by John Frye in his blog THE SHEPHERD'S NOOK
My own vision of pastoral ministry in the North American context has been profoundly influenced by the person and writings of Eugene H. Peterson. Consider me a Petersonian in my view of the pastor and his or her place in the local church (see, e.g., Jesus Creed archives). I’ve heard Eugene speak, but I’ve never heard him preach. I am glad. We all seem to have an innate desire to imitate someone we admire. I don’t want to preach like Eugene Peterson.
The best metaphor for talking about preaching is a slippery bar of soap. It’s just hard to grab. Good books about preaching abound; good books full of profound sermons abound; good radio preachers are ubiquitous. For all that, a preaching pastor is a particular being, serving in a specific locality with its own history and “feel,” overseeing an assembly of peculiar people that 99.9% of pastors will never know. Where the idea came from that the church can franchise preaching as a general, marketable process baffles me. The cat’s out of the bag: preaching is as unique as the pastor and the congregation she shepherds.
When I consider preaching as sacrament (last post), I am stopped, silenced, and humbled. It is a God thing shot through and through with mystery. On the other hand, when I consider preaching as a form of human communication, I lighten up, even laugh at the sheer creative freedom attendant to such a holy endeavor. Encountering God is ultimately in God’s hands; preparing for that encounter is a pastor and people endeavor. A leisurely conversation, sipping at good wine or delicious coffee, may be filled with the presence of our surprising, conversational God. A sermon, yes, a formal communication event, is also a living nexus of our particulars-loving God, a passionate, know-the-sheep pastor, and an assembly of people urged to expect God’s arrival.
I still remember when I stumbled into this reality. Parishioners, in what Prof. Howard Hendricks used to call “the glorification of the worm” ceremony, shake hands with and speak to the pastor at the end of the worship service. For a time I was accustomed to hearing things like, “Wow. I just didn’t know so much information was packed into those two little verses. You are a good Bible teacher.” As God continued transforming my particular life and preaching, I began to hear people respond with something like, “I really met God today. God spoke right into my life.” Do you hear the profound difference? I’m reticent to write this, yet believe me, I am not bragging. C. S. Lewis wrote that it would be silly for me to brag about having brown eyes. I am not the source of my brown eyes or of God showing up. A pastor is a co-worker with God, but never God.
Human co-working requires some behind the scenes work. Behind the dependency on God to meet us (we do “invoke” God’s presence) and behind the creative joy, dare I say fun, of communicating are hours of diligent study. But not just diligent Book work, that is, all the study that goes into shaping a biblical text into a meaningful sermon. Pastors also intentionally do people-watching. We offer keen, will-behind-the-ear listening. We allot time for leisurely pastoral story-hearing and story-telling. All the while, we celebrate the inestimable privilege of having a vocation that dares to engage two holy realities: the lives of human beings and the Word of God. We’re living a calling; not doing a job. I am troubled that pervasive USAmerican consumerism has turned the pastor into a professional employee for a consumerist group of religious people. A pastor is a vocational servant. Preaching is not about marketing Jesus and/or our church; it is about encountering the Trinitarian God as revealed in the Bible.
It is vexing that pastors get petrified in a theological/denominational stratum of “truth” and cease to keep on learning. I find it inexcusable that many pastors are afraid, yes, afraid of new theological ideas. Many pastors are more afraid of the “slippery slope” than they are of encountering the living, inexhaustible Lord Who is “making all things new,” including many theological ideas. I marvel at pastors, having spent so much time and hard-earned money training for their vocations, who let slip the good habits of wide theological reading; they quit looking for the most current biblical commentaries; they stop exploring excellent theological dictionaries on Old Testament and New Testament words; they lose touch of the pulse of the larger conversations and issues in the evangelical world, and they cocoon in their little worlds with no desire to travel cross-culturally on mission trips. If pastors get bored with ministry, it’s not the ministry’s fault. He or she should take a long look in the mirror. Some say, “If you knew my people and my personal and church struggles, you would understand my ministry disillusionment.” We must be careful that we do not allow our personal disillusionment to define all pastoral ministry. It doesn’t. There’s so much more to focus on. We all need to keep engaging our God and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Supreme Pastor.
Showing posts with label OUR CALLING. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OUR CALLING. Show all posts
Friday, May 24, 2013
Monday, December 3, 2012
IF YOU CAN KEEP FROM PREACHING, DO IT
HB Charles, Jr, shared this insightful post on his blog:
One day, I had a conversation with a friend who was seeking to discern whether the Lord was calling him to pastoral or pulpit ministry. As he discussed it with me, he noted that he had mentioned this matter to me several times before without comment from me. He was right. I hadn’t responded. And I sensed that he was waiting on a response this time. So I prayed an emergency prayer to God about what to say.
And what came to my mind is what my father said to me some twenty years ago about whether I should continue in the ministry: “If you can keep from preaching, do it.”
I was about fifteen years old. And my father had given me the opportunity to preach his 11 AM service. I remember two things about that sermon. It was the hardest I had ever worked on a sermon.
It was also the first time I received direct criticism about my preaching. First from my dad. As he made his pastoral remarks, he reminded the congregation of our afternoon fellowship with a sister church. He informed them (and me) that I would be preaching the afternoon service. He then promised that I would not preach that long in the afternoon service. This was his only comment about my sermon. Ouch. Right after service, one of my dad’s associates was first to greet me. He told me how “long-winded” I had become (a polite term used for those who speak too long, I guess). Double-ouch. Then, as I sat in my dad’s study after service, my sister ran in to kiss my cheek. She said she would see me in the next service, and apologized for rushing out, but she was in a hurry because I had preached so long. Triple-ouch. And strike three.
In comparison to the criticisms I have received about my preaching in later years, this was nothing. Absolutely nothing. But these remarks knocked me off my feet that day. And though I was able to preach that afternoon service, I was swallowed up in a black hole of discouragement the next several days. I couldn’t eat or sleep. And I would stay up at night, reading, praying, and crying.
One of those nights, my father came into the front room and heard me crying. He demanded to know what was wrong. I told him about what happened and how I felt about it. And I concluded that I didn’t know if I wanted to preach any more. When I finished my rant, my father said he understood and that he would not sit up with me all night. “The only advice I’ll give you is this,” he said as he got up to head back to bed. “If you can keep from preaching, do it.”
Huh?
He continued, “If preaching is something that you can get into and out of when you want to, it’s a sign that the Lord did not really call you. So if you can choose whether you are going to preach or not, I recommend that you don’t preach.”
That was all he said. He then turned and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway as he went back to his room.
I was angry at how seemingly unconcerned my father was. I was also surprised at how his advice (or non-advice) was exactly what I needed to hear. By the Lord’s gracious help, I was able to pull myself together. And I continued to preach. And I am still preaching more than twenty years later, to the glory of God.
By the look on my friend’s face, I am not sure he found my father’s advice to be very helpful. But it definitely helped me. Again.
As I wrestle with frustrations over my need to grow as a preacher, and as I face the various, inevitable challenges of my pastoral assignment, I need to be reminded that my calling is not my choice. I keep preaching because I do not have a choice. And I pray that I will never have a choice in the matter.
May the Lord gracious choose to continue to use me to herald the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” - 1 Corinthians 9:16 (ESV)
One day, I had a conversation with a friend who was seeking to discern whether the Lord was calling him to pastoral or pulpit ministry. As he discussed it with me, he noted that he had mentioned this matter to me several times before without comment from me. He was right. I hadn’t responded. And I sensed that he was waiting on a response this time. So I prayed an emergency prayer to God about what to say.
And what came to my mind is what my father said to me some twenty years ago about whether I should continue in the ministry: “If you can keep from preaching, do it.”
I was about fifteen years old. And my father had given me the opportunity to preach his 11 AM service. I remember two things about that sermon. It was the hardest I had ever worked on a sermon.
It was also the first time I received direct criticism about my preaching. First from my dad. As he made his pastoral remarks, he reminded the congregation of our afternoon fellowship with a sister church. He informed them (and me) that I would be preaching the afternoon service. He then promised that I would not preach that long in the afternoon service. This was his only comment about my sermon. Ouch. Right after service, one of my dad’s associates was first to greet me. He told me how “long-winded” I had become (a polite term used for those who speak too long, I guess). Double-ouch. Then, as I sat in my dad’s study after service, my sister ran in to kiss my cheek. She said she would see me in the next service, and apologized for rushing out, but she was in a hurry because I had preached so long. Triple-ouch. And strike three.
In comparison to the criticisms I have received about my preaching in later years, this was nothing. Absolutely nothing. But these remarks knocked me off my feet that day. And though I was able to preach that afternoon service, I was swallowed up in a black hole of discouragement the next several days. I couldn’t eat or sleep. And I would stay up at night, reading, praying, and crying.
One of those nights, my father came into the front room and heard me crying. He demanded to know what was wrong. I told him about what happened and how I felt about it. And I concluded that I didn’t know if I wanted to preach any more. When I finished my rant, my father said he understood and that he would not sit up with me all night. “The only advice I’ll give you is this,” he said as he got up to head back to bed. “If you can keep from preaching, do it.”
Huh?
He continued, “If preaching is something that you can get into and out of when you want to, it’s a sign that the Lord did not really call you. So if you can choose whether you are going to preach or not, I recommend that you don’t preach.”
That was all he said. He then turned and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway as he went back to his room.
I was angry at how seemingly unconcerned my father was. I was also surprised at how his advice (or non-advice) was exactly what I needed to hear. By the Lord’s gracious help, I was able to pull myself together. And I continued to preach. And I am still preaching more than twenty years later, to the glory of God.
By the look on my friend’s face, I am not sure he found my father’s advice to be very helpful. But it definitely helped me. Again.
As I wrestle with frustrations over my need to grow as a preacher, and as I face the various, inevitable challenges of my pastoral assignment, I need to be reminded that my calling is not my choice. I keep preaching because I do not have a choice. And I pray that I will never have a choice in the matter.
May the Lord gracious choose to continue to use me to herald the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” - 1 Corinthians 9:16 (ESV)
Monday, October 8, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Have you thought
about the relationship between the preacher and the Word he preaches. This is an excellent post from Ben Witherington that
addresses this issue. - STEVE
God in the Afternoon— a Homily by J. D.
May 19, 2012 By 3 Comments
(Here is a fine homiletical research piece by one of my students in Asbury’s ACE program. See what you think). To follow Ben's link and comment ...
Whether a cram sermon writing session on Saturday night or a well thought out sermon series prepared over weeks’ time, pastors, at least the good ones, hope their Sunday morning messages do not fall on deaf ears. A greater hope may be that those who have come did not just “hear the Good News,” but are so inspired to go out and apply the content of the morning message and Scriptures to their daily lives.
What would this look like? Maybe a family lunch before taking communion to home bound congregants? Maybe delivering food and hygiene items to the homeless community downtown? Maybe calling those who have fallen on hard times and offering a meal and a prayer? Maybe opening the Bible and studying independently throughout the week? That would have to be a pretty great morning message.
However, more often than not, the masses leave the church and rush to beat the crowds to Luby’s or rush home to see opening kick-off. Some may rush to the grocery stores to buy up their meals for the coming week. Others head out to the ball fields for an afternoon of recreational soccer. The sermon did not fall on deaf ears, but quite possibly onto complacent lives. A recent study of adolescents and young adults found staggering results on the perceptions and realities of the American Christian church. The results did not only identify issues among young people, but how their issues reflect a deeper problem in the church, “an adherence to a do-good, feel-good spirituality that has little to do with the Triune God of Christian tradition and even less to do with loving Jesus Christ enough to follow him into the world.” Such a watered-down understanding of Christianity does not produce fruit.
This paper will examine how the lack of sound biblical teaching and independent study only continues the cycle of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism in American churches. It will point to the significance of understanding the inspiration of the Scriptures, grasping the power of the living Word of God, and of applying reason and imagination to biblical study. “Too often church programs and worship are geared to the entertainment and ‘event-full’ gratification of its membership, while the preaching of the cross and the call to radical discipleship, incarnation, and justice are absent.” Radical discipleship shifts the American church back in line with the God they are meant to know and worship, an eternal focus where justice matters.
The chronic disease of passive Christianity is perpetuated by political correctness that has found its way into pulpits over the past several decades. Moral absolutes scare potential members away so they are not discussed or taught. Surface level teaching is all-inclusive and easier to understand and live out. All this creates a new religion that no one claims to be a part of, but is growing rapidly. Moralistic Therapeutic Deism believes in a god that created, ordered and watches over life on earth. It, like most other world religions, expects people to be nice and fair toward each other. Thirdly, followers simply want to be happy and feel good about their life. Rounding out the creeds of this watered down religion is an understanding that God is not involved in life on earth except when a problem arises, and heaven is the post life destination. Unfortunately, many people would say these creeds are the same as what Christians believe, though it lacks any mention of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures—or servanthood, community and relationship with God, for that matter.
Hebrews 5:12-14 speaks to the issues of discipleship stagnation, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.” In depth biblical study, studying from the original languages and looking to scholarly commentaries make more of the Bible than just a way to know good from evil. Proper study gives the Holy Spirit “more to work with” so that God is revealed more fully. Casual acceptance leads to “a world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world and might even be more difficult to save.” Studying the Scriptures, by the power of the Holy Spirit not only teaches what he has done, but who he is and his desire to save his Creation.
Without the desire to study or the guidance of the Holy Spirit believers begin to look like everyone else in this era. The Information Age rages on often without questioning the credibility, validity or responsibility of the information. Society has access to the “answers” to many of life’s most difficult questions in their handheld, continually connected devices, but the pursuit of knowledge is no longer about the truthfulness, source and inspiration of the information. It is about how quickly any answer can be accessed. This is in sharp contrast to the importance of understanding the inspiration of Scripture. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is God-breathed…” (NIV). He was aware that the actual hand of God did not put pen to paper, so to speak, but God was the source and inspiration for the Law, the history and the works of the prophets he had studied since he was a young boy. The Spirit of God guided the hand of the authors. “The Spirit found their particular psyches, their intelligence, their readiness, their social location, their historical placement, useful to the divine plan and purpose, and spoke through them to and for all.” Such reverence for the text seems lost. Countless translations and versions, and possibly the shear availability of the Bible, has believers taking it for granted, mindlessly following without fully knowing. Losing sight of God’s hand in Scripture reduces it to mere fantasy and moral recommendations.
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus, Peter and Paul claim the Holy Spirit inspired the work of their ancestors. In Matthew 22:43, Jesus pointed to David’s authorship of Psalm 110 as being inspired by the Spirit, as did Peter in in Acts 25 when speaking of Psalm 2. While in Rome speaking to the Jewish leaders Paul says, “the Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers Isaiah the prophet.” There was no doubt that the Words they had been raised on were truly from God and were relevant and steadfast. The same is true for their own words that are now included in the canon of Scripture. In John 1:14 we see clearly that Jesus’ words were not only inspired. In him, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” All that Jesus spoke was and is God’s. The whole of the New Testament carries the same inspiration of the Spirit.
Grasping the Bible as a direct, inspired work of God must progress into an understanding and acceptance of its power. Casual treatment of the Scriptures is ignoring its power. Ancients treated the Word of God as sacred and holy, to be relished. Its power is frightening and comforting at the same time. One touch of the Ark of the Covenant could kill, but knowing its presence nearby was knowing that God was close to the people he loved. Ancients also believed that same power came when the Scriptures were read aloud. The power could move a community. The Scriptures were prayed with expectations of response because they had power. The present American Christian Church that relies on surface level knowledge does not recognize the Scriptures as power, but opinion. The call to be like Christ is never answered because the real Jesus has been “hijacked…portraying him as an open-minded, big-hearted, and never-offended-anyone moral teacher.”
Christians cannot be like someone they do not know. The authors of Scripture wrote with the intent that “God’s word is alive, and when it is heard and received it changes human lives and takes up residence in them…” To be like Christ, believers must read what the Scriptures say about him and expect to be changed, expect the Word to be made alive in them. God created humanity’s tireless desire for knowledge, truth, justice beauty, perfection, and love. In return, much of humanity has distorted or displaced this quest and “few things are so haunting as the stories of the very greatest seekers falling short.” The written word of God is his self-disclosure. It preserves and triggers memories. As American churches lackadaisically acknowledge Scripture, they are selling themselves short and those whom God had hoped to reach through them. Believers “are called to a Christian phronesis – to the mind of Christ. This Christian phronesis is expressed in kenosis, in self-emptying of prestige, prerogatives, and power.”
In Romans 12:2 Paul writes, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Transformation through God’s word is the opposite of conforming to the tolerances and expectations of this world. This passage also calls for use of the mind. People have to reason how to process the rich complexities of life, to probe and test and stretch their faith from the perspective of a Christ follower. Paul writes of the Bereans who studied and compared his teachings to the Scriptures before believing in Jesus as the Messiah. They applied reason and intellect, an act that was praised by Paul. It is that same ability to reason that can empower Christians today to progress in the faith, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Craving God’s truth in exchange for the world’s, growing up in his truth to strengthens relationships both with him and with others. Reason does not contradict faith, rather they are interlocking practices. Reasoning through Scripture, tradition and experience allows Christians to better understand the truth of Scripture and guard against self-contradictions.
Intellect also invites the reader to look at the author’s intent. What was the primary message of their narrative or letter? Who were they writing for? Who was their primary audience? When were they writing? Where were they writing?
Within the mind is not only the ability to reason and apply intellect, but also the ability to imagine, to think creatively. The prophets used their imaginations when conveying the messages of God to the people of Israel. Isaiah’s “woes” were a result of his ability to imagine what life would be like for God’s chosen people for generations to come if the people now did not turn from their wickedness. Jesus used his imagination as he taught in parables. He pulled the environment in which his listeners were surrounded into his lessons. He pulled from the traditional way of storytelling his people knew to create a new lesson, to help them relate to the kingdom language he was using. Paul and John of Patmos could imagine what the second coming of Christ would be like and, from that, worshiped and warned with a sense of urgency to compel the masses to understand and imagine along with them.
The American Christian church has lost its imagination and thus its ability for “making the invisible kingdom visible.” It has lost its ability to see itself as part of God’s story, a story it can no longer accurately retell. A lack of imagination makes it difficult for followers to know the historical Jesus, the Jesus who was a first century Jew. Keeping Jesus out of his cultural context keeps believers from relating to him as fully human. Readers are invited to imagine what the writers and their audiences were feeling—like Paul writing from prison to Timothy. Readers can read between the lines of Scripture to imagine and better interpret the truth at work while being careful to stay within the writer’s instruction and away from fantasy.
An intentional effort to study and know God’s word seems like a radical inclination in a culture where careless information sharing reigns, where knowledge goes in one ear and out another. A follower, a member of the American Christian church must recognize that “Word is the appointed means by which God’s grace is made known to men, calling them to repentance, assuring them of forgiveness, drawing them to obedience and building them up in the fellowship of faith and love” The Word is worth knowing and relishing, and radically sharing through relationship not conversion. A shift in the church back to a focus on creating disciples opens believers up to revelation, which occurs because God chooses to make himself known, not because we have chosen to have certain experience or have perfectly interpreted Scripture or have participated in the traditional sacraments. A focus on discipleship encourages pastors to preach the real Jesus, not the hi-jacked Jesus. It encourages congregations to listen and learn under the guise of the Holy Spirit. It reminds them that church is not a place you go, worship not an hour on a Sunday morning, but who you are and what you do well into a Sunday afternoon and each and every day.
Works Cited
Dean, Kendra Creasy. Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Guiness, Os. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life, Kindle Edition. New York: W Publishing Group, 1998.
Kinnaman, David and Gabe Lyons. Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007.
Oden, Thomas C. Classic Christianity. Kindle Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 2009.
Smith, Christian and Melinda Lundquist Denton. Soul Searching. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Witherington, Ben III. The Living Word of God. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007.
Villafane, Eldin. Beyond Cheap Grace. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
AND NOW THEY CAN HEAR
Danny Dodd posts a blog called ADVENTURES IN PREACHING. Written a year ago, his words speal to the challenge and task of preaching a fall and consumeristic world. - STEVE
There is tension in the pews.
There is tension in the pews.
Marriages are crumbling. Jobs have been lost. A sister is lonely. Someone’s health is failing. A brother is fighting an addiction. Depression is damaging a relationship. A believer is not sure he believes anymore. A teen wonders why her parents do not understand her.
Every preacher realizes the task facing him each Sunday- and he hurts with his church family. He carries within him the burden of trying to speak a word of help and hope- of grace and truth- to this tension.
Often, there is another type of tension in the pews. This concerns the preacher himself. He is aware of it too.
He is not experienced enough (read too young). He is not energetic enough (read too old). He needs to preach deeper sermons. His sermons are too deep. He needs more passion. He needs to be more entertaining. He is too dry. He tells too many stories. He is too liberal. He is too conservative.
The preacher hurts over this tension also- but it is a personal and quiet hurt. And if he is conscientious does try to sort through this tension too and work to address it as best he can understanding, however, that he cannot be everything everyone always wants him to be.
This is nothing new.
The Apostle Paul knew this tension in his ministry. Imagine facing the issues that defined the church in Corinth! Their immaturity, immorality, divisiveness, doctrinal and worship issues would challenge any preacher. Add to this mix the fact that- some at least- within this church were disappointed in the message that had been preached. They somehow had expected something more spectacular.
“God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” was Paul’s reply to that (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Further, it just wasn’t preaching in general they struggled with- it was Paul specifically. Apollos was more eloquent (a given- Acts 18:25). Peter was more dynamic (not hard to imagine Peter being dramatic). And Christ well who can compare to him? (See 1:12)
As he felt the sting of this tension he replied:
When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (2:1-5)
Preachers come in all shapes, sizes and giftedness. For most of us- it is an adventuresome life calling. It is not just what we do, it is who we are. Our lives are irrevocably connected and intertwined with the church we serve.
We all can relate to Paul’s words. Preaching “Christ and him crucified”- that is our aim too. Leading people to resting their faith on God’s wisdom is also our goal.
That is why we do what we do- tension and all.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14)
Every preacher realizes the task facing him each Sunday- and he hurts with his church family. He carries within him the burden of trying to speak a word of help and hope- of grace and truth- to this tension.
Often, there is another type of tension in the pews. This concerns the preacher himself. He is aware of it too.
He is not experienced enough (read too young). He is not energetic enough (read too old). He needs to preach deeper sermons. His sermons are too deep. He needs more passion. He needs to be more entertaining. He is too dry. He tells too many stories. He is too liberal. He is too conservative.
The preacher hurts over this tension also- but it is a personal and quiet hurt. And if he is conscientious does try to sort through this tension too and work to address it as best he can understanding, however, that he cannot be everything everyone always wants him to be.
This is nothing new.
The Apostle Paul knew this tension in his ministry. Imagine facing the issues that defined the church in Corinth! Their immaturity, immorality, divisiveness, doctrinal and worship issues would challenge any preacher. Add to this mix the fact that- some at least- within this church were disappointed in the message that had been preached. They somehow had expected something more spectacular.
“God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” was Paul’s reply to that (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Further, it just wasn’t preaching in general they struggled with- it was Paul specifically. Apollos was more eloquent (a given- Acts 18:25). Peter was more dynamic (not hard to imagine Peter being dramatic). And Christ well who can compare to him? (See 1:12)
As he felt the sting of this tension he replied:
When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (2:1-5)
Preachers come in all shapes, sizes and giftedness. For most of us- it is an adventuresome life calling. It is not just what we do, it is who we are. Our lives are irrevocably connected and intertwined with the church we serve.
We all can relate to Paul’s words. Preaching “Christ and him crucified”- that is our aim too. Leading people to resting their faith on God’s wisdom is also our goal.
That is why we do what we do- tension and all.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14)
Friday, September 16, 2011
WHEN YOU ARE IN DEEP WATER
WHEN YOU ARE IN DEEP WATER
Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:9
My calling is to reconcile people to God, to connect them to Christ's saving grace; to experience the transformed life that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I carry out this calling within the context of being the Lead Pastor of the Church of God of Landisville. That job carries the awesome responsibility of helping a church follow God's vision and to equip it for a future of faithfulness to God and fruitfulness for the kingdom. In that role, it is essential that I take the long view of the church's mission. It requires me to work proactively for the church's long-term effectiveness and not consuming all my time and energy and simply reacting to the latest crisis or making sure everyone is happy in the moment. The reality is that you cannot make anyone happy. Happiness is a choice. And people-pleasing is particularly warned against by God's Word. As a leader and pastor, I must make decisions that are in the best interest of the body even when individuals want to operate from a very personal place.
Much of the past several weeks has been consumed with putting out fires created by people who, either #1 don't take the long view and now are in a crisis that they want to make yours, #2 think their happiness is more important than the church's effectiveness, or #3 are generally miserable and prefer to be miserable by living on their own terms instead of finding peace and joy by living on God's terms. And then there are people who hate for the be any problems and want me to make all of those other people's problems go away.
Pastors call this the dark side of ministry. And if you go there and dwell there long enough, your passion drains away, you simply operate by reacting to what happens next, and leave little time for what God told you was important but what men do not think is as important.
In these times, you know you are in over your head, and just start paddling just to stay afloat, let alone actually get somewhere. Being a pastor can be a lonely place at those times--for few people understand that struggle and a whole lot of people never know anyway and therefore don't provide the help needed. Although they are still disturbed by the people you haven't managed to fix.
It is a place of weakness for most pastors. But it is also a place where we must keep our focus. When you are in deep water you need to trust the One who walked on water. And this verse becomes the reality thayt ultimately reignites a pastor's passion and renew his focus.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9.
(C) 2011 by Stephen L Dunn
This post was originally published on the devotional blog THRIVING IN CHRIST
Monday, January 24, 2011
NO OTHER FOUNDATION
“I recognized that by itself, without God at its foundation, ministry is utterly futile. Without remaining resolved in steadfast surrender to God, ministers living for the ministry will either leave the ministry, or, what’s worse, the ministry will leave them.”
–Burk Parsons, “Resolved by the Grace of God”Thursday, January 20, 2011
THE PASTOR AND JOB SATISFACTION
This comes by way of Monday Morning Insights
I received an email this morning from a friend passing on an old article written by Eugene Peterson. This first appeared almost ten years ago in Leadership Journal, but its insight and advice is great for a day just like today. Peterson writes…
"Being a pastor who satisfies a congregation is one of the easiest jobs on the face of the earth?if we are satisfied with satisfying congregations. The hours are good, the pay is adequate, the prestige considerable. Why don’t we find it easy? Why aren’t we content with it?…
In a interview in Vision Magazine, Bob Coy, the senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale tells of when he was about ready to quit his church plant after two years because not much seemed to be happening. Bob said he called one of the people that was overseeing him and said, "Here's what's happening: I have only 40 or 50 people attending, it's been two years here, I am not appreciated or respected for what I have accomplished, and I'm thinking about going back to Las Vegas." The person on the other end of the phone asked him, "Well, do you not want to be there?" Bob's reply was, "Well, ministry is becoming a burden." The response back in his ear was, "If it's a burden, then you need to leave. Representing the work God has given you as a burden is not the Lord; His burden is light. I think you ought to leave. There are some college students here that would love and care for those people." Bob said that this was not really what he was expecting to hear, and it caused him to get a little 'fiesty' in heart. Bob said he thought to himself, "No young college student is going to come here and care for these people. These are my sheep and I'm gonna love them."
Bob Coy continues, "It was a strange thing, because what happened was God was testing me to find out where my heart was at. Was I just looking for a big thing? Was I just looking for the success of a ministry or did I really care about sheep? The beauty of that was that I came back to church the following week, I think, a different man, and I cared more about discipleship, more about love, and cared about taking these people and really investing in their lives." Bob was able to change his mindset from having a 'job' to having a 'profession'.
Where are you at today? Have you had a similar experience (moving from a 'job' to a 'profession')?
The Pastor and Job Satisfaction
"Being a pastor who satisfies a congregation is one of the easiest jobs on the face of the earth?if we are satisfied with satisfying congregations. The hours are good, the pay is adequate, the prestige considerable. Why don’t we find it easy? Why aren’t we content with it?…
Because we set out to do something quite different. We set out to risk our lives in a venture of faith. We committed ourselves to a life of holiness. At some point we realized the immensity of God and of the great invisibles that socket into our arms and legs, into bread and wine, into our brains and our tools, into mountains and rivers, giving them meaning, destiny, value, joy, beauty, salvation. We responded to a call to convey these realities in Word and sacrament. We offered ourselves to give leadership that connects and coordinates what the people in this community of faith are doing in their work and play with what God is doing in mercy and grace.
In the process, we learned the difference between a profession, a craft, and a job.
A job is what we do to complete an assignment. Its primary requirement is that we give satisfaction to whomever makes the assignment and pays our wage. We learn what is expected, and we do it. There is nothing wrong with doing jobs. To some extent, we all have them; somebody has to wash the dishes and take out the garbage.
But professions and crafts are different. In these, we have an obligation beyond pleasing somebody. We are pursuing or shaping the very nature of reality, convinced that when we carry out our commitments, we benefit people at a far deeper level than if we simply did what they asked of us."
Bob Coy continues, "It was a strange thing, because what happened was God was testing me to find out where my heart was at. Was I just looking for a big thing? Was I just looking for the success of a ministry or did I really care about sheep? The beauty of that was that I came back to church the following week, I think, a different man, and I cared more about discipleship, more about love, and cared about taking these people and really investing in their lives." Bob was able to change his mindset from having a 'job' to having a 'profession'.
Where are you at today? Have you had a similar experience (moving from a 'job' to a 'profession')?
Friday, November 5, 2010
EXTRA GRACE REQUIRED
One of the tougher realities of ministry is that it tends to be 24/7 and every pastor has more than a few EGR people ... extra grace required. Remember "What About Bob?" I saw this movie as a pastor and wasn't sure if it was a comedy.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
KEEPING PERSPECTIVE
A low attendance Sunday, a day when you are constantly interrupted by the trivial, a sleepless night, a negative church council meeting, a sermon that seems to have touched no one, an overscheduled day that leave you exhausted ..........
This are things that try a pastor's soul. Tim Hansel once said, "The problem with life is that it is so daily." And I might add, a pastor's life often includes one or more of the above list (or its kin) on almost a daily basis.
String enough of these together and a pastor begins to question his capability and doubt his call. In fact, it seems ironic that it is often the accumulation of many small things over a long period of time that causes pastors to either resign themselves to a joyless ministry, or quit the ministry.
I have a friend who used to say he quit every Tuesday (Monday night was church meeting night) but managed to re-up in time to be in the pulpit on Sunday morning. I know that in almost 40 years of ministry I have resigned mentally or in written draft many times. Only once in the ministry have I resigned myself to resigning from the ministry (selling insurance if need be to support my family), and a very wise daughter told me, "You can't do that. You are a pastor."
She provided me some perspective that day that drew me back to my calling and gifting from God, reminding of the passions of my heart. I will always be grateful for her helping me to rediscover some perspective in a dark and dismal time.
However, there is something far more important to which I need to anchor my life and the ministry God has given me. It is the fact that God works.
Paul was no stranger to the burdens, the distractions, the defeats that often seemed to accompany ministry. And he wrote these words--first to the Church of God at Rome, and then on to us, and I believe, in particular for those of us who have made vocation of serving the Lord as pastors in churches.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28
God is at work in all things ... even distractions, troubling council meetings, sermons that seem a failure.
God is at work for the good ... God's kingdom purposes are at work in all of those things and He is ultimately the one who is responsible for the outcomes.
God is at work for those who love him ... the problems of ministry don't make you stop loving Jesus. God is at work for those who are called according to his purposes...God called you. Your job is to be obedient and faithful. His job is to make you fruitful.
It always helps to keep perspective.
String enough of these together and a pastor begins to question his capability and doubt his call. In fact, it seems ironic that it is often the accumulation of many small things over a long period of time that causes pastors to either resign themselves to a joyless ministry, or quit the ministry.
I have a friend who used to say he quit every Tuesday (Monday night was church meeting night) but managed to re-up in time to be in the pulpit on Sunday morning. I know that in almost 40 years of ministry I have resigned mentally or in written draft many times. Only once in the ministry have I resigned myself to resigning from the ministry (selling insurance if need be to support my family), and a very wise daughter told me, "You can't do that. You are a pastor."
She provided me some perspective that day that drew me back to my calling and gifting from God, reminding of the passions of my heart. I will always be grateful for her helping me to rediscover some perspective in a dark and dismal time.
However, there is something far more important to which I need to anchor my life and the ministry God has given me. It is the fact that God works.
Paul was no stranger to the burdens, the distractions, the defeats that often seemed to accompany ministry. And he wrote these words--first to the Church of God at Rome, and then on to us, and I believe, in particular for those of us who have made vocation of serving the Lord as pastors in churches.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28
God is at work in all things ... even distractions, troubling council meetings, sermons that seem a failure.
God is at work for the good ... God's kingdom purposes are at work in all of those things and He is ultimately the one who is responsible for the outcomes.
God is at work for those who love him ... the problems of ministry don't make you stop loving Jesus. God is at work for those who are called according to his purposes...God called you. Your job is to be obedient and faithful. His job is to make you fruitful.
It always helps to keep perspective.
(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn
Saturday, September 18, 2010
A BAD DAY AT GOLF IS BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT THE OFFICE
Barry serves as Associate Pastor. In our church that means he fills many of the roles of traditional pastoring: visitation, teaching, counseling, leading worship, and at times preaching. He spends a lot of time filling the role of shepherd, especially to the more senior members of our congregation.
Barry absolutely loves the pastoral ministry. Not only was he called to it out of the public schools but he was made for it. When God put together his SHAPE (as Rick Warren calls it) that "shape" was spelled P-A-S-T--O-R. The persons of my church, especially those raised in more traditional settings where they had a personal, intimate, daily relationship with their pastor find him a constant anchor and encouragement. In doing his job, he frees me to do work of leading the church, being its chief preacher and vision-caster, guiding its evangelistic mission, coaching its leaders, spending serious time in prayer, helping the church impact its larger mission field.
Barry thrives as a pastor. The church thrives as well because of his work.
Barry and I share a common love of golf. The difference between the two of us is that he is good at it. I just play the game. If our links prowess defined our roles - he would be the Lead Pastor (and I'd probably be his caddy.) One Friday we were playing with several men from the church. I had just come back from Disney World and was wearing a hat that read "A Bad Day at Golf is Better Than a Good Day the Office."
Spying my hat and its message, he said, "Not true. Nothing is better than a good day the church."
Wow! Talk about a rebuke (although it wasn't intended as one). My hat was just a piece of fun; but Barry didn't want it to belittle the truth. He loved the pastoral ministry and he loved being a pastor. He was in his sweet spot, the spot the Spirit had created him for. That didn't mean he was naive or insensitive to its burdens, its stresses, its hurts and failures. But it did mean that none of that could separate him for the joy of knowing that he was doing what God had called him to do.
"Woe unto me if I do not preach the gospel," declared Paul. My life is out of God's will and my joy is gone if I abandon that to which Christ Jesus has called me.
My prayer each day is that I do not let my circumstances or my sheep take my eyes off of what God is calling me to do.
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