faith in one's Pastor

[morefaith]

Greetings in the LORD to all. Not sure where to post this question but.. PLEASE, I need to hear some feedback.
We have a new Pastor (age 40?) of about a year. There was LOTS of chaos choosing one - we had fired our first search committee and , we had 2 Interim Pastors in 3 years. As expected, some love him, some don't, some are not sure. I was one of the folks who voted for him in thinking he would be good for our over 100 year old church. All I had to go on was his 4 sermons he preached and I am friends with a woman who was part of the search committee (*she and her hubby are mentioned later in this). I state this to say I had no real problem with him but I admit, something has sat in the back of my head ever since he came on as Pastor. Something I can't put my finger on - but an unease. I just counted it as there was our original interim whom I voted for to be Pastor (my church was NOT having it for whatever reason the church "elite" - whom most are long gone). I was having a relationship problem and a "jealousy" problem with my choir ( can't understand that - Halle Berry/Whitney Houston I ain't!). I went to this new Pastor for counceling on only 2 occassions. In all honesty, he spoke the truth about the situations, to which I agreed, and he DID NOT try to get fresh. I DO kind of sort of felt he was leaning towards telling me to get rid of him (re the relationship problem)  though he said he was not when I asked him point blank.Thank GOD I didn't. I know my Beau is a a good man and I stayed in prayer about it. Things ARE better and we take the bitter with sweet - after all, my Beau has to deal with ME too. 
In all fairness Pastor spoke the truth about my relationship and he mostly ehoed what I felt. Outwardly I didn't see any bad behaviour and Pastor seemed on the up and up. He can preach too (which I know does not make a godly person - but I do believe the Lord touches him for sure when he is on the pulpit). *A few trusted, friends of mine who are heavily involved in our church think he is all that and is "of the Bible". I really respect them and they live as close to godly as anyone I know. My Beau and I socialize with them from time to time and at any church function, we sit with them.
Anyway HERE'S THE PROBLEM.
I went to Pastor about a question on the Book of Acts. A friend went to her Pastor about the same question. I asked my Beau who got the right answer (after READING most of Acts and chastising us for not doing the same). It didn't dawn on us to check our Bibles or the internet - we just thought "let's ask our Pastors. We checked our Bible dictionary and some websites. I asked my parents, who asked my former Pastor and so on. My friend's Pastor was correct and also added that only the Old Testament is out of sequesnce  - not the New (which Acts is in)-  Even though yes, Matthew is the first book in the New Testament though Mark is the second book but first "recorded" . The answer is there are 3 different Ananaises (Chap. 5,9 24). MY Pastor said since the Bible is out of sequence, Chapter 9 happened before Chap. 5. so there was 1 Ananais. It took my Pastor 2 weeks to give me that answer, her Pastor took 2 days. When I e-mailed my Pastor about the findings (took hours to write him, didn't want to blast, criticize, be harsh), I just stated what I found out, gave examples and ended saying I was confused, what did he think about all this. A week later he says he checked his intnet Bible and agreed there are 3 Ananaises but disagreed that only the Old Testament is out of sequesnce but he will check on it and get back to me.
I take this very seriously and  have tons of doubt about this Pastor now. I go to church to learn the word and build my relationship with GOD. Yes, people say read it for yourself (I have 4 versions of the Bible including one I just got that has the Bible in chronological order) but reading doe not mean understanding. My Beau says I should let it go, that the Pastor was wrong, and didn;t handle it the "best" way, but that he is just a man and we should not have faith in man but GOD. I agree but am I asking too much that my Pastor know what he's talking about regarding the Bible? He could have gotten back to me, refered me to a Deacon or whatever. His answer was SO LAME and reckless, I was devastaed. I didn't tell a soul about this as far as my church family goes, (the older folks would have LOVED to use this against him) but it's hard to go to Bible Study and service now (Sunday school is taught by others). I just want to be right cause JESUS is coming soon and I want to go up to him!!! This world is just about gone with all that's happening right now. Katrina just put it all in my face what's going on today!!!I know most churches have mess so there is no use running to other ones - I'm told I will keep running. But this is the WORD we are talking about. Since when are we not supposed to expect much from our Pastors???
Please excuse spelling errors, ya'll, typed fast.

Thanks

Please tell me your thoughts

[Forum Administrator]

Hi morefaith. I think the experience you had is a great lesson and reminder for you. As you have come to realize, you are fully equipped and have the resources available to "search the scriptures and see if these things be so" as the Bereans did (Acts 17:11). It is God, through His Spirit, not man who gives understanding.

Bear in mind that your pastor is not infallible, neither is he all-knowing. He is your pastor, but he too is a student of the scriptures just as you are. The difference between you and your pastor is that God has called him to greater responsibility as overseer and under-shepherd of God's people. As long as we are on this earth and until we are completely transformed into Christ's likeness, we will be learning more about God's word and our relationship with Him, ourselves, and others. As believers, we all are to "study to show ourselves approved" (2 Timothy 2:15), but a key part of that verse is that it is God that we must be approved of and not one another. That is your pastor's responsibility to God, and yours (and mine) also.

Don't judge your pastor too harshly because he may not have gotten this one just right or responded in the manner you were expecting or hoped for. He is, after all, a fallible human being. If you see an opportunity to share with your pastor something that you have learned or discovered, do so in a spirit of humility (and not rebuke) realizing that we all need to be teachable. Chances are he might know a thing or two that you don't. 

Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good (I Thessalonians 5:12-23). Don't major on the minors. Let go of the unimportant issues. Your pastor may not know everything about the Bible from Genesis to Revelation... yet; but then again, who does? God may not even require him to preach one sermon or teach one class on the order of the books of the Bible.  He is responsible to God for what God is requiring of him and you are responsible to God for what God is requiring of you.

I commend you for not sharing what you saw as a weakness with other members of your church. Make it your goal to edify (i.e. build up) others and not tear down, especially in your communication. As your beau has pointed out, next time, check your Bible instead of "checking" the pastor.  Keep your faith where it belongs, which is in God and not in your pastor or any other "man."

[morefaith]

Thanks for your very wise reply. Unfortunately, I am hearing more negative things about said Pastor and church attendance and giving is going down. I don't expect any Pastor to know everything in the Bible, I just expect them to be more resonsible in their answers. I'm sorry, I think his reply was off the top of his head and irresponsible. Yes, I expect him to know a whole lot more than me,  he was CALLED!!! Again, you make sense, he is a man. I guess I have to remember that! I just want to be able to lean on my Pastor to be all-wise (or close to it).  As you say, I DID learn a huge lesson and I thank GOD for it! UPDATEMy Pastor just sent me an email this week saying, "I THANK God for you wanting  to learn the WORD the right and correct way. Their are too many of person who will not share and teach the WORD of God right and like I say that is one of the biggest problems in many of our churches is that Pastor or preachers are not teaching the Word to the people for many of them don't spend any time in the Word themselves. And that is why we have all kind of mess going on, but I truly believe and know that God's  Word will stand. I thank God for your support it truly means a lot. The (I deleted our church name) have not seen any thing yet, I told some deacons on this pass weekend that some time God has to move some things out of the church for it to grow and be about His business. " [/i]      I'm thinking hmmm, that's an interesting response. (I didn't and won't reply to that one)  
ANYWAY

You are so right, I really need to get over it and keep my focus on GOD. In the meantime, I can't help but wonder if this is a sign of other things to come regarding this man and my church? In the meantime, I STAY in prayer over all. Thank you again! I really appreciate your taking the time. You all that! GOD bless you and yours!!

[Forum Administrator]

Hi morefaith. Thanks for the update. If there is something that is not right with this pastor, you can rest assured that God will handle His business. It may very well be that you have been made aware so that you can pray. Those who teach face greater/stricter judgement (James 3:1).

I would think that this may have been a humbling experience for your pastor also. It takes humility to admit that the "student" knows more than the "teacher," but humility is something that we all need more of. It is possible for a "student" to gain a greater understanding than the "teacher" (see Psalm 119:99) but if that is the case, the purpose is for greater edification (building up and encouragement) of others.

As a parent, I'm doing all I can to see to it that my child is better equipped than I was. It's my responsibility to teach him all that I can and to point him to the resources that will help to further his understanding. When I got my first job my manager taught me a great lesson that has stayed with me even until now. He would give me problems to solve--things he knew I didn't have a clue about--but he wouldn't tell me how to solve them. What he would do is point me towards the resources that would help me find the answers. It was my job to do the work and research until I gained understanding. God has given us tremendous resources, not just in our pastors/teachers, but in His word and by His Spirit. When you face problems that you don't have a clue how to solve, or when you need understanding (in any area) meditate on God's word (as Psalm 119:99 indicates) and ask God to give you understanding. He will.