Exercising authority in church bears with it proportionate levels of accountability ( James 3:1). There are crowns for those ( 1 Peter 5:4) who are overseeing the flock in any capacity. While we cannot dismiss someone receiving such a crown who has a sizeable and successful ministry from outward appearances the urge to compromise leads to the situation in Matthew 5:19.
One thing is for sure; no one is going to receive rewards for teaching heresy; and continued unrepentance in this area like any other sin shows that an individual is unsaved.
It is by no means a guarantee of God's calling; but it does help when other brothers can see we have a gift and calling to be a Pastor. It seems to be a favorite rationale for getting a degree in Divinity; but I admire a brother I met some years ago who had a desire to be an elder specifically; not a Pastor. (Techinically these require the same gifting). In light of that observation; ;I have found that many large churches seem to rarely if ever give credit to Associate Pastors or even mention those under them. It could be the sheer size of the staff that is prohibitive. As I have probably pointed out before on this site; it is NOT wise for a Pastor to have NO elders or deacons working to help them and guide them; but I have seen this happen on occasion.
It is often a sign of an immature or prideful man in leadership when this situation continues. Thankfully in the one case I am aware of one of my friends was elected to be an Elder; clearly gifted in counselling others and teaching abilities.
I hope myself not to be hypocritical even with my own "sermons" online. We all need to learn from each other; and no gifting should be considered the "penultimate" position. Laypersons also should be involved; at least as members in voting in areas of church polity. Room for dissenting opinions in regard to large financial expenditures should involve preliminary data for transparency
Exercising authority in church bears with it proportionate levels of accountability ( James 3:1). There are crowns for those ( 1 Peter 5:4) who are overseeing the flock in any capacity. While we cannot dismiss someone receiving such a crown who has a sizeable and successful ministry from outward appearances the urge to compromise leads to the situation in Matthew 5:19.
One thing is for sure; no one is going to receive rewards for teaching heresy; and continued unrepentance in this area like any other sin shows that an individual is unsaved.
It is by no means a guarantee of God's calling; but it does help when other brothers can see we have a gift and calling to be a Pastor. It seems to be a favorite rationale for getting a degree in Divinity; but I admire a brother I met some years ago who had a desire to be an elder specifically; not a Pastor. (Techinically these require the same gifting). In light of that observation; ;I have found that many large churches seem to rarely if ever give credit to Associate Pastors or even mention those under them. It could be the sheer size of the staff that is prohibitive. As I have probably pointed out before on this site; it is NOT wise for a Pastor to have NO elders or deacons working to help them and guide them; but I have seen this happen on occasion.
It is often a sign of an immature or prideful man in leadership when this situation continues. Thankfully in the one case I am aware of one of my friends was elected to be an Elder; clearly gifted in counselling others and teaching abilities.
I hope myself not to be hypocritical even with my own "sermons" online. We all need to learn from each other; and no gifting should be considered the "penultimate" position. Laypersons also should be involved; at least as members in voting in areas of church polity. Room for dissenting opinions in regard to large financial expenditures should involve preliminary data for transparency
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