INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the last two weeks, we’ve been looking at why we’ve decided to reserve the title Pastor for Levels 4 and 5 of our Leadership Pipeline. As I’ve explained, I grew up in the Assemblies of God, where the title Pastor is used very broadly. And when we planted New Day, I brought that same understanding with me. But over the years, as I studied Scripture, I began encountering passages that challenged what I’d always believed about the pastoral office. And that eventually led me into a five-year, on-again, off-again study of the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I’ve shared, I discovered that God defines the pastoral office in three important ways\u2014by its scope, function, and eligibility. In our first week, we looked at scope<\/a>. Last week, we looked at function<\/a>. And today, we’re looking at the third and final characteristic\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n ELIGIBILITY<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, remember, scope answers the question, “What are pastors entrusted with?” And we saw that the answer is oversight of the church as a whole, rather than merely a particular ministry within it. Function answers the question, “What do pastors do?” And we saw that pastors govern the church, teach God’s Word to the congregation, and bear ultimate responsibility for the church’s finances and discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that leads us to one final question: Who is eligible to serve as a pastor? That’s the question of eligibility. And as I studied Scripture, I discovered that God doesn’t leave that question to us to decide. Just as He defines the responsibilities of the pastoral office, He also establishes qualifications for those who serve in it. And when we look at those qualifications, we find that not everyone is eligible to serve as a pastor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, this next part is hard for me to say. Very hard, in fact. And I realize it may be hard for some of you to hear because it’s different from what we’ve always believed and practiced at New Day. But I want to remind you that the goal of my study wasn\u2019t to try to make Scripture fit our practice\u2014what we’ve always done. My goal was to try and understand what Scripture actually teaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And with that said, here we go. The first thing I discovered about who can serve as a pastor is that\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. GOD HAS RESERVED THE PASTORAL OFFICE FOR MEN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, right off the bat, let’s be clear about what this doesn’t mean. Saying that God has reserved the pastoral office for men does not mean that women are somehow less valuable, less gifted, or less essential to the work of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, women are equally valuable. Genesis 1:27 says that God created both male and female in His image. A woman’s value before God is no less than a man\u2019s because both bear His image, both have been redeemed by Christ, and both are precious to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, women are equally gifted. First Corinthians 12:4\u20137 teaches that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to His people for the good of the church. So women have been gifted by God to minister, lead, serve, teach, encourage, disciple, and contribute in countless ways to the work He has given His church to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Third, women are equally essential. Luke 8:1\u20133 tells us that women traveled with Jesus and supported His ministry. And in Romans 16:3, Paul calls Priscilla his “fellow worker in Christ Jesus.” So women weren’t simply standing on the sidelines. They were actively involved in advancing the gospel. So you see? Women aren’t optional participants in the mission of the church. They’re essential to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So to be clear: When God restricts the office of pastor to men, it doesn’t mean women are less valuable, less gifted, or less essential to the Lord’s work on the earth or to the disciple-making mission of a church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, now that we’ve established what it doesn’t mean, let’s talk about what it does mean. It means that women are not eligible to serve as pastors. Let me show you in Scripture\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we covered last week, Paul makes it clear that teaching God’s Word to the assembled church is one of the responsibilities of a pastor (1 Timothy 3:2; 1 Timothy 5:17). But then he expressly forbids women from performing that particular function. In 1 Timothy 2:12, he writes, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.” And in 1 Corinthians 14:34\u201335, he says that “the women should keep silent in the churches” and that “it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.” And in both passages, the restriction concerns the authoritative teaching of God’s Word in the assembled church\u2014not just women speaking in general. So pastors teach God\u2019s Word to the assembled church\u2014and women are forbidden from doing that teaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, let’s pause right here to make something else clear: Not being permitted to teach in a church service is not the same as not being permitted to teach at all. Teaching is a spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit gives to both men and women (Romans 12:6\u20137). And Paul himself affirms women teaching God’s Word in a variety of settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, women teaching other women. In Titus 2:3\u20135, Paul specifically instructs older women to teach younger women. Second, women teaching their children. In 2 Timothy 1:5 and 3:14\u201315, Paul commends the faith and biblical instruction Timothy received from his mother and grandmother. Third, women teaching God’s Word outside of a church service. In Romans 16:3\u20134, Paul commends Priscilla as his fellow worker in Christ Jesus\u2014the same Priscilla who, together with her husband Aquila, helped explain God’s Word more accurately to Apollos (Acts 18:24\u201326).<\/p>\n\n\n\n So the same apostle who restricts women from teaching in 1 Timothy 2:12 also affirms their teaching ministry in other contexts. Clearly, Paul’s restriction isn’t a blanket prohibition against women teaching God’s Word. It concerns the authoritative teaching of God’s Word when the church gathers for worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But here’s what we need to remember: Receiving a spiritual gift doesn’t mean we’re free to exercise it however we want. Every gift must be exercised within the boundaries God has established. So while a woman may have the gift of teaching, Paul restricts her from exercising that gift in the authoritative teaching role when the church gathers for worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when we bring all of this together, the reasoning is straightforward: Pastors are responsible for teaching God’s Word when the church gathers for worship, and women are not permitted to fill that particular teaching role. Therefore, the pastoral office is not a role God has given women to fill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that explains why, when Paul describes those who may hold this office, he does so in distinctly masculine terms. For example, in 1 Timothy 3:2, Paul says that an overseer must be \u201cthe husband of one wife.\u201d And that isn\u2019t an isolated reference. As Paul continues describing the overseer throughout verses 1\u20137, the masculine language continues\u2014in expressions such as \u201che desires,\u201d \u201che must manage,\u201d \u201chis own household,\u201d \u201cwill he care for,\u201d and \u201che must not be a recent convert.\u201d So from the specific qualification that an overseer be a husband to the language Paul uses throughout the passage, the person he describes serving in this office is consistently male.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: The phrase \u201chusband of one wife\u201d is about marital faithfulness. It isn’t what establishes that pastors must be men. We’ve already established that from Paul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 2. And having restricted women from filling the teaching role of a pastor, Paul now describes those who hold that office exactly as we’d expect\u2014in distinctly masculine terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, if you’re struggling with what you’re hearing, I want you to know that I understand. I struggled with it too! When I first came across these passages, they challenged everything I’d been taught my whole life about who could serve as a pastor. What I was reading in Scripture was so different from what I’d grown up believing that I had a hard time accepting it myself. So if that’s where you are right now, I understand. I’ve been there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But here’s what really helped me work through it. I started looking beyond my own tradition and asking, “How have Christians historically understood these passages?” And what I discovered really surprised me. I found that for nearly 2,000 years, Christians had overwhelmingly understood these passages the way I’ve just explained them: God had reserved the pastoral office for men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And do you know when this traditional understanding began to change? With the rise of modern feminism. As the idea that the pastoral office was reserved for men became increasingly offensive to our culture, Bible scholars began developing new interpretations of passages that Christians had understood in essentially the same way for nearly 2,000 years. Passages that had long been understood to restrict the pastoral office to men were now being interpreted to permit women to serve as pastors\u2014interpretations that made Christianity more acceptable to a changing culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here’s what I want you to see: These interpretations are relatively new. For example: The first landmark book advocating this view, God\u2019s Word to Women by Katherine Bushnell, was published in 1916. The first widely respected academic commentary supporting this view, F.F. Bruce\u2019s The Epistle to the Galatians, was written in 1982. And the first organization promoting this view, Christians for Biblical Equality, was established in 1988.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n So notice the timing. After nearly 2,000 years in which the pastoral office was overwhelmingly understood to be reserved for men, these alternative interpretations gained momentum alongside the rise of modern feminism. And this was a huge aha moment for me. Because I grew up in a denomination where women could be pastors, I just assumed this was the way it had always been. But it hasn’t. The widespread acceptance of women as pastors is a relatively recent development. For nearly 2,000 years, the overwhelming understanding of the church was that God had reserved the pastoral office for men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This, of course, begs the question: Why? If women are equally valuable, equally gifted, and equally essential to the work of God, why would God reserve this particular office for men? Is there something about women that makes them inferior or less capable of leadership? No! Not at all! The answer goes back to God’s design at creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MOSES: MALE HEADSHIP IMPLICIT<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we go back to God\u2019s design creation we see that when God created humanity, He made men and women equal in value, but the creation account also presents them as having different roles. Moses never explicitly calls Adam “the leader,” but he consistently presents Adam as the one responsible to lead. So in Moses, we see male headship implicit. And we see it in three details of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, God gives Adam responsibility before Eve is even created. Genesis 2:15 says that God placed Adam in the garden “to work it and keep it.” Then God creates Eve as “a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). So God first entrusts Adam with the responsibility, and then He creates Eve to help him carry it out. That puts Adam in the position of leading the work God had entrusted to him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, Adam exercises the authority to name. Earlier, God gives Adam the authority to name the animals (Genesis 2:19). He could name them precisely because God had placed him in authority over them. And then, a little later, Adam does the same thing with the wife God had given him\u2014designating her “woman” (Genesis 2:23) and naming her Eve (Genesis 3:20). So once again, Adam is presented as the leader (the one with the authority).<\/p>\n\n\n\n And third, when Adam and Eve sinned, God calls Adam to account first. Eve actually sins first (Genesis 3:6)–yet when God comes to confront their sin, He first calls for Adam. As we read in Genesis 3:9, the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” So both are responsible for their own sin, but God first calls to account the one who bore the responsibility to lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n So you see? Moses never explicitly says, “Adam was the leader.” But he shows us. It’s implicit rather than explicit, but it’s there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n THE PRINCIPLE OF MALE HEADSHIP<\/p>\n\n\n\n And from this emerges a principle we see throughout the rest of Scripture: the principle of male headship\u2014God’s design for men to bear the primary responsibility of leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it’s important to recognize that this wasn’t a result of sin. God established this order before Adam and Eve ever sinned. So male headship wasn’t part of the curse that came about from the Fall; it was part of God’s original design\u2014a design God Himself declared “very good” (Genesis 1:31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n And as the biblical story unfolds, we see this principle reflected again and again in different spheres of leadership. For example, in the Old Testament, God only appointed men to serve as priests (Exodus 28:1) and only anointed men to serve as kings. Later, Jesus only appointed men to serve as apostles (Matthew 10:2\u20134). And when Judas needed to be replaced, the apostles only considered men for the position (Acts 1:21\u201323).<\/p>\n\n\n\n PAUL: MALE HEADSHIP EXPLICIT<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then we come to Paul. Whereas in Moses male headship is implicit, in Paul male headship is explicit. Paul takes the principle established at creation and applies it in two specific spheres of leadership: the home and the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IN THE HOME<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, Paul explicitly applies the principle of male headship to the home. In 1 Corinthians 11:3, he says that “the head of a wife is her husband.” And when he explains why a few verses later, notice where he goes: straight back to creation. He writes, “Man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man” (vv. 8\u20139).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, when Paul says, “Man was not made from woman, but woman from man,” he’s referring to Genesis 2:21\u201323, where God creates Eve from Adam’s rib. And when he says, “Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man,” he’s referring to Genesis 2:18, where God says, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n So you see? When Paul explains why the husband is the head of his wife, he takes us straight back to God’s good and wise design at creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that tells us something important. Paul isn’t giving an instruction based on something unique to Corinth or the culture of his day. His reasoning has nothing to do with the particular circumstances in that city. Instead, he grounds his instruction in the way God created Adam and Eve. So this isn’t situational; it’s universal. Paul is applying to the home a principle God established at creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IN THE CHURCH<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul then applies that same principle to leadership in the church. In 1 Timothy 2:12, he writes, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.” Here, Paul is talking about the authoritative teaching and governing responsibilities reserved for pastors. He’s saying that God has reserved these responsibilities for men. And then he immediately tells us why: “For [meaning, ‘because’] Adam was formed first, then Eve” (v. 13). So once again, Paul takes us straight back to God\u2019s good and wise design at creation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And once again, this let\u2019s us know that Paul isn’t basing his instruction on something unique to Ephesus or the particular women in that church. His reason has nothing to do with their particular circumstances. And we know that because he grounds his instruction in the order God established when He created Adam and Eve. So this isn’t situational; it’s universal. Paul is applying to the church a principle God established at creation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SUMMARY<\/p>\n\n\n\n And now we can see the entire progression. Moses teaches male headship implicitly. Paul teaches it explicitly. And when Paul applies that principle to both the home and the church, he takes us back to the same foundation: God’s order at creation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER<\/p>\n\n\n\n So you see? The restriction on the pastoral office isn’t an isolated rule about women. It’s the application of a principle that begins at creation and runs throughout Scripture. We see it with Adam and Eve, we see it with priests and kings, we see it with Jesus and the apostles, and we see it in Paul’s writings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All this to say: God doesn’t reserve the pastoral office for men because women are inferior or incapable. He does it because pastoral leadership fits within His “very good” (Genesis 1:31) and wise design of male headship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, moving on. God may have reserved the pastoral office for men, but that doesn’t mean all men can serve as pastors. And that brings us to the second thing I discovered about eligibility\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. GOD HAS RESERVED THE PASTORAL OFFICE FOR QUALIFIED MEN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1 Timothy 3:1\u20137 and Titus 1:5\u20139, Paul gives more than twenty qualifications for the men who would serve as pastors. We don’t need to examine every one of them in detail here, but we do need to understand what they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And one helpful way to think about them is as a funnel. Before a man is entrusted with the pastoral office, there are several questions we need to work through. If he doesn’t meet the requirements at one level, there’s no reason to move on to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUESTION #1: IS HE READY TO BE CONSIDERED?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before anything else is considered, two things need to already be in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, he must manage his household well (1 Timothy 3:4\u20135). Paul explains why: “If someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” So you see? His leadership at home serves as a testing ground for leadership in the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then secondly, he must not be a recent convert (1 Timothy 3:6). Someone may love God, be enormously gifted, and have great potential for ministry, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to serve as a pastor. There needs to be sufficient time for him to become established and mature in his faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If those things aren’t in place, there’s no reason to evaluate further. But if they are, we can move on to the next question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUESTION #2: DOES HIS CHARACTER QUALIFY HIM?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here Paul gives us an overarching requirement: He must be above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7). Being above reproach doesn’t mean being sinless. If that were the requirement, no one could serve as a pastor. It means that he can’t have anything in his life that would set a bad example for believers or discredit the Christian faith in the eyes of unbelievers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul then gives us a number of specific qualifications that help us understand what an above-reproach life looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WHAT HIS CHARACTER MUST NOT BE<\/p>\n\n\n\n He must not be a drunkard (1 Timothy 3:3), violent (1 Timothy 3:3), quarrelsome (1 Timothy 3:3), a lover of money or greedy for gain (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7), arrogant (Titus 1:7), or quick-tempered (Titus 1:7). In other words, these can’t be patterns that characterize his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WHAT HIS CHARACTER MUST BE<\/p>\n\n\n\n He must be the husband of one wife\u2014meaning a man characterized by faithfulness to his wife (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6), respectable (1 Timothy 3:2), hospitable (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8), gentle (1 Timothy 3:3), well thought of by outsiders (1 Timothy 3:7), a lover of good (Titus 1:8), upright (Titus 1:8), holy (Titus 1:8), and disciplined (Titus 1:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taken together, these qualifications give us a picture of what Paul means by a man who is above reproach. Again, the standard isn’t perfection. The question is whether these qualities consistently characterize his life. If they don’t, there’s no reason to proceed further. But if they do, we can move on to one final question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUESTION #3: DOES HE HAVE THE NECESSARY ABILITIES?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, there are certain abilities a man must demonstrate before he can serve as a pastor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, he must be able to teach (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:9). The question isn’t simply whether he knows the Bible. Has he demonstrated that he can teach God’s Word in a way people can understand? Because teaching God’s Word is one of the responsibilities of the pastoral office, he must demonstrate the ability to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, he must be sober-minded and sensible (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8). Here the question is: Has he demonstrated sound judgment and the ability to make good decisions? Pastoral leadership requires making many decisions\u2014decisions that will affect others\u2014so a man must demonstrate the ability to think clearly, exercise sound judgment, and make wise decisions rather than being controlled by his emotions or impulses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when you step back and look at all of those qualifications together, the point is unmistakable: Being a man isn’t enough. Scripture doesn’t divide humanity into women who can’t be pastors and men who can. A man may love God, be gifted, serve faithfully, and make an enormous contribution to the church and still not be qualified for the pastoral office. God has reserved the pastoral office for qualified men\u2014men whose lives meet the standards He Himself has established. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But as I kept studying, I discovered that even being a qualified man isn’t enough. To serve as a pastor, a qualified man must also be entrusted with the responsibilities God has assigned to the pastoral office. And that leads us to the third and final thing I discovered about who may serve as a pastor\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. GOD HAS RESERVED THE PASTORAL OFFICE FOR QUALIFIED MEN WHO CARRY THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OFFICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen that pastors are entrusted with oversight of the church as a whole. And that that includes governing the church, teaching God’s Word to the congregation, and bearing ultimate responsibility for the church’s finances and discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, even if a man meets every biblical qualification, if he hasn’t been entrusted with that work, he isn’t actually serving in the pastoral office. He could be above reproach, spiritually mature, able to teach, and a faithful leader of his family\u2014and still not be a pastor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why? Because being qualified for an office is not the same thing as occupying that office. The qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 tell us whether a man may serve as a pastor. But to actually serve as one, he must also be entrusted with the responsibilities of that office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let’s bring everything we’ve seen about the pastoral office together. When we look at its scope, pastors are entrusted with oversight of the church as a whole. When we look at its function, pastors are responsible for governing the church, teaching God’s Word to the congregation, and bearing ultimate responsibility for the church’s finances and discipline. And when we look at eligibility, the pastoral office is reserved for qualified men who have actually been entrusted with those responsibilities. As I studied, that was the biblical picture that emerged of the pastoral office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE OFFICE OF DEACON<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, up to this point, we’ve focused almost entirely on the office of Pastor. But Pastor isn’t the only office Scripture identifies within the church. The New Testament also identifies the office of deacon. So let’s take a few minutes to look at what Scripture teaches about that office. The first thing we see is that\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. THOSE WHO LEAD MINISTRIES SERVE AS DEACONS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1 Timothy 3, Paul identifies two distinct offices in the church. First, he gives the qualifications for overseers in verses 1\u20137. Then, beginning in verse 8, he gives the qualifications for deacons. So Scripture itself distinguishes between these two offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we see a great example of deacons at work in Acts chapter 6. This will be review because we covered it in our first week. In Acts 6, the Grecian widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of bread, so the apostles appointed the Seven to oversee this particular ministry. This gives us a biblical picture of deacons as those who are entrusted with ministries within the church. So do you see the distinction? The apostles continued overseeing the church as a whole, while the Seven were entrusted with leadership of a particular ministry within the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there’s another important difference between the office of pastor and the office of deacon. Whereas only men can serve as pastors\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. BOTH MEN AND WOMEN MAY SERVE AS DEACONS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we’ve seen, Scripture reserves the pastoral office for qualified men, but it allows both qualified men and qualified women to serve as deacons. And here’s what I saw that led me to this conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, was the significance of the word “likewise.” If you go back to 1 Timothy chapter 2, you can see how Paul uses this word. First, Paul is talking about men. Then in verse 9, he says, “likewise also\u2026” and switches to talking about women. So “likewise” introduces a new category of people. Then Paul does the same thing in 1 Timothy chapter 3. In verses 1\u20137, he’s talking about overseers (i.e., pastors). Then in verse 8, he says “likewise” and moves to a new category of people: men who serve as deacons. Then we get to verse 11, and Paul again says “likewise,” introducing another category of people: women who serve as deacons. So you see? In Paul’s writing, “likewise” introduces a new category of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And secondly, Paul refers to these women without identifying them as the wives of deacons. Look at what Paul actually says in verse 11: “Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things” (1 Timothy 3:11, NASB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, there are those who understand verse 11 as referring to the wives of deacons\u2014that Paul is giving character requirements for the women married to the men who serve as deacons. But there are two problems with that interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, the Greek word Paul uses simply means “women.” There’s nothing in the wording that says “their wives” or “the wives of the deacons.” In other words, Paul doesn’t actually connect these women to the male deacons as their wives. He simply says, “Women likewise\u2026”<\/p>\n\n\n\n And secondly, if Paul were giving qualifications for deacons’ wives, then we would expect him to give qualifications for pastors’ wives as well. But he doesn’t. He just spent verses 1\u20137 giving the qualifications for pastors without saying anything about their wives. So why would deacons’ wives have their own set of biblical qualifications while pastors’ wives do not? That doesn\u2019t make sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So the natural reading of verse 11 is that Paul isn’t talking about deacons’ wives. He’s talking about women who serve as deacons. And that means Scripture allows both qualified men and qualified women to serve in the office of deacon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BRINGING THE TWO OFFICES TOGETHER<\/p>\n\n\n\n So in sum: Pastors are entrusted with oversight of the church as a whole, while deacons are entrusted with particular ministries within the church. And while the pastoral office is reserved for qualified men, the office of deacon may be filled by qualified men or women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CONCLUSION<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, let me now bring these last three weeks to a close. Over the last three weeks, we’ve looked at how Scripture defines the pastoral office by its scope, function, and eligibility. We’ve seen that pastors are entrusted with oversight of the church as a whole, rather than merely a particular ministry within it. We’ve seen that this oversight involves governing the church, teaching God’s Word to the congregation, and bearing ultimate responsibility for the church’s finances and discipline. And today, we’ve seen that God has reserved the pastoral office for qualified men who have actually been entrusted with those responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We’ve also seen that Scripture identifies another office within the church: the office of deacon. And that there’s an important distinction between these two offices. Pastors oversee the church as a whole, while deacons are entrusted with particular ministries within it. And while only qualified men may serve as pastors, both qualified men and women may serve as deacons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, hopefully, having studied all of this, you have a much better understanding of why we’ve set up the Leadership Pipeline as we have. Historically, we’ve used the title Pastor very broadly. But now that we understand Scripture to define the pastoral office more narrowly, we’ve decided to reserve that title for qualified men serving at Levels 4 and 5 who carry the responsibilities of the office. For those leading particular ministries within the church, we’ve chosen the title Director or Central Director, because we believe those roles more closely correspond to the biblical office of deacon. So we’re not changing what people do or how much everyone matters. We’re simply changing the titles we use to better reflect what Scripture teaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WHY THIS MATTERS SO MUCH TO ME<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now before we finish, I want to explain why I felt it was so important that we make these changes. And it really comes down to a conviction that I hope every one of us shares: As Christians, everything we believe and everything we do is supposed to be governed by God’s Word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul tells Timothy that “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16). And when the Thessalonians received Paul’s teaching, he commended them because they accepted it “not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). And that’s why Scripture carries authority in our lives. Because it’s God’s Word, it has the right to tell us what to believe and how to behave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we don’t begin with our culture, our traditions, or even our own opinions and preferences and then ask the Bible to support them. We begin with what God has said and allow His Word to shape what we believe and how we live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, as Christians, we believe God created marriage. Marriage wasn’t a human idea that developed over time. It was God’s idea from the beginning. And because God created marriage, we believe He has the right to define what marriage is. Our culture has come to define marriage in ways that include relationships between two men or two women. But as Christians, we don’t believe the definition of marriage ultimately belongs to us or to our culture. If God created marriage and has already told us what He intended it to be, then our responsibility isn’t to come up with our own definition. It’s to understand and embrace His definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also believe God created us male and female. So being male or female isn’t something human beings invented. It’s part of God’s design for humanity. Yet our culture increasingly understands gender as something individuals can define for themselves\u2014even to the point of believing that a man can become a woman or a woman can become a man. But again, as Christians, we don’t believe gender is ours to redefine. If God created us male and female, then He has the right to define what male and female mean. So rather than beginning with how we feel, what our culture says, or how we might prefer to define ourselves, we begin with our Creator and what He has revealed in His Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the same principle applies to the church. We believe God created the church. Jesus said, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). And the New Testament repeatedly tells us that Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22\u201323; Colossians 1:18). So the church belongs to Jesus. It’s His church, not ours. And if the church belongs to Jesus, then we don’t get to decide for ourselves what His church should be or how it should operate. He gets to determine its mission, establish its offices, assign their responsibilities, and determine who is eligible to serve in them. Our responsibility is to discover what He has said and faithfully follow it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that brings me back to where we started three weeks ago. As I shared with you, I inherited a particular understanding of the pastoral office from my Assemblies of God background, and I brought that understanding with me when we planted New Day. But after spending five years, on and off, studying what Scripture teaches, I came to realize that some of what I’d always believed and practiced needed to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that left me with a choice. Was I going to hold on to what I’d always believed and continue doing what we’d always done? Or was I going to allow God’s Word to change my mind and change the way we operated?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for me, the answer was clear. If I really believe the Bible is God’s Word, then I have to be willing to submit to it\u2014even when it challenges what I’ve always believed, even when it goes against my personal preferences, and even when it requires us to change something we’ve been doing for 18 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that’s why we’ve made these changes. Not because we’re trying to diminish anyone’s ministry or suggest that one person is more important than another. But because we believe God has told us how His church is to be organized and led, and we want to bring our practices into alignment with what He has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that’s really what I hope you take away from these last three weeks. Yes, I hope you now have a better understanding of the pastoral office and why we’ve made these changes to our Leadership Pipeline. But more than that, I hope we all recognize how important it is to let God’s Word shape what we believe and how we live. Because it’s one thing to say we believe the Bible is God’s Word. But it’s another thing to be willing to change when we discover that something we’ve believed or practiced doesn’t line up with what it teaches. And that’s the kind of church I want New Day to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" INTRODUCTION Over the last two weeks, we’ve been looking at why we’ve decided to reserve the title Pastor for Levels 4 and 5 of our Leadership Pipeline. As I’ve explained, I grew up in the Assemblies of God, where the title Pastor is used very broadly. And when we planted New Day, I brought that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized","entry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Mike Sorcinelli","author_link":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/author\/mike\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1406"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1415,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1406\/revisions\/1415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}