An open letter from our Pastor Search Team.

To the body of Christ:

Tharptown Baptist Church, in Russellville, Alabama, is seeking God’s man to fill the office of Pastor.  This announcement comes after much prayer and meditation.  And though we are searching in earnest -- having prayed for wisdom, humility and patience -- we will wait on God’s timing; fully convinced that God Himself is already at work in the heart of our next Pastor, sowing seeds of desire and welling up an inward call.

We are convinced that God’s man must match God’s requirements for an overseer as set forth in His Holy Word.  Hence, much prayer, meditation, and discussion has taken place over eleven verses of Scripture that deal specifically with the office of Pastor; 1Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9.  It is our conviction that these verses articulate the essential qualifications for our next Pastor.  But other gifts and traits unique to the individual will be considered along with the needs of our church body.  Our goal is to be biblical in all our considerations.

An overriding requirement from the text is that God’s man be above reproach both in the church and in the community.  As such, anyone desirous of this calling must be prepared and willing to be the object of much scrutiny and not fearful of godly accountability.

We are convinced that those called by God to the office of Pastor, being overseers of the church, should be held to a high standard of conduct in their daily lives because God’s man must be ever ready and prepared to exhort and rebuke without hesitation while holding firm to God’s inerrant and sufficient Word. 

Recognizing that there are some points of doctrine on which godly men and women may legitimately differ (marriage, wine and family come to mind immediately) we will be happy to clarify our interpretation and application of any verse at your request.

At Tharptown Baptist Church, we seek to make disciples for Christ.  In so doing, we depend on five tools of the faith: God’s Word, Worship, Prayer, Ministry and Missions.  We know you’ll want to know a lot more about us so we invite you to visit our website, www.tharptown.com, for general information.  Additional information will be available soon for candidates testing a call.

Your resume’ may be submitted confidentially to the Chairman of our Pastor Search Team:  Ken Askew, PO Box 1056, Russellville, Alabama 35653 or electronically to kenaskew@charter.net.  Please note that we do not anticipate narrowing our search for at least four weeks.

Pray for Tharptown Baptist Church; pray that God be glorified during this process and in all that we do.

Amen.

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