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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Should pastors/preachers be evaluated | 1 Cor 4:4 | daflodeo | 242332 | ||
Any Christian who has the spirit of truth can tell when another Christian has the same genuine spirit. I was a member of a small church when I first started satisfying my hunger and thirst for God's Word. One day the pastor of that church told me that he was not yet ready to die and when he said this God told me in my heart that I'd learned all I could there and to move on. Even as a novice Christian learning the Word I knew that a true believer in Christ is always ready for and unafraid of death and I was there already. Then I was at a church where the pastor said that God didn't mean for us to be poor cause Jesus was not poor He was rich for He had a seamless garment which was a very expensive article of clothing in those days.I had enough Bible knowledge to know that His cousins Martha, Mary and Lazarus had parents who died and left them well off and that they provide all of Jesus needs and besides that the Word says that birds have nest and foxes have holes but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. At this church they passed the basket three times during service. The pastor was serving himself first and God second,I sensed this and left that church as well. Then there was big time Pastor Fred K. Price who said that if a person wants to come to Jesus and he has a drinking or drug problem and smokes he must first stop these bad habits before he comes to Christ. But I read where Jesus said come as you are and the fact that Jesus ministry was with prostitutes and destitute people let me see through Pastor Price. Then in one of his sermons he claim that he had no fear of Satan for he had Satan under the soles of his feet. Now that seemed contrary to Scriptural teaching for if Michael that archangel who is God's top angel had to go wrestle with Satan who was trying to prevent another angel from delivering a message from God to the prophet Daniel and it took a few days before this could occur with Michael telling Satan "God rebuke thee" not saying that he rebuked Satan let me know that Michael respected Satan and if this mighty angel of the Lord had to struggle so hard against this evil power and tell Satan that it let me know that Pastor Fred over stepped his authority. Something would not let me embrace this church that has prospered so and is considered to be outstanding along with the teachings of Fred Price to guide it but I just could not make that commitment to fellowship there. Then one day a good Christian friend gave me a taped recording of Creflo Dollar who has always stunk to high heaven to me where this so called Christian minister of Christ said that Jesus was not God!!! I could not believe it but it was an undeniable fact that this man spoke those words and I still have that tape. Then I learned that Creflo Dollar is a protege of Fred Price and Kenneth Hagen! Now how could these two preachers who preach the deity of Jesus Christ accept Creflo Dollar as a Christian preacher of God's Word? Many of Price's congregation left his church because of his and Hagen's prosperity gospel teachings. Now I know why I could not embrace this church and its because it became a corporate entity. In the OT God used a donkey to talk for Him once so I guess He does the same with some preachers. It is the Spirit of truth in us that sustains us when we need to be fed by the Word of God and its that spirit that lets me know when I'm being fed. Some say take the meat and throw the bone away for even a preacher thats a con artist can speak words of truth that someone can use as encouragement and be bought to Christ. All Christian denominations agree on basic Christian doctrine but are not in one accord because each denomination has their own pet doctrines that others can't agree with and it is these pet doctrines that have made Christianity a religion where men have established their own righteousness. Baptist believe that one must be baptized to enter the kingdom of God but then what of the thief that died on the cross that day with Christ? Jesus assured him that he'd be in paradise that day and he was not baptized. Adventist believe in keeping the Sabbath but most Christians believe as the gospel says that they can worship on any day that they wish to. The Holiness church don't believe in the Holy Spirit. In 1 Cor. 4:1-5 Paul is speaking of stewardship. A steward is one who manages a house and is accountable to its owner. Christians are called stewards in that they have been entrusted with the "mysteries of God" which is the gospel message and this is a responsibility for which believers are held accountable. |
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2 | Should pastors/preachers be evaluated | 1 Cor 4:4 | azurelaw | 242344 | ||
Dear daflodeo, Welcome to the forum and thank you for your comprehensive feedback and sharing of your thought and experience. I am afraid that I did not phrase my question clear enough. My point is: is it unbiblical to have an official evaluation system (something like performance appraisal in most organizations) at church on pastors/preachers base on the teaching of Paul as cited in my original post. I agree with your last paragraph concerning 1 Cor 4:1-5, but the context and background in Paul's days at Corinthian was that he was facing problem of division among church members who compare and criticise one another's leaders (Paul, Apollo, Peter). Thus he said about the accountability of the stewards in Chapter 4:1-5. Can this be generally applied to modern days church context when there is commonly a hierarchy system in most denominations and churches that there would be more or less some evaluation for a preacher moving onto the role of pastor? Hope my question is much clearer now. Shalom Azure |
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3 | Should pastors/preachers be evaluated | 1 Cor 4:4 | daflodeo | 242345 | ||
Yes, but I can only speak from my limited experience. At this church I use to fellowship at there were 3 preachers but only 2 gave sermons. It took me a short time to understand why the guy who was the better of the 3 was not allowed to preach and it was because he was not a "pollyana" type preacher telling the congregation what they wanted to hear. The number 2 preacher had been a Jehovah Witness at one time and would sometimes mix the two totally different doctrines in his sermons and would get reprimanded by the head preacher. The 3rd preacher disliked the 2nd preacher for the mere fact that he made so many bogus statements and he should have been the one sitting down. It was very important to the head pastor and the 3rd pastor that Scripture was not perverted. |
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