“Unqualified”

Thursday, January 21, 2016

What does the Bible say about a pastor who is rumored to have had an affair and is divorced as a result?  Should he still pastor the church?  I can forgive.  I guess my question is: does God want us to stay or find a new church home?

Sincerely,
We All Fall Short

Dear We All Fall Short,

A pastor is the same as an elder (Acts 20:17), a bishop (1 Tim 3:1), and an overseer (‘overseer’ is another translation for the word ‘bishop)… all four titles represent the same job.  A pastor/elder/bishop/overseer has certain qualifications that God says they must meet in order to be appointed.  Those qualifications are laid out in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9.  One of those qualifications is that the pastor/elder/bishop/overseer needs to be a husband of one wife (Tit 1:6, 1 Tim 3:2).  Literally, ‘husband of one wife’ means ‘a one woman man’.  If a man has had an affair, he has proven that he is not ‘a one woman man’.  It is not a matter of forgiveness (if he repents, you should forgive him {Lk 17:3} ); it is a matter of meeting the criteria set by God.  A man who has had an affair can be a christian, but he is unqualified to be a pastor/elder/bishop/overseer.  It sounds like you may need to find a new church; we recommend reading “Finding A Church” and “Preacher Interrogation” to help you in your search for a faithful, Bible-only congregation.

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