Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum New Pastor Question

I attend a small Methodist church with my fiancé and her daughter. Their pastor was reassigned to tennessee after he was married. The congregations is 40 or 50 mainly older people with some 30 something year old couples with children. The majority of these people have attended this church their whole lives. The new pastor is a 20 year old graduate of Duke Divinity school. The have been having in church services for about a month. Masks if you want to wear one. Every other pew left open. Social distancing other than families that sit together. The new pastor has decided he doesn't want to do any in church services. He wants to do a 10 minute sermon that they can listen to in their vehicles on the radio. No music or singing. He is the reason I asked about the United Farm Workers the other day. He spent part of his senior year working with them to "stop oppression" in the fields. This past Sunday they had a former member/pastor do the sermon even though the new preacher was present(he officially doesn't start until the 12th). It was doubly strange that he didn't ask to be do the service himself...kind of a jump start and that his wife didn't attend because she was practicing social distancing. The whole situation is just strange to me but I come from a Baptist background where pastors are just fired. LOL! This one has to be there for a year. Thoughts? Overreacting?

millennials......

Based on what you are saying I would be concerned. I never understood why the Methodist rotate their pastors around but I am sure there is a reason. I had a friend in highschool and his dad was a Methodist preacher. They came to our town and the people loved them and the church grew like never before. One day he told me that they had to move a couple hours away and that a new pastor was coming. New pastor was a older single lady(nothing against women) Now several years later there are maybe 4 or 5 ladies that go to that church

He's got to be older than 20. If I'm not mistaken, you will receive a Masters in Divinity if you go to seminary. That is at least 3 years of school after graduation with a bachelors. Having said that, he sounds like he's already getting things off on the wrong foot. Most pastors at least do a few years stint as an associate pastor someplace before taking over their own church. I'd be researching the guys credentials and experience. Not trying to discredit your church's pastoral search committee in any way, but may want to do a little fact finding on your own. Prayers that all works out for your congregation.

Dr. B

Grew up in a Methodist church almost identical to that one, left it in 2015 when I learned a whole lot from some circumstances and exactly what I thought was going to play out did. All that being said the pastor reassignment in UMC can be akward and I am not sure how the decisions are made but sometimes it made me wonder what interest they were protecting. Beyond that I don’t know what to tell you. Don’t be surprised if the little church doesn’t go through several before they find one that sticks awhile.

Maybe his a little older. Not much. As far as I know they don’t have a choice in the selection of their pastor.

ah..you're right. Another thing different that our Methodist brethren do that us Baptists don't.

Dr. B

Women are forbidden to be pastors/priests/bishops by the BIBLE.

Having women pastors is proof of an apostate church.

Heck, the UMC is now "marrying" homos and lesbos and they have a female "Bishop" over the State of Alabama.

I'm not overly familiar with Methodist policies and church polity, but I'm completely against Pastors being assigned to churches.
It really takes away from the autonomy of the individual congregation. Additionally, it's important to be able to screen a Pastoral
candidate to make sure they are sound in Biblical doctrine (making sure their beliefs match up exactly with the Bible). This is
where qualified church elders come in. If you aren't a member, it's difficult to push the church elders to question the Pastor's core
doctrine.

I grew up in the Methodist Church and had a step-uncle who was a Methodist minister. He and others told me that back in the beginning, Methodist clergy would ride a circuit on horseback and they changed up the circuits often so everyone had a new perspective from a new preacher and it just kind of became the culture. I know my uncle lived all over the southeast when he was an active minister.

Interesting that when the former pastor had his new wife help with the communion one time(unknown to the congregation) about 6 people got up and walked out.

Just to piggyback on what others have said, our FUMC in my small town were assigned a married man and woman as co-Pastors a couple of years ago.
Recently they found out their new piano player is homo and now the church is about to split. Where were they two years ago when they accepted a woman
to be a Pastor????

I’ve never seen a scripture that flat-out forbade women as ministers. I’ve only read a letter that Paul wrote to a church saying that HE didn’t permit it. maybe somebody can correct me.

I grew up and spent most of my 50 yrs in Holiness/Pentecostal churches ranging from Independent little Holiness/Pentecostal, Church of God, Assembly of God you name it. The last 10 or so years I made a transition out from performance based to more Grace based. I still have my Pentecostal roots and heritage, worship but things as you described is why I'll never go back to organized denominational religion. There are over 40,000 of them in the U.S. and you can see it's hold in peoples hearts, lives, politics, aldeer. We awe at the stupidity of the liberals, the left and the right, the black and the white but no one see's eye to eye on very much.

I live in the woods but within two miles of my house there are 7 different churches. some are side by side and some are straight across the road from each other. Come Sunday each Pastor will stand in the Pulpit and proclaim either God told/showed or the Holy Spirit spoke to them and said such and such. With each one contradicting what the other Pastor says. I Purpose ain't none of em heard from God.

Am I against gathering together and having church? Heck no! Just saddened with all the traditions/doctrines of men. Had a belly full, but at least most of us settle on Jesus saves and God is Love. Although we bicker whether ones truly saved.

Lot's more to the topic than just that for sure but yeah I know don't write so much at one time...

Interesting Fact: Pentecostal was formed out of the Methodist Church....

I am severely disappointed in how fearful the faithful have become. I think this is what the Lord meant when he said that in the last days men's hearts would fail them because of fear.

Everything in the Bible is GOD's word.

Everything the Prophets and Apostles wrote is GOD breathed and dictated straight from the lips of the Almighty.

The New Testament is crystal clear: only a married MAN can be the pastor/priest/bishop - and ditto the deacons.

Anyone who contradicts this is apostate.

The Jezebel spirit will mislead and destroy a church faster then anything.

Clarify please.

1 Timothy 2:12...They are not allowed to teach men, as well. We either believe the Bible or we don't.
I'm not trying to sound harsh at all. In my time in church leadership, I'd say over 80% of the problems
I've seen in churches have been because of the women.

I wouldnt go back.

I’m not certain a 20 year old is a Millenial. I think that’s Gen Z.

Also I’m not certain how someone that young could be in charge of a church.