Degrees of Respect???

I heard something the other day that struck me in a new way. I heard a man referred to as having a ThM. That degree is a recognition that he is a Master of Theology. If he continues his study he could become a Doctor of Theology. These degrees are often the criteria that churches use to determine who they will consider for a teaching elder (or Pastor) position in their church. Here is the irony and the corruption that is seeping into the thinking of the members of the church. This man after 3 or 4 years is said to have Mastered Theology or be a Doctor of Theology. Really? The not so subtle implication is that this man has mastered the important aspects of the knowledge of God. It is really a ridiculous assertion that a man in four years or less could have mastered the infinite. Yet this degree becomes the criteria that determines for many churches who they will even consider. The larger the church the more a masters or doctorate becomes the gatekeeper for determining who is qualified. Some churches are even handing off the gatekeeping to what is little more then a headhunter for pastors.

The Bible has a very different view on qualifications. Paul in Timothy and Titus encourages his disciples to establish elders to lead the churches. Their main responsibility was teaching and that they were governed by the Word of God and faithful to it. In other words they were not the masters of Theology but rather they were mastered by theology. Their souls were being doctored by God. The main thing was that they were faithful to God's word. There was also a list of criteria Paul said you needed to see in their life. You can find them in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. The criteria was not about business acumen but family acumen. Why? Because the church is not a business but really the family of God. But doesn't a lead elder or pastor need to have instruction and experience in managing a large group of people? Maybe or maybe not. Do we trust God to provide a man with the wisdom he needs? The reality is that when we look to man made criteria and trust non-biblical qualifications set up by men, aren't we really trusting in the wisdom of men. Wouldn't it be better if we followed the guidelines in scripture. This means that we trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us to a man who will trust in God and be mastered by God. If we did that we may find that God has raised up a man in the congregation to become the next teaching elder. So what if he does not have a degree. If he meets the criteria in God's word then he is qualified as far as God is concerned. John Piper in a sermon on Hebrews 5:11-14 said, "There are many Ph.D.'s who choke in their spiritual immaturity on the things of God. And there are many less-educated saints who are deeply mature and can feed with pleasure and profit on the deepest things of God's Word." What is better to have. A man who is qualified by men and can add numbers to the church or a man who is mastered by God, is forced to depend on the Holy Spirit and leads people into a more passionate pursuit of Jesus?

This does not mean that a man cannot grow in seminary. The point is that the criteria of a seminary education is not a good standard to limit your search with. We should be more concerned with God's standard then those set up by men.

Eliminate the competition

Last post I talked about the message of Abel. In a discussion with my wife another application to living the God focused life became apparent. When we analyze the story we see that Cain wanted God's acceptance. He wanted it so bad he was willing to kill for it. Now we might not kill for it but how often are we guilty of seeking positions as means of validating God's approval and acceptance or lack thereof. The church becomes a place where people often end up jockeying for position. We end up with a spiritual hierarchy or pecking order which is really far from spiritual. How does living a God focused life come to bear in this situation? It may not be a popular way or a way that is high profile but we do have an example in Jesus. Jesus ran into this problem with the disciples in Luke 22:24-27. In this situation Jesus told them that they needed to pursue becoming the servant of all. He said that pursuing positions was what the gentiles do. Jesus life also gives us a clue. Our objective should be to serve where God places us. Talk to the God about our desire and simply look for how we can serve. Wouldn't it be really cool if we knew that everyone who is in leadership in our church is there because they were identified as real servants. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:3, “...If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” (ESV) How do you handle that scenario? Serve. Tell the elders of your church what you desire, and continue to serve others. The greatest way for an elder board to have a pulse on the congregation is to serve it. By modeling service to one another we create a heart of service in our churches. When this happens we avoid fostering an atmosphere of spiritual competition. We teach people how to follow the second commandment which flows from the first. By depending on God's guidance, on His leadership to advance us, we model a God focused servant oriented life.