Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mib@churchy.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Michael I Bushnell) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: 1st amendment (was: religious courses in a secular school) Message-ID: Date: 14 May 91 07:30:51 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Free Software Foundation, Cambridge, MA Lines: 32 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article hudson@athena.cs.uga.edu (Paul Hudson Jr) writes: I can't agree with your statement that the PK did not reflect badly on his father. When Paul was discussing the requirements for church office he said that officials should be incontrol of their houses. If a man is not able to handle his own house, how can he handle the matters of the church? Interesting concept. I don't believe a pastor is supposed to "handle" a church (or a father a family, for that matter). The PCUSA says that the "pastor is responsible for studying, teaching, and preaching the Word, for administering Baptism and the Lord's Supper, for praying with and for the congregation," and that, with "the elders, the pastor is to encourage the people in the worship and service of God; to equip and enable them for their tasks within the church and their mission in the world; to exercise pastoral care, devoting special attention to the poor, the sick, the troubled, and the dying; to participate in governing responsibilities[....]," and with "the deacons, the pastor is to share in the ministries of sympathy, witness and service". The pastor, in other words is to share in the government of the church with the elders of the church. I truly believe that only in this way can the church be effectively governed. If it is only one person who is responsible for the management of the church, then the people of the church are not living up to their duty and the pastor is in serious danger of autocracy. I should add that I believe this to be consistent with the advice in the pastoral letters, though Biblical literalists will doubtless disagree. -mib