Members John81 Posted June 13, 2014 Members Share Posted June 13, 2014 The SBC is a bunch of churches that cooperate under the umbrella of the collective title SBC. The president of the SBC doesn't rule over all the churches in the SBC. This is both good and prOBlematic. It's good that one man can't dictate to all those churches but it also limits the presidents ability to try and lead those churches in a biblical direction. Some SBC churches are yet biblically conservative, yet at the other end there are some who have taken very liberal turns, and then there are all the others in between. Looking at our own IFB churches today we can, unfortunately, see the same thing in that some IFB churches are still biblically conservative but we also have a growing number who have taken very liberal turns and then a bunch in between. Such is the nature of things in this fallen world. When it comes to looking for a church to attend, whether for a home church or visiting, the old saying of "buyer beware" applies. We have to use caution and check each church out carefully so we know what we are getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators HappyChristian Posted June 13, 2014 Administrators Share Posted June 13, 2014 I think our pastor has been there for over thirty years, and they done it differently. Preachers came to the church and took turns preaching. The people watched and listened to whom God was blessing the most. After a while the other preachers slowly stopped coming and after some more time the men told him they could see he was meant to be the pastor. Okay - that's very interesting. I don't see it as much different from our voting, though. The men of the church came to him...they had to agree that he was the one meant. Which is actually almost the same as putting it to a vote. We didn't have a bunch of men coming in. We began praying about it about a year before we knew it would be time to change over (our founding pastor was stepping down to become an assistant rather than the pastor due to age). We prayed for a number of things: That God would send the man He wanted That God would lead the pulpit committee (which, in our church, is the deacons) That God would prepare the man He would call to be what God wants him to be Wisdom After the year of praying, the deacons had a couple of men in mind. More prayer on all parts. One name was then put before us as the one the deacons believed to be the right one. More time for prayer and asking questions of the deacons and the man. And then the vote. Keep in mind that everyone in the church had heard each of the men that had been considered preach on numerous occasions, but not as pastoral candidates. Long story short, it took us over 4 years, but our new pastor was voted in over a year ago, and worked with the pastor for a while before assuming the role. I don't think voting is wrong. The way it's done could be. Or the result could be. Even the reason. But when it's bathed in prayer God will answer. When an entire church is praying for God to lead them on the matter, God will show the entire church. I don't agree with the RCC or the SBC. But voting is the least of the issues, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MountainChristian Posted June 13, 2014 Members Share Posted June 13, 2014 Its unheard of here for a church to put in that much time and prayer for a new pastor. I'd shout the victory if any church here cared that much for the will of God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators HappyChristian Posted June 13, 2014 Administrators Share Posted June 13, 2014 Its unheard of here for a church to put in that much time and prayer for a new pastor. I'd shout the victory if any church here cared that much for the will of God. Well, it was something our founding pastor actually preached and taught about. He actually planned on stepping down on our 40th anniversary, and 10 years before began teaching about what we should be looking for in a pastor, why we should be praying about it, etc. So, in reality, most of us began praying long before that. It took a few years longer because of a situation that arose, but that really just meant more praying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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