Pastoral Issue

[Sword-In-Hand]

I have a question for anyone who would like to answer.

What do you all think of pastors who were once married, and then had a divorce and still continued being pastors of a church? Do you think it's wrong? Are there any circumstances that would make it acceptable?

The reason I ask is that one of the qualifications for being a pastor is to be the husband of one wife. I have a friend who is an Independent Baptist preacher. He is an awesome man, very intelligent with the Word, he is fluent in Hebrew and Greek and when he delivers sermons he reads from either Greek or Hebrew and then explains to the congregation. He is basically a man of God with a heart to match. About a couple of years ago his wife committed adultery and soon left him for another man and they were divorced. After a healing process he remarried, a different woman, and is still preaching today. So I ask again is there anything wrong with this? On the surface it would appear so, but is there something deeper that would help explain?

 

[SumTinWong]

What do you all think of pastors who were once married, and then had a divorce and still continued being pastors of a church? Do you think it's wrong? Are there any circumstances that would make it acceptable?

Wow, that IS a good question. I rmember hearing that the SBC wanted to boot out Charles Stanley becasue of his divorce. Since listen to him on occasions it seems that he is still there. It is a tough issue, but I really wouldn't have a problem with it.

The reason I ask is that one of the qualifications for being a pastor is to be the husband of one wife. I have a friend who is an Independent Baptist preacher. He is an awesome man, very intelligent with the Word, he is fluent in Hebrew and Greek and when he delivers sermons he reads from either Greek or Hebrew and then explains to the congregation. He is basically a man of God with a heart to match. About a couple of years ago his wife committed adultery and soon left him for another man and they were divorced. After a healing process he remarried, a different woman, and is still preaching today. So I ask again is there anything wrong with this? On the surface it would appear so, but is there something deeper that would help explain?

Well from what I understand we are not to get divorced unless it is because of adultery. Matthew 19:8-9 "He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." So by that scenario it would seem okay. To me anyway.

 

[Gold Dragon]

Matthew 5:31-32 KJV
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

I think fundamentalist Christians use this verse to say Jesus allows for divorce but not remarriage in the case of adultery, but correct me if I am wrong. Since I'm not a fundamentalist, I will not share my view on this because it sounds like you are looking for the perspective of Independent Baptists or other fundamentalists.

Is it possible that the husband of one wife thing could be a comment about monogamy versus polygamy and not really about divorce and remarriage? Husband of one wife at a time?

I would also be interested in hearing if dispensationalists would consider the Matthew verse to be "to" the church and why or why not.

Sorry I'm not much help to you, Sword-in-Hand.

 

[Sword-In-Hand]

I will not share my view on this because it sounds like you are looking for the perspective of Independent Baptists or other fundamentalists.

No, please go ahead, I want to hear as many perspectives as possible. I've had alot of people come up and ask me what I thought about the situation and alot of times my first reply is...."Uh...(Confused look)"

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

 

[GreenEyedLady]

This is a hard one sword.
I attend an IBC and from what I know, the church IMO, would not accept the pastor to be remarried. Now, I have another Pastor friend in Germany who disagrees with this. He thinks that a man could remarry if the spouse would not work things out.
In my opinion as a sister in Christ, I would rather have a pastor who is married and who has stuck though the hard times. As a woman, I think its harder for a man to forgive a woman for adultery than a woman to forgive a man. It might be because a woman does not have enough strength to battle though the roller coaster ride after revealing her secret. But from what I have seen, marriages stay together more if the man is the one having the affair rather than the woman.
The reasoning behind it, I am guessing, but there must be something there.
I hope and pray I never have to figure that part out!
GEL

 

[bleechers]

I would also be interested in hearing if dispensationalists would consider the Matthew verse to be "to" the church and why or why not.

I've been on both sides of this issue. As for Matthew... quick answer yes/no

"Yes" as in marriage is a pre-law truth and "No" as in the instruction is primarily for the Kingdom... but it is helpful.

I have come down on the side of remarriage if the unsaved spouse wants to leave.

1 Cor 7
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

But I have much respect for the other side on this issue.

 

[Sword-In-Hand]

Ok, another question to add on. If it is wrong for a pastor to be divorced, then remarried and still pastor a church does it mean that the church he pastors will not be blessed by God? If the overseer of the church is not meeting the requirements to be a pastor, does that mean that God would shun that church until he was removed?

 

[meg324]

Here's my view.
My dad was a Baptist minister when my mom left him. Was it his fault they got divorced? It depends on who ya ask! BUT, he did not have a choice in the matter. NO matter what he said or how he tried, my mother was going to leave him. It wasn't because he was a bad person or becaue he hurt her. She just found him unbearable to live with.
For this, I do not think my father sinned. And if he did sin, he probably repented. However, in 1983, the baptist church shunned him shortly after ordination. He is now a methodist minister, ordained and all that good stuff.
Who are we to say if they are repentent of their sin or not?
What were the circumstances around the divorce? Did they even have a choice? What if the wife was not "yolked" or a non-believer? What if she had an affair?
I think a lot of things should be examined. Certainly every church has the right to make their own rules about circumstances and such, but I do not think that ALL churches should ban ALL divorcees from being a pastor.
Also, I know this isn't a Catholic group, but what do the catholics do in these cases? Do they jsut annul the marriage and forget it ever happened? To me, the word "annulment" doesn't change the fact that they were married, ya know? It's just justified for their church. Perhaps some sort of "annulment" could be in place for those who did not have a choice or something.
Gosh, I hope that makes sense!

 

[P_G]

I am divorced and remarried before I got saved

Now I am a pastor
Trust me G-d blesses my congregation

And if the blood of Y'shua was not enough to cover that sin
It was not sufficiant to cover any of yours either.

That is my 30 second sermon on the subject.


BTW from the original toungue it means ONE WIFE not 2 or more wives at the same time. Which was a common practice among the gentiles at the time.


Blessings

Pastor George

 

[MbiaJc]

I have a question for anyone who would like to answer.

What do you all think of pastors who were once married, and then had a divorce and still continued being pastors of a church? Do you think it's wrong? Are there any circumstances that would make it acceptable?

The reason I ask is that one of the qualifications for being a pastor is to be the husband of one wife. I have a friend who is an Independent Baptist preacher. He is an awesome man, very intelligent with the Word, he is fluent in Hebrew and Greek and when he delivers sermons he reads from either Greek or Hebrew and then explains to the congregation. He is basically a man of God with a heart to match. About a couple of years ago his wife committed adultery and soon left him for another man and they were divorced. After a healing process he remarried, a different woman, and is still preaching today. So I ask again is there anything wrong with this? On the surface it would appear so, but is there something deeper that would help explain?

You answered your own question in your reason for asking. God's word does not change. Something is wrong when God's word is not the final authority?

 

[JVD]

There are consequences to our actions.

It may have been OK for him to get divorced. But it was not OK for him to get remarried.

That being said, God does forgive sin. So this man should be allowed into the fellowship of a church as we would accept any sinner into church. The churches would be empty if we kept all sinners out.

However, because this was not something that happened before he was a christian. In fact, because it happened while he was a pastor and he remarried and is now a pastor without any consequences, something is very wrong in that church. The leadership of the church is sick. Or is this one of those churches where the pastor is the dictator (er...shepherd) and makes all the decisions.

 

[Heatherondo]

If Gods word says no, then no.

I think the verse about divorce over sexual immorality if for lay persons, and pastors, due to the husband of one wife verse, are exempt fomr this "loophole"

but then again, in biblical times multiple wives were not uncommon, could it simpley mean he could only have one wife at a time?

 

[OracleX]

Amen

And I think that you hit the nail on the head in the second part.

I am divorced and remarried before I got saved

Now I am a pastor
Trust me G-d blesses my congregation

And if the blood of Y'shua was not enough to cover that sin
It was not sufficiant to cover any of yours either.

That is my 30 second sermon on the subject.


BTW from the original toungue it means ONE WIFE not 2 or more wives at the same time. Which was a common practice among the gentiles at the time.


Blessings

Pastor George

 

[eldermike]

We can only choose men who "are something in Christ NOW". There is no requirment to be anything in the past, that would drag in your flesh. A pastor can't be a striker! Has He ever struck?, Can't be a drinker, has He ever drank?. Be careful not to be drawn into a law, one that God did not give us. Yes a pastor can be divorced. It would be wonderful if Christians didn't have the same divorce rate as the world, but it's just not the case, we do.

 

[Crazy Liz]

There are consequences to our actions.

It may have been OK for him to get divorced. But it was not OK for him to get remarried.

I wish it were possible to eliminate "OK" from all our discussion about divorce. Divorce is never "OK." Trying to put some (or all) divorces in a category called "OK" is the opposite of what Jesus taught. In fact, the best English equivalent for the phrase ei exestin in the Pharisees' question in Matthew 19:3 and Mark 10:2 is probably, "Is it OK?" Those of you who have studied Greek or know how to do a word study using the Blueletter Bible or other tools, look up how this phrase is used in the NT. Every time Jesus is asked a question with this phrase, he gives a response that is basically an objection to the form of the question.

I don't think divorce has to be a lifelong stigma, nor would I automatically exclude someone who had divorced and remarried from serving the church, but we need to understand how to think of these questions the way Jesus did, and not in terms of "Is it OK?"

This post probably belongs in one of the theology forums more than it does here, but the OP's question simply can't be answered in terms of "OK." To answer the OP you need to answer different questions.

 

[eldermike]

Pastor issues really get to me. Pastors are leaving the ministry earlier and more often than ever. God calls pastors to stand in front of those that will never take a stand for God. But these people will be first to judge them unworthy. A mans family falls apart right in front of his congregation and we talk as if the congregation is the victim here. Where was the intersession? Who loved them together?

Pray for Pastors. love your pastor.

 

[Crazy Liz]

Pastor issues really get to me. Pastors are leaving the ministry earlier and more often than ever. God calls pastors to stand in front of those that will never take a stand for God. But these people will be first to judge them unworthy. A mans family falls apart right in front of his congregation and we talk as if the congregation is the victim here. Where was the intersession? Who loved them together?

Pray for Pastors. love your pastor.

 

[P_G]

Pastor issues really get to me. Pastors are leaving the ministry earlier and more often than ever. God calls pastors to stand in front of those that will never take a stand for God. But these people will be first to judge them unworthy. A mans family falls apart right in front of his congregation and we talk as if the congregation is the victim here. Where was the intersession? Who loved them together?

Pray for Pastors. love your pastor.

Amen Bro Mike

I am so very blessed to have a congregation that is so supportive of all my whacky ideas! I know they cringe every time I say "Oh By the Way.........."

Cause they know I have managed to get us involved in yet another outreach
And know what as I was bailing out (literally) water from the surroundings of a gospel puppet ministry on Saturday at the Farm Show they looked I think in amazement and knew I asked them for one I would give 10.

Love your Pastors
Don't back bite them!


PG


OOOOohhhh
PS! If you don't have a home church and a pastor to love please PM me or Mike and I am sure one of us can help you find a church near you!

(hehehhee hey Mike see how I voulenteered you? )

 

[MbiaJc]

I am divorced and remarried before I got saved

Now I am a pastor
Trust me G-d blesses my congregation

And if the blood of Y'shua was not enough to cover that sin
It was not sufficiant to cover any of yours either.

That is my 30 second sermon on the subject.


BTW from the original toungue it means ONE WIFE not 2 or more wives at the same time. Which was a common practice among the gentiles at the time.


Blessings

Pastor George

I beg to disagree with your definition of one wife.

G3391

ìßá

mia

mee'-ah

Irregular feminine of G1520; one or first:—a (certain), + agree, first, one, X
other.

This means first wife-one wife, God counts all your wifes even if you don't.

 

[eldermike]

There are consequences to our actions.

Ye sir; the cross.