Dr.
Couch, there seems to be a lot of confusion on the qualifications for a
pastor and deacon. There seems to be a lot of tradition involved in
interpreting some of these issues. Do you have any suggestion?
ANSWER: Yes, my book Biblical Theology of the Church (Kregel) and my book
Pastor's Manual for Doing Church, both deal with the qualifications and
characteristics Paul wants in the elders and deacons. By the way, I
prefer the term "characteristics" instead of qualifications. No one
human being can come up to the qualifications the apostle lays down. I
have never seen anyone in office who has done that.
The apostle Paul sets forth standards, but we know that he knows none
will ever walk perfect. This is not to say we are sloppy with those
standards. They stand as ideals for the church to consider strongly for
leadership.
You are right, by the way, in what you see in traditional
interpretation on some of these matters. I have found it is almost
impossible to get churches to move away from tradition to true biblical
guidelines. They do not understand elder leadership (or they elect not
to embrace it). They make the pastor a puppet of the board, or, he
becomes the straw boss over the church and the board. Yet all of the
biblical balance is in the Word of God, but it is just ignored!
Thanks for asking!
Dr. Mal Couch
