Reflections On Biblical Wisdom And Cooperate Ideology
I have a friend, who some would consider young, who pastors a moderate size church in, well ...we will just call it a large state. Paul graduated High School on time and went straight to College. After college Paul went to Seminary with no break in between. He finished both college and seminary in a timely manner. It also needs to be said that his academic achievements were outstanding in both college and seminary. Paul, however, finished seminary at the age of 26.
By most peoples standards Paul is a young man. He is not immature. He married and has one child. Most importantly, he is a man of strong convictions, all of which are grounded in the truth of God’s Word. Worldly experience is not on his resume, neither is any bad church experience. So why do so many men like Paul have a hard time gaining trust for leadership in their church? More than this, why are so many churches reluctant to hire young men as their pastors?
The answer may be spill over from the corporate world. Our culture places high esteem on the gray haired men in their dark three piece suits. That is, those who have worked their way up the corporate ladder and now hold the title of CEO. Many churches have the desire to see this same sort of man behind their pulpits. But are we thinking biblically or just failing to put our trust in an Almighty God. Therefore, I give you a list of examples to help prove my case. And to gain credibility, we will not begin our list with Jesus. It is impossible to set God as your standard in an argument. Nevertheless, here we go!
King David began to rule as King of Judah at the age of thirty. (2 Samuel 5:4).
Solomon was most likely in his twenties when he began to rule (1 Kings 3:7)
Martin Luther was 34 when the Reformation began. He had been pastoring for some time before.
John Calvin was 27 when he began to pastor the church at Geneva.
Charles Spurgeon was 20 years when he began to pastor New Park Street Church in London.
Billy Graham had already pastored a church and held the office of college president when he began his Los Angles crusade at the age of 38.
Adrian Rogers began pastoring Bellevue Baptist Church (not his first pastorate) at the age of 41.
Charles Stanley began his pastorate at FBC Atlanta when he was 39 years old.
This list is only a small sampling of those who had been used by God to accomplish great things at an early age. Wisdom does not come from a long sequence of years. The experiences within those years may be all bad. Wisdom comes from a heart that has been shaped by the truth of God’s Word. All I’m saying is ……give Paul a chance!!
I have a friend, who some would consider young, who pastors a moderate size church in, well ...we will just call it a large state. Paul graduated High School on time and went straight to College. After college Paul went to Seminary with no break in between. He finished both college and seminary in a timely manner. It also needs to be said that his academic achievements were outstanding in both college and seminary. Paul, however, finished seminary at the age of 26.
By most peoples standards Paul is a young man. He is not immature. He married and has one child. Most importantly, he is a man of strong convictions, all of which are grounded in the truth of God’s Word. Worldly experience is not on his resume, neither is any bad church experience. So why do so many men like Paul have a hard time gaining trust for leadership in their church? More than this, why are so many churches reluctant to hire young men as their pastors?
The answer may be spill over from the corporate world. Our culture places high esteem on the gray haired men in their dark three piece suits. That is, those who have worked their way up the corporate ladder and now hold the title of CEO. Many churches have the desire to see this same sort of man behind their pulpits. But are we thinking biblically or just failing to put our trust in an Almighty God. Therefore, I give you a list of examples to help prove my case. And to gain credibility, we will not begin our list with Jesus. It is impossible to set God as your standard in an argument. Nevertheless, here we go!
King David began to rule as King of Judah at the age of thirty. (2 Samuel 5:4).
Solomon was most likely in his twenties when he began to rule (1 Kings 3:7)
Martin Luther was 34 when the Reformation began. He had been pastoring for some time before.
John Calvin was 27 when he began to pastor the church at Geneva.
Charles Spurgeon was 20 years when he began to pastor New Park Street Church in London.
Billy Graham had already pastored a church and held the office of college president when he began his Los Angles crusade at the age of 38.
Adrian Rogers began pastoring Bellevue Baptist Church (not his first pastorate) at the age of 41.
Charles Stanley began his pastorate at FBC Atlanta when he was 39 years old.
This list is only a small sampling of those who had been used by God to accomplish great things at an early age. Wisdom does not come from a long sequence of years. The experiences within those years may be all bad. Wisdom comes from a heart that has been shaped by the truth of God’s Word. All I’m saying is ……give Paul a chance!!
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