However, the episkopos (which Baptists consider to be a pastor of the local church, most certainly the senior pastor) of 1 Tim 3 must be the husband of one wife (is that one wife at a time? or one wife in his lifetime? certainly the only husband of that woman, no divorce acceptable); he must rule his house well (not only his wife being a willing subject to his rule, but also his children)(see esp. verse 5); and if the wives of deacons must be well-behaved in the social context in loyalty to husband and churchchurch or in the worldly community, how much more so the wife of a pastor?
And for Titus, in appointing presbutoi (elders) as officers of local churches, Chapter 1 gives the same criteria to apply as were given Timothy for qualifications of episkopoi (bishops) and diakonoi (deacons) candidates. For Baptists, referring to the pastor, the terms bishop and elder are equivalent, interchangeable. In Chapter 2, the wife of the pastor/bishop/elder is to be able to teach by example how to love her husband, love her children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers of the family home; good in attitude, accomplishment, and reputation; and obedient to her husband.
In this requirement, unhappily, Dr. Stanley has not been able to command these qualities from his family--only demand them, and in this he has failed as yet; therefore he is no longer qualified for this office in the church. It is further demonstrated that he is not able to teach how these features in family harmony are to be achieved.
Please read and meditate on these verses, and see if you do not come to the same conclusions that the Scripture, in context, shows me.
Do you have a serious problem in selecting, memorizing, meditating on, and applying Scripture? If so, you might want to have a personal chat with a spiritually mature counselor, in whom you feel you can trust, for useful guidance.
Respectfully --
Wow!
You've set the bar kinda high!!
I get the impression that Jesus must have said something to him on the lines of, "Get thee behind me..." or something similar.
And yet...
Luke 14:26
“If any man come to Me and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.