Back to "would you believe me" with poll

[PastorDaniel]

I voted for you to pray about it....I believe you are a good guy and wouldn't try the other stuff...like taking it out of the cogop...I believe its between you and God to decide whether or not you're called here...then you the overseer and the church should decide based on prayer...

[RamboPreacher]

Rambo I never said I did not talk to the over seer already.

didn't say you didn't. I was giving my opinion on either circumstance.

[Full Quiver]

Kevin, if you were to take the job I'd make sure to do so with the blessing of your overseer and whomever else 'holds your license in their hand". Also I'd make it plain and clear to all other TCOG members as to what your intentions are because their will be talk and therefore you will suffer that. That is unless you just want to leave TCoG then x all that out.


My question is what would be your intentions and "vision" for this church if you become their pastor?

[dolfan]

One love, I've already expressed my heart and mind on it with you. I do think it is odd that you'd ask for opinions in this way. I think there is some "internal polling" that you would need to do, so to speak. You need to ask yourself some tough questions about just how firmly you stand in TCOG's system of belief (and the belief in the system itself), and how, in practical ways, that may not work in COGOP if you can't find a way to lay that aside. Personally, I have an opinion--and that's all I can say it is-- that this is an opportunity for you to consider whether you will stay with TCOG and its future (whatever that may be, but you need to do some real consulting with people in and outside of it to hear wisdom on that) or whether you will land on some other ground about the nature of TCOG, COGOP, and the church of Jesus as a whole. You won't be the first one to have gone through that exercise here, as you know. If nothing else, I think this may be a call for you to examine that. I can't say where you'll come out at with it, and I can't even say that you'd have to abandon anything in terms of belief about "the church" in order to follow God into this pastorate (if that's what He is doing with you). But, all of these questions that you've gotten in response to your poll effort point out what seems to me, at least, to be obvious ---- that you need to sit down, talk with other live human beings who would make themselves available to you from both TCOG and COGOP, and prayerfully examine yourself, your beliefs, the basis of them, and what to do with that if you were to pastor any church outside of TCOG and in COGOP. Further, you'd need to know something about this particular local church, its needs, challenges, opportunities, its finances, its struggles, etc. You need to know what any business owner would know about a business, because that's the kind of trust you'd be taking on -- ownership of these people and God's call to them.

BUT, having said all of that, I don't think that your affiliation with TCOG should disqualify you from anything, period. Obviously, at least one other person is of a similar mind or you wouldn't have been approached about this.

[rough_rider]

80 members in a COGOP does not sound like a "old paths" church. I agree with Piomen, leave it alone. Unless of course you like Chris have had a change of heart on some of TCOG Doctrine.

[one love]

Thank you all for your post. It is not the numbers but how many souls can we win and how the community can be effected, just as I do now


edited: I felt the need to edit this post.


I will say I really do not feel that I will take a pastorate right now but I am praying for God's will. I appreciate your prayers. I will still be talking with them about this and praying until then,

[Mike Vande]

Buddy, I don't even know who you are, let alone your intentions on this or any other issue. But I will quote John Wesley's reply to William Wilberforce when he asked if he should take on the slave trade in parliament; if God has called you to this work, nothing will stand in your way for long. If He hasn't called you to it, the devil is going to wear you out like an old rag.

So I would advise you to pray, and if you don't get an answer, to fast and pray until you do. A pastorate is not something to take on like just another job.