So true. I believe the general church assumes the only place "worthy" for a mature and zealous Christian is the pulpit. It's as if we expect Christian's in the pews to be content with a stale or apathetic spiritual life, anyone else should be a pastor.

Well written Lady, well written F E ! Yes very very careful as they could eventually land in hell and taking others too........... Jesus have mercy on me a sinner !

I second all of this. 💯🎯

This is very real. As a church, we have been generally too hastily to bring on what looks good publicly with too little consideration on the private life of a potential leader. Sexual integrity is so hard, especially for men with a past, but any act of sexual immorality should immediately warrant a leader to resign. This would present a greater sensitivity and consideration towards actions and words being perceived as suggestive.

One of my favorite verses.

1 Timothy 3:Qualifications of Overseers 3 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Qualifications of Deacons 8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. 10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. 11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 2:Stand Fast 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. 2 Thessalonians 3: But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. Acts 5:32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” 2 Timothy 3:The Man of God and the Word of God 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

will transgression iniquities disqualify for someone want to be the pastor ? just wondering cuz much emphases on sinner pastor. beatitudes are the poor in spirit in messiah

@@skellingtonmeteoryballoon Pastors sin as much as everybody else.

@@alohaohana901 if transgression and iniquity is okay thats great no worries

That's a good saying, I wouldn't try and then reason for an appropriate time one must wait after immorality. But, just like new believers shouldn't be in church leadership, those who are newly repented of sexual immorality should also not be in church leadership. I don't believe that would necessarily be a quantity, but more a quality that transcends newly repentant.

@Joshua Stoltzfus Paul and Peter stated that Elders/Overseers must be above reproach. If a church leader is found to be sexually immoral, he is no longer above reproach. ACCORDING TO Paul, it would disqualify him. Far too often, ministers are repeat offenders because we don't take it seriously. In my mind, a minister or elder needs to not return to leadership. Between 1997 and 2015, pretty much every pastor I had was found to be sexually immoral. That affected every single congregation that I was a part of. One man committed manslaughter while playing Russian roulette with the married woman he was involved with.

I will pray for you as I have a similar struggle to you.

I pray the Lord shows you His redemptive power in you. That as you mature in Christ, you grow in confidence of His call of your life to serve the sheep, and call to the lost no matter what office or vocation you hold. The Lord is not limited by our failures and inadequacies, but uses our scars to display His redemptive power and abundant grace. I am a minister at my church, with a similar past as you, and I often wonder if God has the right guy. I fornicated for years, then masturbated for years after that. God has freed me from these sins, and continually convicts me of other sins to repent from, (particularly lying, anger and impatience); and even so, God continues to steward me and lead me towards ministering. I don't know why, but I really think it's only because I say yes to the call. Each season there are hardships, I have doubts, I have fears, and I have insecurities; despite that fact, each day God asks me, and all of us, to say one thing, "here I am, use me." Take radical steps to grow in integrity, take radical steps to be transparent of the work Christ has done in you, take radical steps to see and know God more. Your ministry is the wake you leave behind as you pursue Christ.

You have received grace through the blood of Christ poured out to cover you. This being when looks down from the heavens he no longer sees your sins when you STAY under the covering of the blood. This means when you/I STAY connected to Christ, continue a aggressive relationship with Christ. AGGRESSIVE TO PREVENT ANYTHING COMING IN BETWEEN THIS RELATIONSHIP. God loves you more than you love yourself, remember that he is always more than able to sow mercy when/if ever the time is needed. This is not to be free abound to be reckless with this grace and mercy but to be on gaurd from the temptations of the enemy and shine the light of God into the darkness starting from within. Prayers for God's revelation of his purpose, direction and provision over your life to glorify Him throughout your life!

This creep freaks out over sex he is not a part of, he's got a serious issue around sex, getting angry at strangers for what they have or have not done. A dirty old man.

Sounds like they had a valid point.

Uh, wrong forum for your dribble again. You don’t really know your audience- and once again.. why do you keep posting stuff when you damn well know he doesn’t read these comments? Therapy is my suggestion for you, Paul.

Hello friend. I’m sorry, but I don’t have any links or people to point you to. Not off the top of my head. But I did want to offer a little encouragement from someone who has dealt with the same thing. For me, I found my answer in the very next verse. Let’s look at both of them together, as v23-24 are one full sentence. I’m going to use the New English Translation, just to present it as straightforward as we can in our modern vernacular. 23: “Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people,” (That’s the first half, an exhortation to be motivated as we serve the Lord. The next verse gives us the reason for our motivation.) 24: “BECAUSE you KNOW that you WILL receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ.” ‭‭ So, it seems to me, the way that Paul anticipates us to go about accomplishing the virtue he presents, is by our KNOWING that it is not from man that we receive the reward for our faithfulness in work, whether that be paycheck or diploma (it’s even better than that), instead, we KNOW that it comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, our gentle and loving Master. He ensures, while we live in this world, that our labor is not in vain. Not only by providing us our physical needs and rewards, but by GUARANTEEING with His own BLOOD that we qualify for a Heavenly Inheritance, one that cannot be taken away from us because of poor performance one week, or tardiness the next. It is a reward that actually GROWS as we continue to faithfully invest in the treasures of God with our life, by working to bring our entire being into obedience (which will one day be brought to perfection as a PART of that inheritance). So not only do we have good reason to be motivated to faithfully go about our tasks, but we have a very good reason to be encouraged that our reward has already been earned! So we even have good reason to rejoice, BECAUSE it is not earned by our own hands, but by the One whose hands were pierced to purchase it on our behalf! Therefore, my beloved sibling in Christ, be of good cheer! Because just as surely as He has died for you, He is all the more sure to faithfully fulfill the very promises that He purchased for you. God bless you, friend! And may His grace and peace be multiplied within you ❤

@@michaelhenderson6786 Thank you very much, my dear friend. I’m in a much better space than I was a few days ago. You’re totally right and speak wisely. Stress can sometimes be so blinding, even when trying to work diligently for the Lord. I desire to please God in everything, but still find myself finding my worth and value in my marks. But truly, it is God who gives the true and greatest reward. Thanks for pointing that out. I’m being challenged at campus, but my worth is found in Christ. Not my results. My pastor was kind enough to write me a mini sermon about resting in my identity in Christ. I’m learning to rest in these truths. I guess we all need a little reminding from time to time. Thank you, brother. God bless you ❤