Will anyone do?
- Thread starter nHutain
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Southern Presbyterian
Puritan Board Doctor
If both are biblically qualified then it would be the better part of wisdom to make determinations based on things such a experience, level of education, even which one best suited to minister in your particular situation (e.g. Would bringing a lifetime city dweller to minister in a small rural town be as productive as bringing a small town guy?). 
Hamalas
whippersnapper
Prayer and meditation. Both the candidate and the church should be confidant that God is calling that man to serve. God does not call resumes, he calls men, and we have to remember that God has a specific man for a specific time. I think it really comes down to seeking God's direction.
TaylorOtwell
Puritan Board Junior
Hamalas,
Do you have any suggestions for how this could be done without an extreme reliace on the subjective or extra-Biblical revelation?
Do you have any suggestions for how this could be done without an extreme reliace on the subjective or extra-Biblical revelation?
Hamalas
whippersnapper
Nah, I don't like to talk in specifics. I just let the Spirit guide me.
Just kidding. On a more serious note, it's hard to suggest specific things without knowing more about the situation. Are both men confidant that God is calling them to this church? (Or is this just a hypothetical situation, I can't tell.
)-----Added 1/19/2009 at 09:18:56 EST-----
Good point!
This was just a hypothetical question, what I was really asking was "does God have a specific person chosen for each church"?
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Nathan
Baptist
Jacksonville, Arkansas
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Hamalas
whippersnapper
I would say yes. There are many, many passages that talk about calling. Acts 13:2, Acts 16:10, Romans 1:1, Romans 8:28, 1 Corinthians 1:1-2, the list could go on and on. God has clearly set aside every individual for a certain task. If you consider the gift of Prophesy to be a foreshadowing of the proclamation that comes from the Ministers of the Word, then one can easily see the correlation between the calling of the prophets and the calling of the Pastor.
TaylorOtwell
Puritan Board Junior
The 2nd London Confession, chapter 26, sections 8-11 and their Scripture proofs may be helpful here. I'm on my phone, otherwise I would paste it.
It seems to me that the Lord's church is to make due use of the available means to selecting elders. The main being the lists of qualifications found in the letters to Timothy and Titus, and the counsel of other godly Christians/ministers.
Of course, there are differences between the Baptists and Presbyterians in the process of
appointing teachers of the Word. I think the Presbyterian practice of examining candidates by other ministers in the area has a lot of merit.
It seems to me that the Lord's church is to make due use of the available means to selecting elders. The main being the lists of qualifications found in the letters to Timothy and Titus, and the counsel of other godly Christians/ministers.
Of course, there are differences between the Baptists and Presbyterians in the process of
appointing teachers of the Word. I think the Presbyterian practice of examining candidates by other ministers in the area has a lot of merit.
Ivan
Pastor
Interesting...so how do Baptists examine their candidates?
TaylorOtwell
Puritan Board Junior
Ivan,
I'm sure this varies, and you probably know better than I, however, I usually hear of a committee that is appointed in the church to search for a pastor. I'm not aware that the candidates are ever interviewed by other elders in the area.
Of couse this is all assuming that the teachers are brought in from outside. I think it would be great to start seeing young men gifted in teaching taken under the wing of existing elders and teachers, so that some elders could be raised up from among the local flock itself.
I'm sure this varies, and you probably know better than I, however, I usually hear of a committee that is appointed in the church to search for a pastor. I'm not aware that the candidates are ever interviewed by other elders in the area.
Of couse this is all assuming that the teachers are brought in from outside. I think it would be great to start seeing young men gifted in teaching taken under the wing of existing elders and teachers, so that some elders could be raised up from among the local flock itself.
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