- Q & A for Pastors -

Here at XOFC, we have received notes and comments about how a person can select a Church. We have suggested that the answer is to talk to those who attend regularly, but also to talk to the Pastors themselves, in person, face-to-face. In this day and age, we encourage people to find (not Seeker-friendly Churches in the official "so-called" "Church Growth movement" ), but simply User Friendly churches, which are led by Pastors who are flexible, and who do not consider talking to their congregations something which is demeaning or "for someone else" to do. 

We encourage those trying to find a church home to ask pastors for their time, and to ask challenging questions for pastors. What we suggest is that Pastors should be open to having questions asked, and being willing to give honest answers. The conclusion we share with others is this: "If the Pastor is not willing to work with newcomers or with the church congregation, then this often shows up in the answers to the questions that he is asked".  Pastors who say that they proclaim truth usually do not have trouble sharing that. Those who care more about Church NUMBERS, (which means that they measure that NUMBER of people attending), often attempt to defer or sidestep questions. The solution to "Spiritual Customer Choice" is theological clarity, and direct teaching from the Bible (not fads). 

If you ask these questions below, they will not prevent every False teacher in every situation. But the answers to these questions...will help you learn whether or not the church that you are attending - is a Doctrinally Sound Church.

God nowhere says that Christians are to attend Churches which are Not Sound, or that are Doctrinally in Error. In fact, a good deal of the New Testament instructs believers to be very careful NOT to be led astray.

There is also - despite rumors to the contrary - Nothing in the Bible that "mandates" or compels attendance in a Formal Church - in the sense of a Formal Church Building with a formal Church-salaried pastor. A Bible study with other Christians can often be as good or better than a church, and in fact, that is how many local churches have started. 

The Early Church did not have Church Buildings. Those did not exist until about Four Hundred Years Later. A Church is a collection of christians that meet for the purpose of the study of God's word, the Bible. A Pastor is the person among them who is designated the formal leader of that group. As long as both 1) the group and 2) the pastor confine themselves to teaching the actual contents of Love and Truth as found in the Bible, there should not be a problem. We write this because some people are too busy looking for a "formal" church, when they could be attending a dedicated Bible study in their neighborhood or area.  The Holy Spirit is NOT confined to Church Buildings, but is rather in the Hearts of those who are True Christians.

Pastors should be willing to take the time to answer your questions, or the questions of any member of the congregation, and to set time aside to do this. Pastors that are 1) Not Accountable or 2) that do not want to provide Basic answers...are informing you - through their refusal to answer...that you are in a church directed by a Pastor who is NOT accountable to his congregation. Pastors like that...are described in the Bible not as Shepherds but as wolves. If the Pastors are committed to truth, they should be willing to disclose their beliefs, and the documentation or basis for their beliefs. If a Pastor is not willing to do this, we Strongly encourage you to Leave that church.

The God-given role of a Pastor is one who feeds and educates the Church - as his primary mission - in the instruction and familiarization of the contents of the Bible. That is what the Early Church fathers [the true ones] did, That is what the Apostles did. They were constantly explaining the teachings of Jesus Christ. Many pastors need to stop operating as C.E.Os and start returning to the Biblical role of Pastor.  

If any Pastor has a problem with this, (which 99% will not - because most of them agree with this Biblical Teaching - you are welcome to direct them to this site).

A few questions that we suggest to ask Pastors (all pastors)  include:

- Who are your favorite Bible Teachers ?

- From those who are on the Radio or TV, who would be

your favorites ?

- What 5 books would you recommend to someone who has

just become a new believer in Jesus Christ ?

- Can a person ever loose their salvation?

- What role does Baptism play in the eternal salvation of a

person ?

- What is the pastor's position on the Eucharist, and whether

the teaching of the presence of the Body of Christ, is true or

not ?

- Are we in the end times ?

- Was Jesus Pre-existent before He came to Earth ?

- Did or does the Church replace Israel or is the Church

grafted into Israel Spiritually ?

- Is the Jesus of the New Age the same Jesus as the one

in the Bible ? IF they are different, what are the differences

and how would one tell ?

- What does the Pastor think of "A Course in Miracles" ?

- If you went to Seminary, where did you go to Seminary ?

(many pastors do not, and many pastors are Excellent teachers WITHOUT going to seminary)

- What seminary would the pastor recommend, to someone who might be interested in studying to be a pastor ?

- Do you think that many Seminaries no longer teach Truth, and do not sufficiently equip pastors for the work of the ministry ? Why do you think this is the case ?

- Was Mary the mother of Jesus (Mary) either Sinless or born without Sin ?

- How does the Pastor feel about the Reformation or Protestant Reformation ?

- If he has any heroes from the Reformation, who might they be ?

- Has he PERSONALLY read any of the authors of Reformation completely through...even one book ?

- Is Satan a real spiritual being or an impersonal force ?

  [45% of born again Christians deny Satan's existence. (2001) However the Bible teaches and states that there is a being called Satan. He is an evil and harmful spiritual being and not a "force", and though INFERIOR to Jesus Christ, still opposes the work of the Christian Church and of Christians ]

- Is Everyone born with Original Sin ? 

- Is Freemasonry something that the Bible approves of ?

- Are any Church Pastors, Elders or Deacons Freemasons at this church ?

- IF a person wanted to deeply study the Bible (inductive Bible study) on their own, what are the top 5 or 6 tools or books that should or could be used for this ?

- At what point does it become morally right for a church to split of or splinter from a denomination, if either the denomination or the leaders in it, are teaching material that is contrary to the Bible ?

- is the Bible a book that should be taken literally or should it be taken mostly metaphorically ?

- Is there any aspect of the Gay lifestyle that the Bible does not condemn ?

- Is being Gay something which Biblically should be understood as a personal choice or is it something which should be understood as a genetic fact ?

- What is the hiring policy of the church, in the matter of  hiring anyone who is Gay, especially to be in a position of church leadership ?

- If the pastor could train people to be teachers or leaders and they were willing to devote 20 hrs a week for 3 months to learn this, what would he want to teach them ?

- Is the pastor or senior pastor willing to spend regular time each month with the teenagers of the church, hanging out, answering questions, about the church, theology, etc...

- what is the most controversial public stand that this pastor has taken ?

- What are the top 3 lessons that - as a pastor - he would advise someone else - to pay attention to, especially if they were to consider being a pastor today ?

- According to this pastor, is He and other pastors doing enough to teach young people...the doctrines and specifics of church history, biblical history, and how a person can grow into a mature spiritual life on their own ?

- Are their issues or questions that the Pastor fails to address or confront with teenagers, because of fear of men, or of the parents - that the parents do not want the pastor to address, because they are not where they are supposed to be spiritually themselves ?

- explain the correlation between scripture (bible) memorization and the spiritual strength and understanding a person can have.

- Is the Pastor comfortable in his heart of hearts, that most of the people in the church would know how to continue feeding themselves spiritually...if he somehow were not to be available ?

- If the nation state of Israel is being carved up into 2 right now, and if what is being given to the Palestinians is the ancient places of Galilee, Judea and Samaria, then does this mean that the Land no longer belongs - or should belong - to those who are Jewish ? If the land does not belong any longer to those who are Jewish, then does this mean that God was not serious when he Gave the Land to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob ?

If the Land was given to Abraham, and yet Pres. Bush is doing all he can to give this land to the Arabs (called Palestinians), then - even though Bush "says" he supports Israel, does this mean that President Bush is working on the side of Almighty God, or against Him ?

- How can a person increase their spiritual discernment in these days, to be sure that they are not spiritually deceived ?

- IF you (the pastor) died today, and a funeral was held for you, then what would you want to be most remembered for, concerning your ministry and the long term impact you would like to have hoped - you would have had on those who sat under your ministry ?

- Are Pastors doing enough to teach the individuals and men in their congregations to learn to conquer fear, have courage, and learn to be mature spiritual leaders, in order to get their strength and significance from the Lord (and not their circumstances) ?

- If this Church Building had to close its doors tomorrow because of special circumstances, then how well would its members do, in being able to feed themselves directly from the Bible, and in being able to grow and develop their own Spiritual Walk? 

- As the Pastor here, or one of the Pastors, do you believe that the present Church Structure leaves you free enough to teach and preach in the manner and way that you believe would best serve your highest calling in accordance with the Call of God upon your life ?

- What kind of "personal discipleship program" does this church offer, either one-on-one or in a small group ?

We Also encourage people to hand this list to their leaders and Pastors, so that these questions can serve as the basis for additional discussions between Pastors and those who attend. If you want, we would also encourage you to POST THIS on your Church Bulletin board

Also, we would like to hope that most everyone would already know this, but please allow your pastor some time to answer these questions. They do not always have instant answers ready. However, having said that, they should be prepared to answer most of these questions.

And if you are going to a Bible Study, these Same questions should be asked of those who are leading it.

II Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We invite your questions and comments, so please do not hesitate to contact us at 

xofcbooks2@yahoo.com

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The Real Question is: what are you going to do with the information that was presented above ?

Is the Information True ? Yes

Is the Information Accurate ? Yes.

Do I - before God - have some responsibility to accept and act on the information in this passage from the New Testament ? Should I be making an effort to understand the End Times ?

Do I understand that there are Spiritual Forces that want to prevent me from having GREATER spiritual understanding about God, but that God himself is always in MORE of a hurry than I am, for Me to get to know HIM ?

Do I realize what my personal state of preparation will be, within me, when Islam becomes the Dominant Religion in the United States, as it is already in Europe, and how I will personally be required to defend my Faith, by argument and persuasion, using knowledge of the Bible and of History and of Christianity, and that God will rightly hold me accountable ?

In view of these facts, should I try to set aside more time for the study of the Word of God, and more time for the study of History and the true history of the Christian Church, and to learn about how other Christians in the past, actually learned to have and to gain GREAT and genuine spiritual strength ?

If no one reaches out to help prepare me for the coming challenges, whose job is it STILL for me to be prepared to answer these challenges and questions ?

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Vatican Ambitions for Jerusalem ?   -   Protestant Bible Good Enough for Eastern Orthodox Church 100 Years ago   -  Problems in the Eastern Orthodox communities   -  Questions we had (and still do) for those who claim to be Eastern Orthodox  -   For those who know very little about the Septuagint   -  Historic Eastern Orthodox versions  -   HISTORY OF ARABIC VERSIONS of the BIBLE  ARMENIAN GOSPEL of JOHN The Word of Jesus Christ - What he says about himself   -  Pontifex Maximus: Pagan Title or Christian Title - Historical Records   -  Apocrypha Free New Testament in LATIN   -  Free New Testament PDF in SPANISH   -  BUSH & RICE to PRESS FORWARD WITH PALESTINIAN STATE in JUDEA, SAMARIA & GALILEE   -  Uncovering the Secrets of the Septuagint   -  Creed of the Council of Nicea - Our QUESTIONS about the LATIN VULGATE

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