What does it take to be a man of character? Carl Trueman has recently started a series on 1 Timothy 3, addressing this question.
Although the full essay is worth considering, I particularly appreciated this paragraph:
"This is one more reason why Paul typically assumes overseers and elders
will be older people. The knowledge of which hills one must die on,
which battles need not be fought, and that sometimes it takes a long
time to move a congregation to where they should be, if one is to do it
without hurting people - this knowledge is something that comes with
age. I cringe every time I remember things I have done in the past and
give thanks that God kept me out of the ministry until I was past the
age of forty and had grown up a little bit. Put some thirty-something
punk in a pulpit and guess what? He'll be playing ACDC during the
worship service, using explicit language in his stand-up routine,
dressing like a superannuated teenager, screaming down his critics as
`haters' and refusing to visit the sick in hospital until they are in
body bags. But hey, those things would surely never happen....." (Google "Perry Noble" if you don't quite catch his meaning.)
He also briefly takes on the issue of pornography use among pastors, surmising that it may be the number one issue among candidates for the ministry. No doubt he is right.
Read the rest here.
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