Pastoral requirements

What are the minimum requirements for a lead pastor who is the lead pastor over a body of believers?
What are the additional " Wish they have" qualifications?
Should these requirements and additional qualifications be the same for all the other pastors in a leadership role? (Youth, Children's etc.)
Why - Why not?

Read 1Tim Chapter 3. here you will find what God expects from a Pastor

Verse 2 makes it clear that you must also be able to teach (the truth)

The rule applies to everyone calling himself a christian. Every person that carries that name is representing God. you can not preach to people if you are not an example. Yes. preaching is everyones responsibility.

So the consensus is: Any man who is a biblical Christ follower that can speak well enough to teach can be a pastor. I believe that is the vitae of the majority of pastors in the country. What training? Very little with some experience on the job. Many coming from youth ministry the overarching ministry failure in the church today. Just check their report card over 75% of youth coming out of our youth ministry have turned their backs on the church and their Christian faith. Check out the facts for yourselves.

And in Jesus time, many of those who heard the gospel from Jesus himself rejected the message. Spiritual is not our measure of success. Our measure of success is whether we are teaching the correct message. God handles the outcome. Mark 4:26-29.

Qualifications to be a pastor is more than just being a follower of Christ and a good speaker. In fact there is no requirement to be eloquent - although being able to teach is a requirement.

The list of qualifications to be a pastor (elder, overseer, shepherd) is in the 3rd chapter of Timothy (as mentioned before). An abbreviated but clear and concise list of duties of a pastor is listed in all three chapters of Titus.

A pastor can only be a pastor of a person or persons. Their calling is to shepherd those whom God has placed under their care. So, it is unbiblical to have pastors of nebulous groups or areas of ministry (eg. "Youth", "Children's", "Elderly", "Head", "Associate", etc.) Doing so, creates a culture wherein believers cannot discern the Body of Christ nor how each believer fits into Him. Early death and sickness result from such an arrangement.

2nd, having the grace of a pastor is a gift not something obtained by study. Certainly pastors should study but Biblically, no one is a pastor unless the Lord has made him one. You cannot graduate from seminary to force the Lord's hand. I have nothing against seminary, per se, but merely obtaining a degree does not make one a pastor in the Lord. A seminary degree might make one qualified to be a pastor in many churches but that is at the expense of the standard shown us in scripture.

Lastly, you cannot give to others what you don't have. If you do not have someone ruling over your soul then you cannot be a pastor. Who do you look to for correction, for guidance, for teaching, and for encouragement. If you say "Well, Jesus can do all that for me" not only do you ignore the connections show to us in scripture (including Jesus and His 12) but you take on a double-standard: one for you and another for the others. You mustn't do this. If you do, you will get the results you already wrote about;

This is not to say that none will leave you if you follow God's pattern (Jesus lost 1 out of the 12) but you cannot think to change the trajectory of the current church culture by embedding yourself in it.

Such things, because they run so opposed to the way "church is done", require wisdom and humility to understand.

Blessings

Does this alleged "over 75%" of youth include those attending formerly churches that don't even preach the Bible? I suspect so... and that would explain the abandonment. I wonder what the "success" rate is among "adult pastors" at these same churches. I'll bet it's far lower than 25%. Oh... you didn't consider that, did you?

In my private practice, in my previous profession, I've know of 2 pastors, of large congregations, who admitted to not believing the gospel. They saw their position as a j-o-b. Sadly, they were hired by their church boards to increase membership.

Sad indeed.

Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit your not a True Pastor ---Minister --Priest ----to preach His Gospel ---Period ----

You have to first be drawn by God to be called to be in His Ministry -----and then you have to respond to that call ---through Faith ----

Youth Ministers are not exception I wouldn't think ------


Titus 1:7-9 NIV

7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.



1 Timothy 4:12 NIV
12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity

I have left the "brick and mortar" church for just these reasons... I have yet to see even ONE "pastor" that truly cares about those he is supposed to be shepherding. I have been MORE blessed studying on my own, and writing my book than I had by any of them. They were all too busy, or "we don't do that here", or any appointment would be months down the road (like when my daughter-in-law, and then my 3 grandkids died)... NO ONE cares for anyone but themselves. NO ONE! I ONLY have YHWH and my husband. So, we pray together, and read His Word together. We are all we got. Even I (in my youth) have gone and done more than they do!

(link below is from King James Version online website

Ezekiel Chapter 34
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

IF you are a pastor, Pay attention to your membership. Stop shunning someone because they are poor or ugly, or of a different color than you... Yea, I'm talkin' to YOU! or rather GOD IS.... And if you are taking offense to what I'm saying, you were not meant to be a pastor for God. If you are actually touched positively by my words, then I pray God's blessing and success for you.

I needed to vent. Thank you for "listening".

That is because they called themselves into the Ministry and were ordained by having human hands placed on them at the end of their seminary term -----Bible calls these False Christians ---Wolves in Sheep clothing ---trying to be a Minister or a Priest or a Pastor without the calling of God on them and without having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in therm to do God's work -----

Very sad ---it is definitely hard to find a Holy Spirit indwelled Minister ---Priest or Pastor today ------People need to know their Scriptures and rely on the Holy Spirit when going to a Church Building today ---so ones knows when to stay or Run ---Do not tolerate the Preaching of another Gospel -----

Alleged? I suspect, I wonder and I bet.
First let me say that it is very presumptuous of you to respond to verifiable facts that obviously you are not aware of, to use the word alleged.
I do not post anything without first doing my research and verifying the facts. Nothing I said in my post was my opinion, I was stating factual information that is well documented over many years and continues to be updated currently. So I won't go down the rabbit hole that you have created by questioning my comments and getting off topic of that which was stated in my post.

This 75% is an approximate median average of the percentages represented by several surveys that have been done by such organizations as: Barna, Lifeway, Southern Baptist Convention, Christian books, Ken and Britt Beemer (Already Gone) and several others. All of the young people that were surveyed had to meet the specific criteria that was required by the surveyor to be considered for participation and deemed absolutely necessary to be a part of the survey.
The two primary or reasons this problem is being ignored and continues to metastasize within the evangelical church today are: Denial of the data and not accepting the fact that the problem exists and the second is when confronted with the truth stating "not in my church".
One of the solutions that was proposed was to just shut down the youth ministry and have the young people attend the adult service with their parents.
Concerning your comments about the success of the adult pastors in the church's that represents the 75% of the youth dropouts; I don't see how that corresponds with this problem within our youth ministry that is endemic in all churches.

I would say if they started at Genesis 1:1 and actually read the Bible from one end to the other.. Why?,, if you remember how hard it was in school to convince the teacher you had actually read the book when you turned in your book report it just jumps right out. Then again to all those just sitting in the pews listening to their preachers preach they wouldn't have any idea if their preacher had ever read it or not unless they had read it their own selves...

And it is very presumptuous of you to respond by saying "that obviously you are not aware of". If I were not aware, I would have all the more reason to question your assertions.

You're new here, and therefore have zero credibility. Cite your sources when you post your "facts".

What's your source, and have you considered the possibility that "Not in my church" is a factual response in most cases?

"Dropouts"? A young person who permanently ceases their involvement with the Church was never a Christian to begin with. Jesus didn't promise 100% success. Further, many who do walk away from the Church return to it later in life.

If the church doesn't retain even 5% of the adults who come through the door, worrying that only a quarter of the youth are staying is misguided.

Of the churches I have attended...
All senior pastors have held a seminary degree and several have held doctorates.

The associates have all had seminary degrees. And then most held a minor in their particular field of service....music, early childhood education and etc.

Some have ROCKED! Others not so much...they hired great staff though. And I dearly loved some of the members as if they were my family. I miss them today.

And truly it's not the staff that is the draw for church attendance....it's the people with whom you make friends with. They are the really important part. Sure, staff can be friends too....just a matter of trying usually.

A lot of people "sour grape" churches....dunno why. It's where you go for corporate prayer and to find others...and find missionaries.

Are the young people saved before they go into the Ministry ------that is the big Question ---most adult Ministers are not Saved before or After they start preaching God's Word today

It would be better for the young who want to enter the Ministry to be sent out into the wilderness with their Bibles and have to endure the elements of thirst and hunger and protecting themselves against the elements and what it means to have the right Faith for learning to rely on God and learn to Trust in Him to bring them to their Spiritual Epiphany ---then to go to a man made theology class and get a degree without Christ indwelling in them -----

Abraham was picked by God and was told to leave His Home and go where God led him -----he was literally going to a wilderness to learn from God Himself -----Not sent to a man made school

Moses ----Elijah ---Joshua --and Jesus-Himself-------- were sent to the wilderness to learn straight From God -----Wilderness training prepares you for a leadership role -----what can a degree do ??????????????

Today we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that should be a prerequisite for anyone entering the Ministry ----

The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth of the Scripture -------and the wilderness prepares you to totally trust God to make you Not JUST a MINISTER But to make you a Great Minister --

God warns about our human traditions getting in the Way of relying on Christ -----


Colossians 2:8

Amplified Bible

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the [a]elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ.


2 Thessalonians 2:14-15

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

14 [It was] to this end that He called you through our Gospel, so that you may obtain and share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions and instructions which you were taught by us, whether by our word of mouth or by letter.



Mark 7:7-9

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

7 In vain (fruitlessly and without profit) do they worship Me, ordering and teaching [to be obeyed] as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men.

8 You disregard and give up and ask to depart from you the commandment of God and cling to the tradition of men [keeping it carefully and faithfully].

9 And He said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting [thus thwarting and nullifying and doing away with] the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition (your own human regulations)!


Colossians 2:20-21

Amplified Bible

20 If you have died with Christ to the [a]elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were still living in the world, do you submit to rules and regulations, such as, 21 “Do not handle [this], do not taste [that], do not [even] touch!”?

Good article on this -----wilderness training ---worth the read

https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=honors

Are you looking for a theological answer or a practical one? If a practical one, it depends on your denomination. Some denominations require a bachelors or masters while some do not require any education. For instance, the Anglican Church will require you to become a priest and go through their seminary and ordination process whereas many non-denominational groups may only require a bachelors in a school pertaining to their theological background.

As far as ”wish they had” qualifications, I think that would be depend upon the type of ministry you are interested in. If you are looking to do chaplaincy work, such as hospital chaplaincy, I would recommend CPE (clinical pastoral education). In fact, many chaplaincy jobs require credits in this type of education. Also, some counseling courses can also be very helpful if you are looking to become a senior pastor. Many seminaries do not provide much education in this area, but you may find yourself providing a lot of marriage counseling or counseling for individuals suffering with depression. Personally, I think CBT can be really helpful in encouraging people to evaluate their thought processes that can help you to guide them toward more positive and biblical thinking.