The Precepts,Priorities, and Practices of the Pastorate

After 45 years in the ministry, serving as pastor as well as school principal, associate, music and youth, some things become quite obvious. Also after traveling extensively and preaching in hundreds of churches you learn many things concerning the ministry; some good and some not so good. The Lord laid it on my heart some time ago to try to write about the pastorate and the ministry in an attempt to be a blessing and help to someone.
There are many truths about serving the Lord but one thing is quite clear. We serve the Lord through the local church. Eph. 3:21 says, "To Him be glory in the church." When the apostle Paul wrote the epistles he wrote to the local church and pastors. Eph. 1:1 Paul addressed the saints which were at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus. In Col. 1:2 again he wrote to the faithful brethren which were at Colosse. Take note of the word faithful. As way of introduction permit me to say that a prerequisite for serving in the is faithfulness. We accept the fact that the Lord is faithful and that many addressed and mentioned in the Bible were faithful but somehow have come to the conclusion that faithfulness applies to everyone except ourselves. I am sure that all reading this know of those who at one time were faithful and served the Lord but for some reason or another, be it discouragement, distress or the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" syndrome they have moved on and many, truly most, find themselves out of church , away from the Lord and in a place they never thought they would wind up.
In the weeks ahead we will adress the precepts (what exactly does the Bible teach about the church and ministry), the priorities (what is expected of not only the passtor but each child of God), and the practices (how we ought to behave ourselves in the church of God. I Tim. 3:15.)Will some disagree? Of course. Will some explain it away by saying that is my opinion?Surely. However, if we truly understand the ministry there would not be so many forgetting what the church and Lord has done for them and jumping churches like a frog on a lily pad nor so many men, called of God, out of the ministry, ignoring that the calling is without repentance. Rom.. 11:29. May the Lord bless as we study together. This will each period be coninued as we exhaust the church, pastorate and faithful servant.

The Calling of the Pastor

In studying the pastor, a good place to begin is the calling of the pastor. I believe we see this calling as the first qualification to be a pastor as found in 1 Timothy 3:1:

This is a true saying, If a mandesire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

I believe that "desire" spoken of is from God. It is that desire, burden, holy urge, or calling that the potential pastor first receives from the Lord.
I believe that every born again believer has a Biblical calling to be a "minister" as spoken of in 1 Peter 4:10:

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

I believe Paul put it this way in 1 Thessalonians 2:4:

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak...

Each believer is to be baptized, join with a local church, learn the Word of God and share it with some one else (Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41). This "calling" is for every believer.
The calling of the pastor is perhaps more Biblically expressed by the term "work of the ministry" as found in Ephesians 4:11-12:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifiying of the body of Christ:

In 2 Timothy 4:5 we read of the "work of the evangelist." This calling is a unique call God places upon a man and provides the gifts to in order to fulfill this ministry.
We read how Jesus in Mark 3:13 "calls whom He would." Paul is described by God in Acts 9:15 as "a chosen vessel unto me."
God calls the individual. God does not 'mass produce preachers.' God will burden the heart of the man for the work of the ministry or the work of an evangelist. That burden will impress upon the man the absolute necessity of the work of the ministry. This is why Isaiah referred to his messages as "burdens" (see Is. 13:1; 17:1; etc). Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 9:16 "...for necessity is laid upon me; yeah, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!"
But God does not just place this calling upon anyone. God places this call upon those who already have a walk and fellowship with Him and who aer busy already serving and being faithful in whatever capacity has been laid before them. We see this in that:
1. Barnabus and Saul were busy ministering in their local church when they were set apart for the work (Acts 13:2)
2. Moses tended the flock before he was called (Ex. 3:1-2)
3. Gideon Threshed wheat (Jud. 6:1)
4. Elisha was plowing the field (1 Kings 19:19)
5. Peter was fishing, Matthew collecting taxes.....
Point is, each was faithful and hard working at what was set before them before God placed this calling upon them. God doesn't use the lazy, but looks for the faithful, even in the little things (Prov. 20:6; Luke 16:10).
As with Jeremiah, this calling will burn within the man and is unquenchable (Jer. 20:9).
In the Bible, there is no such thing as two 'classes' within the local church. There is not 'clergy and laity,' but the calling to preach is truly a high calling (Phil. 3:14). The calling is worthy of honour (1 Tim. 5:17), but woe to the pastor who thinks he is above any other in the church. A pastor is to lead, but by the example of Christ-a servant leader.
May every man who is given this calling to the work of the ministry, surrender to it and be found profitable in the ministry (2 Tim. 4:11). Truly, the harvest is great, but the labourers are few (Matt. 9:37).

We, the Cozaddale Baptist Temple, are thankful for the pastors that God has blessed us with. The first pastor of our church was Bro. Charles Girvin.  Bro. Girvin was a faithful member of Loveland Park Baptist Church in Loveland, Ohio. Bro. Girvin and his family  were closely associated with the pastor of  Loveland Park and had been one of the first families in the church.  Bro. Girvin had seen first hand the labor involved in planting a church, yet when God placed within his heart a burden and a call  to plant a church closer to his home, an area where a church was needed, he surrendered to that call.  Bro. Girvin and his family lived for a time across the street from the Cozaddale Mission. We are uncertain about the length of time the mission met before they became a church but we are thankful to Bro. Girvin, his family and several other families for their work because their vision became a reality on December 3rd, 1967. Pastor Girvin served the church faithfully for about a year as pastor, from December of 1967, to the late fall of 1968.  We are thankful to Bro. Girvin for his willingness to allow God to use him to plant the Cozaddale Baptist Temple.

Our first building where the mission met was in the heart of Cozaddale. At one time it had been a feed store. After the feed store had closed down, another store moved in the upstairs of the building and left the lower level open. It was in this lower level where the mission began to meet. Bro. Bob Spencer on our 20th anniversary is recorded on video as recalling a conversation between him and the store owner.  The store owner asked him "Do you think your church will make it?" to which he replied "if the Lord is in it, it will." As you can see in the picture on the right, shortly after that the store closed down the church moved from the lower level to the upstairs and hung a church sign on the front of the building. The men of the church refurbished the upstairs into a church auditorium.  In late fall of 1968, Bro. Girvin felt led of the Lord to step down as pastor of the church.

In the fall of 1968, the church extended to Bro. Bill Webb the call to be her next pastor. As you can see in the picture to the left with Bro. Webb sitting in the front row, the church continued to grow and was soon full.  One of the charter members, Bro. Bob Spencer, felt led to give the church land to where they could build their own building (pictured on the right) and have room for continued growth. The church accepted the land and built a new auditorium and basement.  The Lord did continue to bless with Godly men and families to build a strong foundation for great things to come. The church continued to expand not only in the size of the congregation but in the ministries the church developed. The church soon had an active bus ministry, growing youth department, vacation Bible schools, and active outreach with tent revivals, street preaching, radio program and a strong desire to win others to Christ. Bro. Webb served the Lord as pastor from 1968 until 1975. 

In 1975, the church extended the call to Bro. Ted Woody to be their pastor. Bro. Woody and his family continued to serve until 1989. Under his ministry the Lord continued to bless and the need for an associate pastor arose in 1980. Bro. Roy Keiter became the first full time associate pastor for the church. Bro. Keiter served the church until 1989. Once again a need arose for a larger building for God's people to meet. Bro. Spencer's vision continued to become a reality. The acreage given to the church several years back was sufficient to hold both buildings and allow for continued growth. The men of the church all banded together and one year later the auditorium was completed.  The Lord continued to bless and the ministry continued to grow.

Bro. Rick Williams was called to be the fourth pastor of the church. Bro. Williams and his family had a strong desire to serve the Lord. Bro. Williams had previously served as pastor in Scottsville Ky. Bro. Williams brought with him a love for the children’s ministry and to teach people “Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.” While on a mission trip to the Philippines along with Bro. Larry Wilson, Bro. Williams' heart was greatly burdened for missions and missionaries.  Bro Williams resigned the church in 1994. Bro. Wayne Burke was called to pastor following Bro. Williams.

Bro. Wayne Burke pastored the church from 1994 until 2004. Under Bro. Burke's leadership the church grew in number and desire to become a place where their children could recive a Christian education. Cozaddale Baptist Academy began and a need for a third building arose (pictured on the right.) Bro. Spencer's vision continued to become a reality. The acreage given to the church several years back was sufficient to hold all three buildings and allow for continued growth.
          

Today, under Pastor Travis Burke, who has pastored since 2004, the church continues seeing the blessing of God upon them. The church is going forward in the many areas of   ministry. The love of missions and missionaries continues, churches are being planted according to the Biblical model, saints are being matured through discipleship, Timothy Baptist College, and strong expository preaching. Busses are still running, families are being strengthened and our community is being reached. Pastor Travis Burke has a strong desire to see the church continue to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." We are grateful for our pastors, past and present, Bro. Charles Girvin, Bro. Bill Webb, Bro. Ted Woody, Bro. Rick Williams, Bro. Wayne Burke and Bro. Travis Burke. I Timothy 5:17 "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine."

Yes, This Really Happened To Me In The Ministry

As I have stated before, my years working with teenagers and children were some of the most exciting. You are never out of illustrations and anecdotes.
Back in the early 80's our church owned a beautiful youth camp in Bellbrook Ohio. It was a beautiful 50 acre campus. We had so many wonderful weeks of camp where we saw many decisions for Christ and many friendships were formed that are alive today.
When children's camp time came we were always privileged to have the pastor's wife go with us for the week as a counselor for the girls. She was a great counselor and lots of fun. Her and I used to try to prank each other, one outdoing the other.
On one occasion Diana had really got me!! I decided I had to get her back. In the girls' cabins, which were very nice a-frames, the counselor slept by the door in a single wooden bunk. One day while the girls were involved in an activity or sport I entered the cabin where she slept. I had gone to the store at the bottom of the hill and purchased some limburger cheese. Now this would not be a big surprise and sure enough she smelled it immediately upon entering the cabin. She was convinced I had put it in her bunk. Well, she could not find it. She went to bed that night and needless to say never slept. The next morning while we conducted chapel she removed all her sheets and pillowcases and took them to the laundry and cleaned them. She was convinced she had solved the problem. When we saw her headed to the laundry I shared what was going on with the boys and girls. They thought it was hilarious.
That night she retired and there was that smell again! She got up and found the cook and informed him a skunk had crawled under her cabin. He went through the motions of looking for a skunk and of course, none was found.
Finally the next day I could stand it no longer. I told her I had taken the smelly cheese and rubbed it into the wood at the top of her bunk where she lay her head. She never would have thought of that!! I guess I just could not wait to tell her I had beat her in a prank. She was always a great sport and wonderful counselor.
The Bible says in Ecc. 12:1 ,"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,when thou shalt say , I have no pleasure in them.;" I have been in many churches that have decided it is too much trouble to work with children or attempt to deal with them. Oh my, what a tragedy. Our Lord had much to say about the importance of children. We must do our part to try to reach them for Christ and train them to serve the Lord in this dying and lost world. Our pastor is coming out with a new book concerning youth and children and parenting and it would be beneficial for all parents to get a copy for the edification of the family and the rescuing of the children.

The Pastor

On July 25, 2004 at approximately 9:30 p.m., I sat in my car outside of the auditorium looking up at the large white cross that hangs on the front of it. The church had voted that evening and had extended to me the call to be their pastor. I had gone home after the service while they voted, and had now returned to be alone and make certain the will of God.
As I sat in my car in a now empty parking lot, I asked God out loud "Are You sure? Pastor?" The thought frightened me some what, and yet I knew as tears ran down my cheeks that God wanted me to do just that. I immediately, and haven't stopped yet, began to ponder and study as to what a pastor is and what God expects of him.
I am blessed to have been raised in a home of a pastor, to have watched a Godly grandfather pastor his flock, and to sit under a few other pastors who have been greatly used of God. I am privileged to have met hundreds of other pastors as a young man, and to sit, watch, listen, and learn from them.
I have also in my lifetime seen some pastors who abused their calling. I sat under pastors who spent time later in jail, and some died in disgrace.
I knew a pastor is to "heed, feed, and lead!" I knew the pastor is to be an overseer. I could pass my pastoral epistle test in college, list every qualification in Scripture for my Baptist Distinctive test, but for the first time in my life I REALLY considered, "What is a pastor?"
Summary: I've learned a lot and still have much to learn.

On this blog this year, I will write every three weeks-first on the topic of the pastor.
My father will continue writing every week after me as his health permits.
Pastor Rick Sallee will write every third week on Ohio Baptist History.

Are We Losing Our History?

In our Baptist Heritage Conference here at Cozaddale Baptist Temple Bro. Henson made a statement to the effect that we need a study in Ohio Baptist History. There has been much written of our early history but as time has elapsed it seems so has our recording of it.  The other day we visited the site of the First Baptist Church in Ohio, (the Columbia Baptist Church 1790) as we walked around the graveyard where  many of the original members were buried we realized the importance of preserving our history for future generations. We are thankful for and encouraged by men like John Clark, Obadiah Holmes, John Gano, Stephen Gano, Shubal Stearns, Isaac McCoy and many others but we see a need to continue to keep a history of other men and churches who God chooses to use to encourage those whom come after us. We see in Deut. 6:4-12 that God teaches the importance of preserving our history from one generation to the next.   The last several months we have considered that idea and have decided to look at Ohio Baptist History. This will be a work in progress and any help would be greatly appreciated.

            We are going to start with our Church, the Cozaddale Baptist Temple. We will look first at our organization in 1967, then at our 45 years of history then we will begin looking back to see our Biblical heritage. Please feel free to help us as we travel back into Cozaddale and Ohio Baptist History.  We were started out of the Loveland Park Baptist Church in Loveland, Ohio. At that time Bro. Clarence York was their pastor. According to the written record on file in our church office on Dec. 3, 1967 Cozaddale Baptist Temple was organized. Bro. Charles Girvin opened the service at 2:30 p.m. by introducing Bro. Roundtree who lead the choir in singing “Send the Light.”  Bro. Bob Spencer then lead in prayer and asked the Lord to “let this be a soul winning church.” The choir from Loveland Park sang two other specials, “Have Faith in God” and “Speak my Lord.” A trio from Queen City Baptist sang “There’s a Rainbow of Love” and Bro. and Sister Roundtree sang “My Home Sweet Home.”  The meeting was called to order by Pastor York, he read from Genesis 1 and told the mission work that this is “your beginning. You are a commencement, churches in Cozaddale are not awake, they are asleep. Let it never be said that your are asleep.” It was then decided that Bro York would moderate the meeting and that Bro. Donald Poole would be the clerk. Bro. Roundtree opened the business meeting in prayer.

            Bro. York then called for a motion to “organize this group of born again believers for the body known as the Cozaddale Baptist Temple.” Bro. Ron Girvin makes the motion, seconded by Bro. Spencer and the vote was unanimous.

            Bro. York read the constitution under which this body is organizing and called for the constitution to be accepted as the constitution of the Cozaddale Baptist Temple. Bro Ron Girvin made the motion, Bro. Spencer seconds; Bro. Ron Girvin made a motion to call Bro. Charles Girvin as pastor, Bro. Spencer seconds. Pastor is elected by secret ballot, 11 votes were cast, all 11 votes were yes and Bro. Girvin was acknowledged as pastor.

            Bro. York presented Bro. Charles Girvin a license to preach and a minister’s manual. These were presented and received by the authority of the Loveland Park Baptist Church. Bro. Roundtree then lead in a hymn “Amazing Grace,” Bro. Girvin acknowledged Bro. York’s kindness and help in the organization.

            Bro. York preached the charge out of II Chronicles 2:1 “Building a House for the Lord My God.” He then read a verse of dedication from Numbers 7:1

            Bro. Roundtree lead the congregation in an invitational hymn “Only trust Him.”

            Bro. Girvin thanked the congregation for the call and the confidence. Bro. Tye offered the benediction.

            The charter members present that day were Charles Girvin, Rosetta Girvin, Ronald Girvin, Charles D. Girvin, Carol Girvin, Sandra Girvin, Patricia Ann Girvin, Charles Justice, Robert Spencer, Lucille Spencer, Jeffery Spencer and Gail Spencer; the charter was left open for six weeks for additional members to come in as charter members.

            Witnesses to this organizational meeting were Bro. John T, Coleman, Pastor of Queen City Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Bro. Harold Tye, Pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Pastor Donald Poole, Pastor of Socialville Baptist Church in Mason, Bro. James Ball, Queen City Baptist Mission, Bro. William Anders, deacon of Loveland Park Baptist Church, Bro. Joe Curington and Bro. Francis Curington, deacons of Queen City Baptist Mission in Cincinnati. Bro. Charles Girvin, Pastor of Cozaddale Baptist Mission, and Bro. Clarence York, Pastor of Loveland Park Baptist Church.

Thoughts on the Sabbath

Recently, I was preaching through Genesis 1-2 and studied how the on the seventh day the Lord rested from all His work which He had made. This led me to do some studying on the Sabbath Day. The Lord blessed my heart and taught me some things, and I just wanted to praise Him for it and share it as it may be a blessing to others as well.
I believe in the Bible there are three Sabbaths. The first is the Lord's Sabbath spoken of in Genesis 2:1-2 when He rested from from all His work. It is so important to note that He rested "from all His work..." Many misquote this passage in just saying "On the 7th Day, God Rested;" as if God was tired or worn out from all His creating. This is not the case as we read in Isaiah 40:28,

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

God wasn't worn out or weary, He did just what Scriptures say He did, "rested from all His work which He had made." In other words, it was all finished and he ceased creating! Gen. 2:1 reads, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them."
My mind went to a cross when our Lord cried out "It is Finished!" It was not that Satan had beaten Him, He had lost the battle, or His strength was depleted! No, salvation's work was completed and He was finished with what He had come to this earth to do!
Secondly, there is the Jewish Sabbath. It is first mentioned in Ex. 16:23 before the 10 Commandments demanded it be observed. Here the Jews were to collect enough manna so that none would have to be collected on the seventh day. What was this seventh day for? Ex. 31:12-14 says clearly that is was to be a sign between God and His people-the Jews:

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

Further, it is stated in Deut. 5:12-15 that the Sabbath was for the Jew to remember how they were delivered from Egypt:

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
13 Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work:
14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Again, I think how that the Lord has brought us out of the world and delivered us with a mighty hand; but we are not the Jews and the observance of the Sabbath is not for us. When Christ came, He fulfilled the law and observing of such days is no longer mandated on the believer (Gal. 4:1-11; Col. 2:16-17).
The third Sabbath is for the New Testament saint as read of in Hebrews 4:3-11. Upon our salvation, we entered into His rest. You see, we do not rest in a day, we rest in a Person-the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 11:28).
There are many out there who believe that we are to observe the Jewish Sabbath. This is incorrect as the Jewish Sabbath is just that-for the Jew. It was a sign between them and God. Others try to make Sunday a Christian Sabbath, and we must be careful there.
Sunday is the Lord's Day. After the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, churches in Scripture gathered "upon the first day of the week." (John 20:19; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). Why do we gather upon the first day of the week and not the seventh? One may quickly answer, because that is the day He arose! Amen, but there is more.
The Old Covenant (Testament), shows how the Jews did all that they did believing and looking forward to the day when Christ would provide Himself a Lamb sacrifice for all sin. The Old Testament Saints were saved just as we are saved today, by faith in the work of Calvary (Romans 4:3-"Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." James 2:23 also). They were saved by faith in what Christ would do. Thus they lived their lives, sacrificed, and did all their works believing what Christ would do one day.
We are saved by faith as well. The only difference is that we place our faith not in what Christ will do, but what He has done! We enter into His rest and then spend our lives serving God (Eph. 2:8-10; James 2:17).
The Jews observing the Sabbath was a testimony between them and God that they were delivered because of what Christ would one day do. They did their works because of their faith in what Christ would do for them on the cross. Thus, six days of labor and then that day of observance.
We gather on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, because we are saved by faith in what Christ has done, we are born again, a new creature, and our life then is new and spent in service to our Saviour. We entered into His rest and then present ourselves a living sacrifice. Thus, the Lord's day and then six days of labor.