March 14, 2013 (Thursday)
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words”–Francis of Assisi
The view of the white smoke was shown on giant digital television screens–a mixture of the ancient and the modern. It was an announcement that a new Pope has been elected by the hierarchy of the church. This election took only two days of voting by the Cardinals. The new Pope is the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics around the world. He will be known as Pope Francis I.
Christians of other faiths elect their leaders in various ways.
In our church, the First Baptist Church of Rockport, the last election was in 2008, when Scott Jones was called as pastor. The process followed by the church began with a democratic election by secret ballot of a six-member committee known as the “Pastor Search Committee.” Their job was to search prayerfully for a person to recommend as pastor. The members of the church then voted by secret ballot on the recommendation. It took 1 1/2 years for the committee to find a candidate and present him to the church. During that time, the church had an “Interim Pastor,” who was yours truly. The interim pastor before calling the previous pastor, Walter Knight, was James Bond, retired pastor from Athens, Texas. Our church has about ten professional and support staff members, all of whom are chosen by the church through guidelines and rules outlined in the church’s constitution and by-laws.
Other denominations use other methods of selection.
Every denomination of Christian churches has its own type of organization, and its own methods of installing leaders of local churches and those who head other organizational units. All of them, including Baptists, are too complex to be described in this small blog.
In my opinion, opposition to Christ in today’s world should cause all of us Christians to focus on what we have in common and remind us that we need to pray for one another.