Christ is the Fountainhead of Knowledge

Christ the Fountainhead of Knowledge and Life

I have been thinking and meditating on this concept lately. Jesus is the source or fountainhead of all Wisdom, Knowledge, and Life. I have come across several scriptures that flesh out this idea...

For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. (Psalms 36:9 NASB)

"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13 NASB)

O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:13 NASB)

And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, (Hebrews 5:9 NASB)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 10, 14 NASB)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. (Colossians 1:15-20, 28, 29 NASB)

Christ is the fountainhead of all knowledge and wisdom so transformational education services/christian education must and can only originate with Him (Colossians 1:15-20, 28,29) . Personal transformation starts at salvation and continues in a person until they have been transformed into the likeness of Christ on the great day of transformation at the resurrection of the dead when we shall all 'be like Him'.

Because there is none wiser, none stronger, none more glorious than any teacher in all the universe as our creator. Only He can exegete and expound on any mystery in the entire universe. So then He must not just be referred to and given lip service within our curriculums/education, but He must be, and is the center of our entire curriculum in transformational educational services/christian education. He is the fountainhead of ALL knowledge and wisdom, and without Him we actually do not have true wisdom because the "Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of wisdom". If He is the creator and sustainer of all life in the universe (see Colossians 1:15-29) then He is The Lord, master, inventor, initiator, creator, author, and sustainer of math, science, language, history, culture, philosophy, and any other system of learning that we have currently, or will establish in the future.

Therefore we must not just add Him as the tack on to our subjects within transformational educational services or christian education. As teachers we must always look to Him to illuminate our darkened minds to understand the deep mysteries of His world, and universe which He has so wonderfully made. This means 'setting apart Christ continually as Lord of our hearts', so that we may continue to keep Him as The Lord of our subjects. 

You cannot be a teacher in a transformational education or christian education without entering this process of transformation yourself. This brings me to our part in transformation that is described in Romans 12:1-2 the word transformed there is 'Metomorphoo'. It is what it sounds like, a metamorphosis. A living thing being changed into something of completely different quality. 

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,  which is  your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1, 2 NASB)

μεταμορφόω is the greek if you are interested or met-am-or-fo'-o meaning to transform (literally or figuratively, "metamorphose") to change, transfigure, transform.

The transforming power is not a thing to be sought out by us because we are great and inspired individuals. Notice it is something that we seek by the 'Mercies of God'. We seek transformation in Him because He is a merciful God who will certainly do it in us because we seek it from Him. And that metamorphosis that we seek will certainly happen according to that great mercy which He is ready to disseminate and extend to us. 

The way this presenting of our bodies should be understood in the greek is as a 'one time' act. I had been a Christian for 20 years or so at the time I understood this. I had never presented my body to God. I went home to my little apartment and was studying the passage again. I realized I must do this too, so I kicked the chair out from under me made some space in my apartment and laid down on my face prostrate and presented my body to God. Things almost immediately changed for me. I was a different person physically. I had given God my body for Him to do with what He wanted from now on. I was transformed. I was 'metamorphooooooed'. And now anything I do physically I do as a response to Him having ownership of my body and soul. People used to ask me when I played basketball "who do you play for" (They don't ask me anymore. They usually ask me to get off the court now). So back in the day, I would say "I play for Jesus". Before I had only played for my own fleeting glory, and now I do everything I do, physically, for the fountainhead. Have you ever once and for all presented your body to God as an act of worship? If not do it today! It will transform you!

The other two aspects of transformation are not conforming to patterns of this world and renewing your mind. What pattern of this world do you fall prey to easiest and what mercy of God are we leaning on to resist that pattern of ungodliness? After we move away from the pattern of this world, we should not leave those minds, as empty slates. We must renew them into usable vessels for The Lord, creator, and sustainer of all life. Remember we are leaning on the 'fountainhead of all knowledge and wisdom' for the renewal of our minds, how can we then fail as transformed people? It would be impossible because the 'fountainhead' of life and knowledge will not fail, He has not failed, and He cannot and will not ever fail. How then can we fail in this transformation process if we are yielded to Him being transformational agents when Christ our greatest and most wise transformer is our source and the fountainhead for our own personal transformation? We cannot fail! while keeping Jesus at the center of our own transformation! By the mercies of God, He will transform us, and in turn we can and should transform those around us. This is the basis and source of our work in any field. and He will certainly do it when we pursue Him with abandon! I want to give you a chance to respond to the fountainhead in worship. This song is called 'Pursuit'. So pursue Him as your great fountainhead and sing to Him!

Should Christians Resist the Antichrist and End Times?

I saw a interview of Dr. Robert Jeffress on The O'Reilly Factor. He was discussing His new Book "Perfect Ending". He is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas Texas. I do not like naming or labeling people usually in things that I write, but today I thought it appropriate. I was and have been blessed by the ministry of Dr. Jeffress in the past. I have listened to him and followed the building project of First Baptist. I appreciate that they stayed in the city instead of moving to the burbs. I also appreciate his boldness in proclaiming the gospel. If you did not see the interview please take a moment and watch it here...

I thought he was very eloquent, and explained the end times well. I was glad that he distanced himself from saying anything like Obama being the Antichrist. Being in Ministry and attending church for my entire life. I have had my steady diet of end times teaching, Bible Studies on Revelation, and novels such at Left Behind, among a smorgasbord of end times books series. Christians are fascinated with the topic. If you want to be noticed in the Christian world then maybe write a book on the topic. But something seemed off to me last night as I watched this interview. Why are we as Christians fascinated with the end times? Then I asked the question, "Should we resist the Antichrist and the onset of the end times?" I think one of the main reasons we are fascinated with the end times is because we love this world too much. Let me explain. The difficulty and hardship during the end times will come before the return of Christ, and we like to talk about it because we want to resist that evil end coming. We want to resist the Antichrist coming into this world because we as Christians want to resist evil, but my question last night was "What happens after the Antichrist returns?" JESUS comes back!!! So I thought as I was considering our fascination with opposing "one world governments" it seems misplaced. Christians who love to talk about the end of this world and seek to oppose politically or otherwise the power that would lead to an Antichrist rising up, seem to want this world to continue in its current pattern as if this world were better than HEAVEN! When Christ will return He will bring with Him the New Jerusalem (which will be better than our wildest imaginations) down from heaven and He will reign on this earth! setting all things right that have been wrong. It seems to me like people who oppose the end could also be accidentally opposing the return of the KING! They like this world too much. As Christians this world is not our home. I want Heaven. I want the rewards that come with it, as Hebrews 11:6 says "Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him". Nothing we can do in this world will prevent God's end coming. It will happen as He has pre-ordained it. The Antichrist will rise as God has allowed it, and Jesus will return as the Godhead have been planning it from eternity past!

As Christians talk about the Antichrist it seems like we also seem to be fighting it because we are afraid of what those terrible days will bring. We should not be afraid of this Antichrist. He is a vanquished foe. We can even talk about him in the past tense "For lo his doom is sure". Jesus will come and destroy him (2 Thess 2:8). Just like his death on the cross destroyed the works of the Devil, he also will destroy that servant of the Devil, the Antichrist. 1 John 3:8 says,

"Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." 

We should not resist the Antichrist because Jesus has done this work already! He is a defeated foe! To be clear I do not want you to think I am welcoming the evil of the end times. I write this to help us be prepared for the evil and persecution that believers will surely face. However our strength will rise from leaning on Christ to pull us through and strengthen us for the evils that we will face in those times.

Lastly, should we resist the proliferation of overreaching government or the onset of a one world government? Should we resist this foreordained outcome? I am not aware of any command from the Lord for doing this. However we are commanded to make Christ known in the nations (Matthew 28-18-20). And Jesus does warn us that we will be persecuted (Matthew 24:9). All this energy that we exert in the direction of fighting and delaying the inevitable, I believe distracts us and takes us away from the task Jesus has given us of making his victory on the cross, and imminent return known among the nations. As our great 'end times' book Revelation tells us every tribe and nation and tongue will worship the Lamb before the throne in heaven, 

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands." 

and so our part in that is to make Christ known among the nations so that He can return, and every nation can worship Him too. The reason that He wants the nations to know Him is that they are made up of people, and He loves people.

I am glad that I saw this compelling and thought provoking interview, so that I can realign myself with the great commission of Christ rather than the great commission to oppose the Antichrist and overreaching government. We trust Christ. a bulwark never failing. Let us rest in His strength that will one day will make itself plain!

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Why Does God Hide Wisdom From the Wise?

"At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30 NLT)

I had always wondered why Jesus said these words found in Matthew 11. It has always puzzled me and even made me think in the past that God was mean. Why would God hide the wisdom of repentance? Aren't all people asked to turn to God and receive salvation? This almost seems out of character for God, or rather of my impression of what God's character should be. He has hidden these things pertaining to salvation from the wise and clever and revealed them to the childlike? really? Wow that almost seems elitist in the opposite direction. And it occurred to me the other day that it has nothing to do with us. First of all, it has everything to do with God and His goodness. Secondly its more about about God than us, and Thirdly ITS MORE ABOUT GOD THAN US!!!

God hides wisdom from the wise because it's more about God than us. What will we say if we see wisdom revealed through the already wise? We might say, "Wow that person is really wise! and becoming wiser. Isn't God so blessed that He has then on His team?" But God reveals wisdom through babes and the unwise because when we all see the unwise and babes exhibiting wisdom as revealed through salvation, then we will know it could have only come through God. We will give glory to God because we realize and know that this particular wisdom could have only come from God! What "things" is Jesus talking about here? God reveals to the unwise and babes certain 'things'? What things did God reveal to babes and the unwise? I believe that the context is salvation. This makes it all the greater that God only reveals it to those of us on the unwise spectrum! I'm very grateful for that personally, more than that I'm grateful because it shows Gods great grace. We could never earn that right to receive this great wisdom of God that leads to salvation. He could only grant it to us through his great kindness and goodness. As Romans 2:4 says, "Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?" I'm pretty glad it's up to the kindness of God to lead me to repentance because If salvation were up to me it would be like a playground pickup basketball game. I would pick the most talented, the tallest, or at least the ones who look like they can play (ironically I have picked some people who I thought were great players but were really posers). But God picks the least and worst and most unworthy! He goes after the marginalized, the hurt the broken, the needy, the unwanted, the fatherless and the widow. He picks the losers, the outcast, the unloved, the castaways, the ragamuffins and so on and so on. If you are honest with yourself, you and I fit into one of those categories. What a band of misfits He chooses. My point is that He does this not because He is a capricious ogre, but this actually shows how great His grace is when He picks all the worst ball players on the court. It is pretty crazy too that He can do anything with us. He actually turns us around in order that the world could say WOW God has really changed you. What a great God!

Every time that I realize the great upside down grace that God provides to the Church. The grace that He also extends to the hurting world my only response can be worship. Here is a good song to help you respond to whatever God is doing in your heart. Worship Him for His great grace found in Jesus at the Wonderful Cross...

Is Your Selfie Trending Today?

I have been a faithful morning news watcher ever since I have been married. I like to get up in the morning, have my coffee, Quiet Time, and then turn on the news. After I spend time with the Lord, and coffee, I would like to know what is happening in the morning. I appreciate knowing what has happened in our world and being a well informed person. However, I have noticed how the news has moved away from verifiable real news, and toward coverage of the Twitterscape, covering trends, and pop news, and not covering the true news stories of the world that have happened overnight. I noticed on the 'Today Show' they even have a segment and a full room called the Orange Room.

It is set up in their studio to monitor what is "trending today". I am so excited that they have this new room so that I do not miss a tweet, or a tidbit of juicy celebrity gossip, or God forbid any pop news that I absolutely cannot live without. I'm going to call this the 'devolution of news'. Of course we Americans know there is nothing else happening in the world but our nationalistic narcissistic edifices such as Facebook, Twitter, Hollywood, and the like. This nationalistic devolution of our news is just a reflection of the 'culture of me'. Jesus directly attacked that 'culture of me' in his definitive discipleship statement when he said,"if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." The call to discipleship is a call to freely chosen, self sacrificing, service, and death. Sorry but I am afraid that lifestyle is not going to trend very well on Twitter! When we live in this counter-cultural manner we will stick out. We will have that draw, that attraction, that the empty 'culture of me' cannot understand, but will be drawn to when the emptiness of that way of life comes to fruition. Will the Church of Christ flea from the 'culture of me'? Will we seek to glorify Jesus or self? Will we take up our cross by seeking to serve Jesus, and his saints all over the world not just in our own little myopic culture? For instance I was reading the magazine The Voice of the Martyrs today and found out how myopic we might be.  Richard Wumbrand the founder of the a fore mentioned organization said in The Wurmbrand Letters "I am attending now so often church services in America, and I have the constant impulse when the pastor gives the benediction at the end to shout to him, 'But pastor, you have not yet had the religious service.' Every religious service at which the martyrs are not even mentioned, in which a prayer is not offered that God will strengthen their faith, is a divine service which is not valid before God." Maybe Wurmbrand was on to something. What do we set our eyes on? Our super cool selfie? Or rather do we as the writer of Hebrews says, "fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith." I'm Just sayin'

Is There Any Justice In Christmas?

By all accounts Jesus should not have even been born! Let me clarify by all human accounts Jesus should not have been born. First, in a highly religious community a young teenage girl who was engaged and practically married is found out to be pregnant. Second her husband, or future husband finds out. No this isn't an episode of 'teen mom' on MTV it's the story of Jesus becoming a baby. We know that Jesus was even considered illegitimate by the community in which he lived and ministered because they said about him, "isn't this Mary's son?"(Mark 6:3) Third in that seriously religious community the penalty for fornication or adultery was death by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:22). Mary should have and would have been stoned typically in that day and age. In this 'legal system' a woman found to be with child would be stoned, and baby, and mother killed. In our modern day and age however a same scenario with a super religious family might just abort the baby. It happens more often than you might think (More than 7 in 10 U.S. women obtaining an abortion report a religious affiliation 37% protestant, 28% Catholic and 7% other Guttmacher Institute)

But for the purposes of this post I want to focus on Joseph the father, or the man rather, who married Mary, and took Jesus to be his own son. It says of Joseph that he was a just man, "And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:19 ESV). Why was he just? Wouldn't it have been just according to the law of Moses given by God to put her away publicly (nice way of saying divorce) and even put her to death? No, Matthew notices a deeper justice, a Godly justice. Like Jesus said later, "Moses allowed divorce because of your hardness of heart." (Matthew 19:8) Wow! what if Joseph had not been just and done what the law allowed him to do? But Gods plans were deeper and richer and more total than we could have ever imagined. And how ironic that He decided to leave the fate of His abounding awesome redemption in the hands of a 'just man'. And that was the plan from the beginning to let justice reign on the first Christmas night in the deliverance of man through a baby. Yes the fate of justice in this world would lie on the shoulders of that baby boy one day on Calvary where he would drink the cup of the wrath of God for us.

Yes, Christmas is just. It is God's ultimate act of Justice. It is God weaving an incredible story to appease his own wrath in Jesus. Christmas is God fulfilling his demand for justice in Jesus' manger, righteous life, substitutionary cross, and victorious resurrection for you and me. This Christmas I rest in the justice of God, and that His righteous and just requirement is met in that little manger scene when God became man.

Are Tithes a New Testament Mandate?

I am going to start off stating my opinion to that question. Are we meant to obey the Old Testament mandate to give to God 10% of our income? YES! I believe that in the Church we should be practicing this Old Testament principle. I am believing it stronger and stronger these past days. I am coming to be aware that it is more deeply spiritual than I have ever imagined, and I pray that it will become that for you too. I have been studying Hebrews, and I came across Hebrews 7 in my study. I commend the whole chapter for you to read. If there is any question that Hebrews belongs in the Bible then this chapter should clear things up for you. It is an incredibly eloquent argument that Jesus is our High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. The story of Melchizedek is very cool. Abraham gave Him a tenth of the spoils of war. He was the King and priest of Salem which would become Jerusalem.

It says his lineage was not able to be traced. and so he is the quintessential priest. Some even believe that he is one of those mysterious Biblical characters that might be a pre-incarnate Christ. I am one of those people. I believe that this passage at the very least links Melchizedek and Jesus in their eternal roles as priest, but I do think the passage goes further and that the character here is further presented as a pre-incarnate Christ. I was struck by 7:8 mostly that says,"In this case mortal men (Levitical Priests) receive tithes, but in that case one (Melchizedek=Jesus) receives them of whom it is witnesses that he lives on." Verse 17 also points out that Jesus is, "a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek". Meaning Jesus is now and forever more will be a priest! He is also, as Hebrews so clearly shows, performed our atonement "once for all", and He continues to perform the role of priest. So our atonement is an ongoing thing that will be eternal. We also know from Hebrews that the temple that was on earth is only a shadow and copy of the true temple and tabernacle in heaven. Jesus performs his priestly ritual continually in heaven, and sits down at the right hand of the Father. We will know him by His scars. So he stands in the Holy of Holies in Heaven to perform the office of the Priesthood perpetually and to continue to make atonement for our sins until the day of the redemption of our bodies. As the Perpetual Priest He also performs other roles like receiving the tithe. Now a logical question comes up why would he need the tithe? The Levitical tithe was received for the livelihood of the priests. Jesus doesn't need the tithe to survive. We can draw from this and many other passages that he receives the tithe for three specific reasons
1. He receives the Tithe as worship. If he is perpetual priest he is also Holy, Innocent, Undefiled, Separate, and Exalted above heaven. The act of worship is calling someone greater, as it says Abraham did to Melchizadek. He saw him as greater and thus his tithe was given. As Hebrews 7:7 says, "the lesser is blessed by the greater", and make no mistake Christ is greater than us, so only he has the right to bless us, and only we have the duty to worship him. Our tithe is a way to worship him as High Priest. We give to him because in that act of giving something of value to Him, it shows the world, us, and Him that we believe that he is greater.
2. The Tithe displays His greatness to the world. As High Priest Jesus is perpetually standing in the gap and making intercession, advocating, and pleading to the father for us.  He has this office forever! He will continue in it. Hebrews 9:12 describes how Jesus entered the Most Holy place in heaven making redemption with his own blood once and for all. Our tithe to Him is not necessary He does not need it, but it displays His greatness as the one and only all sufficient atoning sacrifice for sins. It is a sign of his High Priestly role to a lost world needing redemption and atonement. It is first a sign and remembrance to me as I give it, of what he has done as my High Priest. Second it is a sign to the world of what he has done as High Priest, and third it is a sign to Him and to Heaven of his great role as Perpetual Priest!
3. The Tithe is a sacrifice. As it was in the Old Testament the Priests took portions of real animal and food from the sacrifices and lived off of them. Jesus doesn't live off our tithe, but he does actually/spiritually in the Church. If the tithe is given to Him and used by the Church here on earth His real spiritual body is benefiting.  If we as a Church (universal) tithed there would be no lack in the ministry initiatives that we could do. I crunched the numbers for you. If the average salary of a churchgoer were $30,000 then the annual tithe would be $3,000 if the average church of 200 people tithed that portion of their salary they would take in $600,000 a year. That is actually a low number because the median income level of the City of Columbia, where I live, is $40,000 and the median income of the San Francisco Bay area where we just moved from is $80,000. The Church I came from had a weekly attendance of 450-500. That would be a $3,600,000 yearly intake. The numbers are really not the important thing, the important thing is that the giver of tithes makes a sacrifice. It is not easy to take 10% of your income away before you even touch it, but it is joyful (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) because you are worshiping a good and faithful High Priest!

The tithe is not the issue here it is the perpetual work of Christ as High Priest! Jesus continually performs the priestly duties because HE LIVES as Priest forever. He lives now as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. So in His scars he continues to perform all atoning work. It is a present progressive act that he does on our behalf.
Jesus receives our tithe as a sign to us, to the world, and to He Himself of the atonement that he perpetually makes for us. The tithe is a sign and witness to a world that, Jesus, as the Great High Priest is greater than we could have ever imagined. His continual life is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. So how could we withhold something that makes Jesus so great? Every time I am presented with such truth I have a deep desire to worship Him for His greatness. King of Heaven Below can assist you in worshiping the High Priest!

Questions Pastors Should Get Asked in Interviews But Don't

I am currently looking for a position in Youth Ministry/Pastorate/Church Planting and I have been interviewed for several positions. I am sad to say that the meat of the interview is usually filled with questions that don't really help them understand you as a pastor. For instance one question I have been asked lately was, "What can you do for our Church?" or I even met for an informal interview recently and was told all about the Church, but never asked a question. As I thought back on my professional life in ministry which has included hundreds of interviews, and service in several church contexts, I have only on one occasion been asked a good question. A search committee of lay people, two women I deeply respect, asked the question, "If you had one chance to say something to a student, what would it be?" I was floored at the great question, and began to share the gospel as I would share it with a student because that is the one thing worth sharing! So, I have been surprised recently by the questions that pastors never get asked in interviews. The following is a list of questions that pastors should get asked in interviews, but don't. A quick disclaimer. I have never been asked these questions in a live person to person ministerial interview (occasionally on a application) but I know some men have been asked these question. So my disclaimer is that most men like me do not get asked these questions and probably should. 

1. Describe your theology.
I know many men get asked about their theology; sadly, I have never been asked this question during an interview. If I have interviewed on hundreds of occasions and never been asked this question, you can bet that many other men are also not being asked this question. Your theology is very important! Your theology describes how great or how small a view of God you have as a pastor. And frankly I want a pastor who has a high, and big, and grand view of God, not a small, measly, inept view. So let's start asking this question!

2. Tell us what you believe about the Bible.
I know that many people get asked this question too, but again I have never been asked this question. I have however been asked this question, but not in such an important process as an interview for a pastoral role, in which I would be responsible for shepherding those put in my care. If I have a weak view of the Bible, how am I to shepherd Christ's flock? Just a hint: the only thing that you can shepherd Christ's flock with is His book, the Bible. We should definitely be asking this question in interviews!

3. Tell us about your devotional life.
Again it would seem like this would be toward the top of the list as a question that we ask pastors in interviews but sadly it is not. A pastor's ability to feed the souls of his congregation is directly proportional to how he regularly feeds his own soul. Does he regularly receive nourishment in his own soul from his disciplined, celebratory, meditative, joyous, worshipful communion with Christ? If not, then you do not want him as your pastor.

4. Tell me about your relationship with your wife and kids.
Unfortunately the state of ministry is abysmal in this area. I know personally so many stories of how ministry becomes a pastor's mistress. I have recently heard of a man who was the leader of a large evangelical ministry and had some kind of "inappropriate affair" with a woman who was not his wife. The board asked him to step down, and the ministry has since closed up shop! Do you want your pastor to fall into this same, sadly, not uncommon situation? Then ask him about this! 

5. When was the last time you looked at pornography? or Do you have an internet addiction of any kind?
Unfortunately, men in the ministry are looking at porn at the same rate as the world. The computer guy at my last church recounted to me several pastors that he had to clean up their computer and the problems were the multitude of porn they had on their computers. You may want to ask them about this in a loving and open way realizing that it might be a problem currently for the guy you are interviewing. I had a serious problem with pornography, and 12 years ago God freed me and by His grace I have been free from it ever since. I take extreme measures in my life today to stay free from it! and My wife graciously is my strongest and best accountability! If you do not ask your pastor you are interviewing about this issue, then your Church might be blindsided by this problem later. At the very least you may find yourself wondering why your Church is not experiencing blessing, and it might be that your pastor has an internet addiction, or porn problem.

6. Tell us about your view of sanctification?
This might relate to the previous question also. If you are a church that values victorious Christian living, you might want to know if your pastor believes, teaches, lives, and exemplifies the victorious Christian life. I know I do, and I have have never really been asked about this in any interview I have had. 

7. If you had a chance to tell a student/person one thing, what would it be and why?
I have been asked this question! It was the best question I have ever been asked in an interview! That probably has a lot to do with why I stayed almost 9 years at that church. They believed in taking opportunities and making the most of them for the gospel. They loved their community, and preached the gospel every moment they could. At this church my office was straight across from the associate pastor for years. I think I must have overheard him lead hundreds of people to Christ over the years. If you ask this question as a church or search committee, it shows you want to make the most of every opportunity you have as a church to impact your community for Christ.

I wanted to also put out there a few questions that might not be as important as the previous questions, but they could definitely help you understand the person you might call to be your shepherd. This could also help you avoid a lot of conflict.

8. What is the most difficult thing you have ever gone through, and how did you deal with it?
The answer to this has shaped my ministry over the years. Has a pastor really ever gone through something of heart-wrenching difficulty? Has he had to deal with the most difficult things in life and how did he lean on the Lord through it? If he has he will be a better pastor. Maybe you would rather have a pastor who has dealt with the very difficult side of life, and has trusted in a great and good God to pull him through. Your church will be better for it. 

9. What is your best experience in church life? And worst?
This might also give you a good picture into how a pastor would lead you in the difficult aspects of church life. Has he experienced some extraordinary level of unity in the body? Or has he ever had to excommunicate someone? Has he ever had to display the love of Christ in church discipline? has he ever been fired or pushed out of a church? Has he ever had to fire a staff member, etc.?

10. How will you shepherd/protect the flock? How will you guard the purity of the church?
His answer to this is very important. He may be able to describe how he would do this, but this question might catch a pastor a little off guard. You may want someone who can describe instances of where and how he has sought to protect the flock, or at least be able to describe how he would. 

11. Describe your vision for the church (universal and local).
This question may be a little higher or lower in importance depending on how your church likes vision, mission, and strategy related topics. If he can articulate, a specified vision for a church, that might help you see how he fits into your particular church's life. 

12. Do you have a personal mission/vision/strategy for ministry?
This relates to the previous question and may also be more important to your church than at the bottom of the list, but it can be helpful so see if a person lines up with the particular direction of your church.  

13. Do you have a life verse/purpose?
I always found this interesting and it always helped me get to know a person more if I knew their life verse. How well do you know the man that you are calling to be your pastor? If he has a life verse that also might be helpful to get to know him better. I have known my life verse to give me direction, purpose, and a deep calling in this life's journey.

These might not all be appropriate to be asked in your particular context, but I have been interviewing lately and I wanted to give churches and ministries something to think about as they seek to hire church staff and especially pastoral staff. One thing you might do, would be to put many of these questions on a deeper application/Biblical beliefs application for those you have narrowed your search down to. I have come up with this also to help churches and people see how lacking our typical search process is for finding pastors. I have found that men are in the pulpit without churches really knowing who a person is, or if he is really walking in victory. I want to assure you many men are not walking in spiritual victory who are pastors (read Dangerous Calling for more in depth look at the state of ministry).
And when you do hire a pastor get to know him, invite him to your home, meet with him, pray with him, and seek him out as a person, and let him pour the word of God into your life. You will be glad you did.

Dangerous Calling from Crossway on Vimeo.