This survey was started two weeks before the first training session.4 The survey was. Hammet argues that a believing body must order its leaders wisely.6 The candidate must have a good standing in his house and in the house of God. The adjective "great" is emphasized by repeating the article.37 It is Jesus who is "the Shepherd" and "the Great".
In the context of listing the qualifications for the pastor, Paul says that the church is "the house of God, which is the church of the living God" (1 Tim 3:15). The true shepherd of the black flock was the slave preacher.”4 The slave preacher is one who suffered with his flock, is the accepted counselor on the plantation, and the favorite minister of the slaves.5. Simms notes that in Georgia “the courts of jurisdiction would not license our colored ministers to preach or minister in the ordinances of the Church unless they were approved by two or more white ministers.
Johnson, "The Gospel Developed Through the Government and Order of the Churches of Jesu Kristi," i Dever, Polity, 192.
Examining the Form of a Man Called to Pastoral Ministry
In developing what the New Testament presented on the issue of calling, it was clear that the Spirit of God placed men in ministry (Acts 20:28) and then came the recognition of the fellowship. The instruction developed the practice of the first century church in that they affirmed the work of the Spirit in setting men apart for ministry by the laying on of hands. In addition, the men were taught that the laying on of hands on a minister was done in public.
I argued that ministers are given special titles and should be called by those names to regulate the office of pastor. The basis for everything we taught in Session 2 was based on the necessity of the minister's conversion. Since my conversion, I have started to teach what the Bible says about the character of a priest.
Furthermore, I was given evidence in the use of the Greek verb δεῖ, which indicates the necessity of the minister's call to a purity of life. I argued that the quality of a man's private home life enabled him to shepherd God's household (1 Tim 3:5). Teaching in the form of a man called to the ministry dealt with sound mandates in doctrine.
We went deeper into scripture to see the other side of purity, which I learned was purity of doctrine.
The Historical Handling of the Pastor’s Calling in Black
From this point on, I continued to develop the calling of a minister as one who should rule according to 1 Timothy 5:17. The next label to show how a pastor functions was "leader." I taught the men about the pastor as a leader from Hebrews 13:7 and 17. The phrase for leader is actually from the participle of the two texts mentioned above, which uses the phrase,.
The participants were taught that leadership is done by administering or speaking the Word of God (Heb 13:7). Likewise, they were the ones who watched over souls, pointing the class to the eternal ramifications of the exercise of leading (Heb 13:17). The last designation given to the class was that of 'teacher'. The distinguishing mark of teachers was communicated as something that separated them from deacons (1 Tim 3:8-13).
We have come full circle with the doctrinal purity aspect of the calling as ministers are instructed by the Word to teach sound doctrine. The second part of session 3 was how the New Testament provides guidance for men called to the ministry to provide oversight to the church. The function of a man called to the ministry served to carry over what was taught in session 1.
The class learned that what makes a man a minister comes together in their own home and leads to service in God's Great House.
The Historical Handling of the Pastor’s Calling in Black
Thus, the first requirement to be a minister in black Baptist churches as early as slavery was to have a converted minister. The second premise the class learned about was the ability of slave preachers to plant a congregation. The churches that these men ministered to were able to examine their callings to see if they were able to gather and settle a congregation.
Examples were provided to the men from black Baptist history, e.g. George Liele and Lewis Craig, also known as. Old Captain.” The class learned how these aspects of conversion and gathering were operative in the lives of the slave preachers. From the designations and prerequisites of pastorates in black Baptist churches, I was able to provide evidence of the legitimacy of the pastorates among the early black Baptists.
The Historical Precedent for Licensing as Preliminary to Ordination
I covered how licensing differed from ordination, the importance and purpose of licensing, and gave examples of licensing in black Baptist associations. The class was impressed with the seriousness that the Baptists (black and white) took in trying to ensure that a man was truly called to the ministry. In the second section I asked, "How did the process of licensing begin in Black Baptist churches?" I demonstrated to the men that the practice of licensing that most of them had experienced was an inherited practice.
I admitted that I couldn't find exactly where it came from since it pertained to white Baptist churches, but I was 100 percent sure that black Baptists adopted this practice from white Baptists. I proved this by giving examples of white Baptists who had or started the practice before the formation of black Baptist churches. Above all, I gave the reason for the existence of the practice in the church today.
The Historical and Biblical Views toward a Plurality of Pastors
Another minister said, "The most important thing I learned in this training series is that licensing is not new and is actually a good process if it is used in a way to screen those who have felt the call to the ministry." One minister added that he was surprised at the involvement of the Great Awakening in the formation of the black Baptist church. I pushed the class to help me in this area, but most of the class did not find anything challenging about the training.
The sub-question was: "What can be done to make this part of the training more useful/interesting?". The participants came to the training sessions with some understanding of what the Bible taught about the teachings of the Church. Mean scores were lower in the latter parts of the pre-training study compared to the earlier scores.
Some of the criticisms given were based on the language used in chapter 2 of this project. Another critique was offered but could not be resolved due to the nature of the project. Six of the men were licensed ministers and one was considering his call to the ministry.
Examples of the increase in knowledge could be observed especially in the historical parts of the teaching.
Would Do Differently
Participant Information
Participants can provide their name or choose to complete this survey anonymously by providing a unique personal identification number (PIN).
Demographic Information [placeholder]
Ecclesiology and Ministry Survey Instructions
- What does the term ordination mean?
- What did the act or process of ordination look like in the New Testament?
- What is the importance of biblical designations for men called to the ministry?
The number should be easy to remember as participants will use it at the end of the training series. The following prompts were used to understand participants' perceptions of the usefulness of the training curriculum. The content is divided into two parts: 1) The biblical foundation of the call to ministry, including what it means to be ordained and what the character and behavior of a priest should be;
To show from scripture the character and conduct of the man who strives for pastoral ministry. To provide a historical framework from the black Baptist tradition about the seriousness of a vocation to the ministry. The Spirit of God sets Paul and Barnabas apart and the church in Antioch recognized the work of the Spirit.
Polhill states: "The gesture was almost certainly not an ordination ... the gesture was more symbolic of. Laying on of hands: God has entrusted the selection of ministers in some respect to the local church. Ø Towner suggests: "It was enough rather, a reference to the word of the Spirit spoken by a prophet(s) which confirms and identifies Timothy's endowment and thereby authorizes his ministry in society.”2.
Ø The laying on of hands/laying on of hands can be identified with a communication of healing cf.
Examining the Form of a Man Called to Pastoral Ministry
- The inescapable reality of purity in the man’s conduct
- The non-negotiable mandates of soundness in his doctrine a. The other side of purity is purity of doctrine
- Ministerial Designations in the Development of Black Baptist Pastorates a. Embryonic stage of the black Baptist church: In speaking of the black
- Prerequisites of Pastoring in Black Baptist Churches
- What is licensing?
- How did the process of licensing begin in black Baptist churches?
- A differing consensus among the Baptists
- History and Exegesis: Concluding Arguments about a plurality of elders in one local church
He said of the pastor that he "...must be a visual aid to the congregation. Cleophus LaRue said of preaching it, "continues to be a high calling to the holy desk—the Christian pulpit" (Power in the Pulpit, p.2).Often one of the few slaves who could read, the black preacher was usually highly intelligent.
Because of his character traits and remarkable personality, he was able to unite blacks, comfort the sick, weak and fearful, uplift and inspire them” (The Slave Community, p.131). In the case of Cowan, the license gave him the privilege of preaching freely and was called the "Privilege Papers". The record says,. One of the earliest accounts of this practice is found in the history of Kentucky Baptists.
Jones stated, "...remaining a mere teacher or minister, and not connected with any church as their minister or pastor, he can have little to do but preach." Acquiring the title of pastor would come "by means of assuming the supervision of a church, which will greatly expand its field of activity" (Treatise on Church Discipline, p. 12). George Liele and Andrew Bryan, Pioneer Negro Baptist Preachers.” The Journal of Negro History 3, no. Minutes of the Forty-Fourth Annual Session of the Wood River Baptist Association Ministerial Union.
Minutes of the Forty-Third Annual Session of the Big Harpeth United Primitive Baptist Association.
