Interview with Jon Vines

Shouldn’t a pastor whose children rebel resign from the ministry, according to the New Testament?

cb,
Other than a mild case of the shingles, I have no issues.
I did not intend for my comment to be viewed as a cheap shot.
If a pastor violated, for example, the New Testament prohibition on being a one woman man, would he not be expected to resign?
If as pastor were in violation of any of the qualifications listed in the New Testament, would he not be expected to resign?
It was brought up in the interview, what a pastor should do if he finds himself with children who rebel. I did not hear Mr. Vines refer to 1 Timothy 3:4-5, which plainly states that if a man cannot manage his own household well, and keep his children under control with dignity, what business does he have managing the church of God?
It doesn’t matter to me that Mr. Vines didn’t refer to the admonition of Paul to Timothy, I just wondered what people thought about it. I have known many pastors, some of whom kept their children under control, and some who did not. I distinctly remember having a conversation with one particular pastor, who said to me that if his children ever rebelled, he would resign the ministry until such a time as he could get them under control. I really respected him for that.
I wonder if people hold on to the ministry, when they really shouldn’t. We see resigning from the ministry as a punishment for having children who act like children. Maybe in reality the admonition in 1 Timothy is there so pastors will spend more time with the people who matter most–their children.
No issues, CB, just wanting to know what people think.

Excellent points, Chris. I agree completely that it is the actions of the father that need to be examined, as more or more than the actions of the children. I was in the ministry for 20 years, and even though my children made some mistakes, they were never the stereotypical “PKs,” they were, and are, great kids. I hope that one of the reasons they were such a great joy to be around is that I always told the church that my kids came first. The church always respected that, and my kids appreciated and believed it. Sometimes pastors are so swept up in the “career” of ministry, that they ignore their children. Other times, the church is so hard on their dad, that the kids grow to resent the church at large, and they rebel. Either way, there is a strong admonition to bow out of the ministry, even if for a time, when a pastor’s children rebel.
Jon Vines was asked about the actions of pastors’ children in the interview, was he not? That’s why I brought it up. I read yesterday that the medication I am currently taking can cause hallucinations, so it is possible that I am only hearing things :>).

Chris,

If your comment was, in fact, the basis of the comment Jason made it would certainly make a difference.

Therefore, Jason, why did you not state that rather than making such an open ended comment?

Let me just say I do not know Jon Vines. I do know Jerry Vines’ daughter and son-in-law. If one can determine anything from the daughter and the kind of guy she married I would say Jerry Vines did OK in bringing up his children.

Maybe I was rough on you because of knowing Tim Williams and his wife and knowing she is the daughter of Jerry Vines. I have a tendency to do such things and I do not have hallucinations.

cb

CB,
I am in the business of asking open ended questions. They are the best kind of questions to ask, because you tend to get a reaction based on how a person really feels, rather than how they think you want them to answer.
I was not referring to Jerry Vines, or anyone in his family, or anyone else in particular. I was asking a general question.
What I was really driving at, I guess, is that we have a tendency to pick and choose which pastoral qualifications we want to enforce. How many pastors are out there with horrible credit, for example? But no one ever addresses that issue, because it is far too easy to ignore it. And how many pastors have children (at home) who are openly rebellious? Or whose wives are gossips? It seems that the only admonition we are really interested in following from 1 Tim 3 is the husband of one wife, and no one can agree on how that should be interpreted.
I ask not because I have issues, but because I really would like to know :>)

Tone, maybe he was referring to PKs who have already left the nest. That’s not what I heard, but it certainly could have been what he was talking about. Either way, you’re right. I doubt that anyone would hold a pastor responsible for how their adult children behave. Thank you, by the way, for your kind comments about my daughter’s 18th birthday. She is a beautiful child, my youngest. I could not be more proud of her, and my other two daughters, as well as my stepkids.

especially “Rogers”

-Chris

Tim,

Chris was not raggin’ on me my poor, feeble brother of the TAR HEELs.

Quite the opposite, we were being biblical by being TWO witnesses that you are evil and laugh like a madd man.

cb

For the record, in the question relating to wayward PK’s, I was speaking of PK’s who’d left the nest. At least that’s what I gathered from Tim’s question in what he wanted me to answer.

CB – my condolences on knowing Tim Williams.

Brother Jon,

Sorry, I got you confused with Chuck in the picture. I meant to say I did not remember your jacket fitting so loosely.

:>)

Blessings,
Tim