The apostle Paul encourages us "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Eph 6:16). Oh that the flaming darts were extinguished more often in the Body of Christ!
Not unlike any ordinary pastor, I have been working as a fire fighter this week, as the enemy lobs his darts toward the precious Bride of Jesus Christ. Some of the fires have been relatively small, yet one required a time of fasting and prayer before the conflict was settled. It seems so odd to have quarrels and divisions in the Body of Christ, but I know from reading through the New Testament it is to be expected.
I am writing this post just to remind us all that we face conflict, struggle, and spiritual attack. So often we can feel alone and isolated when facing such trials, yet we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
Pastors, may God build your faith and enable you to extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one. May God remind you of His steadfast love and unending mercies.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Leaving Limbs
Parts of your physical body don't just disappear. They can't decide to leave the body...even if they had a mind to. They can stop working. They can become paralyzed. They can die of gangrene. They can be severed in an accident or surgically removed. But they can't decide to leave.
And even if they could leave your body, they can't physically join another body. But suppose it's possible. Suppose your thumb did decide to leave your body and took the four fingers of your right hand along, too. Yes, there is blood when it happens even though there was no forced trauma.
"What are you doing?" you ask in shock. "Where are you going? Why are you leaving?"
"We feel that we are no longer of use to this body," the thumb declares. "We are going to join another body."
"But why?"
"We just feel that we are finished here."
"But why? Doesn't the other body already have thumbs and fingers?"
"Yes, the other body already has thumbs and fingers - the best we've seen - that's why we're going there. They are doing the most extraordinary things and they've made room for us."
You are in pain. "I don't understand. If you leave our body for that other body, you're leaving us without a thumb and four fingers! You are hurting the rest of the body."
"Yes," thumb sympathizes, "but another thumb and fingers will come along to take our place."
"Can you please tell me what we have done that you should leave?"
"Can't we leave for no reason?" he replies. "Our Instinct tell us we are done here, are you arguing with our Instinct? We feel our Instinct leading us to this other body. It's our Instinct, I tell you."
You don't know what to say. Thumb continues, "Look, this was a very hard decision for us to make, the four fingers and I. If we were hurt or angry with the body then this decision would be easy. But it wasn't easy. It was very hard."
Finally you manage to say, "I'm disappointed. I'm saddened. I'm saddened for the rest of the body."
"I understand this is disappointing news, but can't you be glad for us? We are following our Instinct after all. The four fingers and I are going to be so happy with this other body and all the other thumbs and fingers, there are scores of them!"
And so the thumb and the four fingers on your right hand leave your body. You never hear how they managed with their new body. You wonder where new thumbs and fingers are going to come from, you aren't a starfish!
And even if they could leave your body, they can't physically join another body. But suppose it's possible. Suppose your thumb did decide to leave your body and took the four fingers of your right hand along, too. Yes, there is blood when it happens even though there was no forced trauma.
"What are you doing?" you ask in shock. "Where are you going? Why are you leaving?"
"We feel that we are no longer of use to this body," the thumb declares. "We are going to join another body."
"But why?"
"We just feel that we are finished here."
"But why? Doesn't the other body already have thumbs and fingers?"
"Yes, the other body already has thumbs and fingers - the best we've seen - that's why we're going there. They are doing the most extraordinary things and they've made room for us."
You are in pain. "I don't understand. If you leave our body for that other body, you're leaving us without a thumb and four fingers! You are hurting the rest of the body."
"Yes," thumb sympathizes, "but another thumb and fingers will come along to take our place."
"Can you please tell me what we have done that you should leave?"
"Can't we leave for no reason?" he replies. "Our Instinct tell us we are done here, are you arguing with our Instinct? We feel our Instinct leading us to this other body. It's our Instinct, I tell you."
You don't know what to say. Thumb continues, "Look, this was a very hard decision for us to make, the four fingers and I. If we were hurt or angry with the body then this decision would be easy. But it wasn't easy. It was very hard."
Finally you manage to say, "I'm disappointed. I'm saddened. I'm saddened for the rest of the body."
"I understand this is disappointing news, but can't you be glad for us? We are following our Instinct after all. The four fingers and I are going to be so happy with this other body and all the other thumbs and fingers, there are scores of them!"
And so the thumb and the four fingers on your right hand leave your body. You never hear how they managed with their new body. You wonder where new thumbs and fingers are going to come from, you aren't a starfish!
"For the body does not consist of one member but of many...The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" (I Cor. 12:14, 21)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Patience
The following quote from Mark Dever's little book, "What is a Healthy Church?" stood out to me:
"Will healthy churches grow in size? They often do, because they present an attractive witness to the gospel. But we should not assume they must. Sometimes God has other purposes, such as calling his people to patience." (pg. 100)Patience. When you are faithful to your calling as a pastor and your church isn't experiencing numerical growth, God is calling you to patience. When you are discouraged because needed changes aren't happening quickly enough, God is calling you to patience.
"God is working for eternity, and He has been working from eternity. He's not in a hurry, and we shouldn't be either." ("The Deliberate Church, pg. 39)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
A Mother's Day Realization
I have always considered Easter and Mothers' Day as world's apart. I've always leaned toward a minimalist approach to Mothers' Day. Personally, I would be fine without any special recognition of mothers during the service. (Not to mimize the importance of mothers!) Now I'm questioning that.
Of course, Easter and Mothers' Day are world's apart in terms of theological significance, but today I realized this: At least as many people were in attendance this morning at my church as on Easter Sunday...maybe more. Family members came for "mom's sake" eventhough it wasn't Easter or Christmas!
So, this has made me question my minimalist approach to Mothers' Day. What if a little extra attention went into this holiday observance during the service? What if our members, knowing mothers would be honored in a special way, made extra effort to invite (insist on) their family? What if just as much prayer went into this service as Easter?
This is something to consider. While the significance of Mothers Day may not hold a candle to the signficance of Resurrection Sunday, what God is doing providentially in the lives of people may be exactly the same.
Of course, Easter and Mothers' Day are world's apart in terms of theological significance, but today I realized this: At least as many people were in attendance this morning at my church as on Easter Sunday...maybe more. Family members came for "mom's sake" eventhough it wasn't Easter or Christmas!
So, this has made me question my minimalist approach to Mothers' Day. What if a little extra attention went into this holiday observance during the service? What if our members, knowing mothers would be honored in a special way, made extra effort to invite (insist on) their family? What if just as much prayer went into this service as Easter?
This is something to consider. While the significance of Mothers Day may not hold a candle to the signficance of Resurrection Sunday, what God is doing providentially in the lives of people may be exactly the same.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Praying for preaching
Mike Fabarez's "Preaching that Changes Lives" is an excellent reminder to preach with life-change in mind. For life-change to take place, prayer during the preparation, during the delivery, and after the sermon is over is essential.
"Plenty of naive anticipation has been dashed before noon on Sunday when a young preacher discovers that shiny accessories are no substitute for the power required to drive any sermon into the hearts and lives of our hearers. Without prayer, our sermons may look good on paper - they may even sound good in the pulpit - but you can be that they will never leave the church parking lot." (pg. 69)
1. Pray for the crafting of the sermon.
"Plenty of naive anticipation has been dashed before noon on Sunday when a young preacher discovers that shiny accessories are no substitute for the power required to drive any sermon into the hearts and lives of our hearers. Without prayer, our sermons may look good on paper - they may even sound good in the pulpit - but you can be that they will never leave the church parking lot." (pg. 69)
1. Pray for the crafting of the sermon.
"Pray that the message you are preparing would be an evident part of your own life. Pray for the protection of your sermon preparation time. Pray that you will be given grace and illumination to rightly divide His Word. Pray that the words you choose to frame your outline would be effective tools for the Holy Spirit to employ. Pray that you would have insight into the needs of your audience as they relate to the sermon2. Pray for the delivery of the sermon.
you are preparing."
"Pray that people will attend the preaching event. Pray that your audience willl arrive in the right frame of mind. Pray that God will guard against preaching distractions. Pray for clarity in your vocabulary. Pray that God will give your audience understanding. Ask God for the most effective and fruitful sermon you have ever preached."3. Pray for the response to the sermon.
"Pray that people will put the sermon into practice. Pray that the sermon will not be compartmentalized. Pray that the application of the sermon will be contagious. Prayer that the sermon itself will be repeatedly 'delivered'."
Cultivating Gravity & Gladness in Preaching
John Piper's "The Supremacy of God in Preaching" is a compelling call to preach for God's glory. In it Piper offers these seven practical suggestions for cultivating gravity and gladness in preaching. (Note how different this council might be from popular, image-driven counsel, not to mention the very idea of cultivating gravity.)
1. Strive for practical, earnest, glad-hearted holiness in every area of your life. You can't be someone in the pulpit you aren't during the week.
2. Make your life - especially the life of your study - a life of constant communion with God in prayer. The aroma of God will not linger on a person who does not linger in the presence of God. Fruitful study and fervent prayer live and die together.
3. Read books written by those who bleed Bible when you prick them and who are blood-earnest about the truths they discuss.
4. Draw your mind often to the contemplation of death. Death and sickness have an amazing way of blowing the haze of triviality out of life and replacing it with the wisdom of gravity and gladness in the hope of resurrection of joy.
5. Consider the biblical teaching that as a preacher you will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1; Hebrews 13:17)
6. Consider the example of Jesus. He was as kind and tender and gentle as a righteous man could be...He never preached a careless sermon, and there is no record of a careless word.
7. Strive with all your strength to know God and to humble yourself under his mighty hand. (I Peter 5:6)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Deeper preaching
Someone told me they wanted "deeper" preaching. So here are four reasons why I don't preach deeper than I do:
1. One person's definition of "deeper" is another person's definition of "drowning." There is a spectrum of listeners in the congregation. There are people who don't know the books of their Bible, if they bring their Bibles. Just say the word "sanctification" and you have lost some. Others want a story or personal anecdote or more humor. A few want to know the Greek grammer behind the text - very few. If I were a swimming instructor, sure I could take everyone out to the middle of the ocean, but I wouldn't. I'm responsible for the novices as well as for those who think they are pros. Some think they're ready, others are scared of getting wet.
2. I thought I was already pushing the church's limit. Right now I'm on the last month of an eight-month, verse by verse journey through Philippians. To my knowledge, no one in the church's past has preached this long on a book of the Bible, and I've gone faster than I originally planned. I waited almost a year before I started because I knew it would be a stretch for many. Philippians has brought us face to face with one doctrinal truth after another. Sometimes defining a Greek word or giving some first-century context has been necessary. Stories aren't my forte and I preach for 45 minutes, so surely I am going somewhat deep.
3. I'm not seasoned or disciplined enough to go deeper. When I think of going "deeper" I think of pulling out all the truths and applications that lie within God's Word. There are wondrous riches there if we would linger longer over the text and the practical relevance to our lives is endless. The human heart is complex and cherished idols and thought-patterns are hard to overcome. I truly want to be a better surgeon (physician of the soul) than I am but I feel like I'm just beginning my pastoral ministry and I'm too scattered yet to meditate long over the Word and over the needs of the people as I should. I hope I continue to grow and mature and become the preacher my people need.
4. A friend, Wayne in fact, is fond of challenging the notion of going "deeper." He likens it to kneeling at the edge of a beautiful, clear, deep mountain lake. The peaks and clouds reflect on the surface. If you leave the shore to go "deep" you won't be able to breathe, he says, it is a foreign environment down there. But if you linger at the water's edge, looking intently and are faithfully attentive there, God will faithfully bring up from the depths what you need to see and hear and know. He says going "deeper" is often an excuse for ignoring and disobeying what we already see plainly. Until we are obeying what we already know, says Wayne, what is the benefit of more depth? I think Wayne is on to something.
Being told your preaching isn't deep enough or relevant enough or inspiring enough or humorous enough or whatever can be deflating. This is why ordinary pastors must live upon the cross and seek their praise and approval from God. It could be that God is using comments like that to prevent inflated views of ourselves. It works.
1. One person's definition of "deeper" is another person's definition of "drowning." There is a spectrum of listeners in the congregation. There are people who don't know the books of their Bible, if they bring their Bibles. Just say the word "sanctification" and you have lost some. Others want a story or personal anecdote or more humor. A few want to know the Greek grammer behind the text - very few. If I were a swimming instructor, sure I could take everyone out to the middle of the ocean, but I wouldn't. I'm responsible for the novices as well as for those who think they are pros. Some think they're ready, others are scared of getting wet.
2. I thought I was already pushing the church's limit. Right now I'm on the last month of an eight-month, verse by verse journey through Philippians. To my knowledge, no one in the church's past has preached this long on a book of the Bible, and I've gone faster than I originally planned. I waited almost a year before I started because I knew it would be a stretch for many. Philippians has brought us face to face with one doctrinal truth after another. Sometimes defining a Greek word or giving some first-century context has been necessary. Stories aren't my forte and I preach for 45 minutes, so surely I am going somewhat deep.
3. I'm not seasoned or disciplined enough to go deeper. When I think of going "deeper" I think of pulling out all the truths and applications that lie within God's Word. There are wondrous riches there if we would linger longer over the text and the practical relevance to our lives is endless. The human heart is complex and cherished idols and thought-patterns are hard to overcome. I truly want to be a better surgeon (physician of the soul) than I am but I feel like I'm just beginning my pastoral ministry and I'm too scattered yet to meditate long over the Word and over the needs of the people as I should. I hope I continue to grow and mature and become the preacher my people need.
4. A friend, Wayne in fact, is fond of challenging the notion of going "deeper." He likens it to kneeling at the edge of a beautiful, clear, deep mountain lake. The peaks and clouds reflect on the surface. If you leave the shore to go "deep" you won't be able to breathe, he says, it is a foreign environment down there. But if you linger at the water's edge, looking intently and are faithfully attentive there, God will faithfully bring up from the depths what you need to see and hear and know. He says going "deeper" is often an excuse for ignoring and disobeying what we already see plainly. Until we are obeying what we already know, says Wayne, what is the benefit of more depth? I think Wayne is on to something.
Being told your preaching isn't deep enough or relevant enough or inspiring enough or humorous enough or whatever can be deflating. This is why ordinary pastors must live upon the cross and seek their praise and approval from God. It could be that God is using comments like that to prevent inflated views of ourselves. It works.
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