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Pastors and Deacons: Biblical Qualifications

By January 1, 2009July 19th, 2014No Comments

John Hartog II

Trafford Publishing
(www.trafford.com), 204 Pages, Paper, $19.49

Here’s another book by a respected servant of the Lord in our Fellowship, one who has taught for a number of years at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary. Previously he pastored, and he also served as an academic dean at two other Bible colleges. Books about pastors and deacons and their roles and qualifications have been written over the years, but not necessarily having our fundamental Baptist viewpoints. Hartog starts his preface by stating, “Every pastor ought to serve as a deacon for ten years before becoming a pastor, and every deacon ought to minister as a pastor for ten years before becoming a deacon.” This would be an extremely rare happening. But it does show the need for understanding what each office entails and what each person goes through. There is a wealth of experience in the book. Four chapters cover what a pastor should and should not be, and what a deacon should and should not be. One interesting chapter deals with the question of deaconesses in the local church. A couple of appendixes cover additional material, including one on ministries that are open to women, written by the author’s wife. A Scripture index and a bibliography are found at the end of the book.

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