Do one must be married in order to be a Pastor? What do you think

[Rev. Daryl Pendergrass]

 1 Timothy 3:2 - A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach.

 

I know some people see the scripture as you must be married in order to be Pastor but yet the Apostle Paul was single.  I  believe it stating if you are married or when you get married must be with one wife, committed to your wife. What do you think

 

 

Thank You and be Bless

 

 

[Zealot X]

First of all, you must understand that Paul is giving his opinion to a group of people. He spent a lot of time talking about being single in ministry if you COULD. Keyword is could. And the only reason for that was because he had to TRAVEL a lot and devote his time to spreading the gospel. When Malcom X was on the scene he was mostly known for his speeches, not for the wife and children he left home and hardly saw. If you are married you have a responsibility to your family first. You cannot preach love and hate your own family. You cannot preach about how to be good parents and children to the Most High when you are a hypocrite sacrificing his own family. People assume that their service is needed in spite of their family situation and that is entirely untrue. Many people offer service that are not only not useful but that are more negative than anything else. Sure people will come to your church. Most of those people were going to come anyway.

Someone else who was single was the messiah. But again, his calling meant he had to travel near and far. Having a family to be responsible for would have impacted his mission and he would have eventually left a widow behind. Therefore the responsible thing for him was to not involve a woman in this situation or seek a partner to satisfy the temporary pleasures of his flesh. Not everyone can do that. But again, this advice was given during a time when they needed missionaries to go to the four corners. It wasn't during a time when you can go to the four corners, wearing only an ascot, just by booting up your computer.

In a local congregation it is better to have a family. You will not be able to minister to half the needs a congregation has if you don't have the experiences yourself. You can give hypothetical and theoretical advice but that's all it is. My personal opinion is that one should act more like a missionary when they are single and settle down into a local congregation when they have a family. That's if you are a leader. If the question is about the necessity of these congregations and other concerns around that my answer may be different.

Shalom

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

Great response Zealot and a truthful one as well.

[Rev. Daryl Pendergrass]

Thank you for the response, technically I was speaking about the local church and few local churches don't want won't single Pastor because some say "the husband of one wife" says you must be married first. And some local churches is afraid a single Pastor will mess around with women in the churches.

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

As I read 1 Timothy 3:2, I am not hearing that marriage is a "prerequisite" for pastorship. What I hear is that if the man who is to become a pastor wishes to marry, (before or after his appointment into office) it is to be with one woman only, not multiple wives as it was in the OT times.

[Archbishop Trevor 'Elihu' Greene]

.....more like like "a man/woman must not play the harlot". This verse people take as being a monogamous verse, but it isn't at all. It speaks of being faithful to your wife. Lets look at this verse from different angles:

1 Timothy 3:2 (King James Version) "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;"

1 Timothy 3:2 (New American Standard Bible) "An Overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,"

1 Timothy 3:1-2 (The Message Bible) "If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable."

1 Timothy 3:2 (Amplified Bible) "Now a bishop (superintendent, overseer) must give no grounds for accusation but must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, circumspect and temperate and self-controlled; [he must be] sensible and well behaved and dignified and lead an orderly (disciplined) life; [he must be] hospitable [showing love for and being a friend to the believers, especially strangers or foreigners, and be] a capable and qualified teacher,"

1 Timothy 3:2 (New Living Translation) "So an Elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach."

1 Timothy 3:2 (Contemporary English Version) "That's why officials must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. They must be self-controlled, sensible, well-behaved, friendly to strangers, and able to teach."

1 Timothy 3:2 (New International Reader's Version) "A leader must be free from blame. He must be faithful to his wife. In anything he does, he must not go too far. He must control himself. He must be worthy of respect. He must welcome people into his home. He must be able to teach."

1 Timothy 3:2 (Today's New International Version) "Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,"


This verse does not say that a person "must be married", however, being a well versed Pharisee, the Apostle Paul doesn't promote monogamy either. He knows well enough that the Torah spoke of polygamy, but in modesty.

[Joseph Gill]

Translated literally, the Greek phrase mias gunaikos andra does mean "the husband of one wife." The question is whether this phrase meant only one wife (as in not a polygamist) or was only idiomatic language for "faithful in marriage."

Have to wonder what proof these modern translators have that this is idiom. The onus would be on them to show that the plainest reading wasn't applicable.

[keith]

Correct Chaplain.

Incorrect Trevor.

[Archbishop Trevor 'Elihu' Greene]

Here we go again.......

If you want to tell someone that they are "incorrect", then please direct your comment first towards the Bible translating teams that I quoted. I'm sure that they will be more than happy to hear your "professional analysis". I'm no Bible translator, I merely quoted the scriptures.

[Zealot X]

Well, I am apt to agree with you Trevor. The law does not condemn polygamy at any time, nor does Paul have authority to change it. Since the law specifically made rules around polygamy and especially dealing with leaders multiplying wives (meaning having many, not more than one) we can reasonably conclude that it isn't confining, by law, a man to one wife. However, because Paul is giving his opinion, I believe he is merely stating a case for the "best case" scenario for a leader. Polygamy wasn't wrong but it was mainly for the wealthy who could afford it.

At the same time women can be a great distraction. Because of this Paul choose to be single and recommended that lifestyle for missionaries. However he recognized that this wasn't some new theology. He was just doing what he personally thought best and giving his opinion about it. Being the husband of one wife, as it is stated, I believe is more about the ability of the congregation to trust him and to be led like a wife is led by her husband. The experience of marriage teaches a lot. Nothing teaches you more about how to be married than being married, just like nothing teaches you more about having children than having children.

Shalom

[keith]

Excellent,

Pastor you are correct. This statement is merely reaffirming monogamy (as YAHshua reraffirmed in Matt19:5). If the pastor is married he is to be married to only one woman.

I will admit it is best to have a married pastor than a single one as a single pastor may be searching for a mate instead of watching over his congregation.

There is no other explanation.

Peace.

[Archbishop Trevor 'Elihu' Greene]

In all honesty, that comment of your lacked respect for the Single Pastors and the job that they are committed to. It was spoken like a picky sheep.

[keith]

If my statement regarding single pastors was disrespectful or perceived that way I apologize.

I said may be, not will be,

The english of this verse is just as the greek (hebrew greek key word study bible). As stated above mias gunaikos = of one woman, a one woman husband.

By the way, what does faithful to his wife, committed to his wife, faithful in marriage mean to you?? As opposed to faithful to his wives, committed to his wives or faithful in marriages.

And Torah spoke of monogamy. Men spoke of and practiced polygamy. This does not have to be about monogamy as Father YAH ordained vs polygamy as man practised.

Peace.

1 Tim 3:2 is as it is. A leader in the church is to be the husband of one wife. How you can deny the monogamy of this statement is beyond me.

peace.