Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquila
So, it appears that elders/bishops/pastors (or whatever we wish to call them) ordained elders within the church after much prayer. I think they may have voted... or... perhaps they prayed until there was a general consensus regarding who was to be ordained.
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I believe you're right about the prayer. Of course, prayer should always be the first thing done before any such decision is made. We know the Apostles prayed before choosing between Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. (see
Acts 1:24) After asking God for wisdom and guidance, the men displaying signs of Eldership, and who were faithful to meet the criteria in
1 Timothy 3 and
Titus 1, they were recognized for their particular five-fold ministry's calling. (see
1 Timothy 1:18,
Titus 1:5;
Acts 14:23;
2 Timothy 2:2) This recognition came with the laying on of hands. (see
1 Timothy 4:14, 1 Timothy 5:22, 2 Timothy 1:6) Timothy was "charged" to fulfill his ministry according to prophecies that came before the recognition of his calling. (see
1 Timothy 1:18) Thus, the assembly of believers recognized Timothy's specific position within the five-fold ministry, which many believe was an evangelist.
I'm not sure if the above qualifies as a "vote," but it certainly agrees that it was a "consensus" recognition.
I do not see why Apostolics today should not pursue their leadership the same way Apostolics did in the early Church. Sadly, many (most all?) Apostolics are under a completely different method of "choosing" a pastor. Their method would be very foreign to their early Church brethren. To have a pastor chosen for them because he is their current pastor's son or son-in-law is nothing like the method used in the Bible. I'm not saying these appointed men are necessarily ungodly or wrong choices, but there are too many cases where men put men in pulpits who were not called to be there.
Then there's the voting in of a pastor. Most of these candidates are "invited" to "try out" the church to see if it's a good fit. Often these invitations are sent by a source that does not attend that local congregation. Sometimes they're sent by the current pastor to men he wants to replace him. Then the candidate receiving the most votes gets the job. Sounds like Apostolics Got Talent, doesn't it? What causes a church member to vote for one man over another? Often it's a candidate's charisma, or it's his oratory skill in the pulpit, or it's how popular he his is within an organization, or it's because he has the suffix "Dr" before his name, or it's due to the current pastor's persuasion. Again, it's not that those things are necessarily bad, but none of them are found in what's written in
1 Timothy 3 or
Titus 1.
What would it take to return to choosing leadership like they did in the early church? For starts, like most doctrine restorations, the believer first must disregard any manmade traditions or personal feelings they may have about this, and then learn what biblically they need to be taught. Men love saying "God is their pilot," that is until they move Him to the co-pilot seat because their lack of faith says He needs their help. That said, I believe the largest holdup to this is it requires absolute faith in God's ability to choose the leaders He wants. God included in His Word the principles that must be met before a man is available for Eldership. And, Paul warned the Church to "lay hands on no man suddenly." (
1 Timothy 5:22) So, no man should be ordained unless those doing the ordination knows that man meets the biblical requirements to be God's choice.
Hybrid Mode
