It is unfortunate that many dying churches conclude that they need one of two types of men to revitalize the church: First, churches want to find a young preacher, who is a rock star, to be their pastor, believing that their charisma will be the Problem with this approach is not just because there are a limited number of pastors who are rock stars , but the Bible does not establish this requirement for church leaders. The other type of pastor that churches believe they need is the energetic evangelist who comes to the community and gains souls for Jesus, confident that this will help the church grow and, as a result, the church will be revitalized. Nor is it necessary for God to revitalise a church in struggle.
God simply wants faithful shepherds.
- God wants men who meet certain requirements and have a pious character (1 Timothy 3: 1-7; Titus 1.
- 5-9) God wants a humble and jealous man who feels called to graze The flock of God in the name of the supreme shepherd (1 Peter 5.
- 1-4).
- God wants shepherds to realize that they are called to take care of themselves and the flock that Christ bought from his own blood (Acts 20:28).
God wants faithful shepherds, whose main characteristics are not intelligence or charism, but divine conviction of the duty to care for souls as a person to be held accountable (Hebrews 13:17).
Many revitalization approaches challenge dying and uncompromising congregations to seek new life abroad. I don’t discourage evangelism efforts, but if God already has sheep in the local church, we should start with them instead of trying to quickly replace them. The decline of the local churches is due to a series of careless and unfaithful shepherds, which is why the spiritual life of the church sheep gradually diminishes over the decades until there is almost nothing left, but there is a spiritual life in every true disciple. of Jesus, no matter how beaten or discouraged you are; Christ still lives in them and works to complete the work He began (Philippians 1:16). God needs faithful shepherds to care for the flock and God breathes life into the church when his sheep are well cared for and eat the bread of life. So send out these well-fed and equipped sheep for more.
The Bible is very clear in setting the qualifications of The Elders and Deaconos of the Church, but finding leaders who have such qualifications and gifts for ministry can be difficult. Thabiti writes as an experienced pastor and elder, demonstrating how to identify and reproduce, within the church itself, legitimate and willing to serve rulers. Carefully analyzing key passages from the Bible and offering practical applications, Thabiti answers the question: How to find faithful elders and deaconos in the church?
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