Here is an excerpt (with a bit added) from something I handed out at church Wednesday night. I was teaching about the two offices of Pastor and Deacon, as a part of my “what is a Baptist” series.
I’m definitely not trying to convince anyone this way or that, I simply want to show that this is a debated topic. You cannot present any view as “more conservative” or “the baptist view.”
Also, I believe it’s very important that we recognize that divorce, in an of itself, from a New Testament perspective, is not necessarily a reflection on the character an individual. There is grace, there is healing, there is sanctification.
At the same time, with offices like Pastor and Deacon, we should
“not be hasty in the laying on of hands” -1Tim 5:22
Because Baptists believe in biblical authority it’s not a church, it’s a book that makes the call. Because we believe in autonomy of the local church we leave it up to each congregation to determine its own qualifications based on their reading of Scripture. Because we believe in the priesthood of all believers, we seek God ourselves, we don’t rely exclusively on others. Because we believe in individual soul liberty it is up to every believer to think about these kinds of issues and decide for themselves.
I hope this helps you prayerfully think through this controversial topic, as it helped me.
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