What it takes to be a pastor

I can see he was hairy but both reference below indicate camel a unclean animal, wild honey was also forbidden, I believe. A hairy guy wearing a camel coat .

I have a for quite some time viewed John coming as one unclean introducing Christ who makes us white as snow. Sort of like Jesus entering Jerusalem on a Ass another unclean animal used to represent a unbeliever. It think he performs those kind of parables to show us he is not served by human hands in any way shape or form .He can use a believer or an unbeliever to bring His gospel seed knowing he causes the growth if any.


Matthew 3:4And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

Mark 1:6And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

I am all for Biblical education. It is essential for any person who teaches the Word and/or serves in the office of Pastor.
But, years spent at a seminary does not always mean the person has a biblical education.
Just because a person has a Phd does not mean the person has a biblical education.
My point is that it is essential that one is instructed by someone who Knows the Word, and many seminaries teach the doctrines of men, not the Word of God.

And why do some people who have that PhD insist on being call "Dr. So & So"?

Don't eat the meat, theres nothing to say using the hair from unclean animals for clothing was forbidden. They used sheep, camels and afew other animals for their clothing.

Wild honey is not a product of bee's, bees only are the carriers of the plant nactor we call honey and Jesus knews that as well He didn't have a issue with eating the wild honey.

Luke 24:42
And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

I agree...pulpits are filled every Sunday by men with degrees that have no clue what they are talking about and the opposite is true as well....God qualifies the men he calls, not a piece of paper from some theological seminary which anyone can get.......some of the best messages I have heard were preached by old timers that have never graced the doors of a seminary....

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!

As well John wasn't unclean, the unclean thing you speak about is about eating the meat of those animals not riding them or using the hair off the hide for clothing.

You've jumped in late read back about the discussion.

Sorry I get it now lol.

Flower nectar collected by bees, which gets broken down into simple sugars stored inside the honeycomb. The design of the honeycomb and constant fanning of the bees' wings causes evaporation, creating sweet liquid honey. ... Beekeepers harvest it by collecting the honey

HAHAHAH I figured Liquid Metal Man HAH

Hahaha,, A T1000

I studied the Bible on my own for 25 years, before going to seminary. I read it, used Strong's and Vines' and memorized a lot of Scripture. Those certainly were not wasted years! But, neither did I learn as effectively and efficiently as at seminary. Having access to a huge library, researching and under the supervision of godly men and women, I progressed more in a year, than I did in the prior 25 years as a Christian. I studied things I would probably never have looked into, and God opened amazing doors of ministry for my life.

I guess there are people who might be called just to study the Bible, but in the end, seminary teaches you to do the practical things, to preach and teach, of course, and to disciple people, to lead them to Christ, and to counsel them. So, although a big portion of seminary is devoted to studying the Bible, learning the original languages and the proper way to exegete the text using good hermeneutical principles, there is also a lot of time where the spiritual walk of the student is dealt with, using mentors and various small groups.

So, don't knock it if you haven't tried it. As for the PhD, it is a doctorate, after all. My dad had a PhD, although far removed from anything Christian. If he wanted to impress someone, he always introduced himself as "Dr._______." If he wanted to get a deal on building supplies, he introduced himself as "Steve." So, a PhD is not just something for theologians.

In fact, if you want to teach in a university, secular or Christian, or in a seminary or theological school, you must have a PhD. It is always required by the certifying board. And certification is important. It helps maintain a high standard, and in developing the school. I participated in a certification process when I taught in elementary school. It was a lengthy process, but all schools, at every level, in the province I worked in required certification. And also certification for the teachers. When I retired I gave up my certification, so I wouldn't have to pay the annual fee. Then the daily rates for Teachers On Call, went sky high due to a teacher shortage, and I sort of regretted my decision. Except, most days I am not well enough to teach, which is why I relinquished it in the first place.

And now God has me working on a PhD in Practical Theology, I want to write books on how to help people who are suffering and how God can help them, not just in the church, but in the community. And let me tell you, the jump and expectations in learning for a PhD are about 300% higher than in seminary. And very hard on my health. But I am finding, that as in seminary, God uses the professors to point me in the right direction, and to give me a great foundation in theology. Seminaries and theological schools, if they are run properly by godly men and women, are truly used by the Holy Spirit to teach people how to serve God in many capacities. My seminary was Southern Baptist, with sound doctrine. My theological institute is a breakaway SBC school, almost everyone comes out of a SBC background. I don't agree with a few things, but I know I can trust them to be conservative, to teach that the Bible is correct and is our guidebook, and that being caring and compassionate, humble and kind, are also important in a theological education.

And why is people always think it is better just to read the Bible alone at home, and then walk into a church and teach and preach incredible things? I am not denying the power of the Holy Spirit, which is necessary for every believer. But God expects a lot more than that, for a leader, including a solid education. The reason I say that, is because Pastor Tom, the preacher with the PhD at my last church, who never ever called himself Dr., or even let it be known he had the PhD (I had to dig deep to find out), was the most incredible preacher, and humbler than any Christian I have ever known. He studied the great preachers, and many other things, and it truly shows the value of higher education.

PS Paul was extremely well educated for his day, and certainly Luke was a man of God who had studied at a very high level. His Greek is so complex, with so many hapax legomena, you almost have to read Luke and Acts with a lexicon in one hand. But John, whose Greek really is that of an Aramaic fisherman, still pounds so much truth into his gospel, epistles and Revelation. That is the power of the Holy Spirit, God using them as he saw fit, to write our Bible.

I was not knocking your education.
And I agree that it is not very wise for a person to isolate himself and study alone without learning with and from others.
But, I am sure you will agree that there are some PhDs out there that have been taught the doctrines of men as evident by what they are now preaching.
It is important who you choose to study with and learn from.
One should also be very careful that as you teach to not use language and terms that are not understood by the ones being taught. I have seen this happen. A PhD speaking way above the comprehension level of his audience.
You don't go into a kindergarten and teach algebra.
Unfortunately, most churches are just not mature enough to learn from a PhD. They are more like a kindergarten.

It is amazing how much great preaching was done, souls won, and lives changed before seminary educations became so popular.

Something I think is important on this issue is to frame our thinking in the Bible and Biblical thought.

In the KJV, 'pastors' shows up in one verse in Ephesians 4:11, where it mentions 'apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers' that were given as gifts that Christ gave when or after He ascended on high.

The word translated 'shepherd', poimen, in the New Testament is typically the same word (or grammatically inflected form thereof.) There is also a verb form related to poimen can be translated 'tend' or 'feed', and it refers to herding or tending a flock.

Jesus is the Good Pastor. The Good Pastor lays down His life for His sheep. Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him and told him to pastor His sheep. Paul told the elders of the church of Ephesus to pastor the church of God over whom the Holy Ghost had made them overseers/bishops (Acts 20:28). Peter told the elders of the church to pastor the flock of God and take the oversight there of, and when the Chief Pastor shall appear, they shall obtain a crown of glory that does not fade away.

Paul asked of his own ministry who pastors a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock.

So the act of pastoring is associated with the ministry of apostles and elders.

We can also look at the Old Testament about how David was a pastor of sheet and the Lord set him over His people Israel. There were also prophets, priests, and kings who served as bad pastors of the people later on.

If actually look at 'church governmental' roles in the New Testament, it is important to pay attention to the words 'elders' and 'bishop' or 'overseers', depending on your translation. After the sent ones-- the apostles, Paul and Barnabas, were sent out by the Spirit, they traveled from city to city preaching the gospel. New believers would meet and form churches. They, no doubt 'pastored'-- or cared for the souls of the Lord's lambs-- while they were with them. But they soon left, and churches had to meet together and mature without ordained ministers.

They could probably do this because they did not have Protestant-style church meetings back then. They had meetings where 'every one of you' (I Corinthians 14:26, Hebrews 10:24-25) could use their gifts to edify each other, meetings where they exhorted one another. They would also break bread together. They would have eaten a meal of bread and wine together to remember the Lord's death called the Lord's Supper.

The apostles returned after a while, maybe several months or up to two years, and they would identify men in the congregation who met certain criteria and appoint them as elders or bishops of the flock of God. Later, Paul instructed Titus and also Timothy to appoint elders and gave the qualifications for ministering this bishop/overseer role. There was more than one elder in each church. In Philippians, we see there was more than one bishop in a church. Paul calls elders bishops (Acts 20:28.) Titus 1 and I Timothy 3 show us the characteristics for this role. Most of them are lifestyle type characteristics like ruling one's house well, not being given to much wine, being the husband of one wife/ a one-woman man, etc.

The Bible does not emphasize 'pastors' nearly as much as Protestant churches do. The Protestant role barely exists in scripture. What I mean is there are aspects of the role that have no real basis in the Bible. Some of these are culture, and I would argue not necessarily wrong, and some aspects of the role may actually detract from a church functioning Biblically.

There are different traditions, but in Protestantism, it seems like denominations have two ways to qualify 'pastors'-- one would be that he has to complete certain educational requirements, like a four year master's of divinity from a seminary. Other denominations emphasize a 'call', and have this idea that someone becomes a 'pastor' because he is called by God. Many of these denominations have been influenced by some developments in the early Reformed movement that invented a separate role of 'elder' which evolved into a 'board elder.' So they think the Biblical requirements apply to this less important role of board elder which isn't really Biblical, and ignore the Biblical requirements for actually overseeing the church.

Some differences between Protestant tradition and the Bible in regard to bishop/elder/pastoral type ministry qualifications:
Qualifications:
--Tradition: education or 'call to pastor' or a combination of the two.
--Bible: Meet the qualifications of I Timothy 3 or Titus 1.

Number of elders:
--Tradition: one pastor per church, or else a 'senior pastor' with other pastors reporting to him. Churches independent or part of a denominational franchise.
--Bible: multiple elders or bishops per church/city. Jesus is the 'chief Pastor'.

Ministry duties:
--Tradition:
---Must preach one long 20 to 60 minute sermon, preferrably 3-points.
---Marries people.
---Performs funerals.

--Bible:
---Elder must be 'apt to teach' and those who give themselves to preaching and teaching are worthy of double honor. In the Bible 'every one of you' minister to edify spiritual gifts (I Cor 14:26), and we are to 'exhort one another' when we meet (Heb. 10:24-25.)
---No scripture teaches that elders or one 'senior pastor' must MC the church meeting or give a long discourse every time.
---In scripture, arranging weddings is handled by parents or the man wanting to marry with the father of the bride. There is reference to parties. Elders in the Old Testament were once a witness to a land transaction that involved Boaz taking Ruth as wife. But the modern 'Christian wedding' appears to be a cultural adaptation that resembles pagan Roman weddings and Roman cultural practices before their cultural practices were adapted to Christianity. There is no indication in scripture that God gave the elders sacramental power to 'join together' couples.
---Church officials performing funerals is a cultural practice, not a particularly Biblical one.

We should also note that the word 'priest' comes from the Greek word for 'elder.' English and German had the problem of the same word being used for Old Testament kohen as for the New Testament elder role, which created some theological confusion. The Reformed Movement in Geneva dropped the term 'priests', and started calling their ordained ministers the equivalent of 'pastors'. They created a new city government role of 'elders.' The Scottish Presbyterians modeled their national church on the Geneva city model, copying the newly-created 'elder' role from the city government and adapting it to a church office. And they used the word 'pastors' for their ordained ministry. Early on, the Scottish Presbyterian applied Biblical 'elder' verses to pastors, but God confused over time. From their influence, many Protestants call their leaders 'pastors' and have an 'board elder' role that does not exist in scripture.

The anointing of God is all u need.
U can know scriptures all u want but if u are not anointed by God ro be a pastor, u wont work it

Can you show us this in the Bible and show us in the Bible what a pastor's job entails?

Holy feeder - shepherd- teacher:
when we truly receive The Holy Spirit, this becomes our destiny for the rest of our lives...

If it's done in the flesh, it will consume the person, i.e., "the bush"; however, if it's done by the Power of the Holy Spirit, the bush will burn and not be consumed (Exodus 3:2, Romans 8:2).

Let me repeat this again, this is very important: anything and everything that is not produced and birth by the Holy Spirit is wood, hay, and stubble from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words it is the work of the flesh. If it is of the flesh the bush will be consumed. If it of the Spirit the bush will not be consumed. Exodus 3:2-3

The only way the Believer (Pastor) can walk in the Spirit is placing their Faith exclusively in Christ (who He is) and the Cross of Calvary where the victory was won (what He has done), i.e., The Finished Work, i.e., The Blood of Jesus (Romans 8:2).

The Believer (Pastor) must stay in His death, burial, and resurrection and are, therefore, victorious (It is Jesus Christ life that brings victory). That is the only way they (we) are triumphant in Christ (II Cor. 2:14). And that is the only way He can work in them (us) both to will (change their desires), and to do (give them the power of the Holy Spirit) (Phil. 2:13)

That would be a bixzar and extreme view. Typically nations that allow abortion alliw women to have their babies killed in the womb allow them to do so without the father's consent. Fornication betweem two unmarried unbetrothed people is a sin, but it was not a death penalty crime in the Old Testament. Condomless sex is not some kind of special sin apart from sex. condoms are not 100% either. You should ask him if male abortion doctors shpuld e executed.

Nothing revokes a pro-life ideology like calling for the murder of women exercising sovereign choice over their own womb.