians 16:2.

SECTION 18 – Doctrine of Civil Government

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society; and that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed, except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the kings of the earth. Romans 13:1-7; Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:19; Matthew 23:10.

SECTION 19 – Doctrine of the Righteousness and the Wicked

We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the
Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse; and that this distinction holds among men both in and after death. Malachi 3:18; I John 5:19; Luke 16: 25,26.

SECTION 20 – Doctrine of Satan and Fallen Angels

We believe that Satan is a person. He is a created being who sinned and became the arch enemy of God and His creation. He is the chief adversary of God’s children. He seeks to keep man from the Lord; and when he cannot succeed in this, he seeks to weaken the testimony of Christians. He has at his command a great host of fallen angels and demons to carry out his purposes. He is not omnipotent and can be overcome by the power of God. His doom is sealed in the lake of fire forever and ever. Ezekiel 28: 12-19; Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelation 12:10; 20:10.

SECTION 21 – Doctrine of Last Things

We believe that there will be a resurrection of all, first the just at the coming of Jesus Christ, and finally the unjust after the millennium. The saints are raised to be forever with the Lord, and the unsaved will be confined for eternity in the Lake of Fire. We believe in the Blessed Hope, which is the personal bodily pre-tribulation, pre-millennial, and immanent return of our Lord and Savior for His Church (the Rapture) and His later return to the earth in power and glory with His saints to set up His Kingdom (the Millennium). John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9; 1:11; 24:14; I Corinthians 15:3-20; Philippians 3:20,21; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 7:25; I John 2:1,2; Revelation 21:1-8.

SECTION 22 – Doctrine of the World to Come

We believe that the end of this age is approaching (I Peter 4:7). We believe that God will create a new heaven and a new earth; that we will dwell in heaven with Jesus forever, and will have access to the new heaven and earth; that we will never again see death or tears or crying, or pain or evil or sin; that all these will be passed away, that we will be united with loved ones and saints of all ages in heaven to live with our Savior forever and ever. John 8:51; 11:25, 26; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; II Corinthians 5:6-8; Revelation 21-22:5.

SECTION 23 – Doctrine of Separation

We believe that God commands Christians to be separated people according to II Corinthians 6:17-18 and 7:1. “Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; And I will receive you; And will be a father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Clearwater Baptist Church will be separated from all forms of apostasy and religious inclusivism. We reject ecumenical movements which join all churches into one body regardless of doctrine or practice and the charismatic renewal movement with its unscriptural emphasis on tongues and healing. Clearwater Baptist Church will enjoy fellowship with churches of like faith and order, but will have no part in any council of churches that is ecumenical in nature and thrust.

We believe that Christians are to be personally separated from all worldly practices that hinder spiritual growth and stability. We believe that God’s people should not love the world or the things that are in the world (I John 2:15-16). We believe that a Christian should live a holy life and maintain a testimony consistent with the New Testament.

SECTION 24 – Doctrine of Christian Practice

Clearwater Baptist Church believes that a Christian should live a holy life, and be separated from the world, and maintain a testimony consistent with the New Testament. We also believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we all should walk together in Christian love, strive for the advancement of this Church in knowledge, holiness and godliness; hold a conviction that Christianity is a way of life and therefore should be propagated through Bible centered and Christ-centered Christian schooling; promote the prosperity and spirituality of this Church; sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; contribute cheerfully; and regularly support the Church with our tithes and offerings so that the ministry is supported, expenses are met, the poor are helped, and the Gospel is spread through all nations.

Clearwater Baptist Church encourages all of our members to maintain family and private devotions, to rear the children with Christian schooling from kindergarten through twelfth grade and then encourage the attending of a Christian college; to seek the salvation of kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; and be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to be zealous in our effort to win souls to Christ; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; and to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drink as a beverage, and from the improper sale and use of narcotics. We believe that this use of narcotics extends to the almost drug like craving for Rock & Roll and any form of CCM music that has so permeated homes and churches in our time. We believe that only music which has the “melody” that is referred to in Ephesians 5:19 can be truly spiritual music and that all music based on either harmony or more particularly rhythm are classified as worldly and unholy music.

We further encourage each member to show brotherly love toward one another; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior, to secure it without delay.

Should the will of God direct any to move from this area, we encourage each, as soon as possible to unite with some other church of like faith and practice and thereby continue living a testimony for Christ and living the principles of God’s Word. I Thessalonians 5:8-26; Galatians 6:1,2,10; Ephesians 5,6; Philippians 4:8,9; Colossians 3.

SECTION 25 – Doctrine of Christian Education

Clearwater Baptist Church believes that the children of our families need an education that trains children not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly (Psalm 1:1). The families need to obey Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

Therefore Clearwater Baptist Church believes that it must provide a Christian School to train the young people and it must encourage all member families to enroll their children in a Christian School. We believe that we must see that our children are protected according to Proverbs 19:17, “Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.”

SECTION 26 – Doctrine of Human Sexuality

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. Genesis 2:24; 19:5: 13: 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4.

SECTION 27 – Doctrine of The Beginning of Human Life

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions or pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44.

SECTION 28 – Doctrine of Lawsuits Between Believers

We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or Clearwater Baptist Church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the Church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s Insurance Company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. I Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32.

SECTION 29 – Doctrine of Giving

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquished all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made. Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17.

The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.

Addendum 1.1 – Qualifications of a Pastor

Qualifications Of A Pastor

by David Williams

Text: I Timothy 3 - "1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."

The purpose of this study is to show what the qualifications of a pastor are. In our modern day religious circles we have become, seemingly, absorbed with some of the qualifications of a minister, while others are completely left out. It may be that many people that are now preachers of the Gospel should resign and it may also be that there are people that some feel are not qualified that God would certainly find acceptable to be in the ministry. This illustration shows just how far off we are in deciding who is qualified for the ministry:

The Minister

One of the toughest tasks a church faces is choosing a good minister. A member of an official board undergoing this painful process finally lost patience. He'd just witnessed the Pastoral Relations Committee reject applicant after applicant for some minor fault - real or imagined. It was time for a bit of soul-searching on the part of the committee. So he stood up and read this letter purporting to be from another applicant.

"Gentlemen: Understanding your pulpit is vacant, I should like to apply for the position. I have many qualifications. I've been a preacher with much success and also had some success as a writer. Some say I'm a good organizer. I've been a leader most places I've been.

"I'm over 50 years of age and have never preached in one place for more than three years. In some places, I have left town after my work caused riots and disturbances. I must admit I have been in jail three or four times, but not because of any real wrongdoing.

"My health is not too good, though I still accomplish a great deal. The churches I have preached in have been small, though located in several large cities.

"I've not gotten along well with religious leaders in the towns where I have preached. In fact, some have threatened me, and even attacked me physically. I am not too good at keeping records. I have been known to forget whom I have baptized.

"However, if you can use me, I promise to do my best for you."

The board member turned to the committee and said, "Well, what do you think? Shall we call him?"

The good church folks were appalled! Consider a sickly, trouble-making, absent-minded ex-jailbird? Was the board member crazy? Who signed the application? Who had such colossal nerve?

The board member eyed them all keenly before he replied, "It's signed, 'The Apostle Paul.'"

Let's look at the qualifications of a preacher and I think that we may find some surprising things that we did not know were there:

1. Blameless - 338 - anaitios from a - without and aitia a crime.

It means not a criminal and not in trouble with the law. We would have to admit that there are circumstances in our generation where preachers have had to stand against the illegal restrictions of local officials and it has resulted in them being imprisoned. A good example is that of Lester Roloff and others that have been defended by the Christian Law Association because of things that the local authorities have said were wrong, actually had constitutional issues along with scriptural issues that prevented them from complying with the law.

A person could, however, make a sticking point out of this and say that any person who did something like many of these contenders for the faith and legal rights of churches did, are not qualified to be a pastor or minister of the gospel. We could say, "He was thrown in jail" and because of that think the man is disqualified from being a pastor no matter if it was a constitutional issue or not. I would never take that view, but there are situations that make a preacher look bad though he would technically be within the law. Let me sight some examples:

a. The practice of having untrained teachers to be monitors in ACE schools. I have seen this in the worst possible sense. I have seen children who have wasted their way through an ACE school with mothers that could neither read, write, nor do math and they were REQUIRED to go to preaching conferences one after another, but when some of the students had to transfer to a public school, they were so far behind that they could not graduate but had to be placed one or two years behind their piers. Their pastors were really guilty of breaking the law but hid under the guise of separation of church and state.

b. Another example of this type of crime is the busses that some churches use that should be classified as nothing short of worthless rust buckets. They can get by with using horrible worthless transportation to bring innocent children to church and only because they are operating under the separation of church and state or some other technicality they can get by with what would be a horrible case of breaking the law in any ordinary situation.

c. Another example is having buildings that are not up to code because we think that for some reason that if it is a church we can cut corners, do cheaper construction and refuse to pay the contractors what they are worth even though the Bible says that a laborer is worthy of his hire.

d. One serious situation is the way that money is handled in many churches. They are constantly "Robbing Peter to Pay Paul" so to speak and they never give a financial statement to the people as they mishandle money and misappropriate church expenses in a way that is not only questionable but highly criminal. I know personally of one situation where the money that parents spent to pay for books was used for a building payment or some other use so that the students did not get the books that they needed to finish their school year. This is nothing short of criminal.

In just this first example, the person who is supposedly a qualified pastor because he has never been divorced or some other qualification, according to the Bible he is just as unqualified as someone who many would reject from the ministry for other less meaningful reasons, because of his criminal ways in handling God's money. Certainly anyone noted for being the type that will stretch the rules any time he thinks he can get away with it would not be qualified to have the position of a pastor. Yet there are hundreds and even thousands of them that fill pulpits all across the country.

2. Husband of one wife - from 435 - mias guniakos - gen for "of one wife"

and is an attributive word meaning, "a husband who pays attention only to his wife and not to others." It does not mean that he, the pastor (or deacon) was never married before, nor does it mean that in order to be a pastor one must be married. That would make Paul the Apostle unqualified because though he was both a deacon and a pastor, he was never married. If it meant, as some have taught, that one must be married only to their "first" wife, then the Apostle Paul was wrong in Romans 7:1-3 where he states that if the other partner is dead they can be married to whomever they will.

When it comes to the divorced person, neither Jesus nor the Apostle Paul puts a restriction on the divorced person who was innocent to remarry. It is true that God hates divorce and from the beginning it was not so as the Scriptures say, but man's sinfulness has resulted in situations that many times cannot avoid the unfortunate divorce. The Bible definition of divorce was to let go free, to put away, dismiss, with the presupposition that the dismissed party was innocent and, according to Deuteronomy 24:1-4, deserves a bill of divorcement which was equivalent to a certificate of innocence. This meant that no one could call them an adulterer for being married to someone else because they were the innocent party in the situation.

One of the meanings, though not the only one, is that a pastor should not be married to more than one woman simultaneously which would have been part of the culture when the Bible was written but not so much today. In those days many people had more than one wife and God wanted pastors to have only one wife. The expression mias gunaikos is known in Greek grammar as an attributive genitive, which is equivalent to an adjective, and would have been better translated as "a one-woman's husband," not a ladies' man in other words. The total context of the text speaks of the moral conduct of the pastor. Now don't try to say that I am advocating divorce or that all divorces are O.K. or anything like that, but let me ask you a question. Which pastor would you rather have, one that was faithful to his wife, as a Hyles-Anderson graduate that I know of whose wife ran off with another man and the church voted to keep him as pastor because he was holy and appropriate and in no way at fault, or would you rather have the preacher in our first example that was not divorced but he was a crook and cheated every way he could as long as he did not get caught? I think that there are innocent men that could be pastors and/or deacons that are being branded and labeled because we like to become the judge and it makes us look so much better than that poor brother that has been through trials that we can know nothing about but may be closer to God and may have a much better testimony because of his problem than others that have not been through the fire. I say that some should be preachers and/or deacons that most churches have totally rejected while the pastor that stands in the pulpit may be the biggest crook in town.

We have a problem and we won't admit it. We have pastors that have never been divorced, but are they ever ladies men. They will hug all the women. They will counsel with a woman alone in their office. They are flirts and they are supposedly qualified for the ministry because they have never been divorced. There are preacher's wives that are just as bad. I have been in churches where the pastor's wife was so forward with speaking to men that she did now know that it was embarrassing

I know a missionary that has never been divorced, but he has girls that compete in swimming meets in front of thousands of people but he would not take support from a man who was the innocent party in a marriage break up where he was the pastor when his wife ran off with another man. The man is now a successful pastor of 30 years with a church running over one thousand in attendance. Yet, this missionary would not accept support from this innocent pastor because the pastor was divorced and yet the missionary was just as unqualified because of the way his children behaved in public as we will see later on.

In fact, one reason that I am writing this is that someone that I know very well who many years ago had a wife that left after having at least 7 affairs and then gave up her illegitimate child for the husband and his new wife to raise when the child was only five years old, was told recently that his father's pastor could not support his ministry because of the divorce which happened many years ago. This man is now an ordained minister and a Bible college graduate. He has raised his illegitimate child and he and his own wife have never had children while they have served God faithfully for many years. I just thought that is was a terrible injustice for a man that loves God and has the call of God on his life and is an avid soul winner to be branded with the SCARLET LETTER "D" because of a wife that left him with an illegitimate son to raise and it is a proven fact that he cannot have children with his present wife and the child he raised was not his. Surely there are other qualifications that should be considered that are much more important than this.

3. Vigilant - 1127 - gregoreuo -

It means to watch or to refrain from sleep, more in the spiritual sense here in the Bible. It means paying close attention to God's revelation or to the knowledge of what Salvation is all about. It means watching for threatening dangers which a good pastor who has an alert mind and walks with the Holy Spirit of God can see creeping into his church and thus he can be used by God to keep people from walking in a lack of spiritual energy or conduct that is not fitting of a Christian. It means being discerning enough to know that there are some who though they may claim to be saved are really only false professors and the pastor needs to be constantly on guard lest they get comfortable in their false belief and corrupt the spiritual purity of the Gospel and of the standards and convictions of the members.

This may be one area in which pastors all across the world are unqualified more than in any other area. Many have little or no knowledge of what it means to be saved. Many could not give the plan of salvation nor could they instruct a sinner that was begging them to know how that they could make sure of heaven. Most pastors cannot tell the difference between the wheat and the tares in their congregation. A good example is the fact that CCM is being let into the majority of churches simply because most pastor's don't know that if the people that want that type of music were really saved they would want a new song. In the same way churches have let down on standards of dress and other standards to the point that one can hardly tell the saved from the lost if someone were to see them from a distance or listen to their conversations, music or actions. I would say that every church that has allowed the wrong type of music into their services does so because a pastor is not qualified to be in the pulpit. He is not vigilant in the scriptural sense and he needs to get out and let someone else into the pulpit that can take a stand and protect his people from the onslaught of evil from the world the flesh and the devil.

4. Sober - 3524 - nephalios -

It means self-controlled, especially in the case of wine, though it also includes watchful, free from passion, lust, or emotion. In one of my posts in the Baptist Fellowship Page, I discuss the three parts of the human being, body, soul, and spirit. The body is the part of us that is made up of the five senses that causes us to interact with the world around us. The soul, on the other hand, is the part that includes the mind, the emotions and the will, while the spirit includes the conscience, communion and intuition in walking with God.

What we have discovered in this generation is that people have become confused as to what it means to walk in the Spirit and they have substituted the soul in place of the spirit. These preachers think that emotions are evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit and they think that having people jump up & down and roll in the aisles is a true mark of spirituality. This is part of what has led to the rise in Rock & Roll in the services of most churches. For some reason it has been thought that the more that people clap their hands, jump up and down, shout and go into fits of tongues or other types of emotional outbursts, it only shows that the Spirit of God is moving in the service.

I will never forget a man that I worked with many years ago that told me about a meeting where the preacher ministered in tongues for over two hours. When I asked the man how many souls were saved, he said none. This idea that emotion is spirit is totally wrong. We have become drunk with excesses in music and false doctrines that have been geared to show how spiritual the church is when it is nothing more than a group of emotional misfits that are drunk with the music and the emotion of the services. One example is a pastor that I know that has such an emotional music service that sometimes people begin to cry and get emotional in the singing and they cut out the preaching all together.

This emotion and the lust of the exotic goes farther than just the way services are conducted in many churches. It also goes to the reasons that some are called to the mission field. I know right now about a church that has been a bingo hall for 15 years because the pastor got this "mid-life crisis" of thinking that the grass was greener in Mexico than in his own church and as a result resigned his pastorate to go to "bigger and greener pastures" which resulted in his church eventually losing attendance to the point that the building was sold and became a bingo hall where people smoked cigarettes and played bingo for 15 years until a Christian man bought the building to make it back into a church again. This pastor was not "sober" in the meaning of the Bible definition and disqualified himself from the ministry when he left the church to go to the mission field. Oh, by the way, he flopped on the mission field and is out of the ministry today all because he was not sober.

There are missionaries that have abandoned their children and grand-children all for the romance of their travels to the mission field while their children have had problems in their families and marriages but the parents were nowhere to be found because of the "lure" of the "foreign field" that made them so drunk with the lust for greener pastures that they could not see clearly that their own children had lives that were falling apart. Some times the "call" to "greener pastures" is really the devil's way of getting people to shirk their responsibilities to those that depend on them either in family or in a ministry that they will abandon for "greener fields."

I know of one situation where the missionary had a small group of people that loved them dearly and had begun to grow in the Lord in England. This dear group of people was praying fervently for the missionary while they had gone on furlough to the states to visit their supporting churches. The people could hardly wait until the missionaries returned. They kept their home clean and prayed fervently every service and could hardly wait until that missionary came back to the church so they could once again see God work in a wonderful way in their lives. Little did they know that this missionary had already gotten the "wander lust" to go to yet another field and in fact were on their trip in order to let the churches in America know of the change in fields while the people in England were left completely helpless and totally without direction when they found out that their beloved missionaries were only back to pack their things and move out of town. This church has since closed down and the members have gone elsewhere all because the missionary did not act sober.

5. Good behavior - 2887 - kosmios - propriety of dress and demeanor.

It means an inner life uttering and expressing itself outwardly in the way that people present themselves in public, especially in church which we lovingly refer to as "God's House." When we were at Hyles-Anderson we thought of being in church as being where the King of Kings was present. We thought that we would dress the best way that we could before the Lord of Lords. We would never think of wearing anything but our Sunday best as we stood to glorify God and sing His praises. We would never think of disgracing God by "dressing down" on Sunday Evening or of having a "Contemporary Service" where people could just come as they are and no one would mind. Oh, we always were kind to the lost that did not know any better, but when it came to born again Christians, everyone knew that there was a definite difference in the way a Christian was to dress and behave, especially in God's house.

Today that has changed mostly because of pastors that don't know the meaning of "good behavior" as it is outlined in the Bible. I know of one church that is a KJV Baptist church where they dress up on Sunday Morning but on Sunday evening the pastor wears flowered Hawaii shirts and all the teenagers wear jeans and t-shirts. I remember attending there while visiting one day and after a teenager had sung a special, she went into the rest room to change from her "special music" dress to her tight fitting jeans so she could fit in with the rest of the group that had lost the meaning of good behavior. The whole reason why this happened is because the pastor was severely lacking in this qualification of the ministry and knowing how to teach his people to behave in such a way outwardly that the whole community can see that they are citizens of heaven and not part of the world.

Another example is a church that my son and I attended while visiting out in California. We were in the morning service of a very prominent Baptist Church and we felt very uncomfortable because besides us, the pastor was the only one that had a suit and tie on in the whole building. Well, there was one exception. The pianist that was visiting from the state of New York who put on a classical/religious concert also had on a shirt and tie. This church obviously had a pastor that was not qualified for the ministry because he had failed to teach his people how to behave themselves in the house of God.

Oh, but it goes farther than that. We now have churches that are having mixed swimming parties where the young men and young women all go swimming together and we think nothing of it. I know of a missionary that came to church in shorts because he was in the hot climate of Africa and the native pastor had to tell him to go back and change into something more appropriate because it was not fitting in the house of God. What a shame that a native pastor is more qualified than most pastors here in America. Oh, by the way, that same missionary would not take money from a divorced pastor in America.

I will never forget a certain music director that my wife and I noticed one day as we were walking around near a harbor area in Florida. This music director was hooked on borderline CCM music and the church was leaning further and further away from the standards and convictions that would tell their members how to discern between the holy and the profane. The whole reason was that the pastor was weak in the area of music because his own children loved to listen to "rap." While walking around, we walked by this cruise boat that was one of those “wine and dine and dance” boats. To our utter amazement as we walked along, we saw the music director and his wife on the main floor of the boat right where they have the dance band and the dance floor. Later at church they tried to explain things as that they would go upstairs and stay away from the worldly crowd, but we knew different because a few nights later the children's choir sang "Oh be Careful Little Hands What You Do" to a tape that had so strong of a rock beat the little children could not help but gyrate to the music. We quit attending the church immediately afterwards because of the lack of standards and the fact that the pastor would not listen to sound counsel in the matter of Christian music. This is a KJV Independent Baptist church with a pastor that does not know the meaning of "good behavior." I will also never forget what we heard later from some people who had also quit attending there because of the music that a certain teen that was a vital part of the youth group had only lasted one semester of Bible college in a place that is far less strict than Hyles-Anderson. The reason was that the pastor had never taught the teens how to dress in the house of God or as Christians and when it came to being in a place that had some standards, the teen was unprepared and as a result rebelled against the college and dropped out. There are many such churches and pastors that have absolutely no idea of what it means to teach and practice good behavior.

6. Hospitality - 5381 - philoxeuia or 5382 - philoxeuos hospitable or kindness to strangers.

It means going out of the way to be a friend and loving people, especially loving strangers. It means being especially kind to others as Christ would if he were walking the earth. I won't dwell on this too much, but far too many pastors will cater to the rich and look down on the poor and the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. One of the pastors mentioned in an earlier illustration, who had a lack of discernment in the area of music was also against the bus ministry. He would not want that type of low class people dirtying up his church and Sunday School departments. He would not want to pick up the widows and shut-ins to make sure that they could be in all the services.

The bible is very clear when it says that we should not forget to entertain strangers because by that many have entertained angels unawares. I will never forget an illustration that I read in preparing for a sermon one day where a poorly dressed man was asked not to come into a certain church so he sat down on the concrete step outside. A man came and sat down next to him and struck up a conversation. When the poor man explained his plight, the other man said that his name was Jesus and that he had not been allowed in that particular church for years. Of course this is just a story used as an illustration of fact, but it shows just how far we have missed the truths of the Bible. I know pastors that are so rigid because they are trying so hard to copy Dr. Hyles' ministry that they will not greet anyone after the service but require all people to have appointments with them. Now I realize that in a busy situation that people should not waste a pastor's time, but I also think that a pastor really needs to show hospitality and that can easily be done after the service if done in a controlled manner. The pastor that does not learn the meaning of hospitality has no business being a pastor.

7. Apt to teach - 1317 - didaktikos - means able to communicate Christian teaching.

It means one that is taught by the Holy Spirit and after he has learned from God, he teaches it to his people. It means not being a clone of any of our favorite preachers, but following the leading of God in our own lives as pastors so that we can teach as God leads and we don't have to rely on the teachings and doctrines that we learn from others but that the Holy Spirit will teach each pastor and if it is of God, it will not conflict with the Bible or what another Spirit filled man of God has taught.

There is a danger here in following great men, even Dr. Hyles, John Rice, Lester Roloff and many others that pastors have many times gotten to the point that they will preach someone else's sermon every Sunday but they have never gotten alone with God and had God show them something from the Word of God that is straight from God to their congregation. Far too many pastors are so big at copying what another preacher says and does that they will even go so far as to clear their throat just like their favorite man of God or gesture like their favorite man of God. Invariably these unqualified pastors will get into some debate with another brother and in trying to support their argument they will quote from the writings of this man as if it were scripture when the plain teaching of the Bible may be saying something completely different.

Just because a person can shout like their idol or clear their throat like their idol or illustrate sermons like their idol does not make them qualified for the ministry. What makes them more qualified than any other thing is what kind of walk they have with God where the Holy Spirit teaches them and they need not that any man teach them because the Holy Spirit is all that they need and they don't need Dr. Sounding Brass or Dr. Tinkling Symbol to get their truth from because when they read the Bible the Holy Spirit and that pastor just have a college course that will not quit and on Sunday morning they will give to their people what God has showed them in their study or their closet.

One of the evidences of a pastor that is "Apt to teach" is what he does in his daily devotion at home. A true man of God will be constantly learning new things from God and he will share it with his wife and if he has children, he shares it with them as well. So many times the things that a true pastor preaches are principles or truths that have been shared in Family Altar and time with the children. A true pastor is constantly teaching in every area of ministry.

One that is qualified for being a pastor should know how to run a bus route, how to teach a class in every department of the church, how to have a junior church, how to operate any of the departments of the church so that not only could the pastor do the job himself, but he could teach someone else to do that job so that it is done according to the standards and convictions of the pastor and of the church.

This is one area that Hyles-Anderson excels in more than any other college and I have attended three. They teach pastoral students how to do every department of a church so that when they have a church they can teach the members what to do. But I think that after one graduates from college, they also need to walk with God in such a way that if God has a new method or idea that will bring souls to the Savior and change lives, the preacher should not be so narrow minded as to say that they will not change because it was not done that way in college. Preachers need to be teachable as far as learning from the Holy Spirit and apt to teach as far as giving their people what they need to grow in the Lord.

8. Not given to wine - This means being a person that avoids any form of alcoholic beverages whatsoever.

There is another teaching on this so I will not go into it here, but in our forum we have much written on the reasons that no Christian, much less a minister of the Gospel should touch even one drop of alcoholic wine. For one thing, fermentation in wine as yeast in bread is a representative of sin in the Bible. When Christ gave the last supper he called it the "fruit of the vine" which is grape juice. Even the Jewish Passover is conducted with boiled grapes where the juice from the grapes is mixed with water for a very weak mixture of grape juice since fermentation and yeast represent sin and there was no sin in the body of Christ. If a pastor does not know this most fundamental of all truths of the Bible he needs to resign today. Unfortunately wine is creeping into churches. When I visited England one time there was a debate raging regarding a Christian was prohibited from drinking a little wine since the Bible says of deacons that they are not to drink "much" wine. I wrote a thesis showing that the "much" was the "majority" of wine and even on wine charts the majority is alcoholic. There is, however, a small portion that is non-alcoholic and this "little" wine is all that a Christian is permitted to drink to stay true to the Word of God. This would be especially true of anyone that aspires to be a pastor.

9. No striker - 4131 - plektes - it means not a violent person or a person that is a reviler.

It especially means one that will not by reproachful and upbraiding language wound the conscience of his brethren. It means a person that is not contentious or not a quarreler. I am sorry to say that maybe fifty percent or more of Independent Baptist Preachers have disqualified themselves in this area because they are always "contending for the faith." Too many times a well meaning pastor begins to beat his drum in taking a stand and while doing so he begins to strike out at others that he feels he can criticize or belittle. It gets to the place that when preachers get together they begin to gossip about other pastors and churches that they consider less spiritual or successful than themselves. When they begin to behave in this manner they disqualify themselves from being pastors.

Let me give some examples. A very prominent church in our area that has had Dr. Hyles speak regularly for a number of years had gotten into this "striker" frame of mind. They had begun to call themselves "right-wingers" and they even wore buttons that said, "100% for Dr. Hyles." Now I see no problem with being for Dr. Hyles but when a certain young man attended their service and all the church was standing and shouting regarding something that the pastor had said and when this visiting young man did not stand, he was singled out after the service and actually physically attacked. The reason that this happened was because the pastor had become a striker. He had disqualified himself for the ministry. Oh, this same pastor will talk about divorced preachers as he gossips with his preacher friends, but he is just as bad when he instigates this type of behavior. A young man came to me one day several years ago that was attending this church. He said that a certain evangelist who was a graduate of Hyles-Anderson had strayed from the Bible and did not even believe in the Blood of Christ. I happened to know the evangelist and that he was due to speak in another church in the area that very week. We went to visit the church and asked the evangelist right to his face if that were true and of course it was not. What had happened is that this pastor had thought he was having some degree of success and because of it had decided that he could be a striker in opposition to the meaning of scripture. Because of the lies of that pastor and the criticism of this evangelist the young man changed his plans to attend Bible College and joined the Marine Corps to study law. I have not heard from him since.

We have had other experiences with such "strikers" who are pastors that imagine they are contenders for the faith as it were. This one group of "gossips" visited our forum and begin to trash it by claiming to be Dr. Hyles or members of his staff. They posted some very disturbing things which were supposedly in jest. I found out that one was in a certain Bible College and I copied his posts in our forum and sent them to his college. I believe that he was expelled for his behavior. I have had others come in just to argue doctrine and try to trumpet their pet theories while the whole world looks on and wonders why Christians cannot get along. There are at least five pastors that I have had to lock out of the forum because they could not refrain from being contentious and quarrelsome. These are men with churches and congregations who have web sites that are constantly trashing other works of God. They are not qualified to be pastors. They are strikers. They need to get out of the ministry.

10. Not greedy of filthy lucre - 1461 - aichrokerdes - indecent, dishonorable gain, even it if degrades moral character.

Profit by questionable means. How unfortunate that the world is filled with these types of pastors who should all be driven from the ministry. These are men that will do whatever it takes to make a buck on the side or even to use the church to pad their own pocket book. What a shame. And they can talk of a divorced pastor.

I know of a pastor that is in the business of buying and remodeling repossessed homes. He and the head deacon are in business together. He is seldom at the church and he has a couple that he has given a place to live in exchange for maintaining the busses and doing the work on the grounds of the church. The problem is that this poor family is abused by this pastor's desire for filthy lucre. He keeps them and works them cleaning and remodeling his houses with no pay and says that they are doing it for the Lord when it is really only putting money in his pocket.

I know of another pastor that preaches only on Sunday Morning and then he flies out of town. He is going to his business seminars that he speaks in during the week. The people in the business seminar do not even know he is a pastor much less a Christian but he does it all for a buck. His children are a wreck having been spoiled and pampered so that they are now on drugs and have been in and out of jail. Too bad that they did not have dad around more when he was after big money. Pastors get into all kinds of scams. They are in Amway, Herbalife, Pre-Paid Legal, A.L. Williams and many other things that take them away from the life of pastoring their people. They are unqualified to be pastors. They are greedy of filthy lucre. Now some of the things I mentioned are not scams, but when one gets a taste for money, they will want more and more and it will eventually lead to dishonest gain if not kept in prayerful check. Preachers can do so many things like sell tapes, write books, write church music, preach revivals, give family conferences and so many other things having to do with the ministry. Why would they want to engage themselves in activities that are merely for selfish gain, I don't know.

This has even crept on to the mission field. Missionaries can take pictures of primitive tribes and show unsuspecting churches what they are supposedly doing on the foreign field when it is actually a fact that they are living high on the hog so to speak, being in the country club of the foreign country where they are "ministering" and piling up their money in the stock market while they defraud the people back home about the ministry that God is working through them. My parents tell of one such missionary that would not even attend a church service with the native Christians, he attended the "all white" service of the workers from their mission. What a shame that they could so abuse the money of widows and other sacrificial offerings given to help them do what they were only giving a false report of doing. Churches should examine missionaries to see what they are really doing. They should find out about the children and if they have been taken care of in the proper way. Why should God's money be wasted on people who are only using the mission field to scam people and create their income and security?

There is a story of one missionary that my parents knew that was taking US foreign aid and medical supplies and selling it at a profit in the black market and putting it into secret Swiss bank accounts. What a shame. Oh, and I bet they are against divorced pastors while they defraud churches of good earned money to get US foreign aid and create their own filthy dishonest wealth. Profit by questionable means, greedy of filthy lucre. Not qualified to be a pastor or missionary. Radio and T.V. evangelists have done these dastardly deeds for years. Is it any wonder that there is no revival?

11. Patient - 1933 - epieikes - fitting, appropriate, suitable, proper, lenient, yielding, unassertive clemency, meek.

This has to do with simply loving people. I have attended many Pastors' School sessions where the main thrust was that if pastors would only love their people instead of being their adversary, the church would be in a revival over night. No one can force a Christian to grow in the Lord. I was reading recently about the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a new Christian and how it was similar to the wooing of a husband trying to win his wife to himself. Christ is spoken of as being like the husband and the church as the bride. He never forces his way, but patiently woos the bride to love him and do as He wills. This should be the attitude of a pastor. Patience, knowing that they do not know as much as the pastor does, that they may have to grow in grace to understand certain things and that even if they improve a little bit it is better than not improving at all. Patience is learning that growth is a process with many steps over a period of time and if a pastor cannot give people a chance to grow and learn, then he has no business being in the ministry.

Part of this idea of patience or being fitting and appropriate is the art of learning how to preach in such a way that one is doing counseling from the pulpit. A good pastor knows how to preach on what his people need that week and is able to keep a variety in his preaching so that there is always a suitable message for the occasion and it helps the people grow into a more full understanding of the Lord and of their walk with Him. A good pastor will find that when he properly teaches people that love him what they should do as Christians, he will find them all too willing to follow his lead in all that he says if it is with love and patience as taught by a loving father to attentive obedient children.

I think that patient also means being patient enough to spend time writing sermons and Bible studies and not just preaching the same old "sugar sticks" over and over because it is more convenient and since the pastor has other things going during the week, he doesn't have the time or patience to study and so he leaves the people high and dry when they are expecting to hear something from the Lord on Sunday Morning, Sunday Night and on Wednesday evening as well as at other times such as revivals and other times.

A qualified pastor will not trash that "dumb old deacon" in his mind and will always give the benefit of the doubt. He will listen and try to understand even when it seems people are trying not to understand what is being said or taught.

12. Not a brawler - 269 - amachos - not disposed to fight, not contentious, or quarrelsome, avoiding battles.

This is similar to what was said above in being a striker. It reminds me of a certain church that I have attended no more than once every two years or so, but when I go there, there seems to have always been some church split or fight about something and the pastor is invariably saying that they are glad to clean house and get rid of the trash. That is no way for a preacher to be. He should not be constantly looking for a fight. He needs to hurt when his people hurt. He needs to cry when his people cry. He needs to suffer when his people suffer. He needs to mourn when his people mourn. And then, if they go elsewhere, he needs to pray that God will bless them even as they leave and not thank God that he just did battle with them and booted them out the door.

Some preachers will brawl verbally over anything. I mentioned earlier certain pastors that had been locked out of our forum simply because they loved a good argument. What a shame. There are actually forums on the Internet that cater to people loving a brawl. It is a shame, but pastors love to go to these places and argue about the Bible. One preacher that I knew and befriended and helped him get away from that crowd later on admitted to having family problems with his wife. Evidently the attitude of loving a brawl crept into his home and hurt his marriage. If a man does not have a good marriage, he certainly cannot be a pastor because the home is the most important thing of all. Recently I posted a quote from a preacher of a by gone day and it was from a scripture regarding some of the sins of the flesh. Among these sins was the sin of debate. A brawler loves to debate. Some pastors are always in a debate over something or some doctrine or some political situation. That is not to say one should not stand up for the truth or for the right thing politically, but to be carried away in these areas disqualifies one from being a pastor.

13. Not covetous - 866 - aphilarguros - not fond of money.

Too many pastors can't avoid the temptation to always be talking about money. They will see a rich man or a lawyer come into their church and the first thing that they do is to think of some way to milk that person of some special offering because they are covetous. They cannot stand to think that this rich person can sit in their church and not drop some huge sum into the collection. This pastor has disqualified himself from the ministry. He is constantly thinking, worrying, dreaming, and talking about money.

14. Ruling the house, having the children under subjection with all gravity. 5292 - hupotage - subordination, submission, obedience. 4587 - semnotes - decency, dignity, seriousness - try to please or be pleasant to everyone, to stand well in all the world.

To perform as a citizen and to adhere to the highest principles and ideals of earth and heaven, thus drawing respect and approval. This quality of a minister is given more attention in the Bible than all the others put together. It is the picture of the pastor and his family especially of the children and their attitudes and obedience of their parents. The Bible says that if a man cannot govern his family, how can he take care of the church of God. All the traits that we have discussed must be seen by the family because they know him better than anyone. If what the pastor has does not make a submissive wife and children, then the pastor is not qualified though he may be the greatest pulpit preacher in the world.

I am sure that any reading this could name some preacher that has family that are an embarrassment or even a disgrace to him because of their rebellious attitudes and how they disgrace the man of God in the community. God was particularly angry with Eli because of the immorality of the sons and for that they were all killed by the enemy armies. I know a preacher that would keep his children home with a baby sitter watching television instead of being in the preaching service so that they would not act up and be a problem while he was this big famous preacher and building this great church. Now that they are grown, the children do not go to church and one has been on drugs and in and out of jail. Whatever other qualifications or lack of them this preacher has, this lack of control of the family is the strongest reason why he should get out of the ministry.

On the other hand, I have a friend that has the most wonderful family. He is known by his friends as one that gives "devotion" at a certain time of the day and even when people visit him, they are required to listen to papa teach from the Bible as the children gather around. Needless to say, this man has a very successful and thriving ministry and his children that are being married are going to foreign fields to serve God in honor of their Pastor father that has kept his family under a holy reverential fear and respect. This friend is especially keen on making sure that the children do not develop a silly spirit during their play or during devotion times. I have been amazed as I have read the testimonies and diaries of these children as they have matured and are now out in the ministry serving the Lord. What a tribute to a man that walks with God and teaches his family the principles that have made them respected and approved by all.

15. Not a novice - 3504 - neuphutos - it means not one that is newly saved or new in church.

Sadly many pastors have no more spiritual growth than a new Christian and the sad fact that their congregation can grow no further than they do. Is it any wonder that so many congregations have never grown from the milk to the meat of the Christian life?

16. Not lifted up with pride - 5187 - tuphoo - to smoke or swell with pride to inflate.

God certainly doesn't need any ego problems. I know preachers that are so filled with themselves that they will call every preacher in town in order to get dirt on someone so that they can discredit his ministry so that they can build themselves up. God says that they are no more than a puff of smoke. Oh, by the way, these types have ministries where they run at least 50 in attendance in a 200 seat auditorium in a city of 2 million. Too bad there is not room for another work for God.

In contrast to this type I know a minister that is so helpful that he would love to help another brother build a church even if it were not far away. He says that he knows everyone will not always like him and if there is another church of like faith not far away, his people would be better off there than in a false cult. That man is qualified to be a pastor.

17. Of good report to them that are without - 2570 - kalos - 1855 - exothen - meaning constitutionally good meaning beauty as harmonious with completeness and balance in proportion.

It is particularly talking of the Christian witness or testimony that a man has to those that do not know God or are strangers to the Christian community. What about the place where the church buys gas, are the bills paid on time. What about the lawyer that handles the legal problems. What about the accounting firm that audits the books. Do they say that the Pastor is honest and above board in everything? Are taxes paid along with credit cards and large and small debts? Would those that don't know anything about the church think that the man of God was honest in their affairs and by their appraisal? Are there any rumors that would prove to be true? If the pastor had a job in the secular world, what do the workers think of him? Was he honest? Did he have a Christian testimony? Do they all know him as a man of God, even in the workplace?

I know a preacher that had a side job to subsidize his church salary. In that job, the pastor was so much of "one of the boys" that many did not even know he was a Christian much less a preacher. I know someone else that has won business associates to the Lord and has great respect for his honesty and integrity even in the business field. Oh, by the way, the man with integrity is divorced. Which one is qualified to be a pastor? I hope that churches and Christians read this and print this and take heed to what is written here as a lesson that needs to be learned. We need to take a closer look at ALL THE BIBLE TEACHES on certain subjects and not get in a position where we sit as judges on any man that is truly called of God, has his family in order, is qualified in every area of this lesson but may have had an unfaithful wife leave him making him an innocent party. What a shame that we have so perverted the word of God that we have hung a noose around the necks of good men that God could use when there are so many frauds in the ministry. Let's pray that God will guide us into a more clear understanding of what s really required to be qualified to pastor a church for God's glory.