Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09010 Ordination is a word used across virtually every Christian tradition, yet it means different things in different contexts. In some traditions it confers a sacramental character that permanently changes the nature of the person ordained. In others it is a formal recognition of a calling that the church has observed and affirmed. Understanding…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09011 The training and calling of pastors is a subject on which the New Testament says more than many churches realise and less than some seminary programmes assume. The modern pathway to pastoral ministry, which typically involves formal theological education followed by a search process and an institutional appointment, is not the only model…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09092 The question of whether a church should be led by a single pastor or a team of elders has been debated throughout church history and continues to generate strong convictions on both sides. The stakes are real: church governance shapes how decisions are made, how power is distributed, how accountability operates, and how…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 09088 Few situations in church life are more painful or more consequential than the moral failure of a pastor. The person entrusted with the spiritual oversight of the congregation, with the teaching of God’s Word, and with the modelling of Christian character has fallen into serious sin. The shock, grief, anger, and confusion that…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09047 Not every organisation that calls itself a church is one. The New Testament presents a picture of the church that has specific characteristics, specific commitments, and specific functions, and throughout history Christians have recognised that certain features mark the difference between a genuine church and something that has adopted the name without the…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09030 Every church is imperfect, because every church is made up of sinners in the process of being sanctified. The presence of problems, disagreements, and frustrations does not make a church unhealthy. What makes a church unhealthy is a pattern of dysfunction that is systemic, unaddressed, and damaging to the spiritual lives of its…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 09104 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is one of the most debated passages in the New Testament. Paul writes, “The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09078 The role of a pastor is one of the most misunderstood callings in the modern church. Contemporary culture has turned the pastor into a CEO, a life coach, a brand manager, or an entertainer, depending on the context. The New Testament has a different picture entirely. The pastor is a shepherd, and the…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09103 Disagreements over women’s ministry roles are among the most emotionally charged and practically consequential disputes a local church can face. They touch on deeply held convictions about Scripture, gender, authority, and calling. They can divide friendships, fracture leaderships, and leave entire congregations wounded. How a church navigates this disagreement matters as much as…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09100 Few questions generate more confusion in church life than the relationship between the titles “pastor,” “elder,” and “bishop.” Entire systems of church government have been built on the assumption that these are three distinct offices with different levels of authority. The New Testament evidence, however, points in a different direction, and understanding what…