Good Shepherd, Overseer - Pastor

God's Word has not changed over the millennia. The same words are on the same pages and should carry the same meaning. People are the ones who change and believers specifically attempt to adjust or modify God's Word to fit their situation or the culture of the day.

Speaking to the Head Position of a Church - the Shepherd, Overseer or Pastor -

"God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church. This does not imply men are better teachers or that women are inferior or less intelligent. It is simply the way God designed the church to function. Men are to set the example in spiritual leadership—in their lives and through their words. Women are also to set an example in their lives, but in a different way (1 Peter 3:1-6). Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3–5). The Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children. The only activity women are restricted from is teaching or having spiritual authority over men [or the Church]. This bars women from serving as pastors to men [1 Timothy 2:11-12]. This does not make women less important, by any means; rather, it gives them a ministry focus more in agreement with God’s design."
[https://www.gotquestions.org/women-pastors.html] For a more detailed look at this subject visit the link provided.

Having established who a Pastor should not be, let us address the qualifications of the office. He is to be -

1. "above reproach,
2. faithful to his wife,
3. temperate,
4. self-controlled,
5. respectable,
6. hospitable,
7. able to teach,
8. not given to drunkenness,
9. not violent but gentle,
10. not quarrelsome,
11. not a lover of money.
12. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
13. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
14. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap." (1 Tim. 3:2-7)

Paul re-emphasizes and adds some requirements in his letter to Titus -

"he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." (Titus 1:7-9)

There are two huge qualifications I personally look for in a Pastor when deciding what leadership I desire for my marriage to learn under - teaching ability and personal one-on-one attention.

There have been Pastors in my past and our past that were heavy on one qualification and completely missed the other. In addition, there were others that did not have either a teaching/preaching ministry or a personal touch - those days were rough.

I realize Pastors have an extremely busy schedule, but for them to reach out to me or us and squirrel away an hour of personal time is priceless. To have lunch or dinner and get to know each other while talking on all concerns is a whole other level of ministering that I fully enjoy from a Pastor. Dare I would dream that lunch or dinner become a regular weekly event, I would be on another plateau of gratefulness and happiness.

In addition to this, if you or I have this kind of Pastor and he is a good speaker - what a blessing from God. I was raised to not only know your material when you publicly or privately speak, but deliver it correctly with the right grammar. I hear so many Pastors misuse the "you and I"/"you and me" phrase it is nauseating. Here is the rule for that - take the other person out of the equation/phrase/sentence - "you or whomever" - and how would you normally say the sentence?

One final aspect of the Pastor I observe is his attire. I come from a traditional view of wearing your Sunday Best. Even though my body is called the temple of the Lord and I meet with Him daily, Sunday I dress-up because I'm attending another "temple" where many others will be honoring God - hopefully the Pastor will be doing likewise.

This is all about excellence and Pastors striving for it through leadership, Godly character, personal outreach, speaking ability and appearance. This office is a huge responsibility and will be dealt strictly upon Judgement Day (1 Peter 5:1-4). So if you are personally looking for a church with a good Pastor or your church is looking for their next Pastor, consider what I have researched in The Word of God and pursue that Good Shepherd, Overseer - Pastor.

The Hope

The New King James version of the Bible uses the word "appointed" in Hebrews 9:27 to describe the last day that each individual has on earth, no matter how short or long the duration. The verse reads - "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,".

God has many record-keeping books in Heaven according to Revelation 20:12. In addition, this Hebrews 9:27 verse alludes to an Appointment Book that has documented everyone's detailed information of death - who, what (cause), when, where, why and how of their expiration. 

However, there is an exception to this appointment with physical death and this is called The Rapture.

The Rapture, described beautifully in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, is the snatching away of the dead in Christ and living believers by Jesus, who has descended from Heaven to mid-air, to bring them all back to live with Him forever via a glorified body.

This "mid-air" coming is FOR His saints. The word "for" is meant to picture acquisition of something betrothed. Christ's believers, church or bride was paid with the very highest price - the life of Jesus (Galatians 3:13; Colossians 1:14; and Isaiah 53:5-6). Belief in eternal life secured by the life, death, resurrection and return of Christ is the believer's hope.

After this retrieval there is another return of Christ. After seven years in Heaven, Christ Jesus travels to earth from Heaven WITH His saints/believers/church behind Him according to Revelation 19:14-16 to establish His Millennial Reign on Earth.

Interestingly enough, one does not have to wait until the New Testament to witness someone with Godly, prophetic inspiration about this Hope. David stated in Psalm 27:13-14 - "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Then in the New Testament, long before humanity had to concern itself with environmental issues, Paul writes there is a future glory with Christ that will far surpass all sufferings believers endure in the here and now. To witness to this, creation has been "groaning" in different ways throughout history, waiting "in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed." (Romans 8:19) 

In fact, creation itself - "was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:20-21)

Here is where The Hope is birthed and fostered. "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:22-25)

Humanity was saved into The Hope, the great expectation that will manifest one day of a tremendously better, eternal tomorrow. This is not a fantasy or wishful thinking on the believer's part. Every three hundred plus prophecy of Christ that concerned His first visitation was perfectly fulfilled. And every believer can take as fact not manifested yet, the prophecies made of Christ's Return. 

Paul speaks about The Day that The Hope is manifested. He leads in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 by stating the order of a few key players and their actions. First, the Lord will descend with a shout. Second, the archangel will declare "amen" probably. Lastly, the trumpet will signal the transformation.

Now observe how 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 marries nicely with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, especially after The Trumpet blast.

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

This is The Hope.