Yes, I do. I think a faithful expression of the Bible’s teaching on church polity is expressed here: “A Display of God’s Glory: Basics of Church Structure Deacons, Elders, Congregationalism & Membership.”
Take up and read!

Thanks,
Denny

Denny,
Do you think that we, Southern Baptist especially, have failed to set up and promote proper leadership to begin with in our local churches?

IOW have we wrongly depended on “one man shows” instead of Elder boards made up of local men helping to bear the burdens that come with sinful men trying to love one another?

I am not saying there are not lazy men who do not want to labor in ministry, but maybe we put too much responsibility on “one man shows”

Kris

There was a time when Baptists were completely against fun; and now they’re promoting it!

It is also odd that people are surprised by politics and sinful shenanigans in the Body of Christ. Isn’t the church made up of sinners? Are we so caught up with our own self-imagined piety that we are surprised by sinful actions of others? Are we really that holy? Remember, sin refers to our very nature, and not just our actions or failures to act. If Paul could refer to the Corinthians as saints, then we should never be shocked by the presence of sin and the desires of the flesh even among those who bear the name of Christ. It should never be tolerated, and we are called to repentance in evert instance, but it should never be a shocker. Why else are we called to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ?
+Mason

Conversely I see many people who hate their jobs but because of lifestyle choices they are trapped.

Didn’t Jesus say as found in Mark 10:29-31 the following…?

Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

There is great “fun” in the pastorate… and rewards also!

It’s scary just how petty, selfish, and immature people IN THE CHURCH can be. What I think most seminary students are not aware of is just how much of the beat down in pastoral ministry comes in the form of “friendly fire.”

The “fun factor” shouldn’t necessarily come into play with regard to vocational calling, but I can certainly see how ministerial options other than the pastorate would be more appealing, especially the more educated one is about the pastorate – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Yet, if that’s your calling, you do it with a zeal for the glory of God alone. If you get fired, you get fired to the glory of God. If you pull your hair out, you take comfort in knowing that our Master endured far more.

I don’t want to discourage (unnecessarily) those who are interested in the pastorate, but I heartily recommend some sort of internship where you can get close enough to a pastor to see what it really is all about.

That’s why I’m such an advocate of taking seminary students under my wing as I pastor. I think they benefit immensely in getting a “reality show” in the life of a church.

It helps them to know what they may be getting themselves into.