Educational Background Non Denom Pastors

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Hope1960

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As many of you know, I checked out a non denominational church awhile back. Well, I’m thinking about going to another service there, but are their pastors even educated nearly as well as our priests are?

One pastor, the head pastor has a BA in Youth Ministry and Preaching, as well as a Masters in New Testament.

The pastor I’ve been talking with only has a BA from a Bible College I can’t even find online, though, to be fair there is a college that has a similar name and maybe they loosely call it by the name he used.

Another problem is that they take everything in the Bible as historically and literally.
 
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That’s what I thought. These two pastors I posted about, above, especially the second one don’t seem to have much theological education compared to priests. I may have even offended him by asking about his educational background.
I tried to ask politely.
 
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From what I’ve read, a Catholic priest is required to have a BA (in anything…but it sounds like philosophy is preferred) and then 3 years of seminary. From what I read, if their BA isn’t in philosophy they would have to do some sort of philosophy studies as part of seminary.

From my experience a non-denom priest would have a BA in something like Theological Studies or Ministry, but then some could have a masters in Divinity, Practical Theology or continue their Theological BA into a masters…even from there some gain a Phd. in Ministry or Theology.
 
Hope1960 said:
I’m thinking about going to another service
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May I ask why?

I grew up in a non denominational church and of all the preachers that came through only one had a bachelors degree from a seminary. This seminary’s direct purpose was to train leaders for the Church of Christ so I imagine the curriculum was limited in scope. Every preacher was well versed in scripture, but in a proof text sort of way, and they tended to stay away from verses that would undermine or cause one to question the Church’s doctrinal views.
 
humbleseeker said:
May I ask why?
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I’ve just been drawn to the preaching which are available online. Their sermons are relatable, whereas a homily is rarely something I can identify with or even remember.
They also have a wonderful, upbeat band, lights, fog machine and 3 or 4 large screen. It’s lively and modern.

Of course, the chances of me leaving the Church and converting to this other church is slim since, unless I change my mind, their beliefs don’t line up with mine with regard to the Bible. I was told in a email that “yes, we believe that the Bible is the literal, inerrant Word of God. And it is also historical, because it is a literal recording of history.”

I tend to lean toward the belief that the Bible is not a science book or history book camp.
 
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OP, we have the Holy Eucharist. Their bands, screens, & fog machines cannot compare to the Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity of Our Lord. I love you and will pray for you.
 
Hope1960 said:
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humbleseeker:
May I ask why?
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I’ve just been drawn to the preaching which are available online. Their sermons are relatable, whereas a homily is rarely something I can identify with or even remember.
They also have a wonderful, upbeat band, lights, hog machine and 3 or 4 large screen. It’s lively and modern.
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I care not for a band, lights, hog machine and screens, but if the preaching is superior to your homilies, one has to ask how much good is the superior level of training?
 
Thanks. The Eucharist is the main reason I’ve stayed this far, along with their beliefs about the Bible.
 
Yes, I do wonder why virtually every homily I’ve heard in my life is so unrelatable. There is one Catholic Church near here (about a 20 minute drive) that has quick (under 5 minutes), relatable and to the point homilies but I really, really dislike that Church. It reminds me of a funeral parlor.
 
There is NOTHING they have that you can’t get at the Catholic Church, and many things we have they don’t. If you want good, solid preaching, you can find wonderful Catholic homilies on YouTube. Reading the Bible is wonderful, preaching is wonderful, but if it’s not in the context of historical Christianity, it’s very easy to be deceived. The Church was established for the salvation of souls, not feel good preaching.
 
Hope1960 said:
They also have a wonderful, upbeat band, lights, hog machine and 3 or 4 large screen. It’s lively and modern.
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The non-denominational Church of Christ I attended growing up had bare walls, wooden pews, and the only music was a cappella. But those plain voices singing was about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard and the love of Jesus was so palpable you could almost see it shimmering in the air.

As I matured I asked God what I needed to do to serve him and over time he showed me my true home was in the Catholic Church. Because no matter how fervently they sing about or love him, my Church of Christ family would never have Jesus physically present at their services. I need to touch Christ ,consume his body, blood, soul and divinity so that he may abide in me that I may abide in him. Some people say they feel more spiritually fed outside the Catholic Church, but without Jesus I don’t see how.

But that is my journey. May God guard, guide and direct yours. Your brother in Christ.
 
As far as the IRS is concerned, the rules for starting a religious non-profit are very expansive:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/start-your-own-church_us_55d24635e4b07addcb43bd60

A non-denominational church is self-governing by definition; it has a strictly-local hierarchy. The qualifications to be a pastor are whatever the hiring committee says they are. If the pastor starts his or her own church, then he or she is the hiring committee who has to find the board of directors for the church. I guess the qualifications are whatever the board of directors decides the qualifications are.

Here is an example of what is necessary to start a church in Texas, for example:
https://cullinanelaw.com/nonprofit-law-basics-how-do-i-start-a-church/

These are the requirements for the priesthood in the US
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-te...ation/faqs-priesthood-ordination-seminary.cfm
A man has to engage in a challenging program of priestly formation which lasts from five to thirteen years, depending upon his background and the seminary he attends. There are three levels of seminary: high school; college/pre-theology; and theology. In 1999-2000, over 700 students attended high school seminaries, 1,576 attended college seminaries and 3,474 were enrolled in theology schools.

Seminaries address four types of formation: human, spiritual, academic (intellectual) and pastoral. In addition to the academic course work, seminarians participate in a full schedule of spiritual activities, e.g., daily mass, Liturgy of the Hours (Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer), and spiritual direction and retreats. At each level of seminary training, the seminarian prepares for future pastoral ministry in various settings, such as schools, religious education programs, hospitals, prisons and parishes. All of the formation takes into consideration the human person; human growth and development is fostered by community living, workshops and other programs. The formation of future priests includes practical learning, too, for example, preaching, presiding at Mass and pastoral counseling.

Some pastors at non-denominational churches are very educated; some others, not so much. You have to look into it for each pastor. Non-denominational churches do not have an oversight outside the local church with regards to adherence to creed, however. Within the church, it would typically be the board of directors or the equivalent who have the power to fire the pastor if he is not orthodox according to the sensibilities of the local church.
 
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In many non-denominational churches, the preaching is the main attraction. If you can’t preach well, you’re probably not going to be a pastor.

For Catholic priests, preaching—while definitely important—is not nearly as large a part of what they do and what they are all about.

So, yes, some priests simply don’t do it that well.

I’m fortunate to have three priests at my parish who all give great homilies. But I know many aren’t so lucky.

My thoughts about it, though, are that—worse case scenario—I can pull up YouTube videos of Bishop Barron and Fr. Mike Schmitz (or even old videos of Venerable Fulton Sheen) if I am looking for engaging preaching. I can’t get the Eucharist anywhere else, though.
 
Their head pastor sounds pretty educated but the guy I’ve been talking to, not as much, which is why I may have offended him by asking him about his educational background.
 
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