Full Question:
What should be the role of a good pastor, youth pastor, women pastor, in the church of God? What are the qualifications to be a pastor?
Answer:
Bible clearly says about the role and qualifications required by a pastor of the church. It is written and mentioned in the epistles written by Apostle Paul to Timothy and Titus.
1 Timothy 3:1-7 "1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap."
Titus 1: 5-9 "5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— 6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."
It would like to write it one by one so that it will be very easy to notice and understand each point.
He should be a person who is in desire for a task in the church.
He should be a person without reproach.
He should be married and a husband of one wife.
He should be temperate / vigilant.
He should be sober-minded / self controlled.
He should be respectable / orderly.
He should be given to hospitality.
He should be able to teach.
He should not be given to drunkenness.
He should not be violent.
He should be gentle.
He should not be quarrelsome.
He should not be a lover of money.
He should have a household and he should manage it well.
He should have children and should keep his children submissive with all dignity.
He should have faithful children.
He should not be a recent convert / new believer.
He should have good reputation with the outsiders / people outside the church.
He should be a lover of God.
He should be just / upright.
He should be Holy.
He should be disciplined.
He should hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught.
Almost all the points about a the eligibility of a pastor is very clear in the verses mentioned above. You can discern anyone with these points to realize that if a person is a real pastor based on the bible. A biblical pastor should be qualified in all the points mentioned above.
And now a days, may be by the influence of the world or so, many variety of pastors are available in the church. Youth pastor, women pastor, kids pastor, babies pastor are all few of them. Whatever it may be Bible do not support these things at all. Bible clearly says that a church is a group of people who got saved. It includes people of different categories. If we classify them, there may be youth, kids, women, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, professionals and so on. According to me it is not good to assign pastors for each category. It is because church is a fellowship between members of all these categories.
Beyond these, bible speak only about a pastor with the qualifications which I mentioned above. Thus it do not allows a women or a youth or a kid to be a pastor. And if some church want separate pastors for their women, youth and kids, at any cost, let them assign pastors with the qualification mentioned in the bible.
Many people are confused about the relation between elders and pastors. A good incident from bible which help us to understand this relation clearly is from Acts 20: 17. Here we can see that Apostle Paul sent message to the elders of the church at Ephesus and bring them to him. After sharing many things that happened in the past and in his journey to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, He appointed those elders of the pastors, to shepherd the flocks in the church of God.
This is the only incident mentioned in the bible, in which we can see the appointment of pastors. Here it is clear that Apostle Paul appointed the elders of the church as pastors. If it is so, one should be an elder before he become a pastor. The eligibility to become an elder is clearly mentioned in the Titus 1: 5-9.
Most churches today do not have pastors that satisfy the biblical qualifications of a pastor. They do not preach these kind of things in the church for they lack it. They preach Jesus Christ as the one who is build churches and they believe all their actions are God's divine leading. They teach the members that all leaders are appointed by God and not to question authorities. They want everyone to be submissive, or simply, to be silent watching all these things inside the church which they called as the church of God. Finally they says that that the grace will cover all these things.
May God bless all of you with this answer to discern people who are called pastors.
Your answer is very right, Alfred. Keep writing and speak against all worldly customs inside the church. God bless you.
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