Does your church allow divorced men to be deacons?

drequeen

drequeen

1 Tim 3
8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money,
9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.
10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 1
6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.

It translates in Greek as "a one woman man" or "man of one woman". What do you think the intention was behind these verses?

Divorce has been at a rate of over 50% for some time now. If the word of God prohibits a divorced man (or woman, different topic) from a leadership role in the church, societal norms shouldn't twist and bend His word to its benefit.

I know I have my belief on this, I was wanting to hear from others.
 
drequeen said:
1 Tim 3
8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money,
9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.
10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 1
6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.

It translates in Greek as "a one woman man" or "man of one woman". What do you think the intention was behind these verses?

Divorce has been at a rate of over 50% for some time now. If the word of God prohibits a divorced man (or woman, different topic) from a leadership role in the church, societal norms shouldn't twist and bend His word to its benefit.

I know I have my belief on this, I was wanting to hear from others.
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Since God hates divorce and doesn't recognize any legitimate grounds for it except adultery, wouldn't a divorced man unremarried still be the biblical husband of one wife: his ex-wife?

BTW: That criterion when strictly applied would prohibit unmarried men from being deacons because they wouldn't be the husband on one wife.
 
BibleLover said:
Since God hates divorce and doesn't recognize any legitimate grounds for it except adultery, wouldn't a divorced man unremarried still be the biblical husband of one wife: his ex-wife?

BTW: That criterion when strictly applied would prohibit unmarried men from being deacons because they wouldn't be the husband on one wife.
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That's very true. If you take to an extreme literal interpretation of the verse, a man would literally have to be married and obviously faithful.

And yes, an unmarried divorced man would seem to fit that criteria.
 
BibleLover said:
Since God hates divorce and doesn't recognize any legitimate grounds for it except adultery, wouldn't a divorced man unremarried still be the biblical husband of one wife: his ex-wife?

BTW: That criterion when strictly applied would prohibit unmarried men from being deacons because they wouldn't be the husband on one wife.
Click to expand...
Would not a scripturally divorced man though be acceptable to even be a Pastor if called and gifted to be such by the Lord?
 
YeshuaFan said:
Even when divorced under blblical grounds?
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The only biblical ground for divorce is adultery, and even then, divorce is not mandatory. God hates divorce, and would prefer that the injured party reconcile and forgive the offender. The Lord's Prayer gives something to think about along that vein when it provides forgiveness on the basis of how we forgive others. In addition, even if the divorce were on acceptable grounds, then the divorced person would no longer be married and would not be the husband of one wife, thus becoming disqualified on that basis.
 
BibleLover said:
The only biblical ground for divorce is adultery, and even then, divorce is not mandatory. God hates divorce, and would prefer that the injured party reconcile and forgive the offender. The Lord's Prayer gives something to think about along that vein when it provides forgiveness on the basis of how we forgive others. In addition, even if the divorce were on acceptable grounds, then the divorced person would no longer be married and would not be the husband of one wife, thus becoming disqualified on that basis.
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Single men cann be called to be Pastors or teachers
 
drequeen said:
1 Tim 3
8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money,
9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.
10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 1
6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.

It translates in Greek as "a one woman man" or "man of one woman". What do you think the intention was behind these verses?

Divorce has been at a rate of over 50% for some time now. If the word of God prohibits a divorced man (or woman, different topic) from a leadership role in the church, societal norms shouldn't twist and bend His word to its benefit.

I know I have my belief on this, I was wanting to hear from others.
Click to expand...
In some churches divorce is the unforgivable sin which forever taints the divorcee in the church.

Once, when speaking with a colleague who held the strict position on this issue, which did not permit divorced men from leading a church, I asked if a widower could do so to which he replied that such would be allowed.

I then asked him if convicted murderers who had repented could be leaders to which he responded that they could. I then posited the situation that a man could murder his wife, making him a widower, and after release from prison, as a widower, he could be ordained to lead a church.

What does that say about churches that hold the unforgiven divorce position when a divorcee couldn't lead a church but a wife-killer could?
 
It's what happens when a person takes a singular verse and tries to form an entire doctrine from it. Took me a while, but I find it beneficial to figure out:
1/ Who is doing the talking?
2/ Who is the audience?
3/ What is the context / read the previous verses, read the proceeding versus
4/ Look at various translations to get a better understanding
 
BibleLover said:
In some churches divorce is the unforgivable sin which forever taints the divorcee in the church.

Once, when speaking with a colleague who held the strict position on this issue, which did not permit divorced men from leading a church, I asked if a widower could do so to which he replied that such would be allowed.

I then asked him if convicted murderers who had repented could be leaders to which he responded that they could. I then posited the situation that a man could murder his wife, making him a widower, and after release from prison, as a widower, he could be ordained to lead a church.

What does that say about churches that hold the unforgiven divorce position when a divorcee couldn't lead a church but a wife-killer could?
Click to expand...
Divorce had been treated as if its the unpardonable sin, and even when persons are divorced as permitted by the scriptures, that scarlet letter seems to follow them rest of their lives , as knew a pastor whose wife was carrying on affair with another pastor, he finally drove and stopped and confronted them while driving, got divorced, and while gifted to be a pastor and had been such , was put :on the shelf"
 
BibleLover said:
Since God hates divorce and doesn't recognize any legitimate grounds for it except adultery, wouldn't a divorced man unremarried still be the biblical husband of one wife: his ex-wife?

BTW: That criterion when strictly applied would prohibit unmarried men from being deacons because they wouldn't be the husband on one wife.
Click to expand...
Now, if a man was married to only ONE woman at the time of his ordination, wouldn't he then still be the husband of one wife.
Deacons MUST be men and they must be married. That is what the Scriptures actually say!

Now when I was in my first church, I was strictly adhering to this principle and believe me, I am a literalist!

We must realize that At the time Timothy was written, men of that day married several women so that they would be his servants rather than paying them. One would be his cook, one would be the wash woman and so on.

Then many years ago, someone asked me this question............If I murdered my wife, instead of divorcing her, then went to jail for 25 years, got out and remarried, would I be able to meet the qualifications Paul gave Timothy? The Bible answer is YES!.

Now, with that in mind, we are saying that divorce is a worse sin than murder!!!! That makes NO sense at all.

Now, I would add to that if a man has been married and divorced many times, that would set a pattern and I would and did not ordain mean in that situation. I had one man whose wife was killed in a car accident. His 2nd wife died of cancer. He married is 3rd wife and is still working as a deacon today. He met all the Bible qualifications.

I had a man once who was on his 6th wife and asked me if he could be a deacon. I explained to him that the pattern of not being able to get along with one person at a time was not a good look for a church. He got mad and left the church for one that was more liberal which was acceptable to me.
 
drequeen said:
It's what happens when a person takes a singular verse and tries to form an entire doctrine from it. Took me a while, but I find it beneficial to figure out:
1/ Who is doing the talking?
2/ Who is the audience?
3/ What is the context / read the previous verses, read the proceeding versus
4/ Look at various translations to get a better understanding
Click to expand...
I agree with your numbers except #4. ANY translation that changes the word for word original should be rejected.

Word for word translations are..........
1. KJV.
2. NASB
3. NET
4. ESV
5. NKJV

There may be some more but without looking them up, those are the 1st to come to my mind.
 
Major said:
Now, if a man was married to only ONE woman at the time of his ordination, wouldn't he then still be the husband of one wife.
Deacons MUST be men and they must be married. That is what the Scriptures actually say!

Now when I was in my first church, I was strictly adhering to this principle and believe me, I am a literalist!

We must realize that At the time Timothy was written, men of that day married several women so that they would be his servants rather than paying them. One would be his cook, one would be the wash woman and so on.

Then many years ago, someone asked me this question............If I murdered my wife, instead of divorcing her, then went to jail for 25 years, got out and remarried, would I be able to meet the qualifications Paul gave Timothy? The Bible answer is YES!.

Now, with that in mind, we are saying that divorce is a worse sin than murder!!!! That makes NO sense at all.

Now, I would add to that if a man has been married and divorced many times, that would set a pattern and I would and did not ordain mean in that situation. I had one man whose wife was killed in a car accident. His 2nd wife died of cancer. He married is 3rd wife and is still working as a deacon today. He met all the Bible qualifications.

I had a man once who was on his 6th wife and asked me if he could be a deacon. I explained to him that the pattern of not being able to get along with one person at a time was not a good look for a church. He got mad and left the church for one that was more liberal which was acceptable to me.
Click to expand...
There is serious discussion that Paul was refuting here polegamy as that was practiced in Roman times as allowed, so was addressing not having multiply wives as Mormons still allow
And also think that the bible does not state unmarries man cannot be called a s a Pastor, as if true, Jesus would have been disqualified Himself, its just guideline's if married, ,an must be married to jut one wife at same time
 
BibleLover said:
In some churches divorce is the unforgivable sin which forever taints the divorcee in the church.

Once, when speaking with a colleague who held the strict position on this issue, which did not permit divorced men from leading a church, I asked if a widower could do so to which he replied that such would be allowed.

I then asked him if convicted murderers who had repented could be leaders to which he responded that they could. I then posited the situation that a man could murder his wife, making him a widower, and after release from prison, as a widower, he could be ordained to lead a church.

What does that say about churches that hold the unforgiven divorce position when a divorcee couldn't lead a church but a wife-killer could?
Click to expand...
OOOPS!

I just read this post after I post the very same example! I apologize brother. We must have had the same professor!
 
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