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[2bLikeJesus]

Apart from a scriptural argument, I would find it difficult to receive marriage, family, and child rearing counsel from my Pastor if he had never been married with children.  However, I find no problem with someone on the mission field being unmarried and starting churches to be turned over to a local person before moving on to start another church plant.  I keep the work of an evangelist completely separate and different from that of a Pastor.

Bro. Garry

In His will. By His power.  For His glory.

[Pastorj]

I will be in the minority on this one. I believe an unmarried person is not qualified to be a pastor. Can they be an assistant - Yes. I would further go on to say that one with no children is also not qualified to be the "Pastor".

The question will come up - What about those who "Can't" have children. The qualifications are there for a reason. 1 Tim. 3 clearly states that they must be the "Husband of 1 wife and have his "Children" in subjection. If you don't have a wife and/or children, you don't meet this qualification.

[Salyan]

2 hours ago, Pastorj said:

I will be in the minority on this one. I believe an unmarried person is not qualified to be a pastor. Can they be an assistant - Yes. I would further go on to say that one with no children is also not qualified to be the "Pastor".

The question will come up - What about those who "Can't" have children. The qualifications are there for a reason. 1 Tim. 3 clearly states that they must be the "Husband of 1 wife and have his "Children" in subjection. If you don't have a wife and/or children, you don't meet this qualification.

May I ask you a question about that? I've always felt that this was a 'if they are married/have kids, this is how they ought to be' rather than a requirement, and one reason is that is seemed rather unreasonable to have this requirement. What if the wife dies, or one of the children dies, leaving only one child? For most of history, infant and maternal mortality rates were quite high compared to nowadays. It seems rather arbitrary that a formerly-qualified man should suddenly become unqualified and have to leave the pastorate because of a death in the family.  How do you reconcile that with this position? (Sincere question, I'd really like to understand your POV here.)

[swathdiver]

A Pastor should not be a novice either.  Some twenty year old who is married with two kids may not be ready to shepherd a church.  If a pastor does not have more than one child, then the Lord simply never called him.  Now what is the tense, grammatically speaking of wife and children in that verse?  Is it present tense or could it encompass a widower or couple who lost at least one of two or more children?  Sentence diagramming was not my strong suit, but when such instances arise, I ask my daughter and will do so in this case.  Wait, I did a couple years ago on here and it didn't end well!  LOL   

[Pastorj]

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 11:53 AM, Salyan said:

May I ask you a question about that? I've always felt that this was a 'if they are married/have kids, this is how they ought to be' rather than a requirement, and one reason is that is seemed rather unreasonable to have this requirement. What if the wife dies, or one of the children dies, leaving only one child? For most of history, infant and maternal mortality rates were quite high compared to nowadays. It seems rather arbitrary that a formerly-qualified man should suddenly become unqualified and have to leave the pastorate because of a death in the family.  How do you reconcile that with this position? (Sincere question, I'd really like to understand your POV here.)

Saylan,
I don't see an "IF" in the verse. Being a pastor is a calling and you must meet God's qualifications. My son is a US Marine. They have very high qualifications which seem unreasonable for an individual who works in a Brig. The qualifications for a Navy Corrections Officer is different than a Marine. The qualifications may seem unreasonable, but they are God's and I won't question it.

As to what happens if the wife dies. He is still the husband of one wife. If he remarries after her death, he is still the husband of one wife. If his children die, grow up, etc, and he had his house in subjection, he is still qualified. The issue is he has to prove he can lead his own home before he can Pastor God's house.

[Salyan]

1 hour ago, Pastorj said:

Saylan,
I don't see an "IF" in the verse. Being a pastor is a calling and you must meet God's qualifications. My son is a US Marine. They have very high qualifications which seem unreasonable for an individual who works in a Brig. The qualifications for a Navy Corrections Officer is different than a Marine. The qualifications may seem unreasonable, but they are God's and I won't question it.

As to what happens if the wife dies. He is still the husband of one wife. If he remarries after her death, he is still the husband of one wife. If his children die, grow up, etc, and he had his house in subjection, he is still qualified. The issue is he has to prove he can lead his own home before he can Pastor God's house.

Thank you for your response!

I don't think I agree with that after death logic - it's inconsistent. If he's the husband of one wife even when his wife is dead, then when he remarries he must now be the husband of two wives. Or he's the husband of one wife until death negates this, thus making a remarriage a reinstatement to husband of one wife. You can logically have one or the other, but not both.

My question about children still stands. If a man is eligible having had two children, even if one has died - how is that functionally different from a man who only ever had one? God's qualifications may be unique, but I've never noticed them to be arbitrary.

[Pastorj]

14 hours ago, Salyan said:

Thank you for your response!

I don't think I agree with that after death logic - it's inconsistent. If he's the husband of one wife even when his wife is dead, then when he remarries he must now be the husband of two wives. Or he's the husband of one wife until death negates this, thus making a remarriage a reinstatement to husband of one wife. You can logically have one or the other, but not both.

My question about children still stands. If a man is eligible having had two children, even if one has died - how is that functionally different from a man who only ever had one? God's qualifications may be unique, but I've never noticed them to be arbitrary.

Saylan,

God makes it clear he is released from the first wife. He has already proven that his house is under subjection when his first wife died, which is the whole reason God wants a wife and kids. When the kids move out, he still had his house under subjection. The person with no wife and no kids cannot demonstrate he is fit to lead a church.