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February 15th, 2024
1 Timothy 3:1-7
In 1 Timothy 3, Paul reminds us here that what God has given us extends to more than just the financial and material resources at our disposal. We are also responsible for “people resources” in general and family members in particular.
In the world of Paul’s times, churches were basically house churches, and households included children, slaves, and even other relatives. It does make sense, then, that Paul sees a direct relationship between the ability to “manage” such extended households and the ability to care for churches that had a similar structure.
What Paul is saying is that our call to be followers of Jesus and ministers of the gospel demands that we become good stewards of the family relationships that God has entrusted us with, and thus, that we invest time and resources to care well for them.
We must first learn to love and serve in the complex, messy but beautiful context of our family. Only then can we be effective witnesses in the world and the community of faith.
Author: Davide Cantarella
February 15th, 2024 at 10:43 am
I am no longer a pastor in an assigned minister to a congregation. I was removed appropriately according to the polity of the denomination. As I have read this subject using 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 I became reflective of how I was not available to the entire membership and visiting attendees because of not being allowed by the church in fact that I was assigned and became the reason I resigned short of the required superintendent recommendation because of the leadership/board asking for my resignation or being “fired”.
The second to last paragraph accurately admonishes the called minister of the gospel that Paul saying in my calling is that God demands that we become good stewards of the family relationships that God has entrusted us with. And that entrusted call beyond that we invest time and resources to care well for those entrusted to the pastor. Even more important to me is that given God given call we must learn to love and serve in the context of our family so that our witnesses in the world and the faith community.
This well written hermanutical understanding , in my thought, then the leadership of superintendency should also use this strong admonishment of Paul in dealing with the called minister .
February 15th, 2024 at 3:45 pm
Thank you. Very well said. Some are allowed to resign or be fired, others – well, let’s say, they’re just shown the door – dismissed – never to be heard from them again.
I’d rather have fought and died on the battlefield of service than be kicked out with the door being slammed behind me. A professor once said- When “ministry” is going good, there’s nothing like it, but when the “mystery” goes bad, there’s nothing like it.”
As (past) chaplain to X-military personnel, I see the church similarly, and that is that the commanding officers (upper management, generals, superintendents, etc.) who have the position, power, ability, and knowledge to deal with a situation (supposedly) do not do it, then cover it up to, pretend not to have responsibility for it. I wrote a poem on this matter, “Wounded They Came.” Over the next few days, “I’ll put it into “thereasoningblog.ca website. It will be under “Stories and More” and “Poetry Aflame”. I would like to hear from you. Thanks! Tim (I’m still working on getting things to work on blog stuff.)