...examine your own heart, your motives, very carefully. Very few ministers serve large, thriving churches. If that is your vision of what is ahead discount it. God may open up such formidable doors of opportunity; but you cannot count on it, and it must form no part of your decision. The overwhelming majority of pastors serve relatively small and unprepossessing churches. Many of them are called on to do what no amount of money could ever reimburse them for - officiating at the funeral of the town drunk whose intoxicated live-in girlfriend shrieks and mutters throughout the sparesly attended funeral service; burying a child dead of cancer at the age of nine months; presiding over a church broken up by angry and powerful members who show nothing of forebearance or grace (or even good sense). Out of the heat of these and countless other impossibily difficult circumstances, a heart for ministry (in the old sense of that word) is confirmed.
Read through Paul's epistles rather rapidly in three or four sittings and observe that it was his relations with Christians that gave him the greatest pain. Should you end up in vocational ministry, your experience will not be any different. By all means, talk to the leaders of your church and work through the Biblical passages on elders, pastors and overseers; but above all seek the Lord's face in prayer. You need not demand a kind of Damacus-road experience - few enjoy so immediate an experience of call. But if you know nothing of Spirit-prompted compulsion and a servant heart that has, as far as you know, counted the cost, I beg of you to relinquish all aspirations to pastoral ministry.
DA Carson & John D Woodbridge
Letters Along the Way, (Crossway 1993), p136
Showing posts with label ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ministry. Show all posts
Monday, July 28, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Jesus Driven Ministry - Quotes (3)
You really should buy this book!
Truth and urgency
Consequently, a major feature that attracted people to the gospel in previous generations – the urgency coming from the sense that this is absolutely true… [is] much less a feature of the church. It seems that in place of urgency some growing churches are attracting people through entertainment. Growing churches generally serve a high quality programme that is attractive and entertaining. As one in involved in youth ministry, I can testify to the effectiveness of entertainment in attracting people from outside the church so that they come within the sound of the gospel.
But entertainment must always be a servant of truth. Unfortunately, given our pragmatism, we may sometimes neglect some important objective truths such as the Atonement, the reality of judgement, and the need for holiness because those concepts are not very entertaining. These doctrines don’t seem to produce good subjective feelings, and that factor may, in practise, be more influential in determining a church programme than the fact that a given truth is a biblical doctrine. So we could produce a generation of Christians who do not include many unpleasant doctrines in their worldview (their basic approach to life). The result will be an unhealthy church. (p121)
Repentance
…both John and Jesus were quite specific about the things that people need to repent of… (p124)
Specifics help people to understand what is involved in repentance. (p124)
The failure to be specific in our call to repentance could result in people not realising that Christianity cannot coexist with some terrible sins. (p124)
Doubts
Today we find that some Christians are very proud of their doubts and do not attempt to resolve them. Perhaps this is a reaction to the shallow dogmatism and easy-believism often seen in evangelical circles. Yet I believe that some people are using these problems as an excuse for intellectual and spiritual laziness. When confronted by others about their uncertainty, they say they are ‘working on it’. But in reality they are not waging an all-out battle to find an answer to their problems. That uncertainty will leave them ineffective and without a real message to give to the world. (p129)
Working with others
What if we do not like some of the team members we ‘inherit’? Say, a senior pastor is appointed from outside a church… There is one person on this team who makes him feel uneasy. Perhaps he thinks that he will have conflicts with this person or that person would not respond well to his leadership style. Perhaps he has doubts about the person’s abilities.
What should the new pastor do? Some would say that he should ask the person to leave. Such a response comes the highly individualistic theology found especially among evangelical Christians, which I believe, violates the Biblical teaching of corporate solidarity within the people of God. This theology gives certain people the freedom to change churches when they don’t like a new pastor. There isn’t the sense of being committed to a body ‘in sickness and in health; for richer for poorer.’
We can imply from the teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians that he would have been revolted by this lack of permanence in the commitment we have to fellow Christains. In the body of Christ we do not reject people because we do not like them.
Perhaps the tragedy with the evangelical church is that feelings overcome theology very often in determining the way we decide and act. The biblical Christian says, ‘Whatever my feelings are about this person, I will accept him because God wants me to do so. And I will ask God to give me the grace to work harmoniously with him’. Our theology says that this effort at working with the person will succeed, even though our feelings may give another message. Our theology drives us to work hard at this relationship. We pray for the person and about our relationship with him. We meet with him regularly. We seek to show Christian love to him and do all that we can for his personal welfare. (p133)
I have had a few situations in Youth for Christ and at church when I’ve needed to work closely with a person whom I would not have chosen. Once or twice the person initially seemed to imply that he did not want to work under my leadership. Most often I have found, that after some time, I have come to like the person. I pray almost daily for the people with whom I work closely, and when you pray for someone so regularly, you automatically develop a special affinity with that person. Usually, after some time, I have also come to recognise great value in the person. (p134)
Truth and urgency
Consequently, a major feature that attracted people to the gospel in previous generations – the urgency coming from the sense that this is absolutely true… [is] much less a feature of the church. It seems that in place of urgency some growing churches are attracting people through entertainment. Growing churches generally serve a high quality programme that is attractive and entertaining. As one in involved in youth ministry, I can testify to the effectiveness of entertainment in attracting people from outside the church so that they come within the sound of the gospel.
But entertainment must always be a servant of truth. Unfortunately, given our pragmatism, we may sometimes neglect some important objective truths such as the Atonement, the reality of judgement, and the need for holiness because those concepts are not very entertaining. These doctrines don’t seem to produce good subjective feelings, and that factor may, in practise, be more influential in determining a church programme than the fact that a given truth is a biblical doctrine. So we could produce a generation of Christians who do not include many unpleasant doctrines in their worldview (their basic approach to life). The result will be an unhealthy church. (p121)
Repentance
…both John and Jesus were quite specific about the things that people need to repent of… (p124)
Specifics help people to understand what is involved in repentance. (p124)
The failure to be specific in our call to repentance could result in people not realising that Christianity cannot coexist with some terrible sins. (p124)
Doubts
Today we find that some Christians are very proud of their doubts and do not attempt to resolve them. Perhaps this is a reaction to the shallow dogmatism and easy-believism often seen in evangelical circles. Yet I believe that some people are using these problems as an excuse for intellectual and spiritual laziness. When confronted by others about their uncertainty, they say they are ‘working on it’. But in reality they are not waging an all-out battle to find an answer to their problems. That uncertainty will leave them ineffective and without a real message to give to the world. (p129)
Working with others
What if we do not like some of the team members we ‘inherit’? Say, a senior pastor is appointed from outside a church… There is one person on this team who makes him feel uneasy. Perhaps he thinks that he will have conflicts with this person or that person would not respond well to his leadership style. Perhaps he has doubts about the person’s abilities.
What should the new pastor do? Some would say that he should ask the person to leave. Such a response comes the highly individualistic theology found especially among evangelical Christians, which I believe, violates the Biblical teaching of corporate solidarity within the people of God. This theology gives certain people the freedom to change churches when they don’t like a new pastor. There isn’t the sense of being committed to a body ‘in sickness and in health; for richer for poorer.’
We can imply from the teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians that he would have been revolted by this lack of permanence in the commitment we have to fellow Christains. In the body of Christ we do not reject people because we do not like them.
Perhaps the tragedy with the evangelical church is that feelings overcome theology very often in determining the way we decide and act. The biblical Christian says, ‘Whatever my feelings are about this person, I will accept him because God wants me to do so. And I will ask God to give me the grace to work harmoniously with him’. Our theology says that this effort at working with the person will succeed, even though our feelings may give another message. Our theology drives us to work hard at this relationship. We pray for the person and about our relationship with him. We meet with him regularly. We seek to show Christian love to him and do all that we can for his personal welfare. (p133)
I have had a few situations in Youth for Christ and at church when I’ve needed to work closely with a person whom I would not have chosen. Once or twice the person initially seemed to imply that he did not want to work under my leadership. Most often I have found, that after some time, I have come to like the person. I pray almost daily for the people with whom I work closely, and when you pray for someone so regularly, you automatically develop a special affinity with that person. Usually, after some time, I have also come to recognise great value in the person. (p134)
Friday, March 14, 2008
Jesus Driven Ministry - Quotes
Have been reading Jesus Driven Ministry by Ajith Fernando (IVP) - which I can't recommend too highly. For anyone involved in Christian ministry (small 'm') it will challenge and refresh. Below are some extracts - more to follow.
A famous Christian leader is reported to have said he used to complain to God about the interruptions he had from his work when God reminded him that these interruptions were his work! All of us have been irritated by occurrences that seem to be demonically designed to disturb our peace of mind and upset our program of life. But we must remember that God is sovereign; nothing happens in our lives without his consent. Therefore we should look carefully at annoyances to see if we can discern God’s hand at work. (p25)
Biblical leaders should be so devoted to their people that in order to help them, the leaders abstain from doing some things that they want to do and perform some tasks they do not like to do. Because of their commitment to a group of people they will persevere in working with them even though inconvenient and seemingly fruitless. The leader’s feelings may say, ‘Drop this work and do something more productive and satisfying. These people do not deserve your commitment.’ But because of the leader’s commitment to the people they refuse to give up on it. (p22)
I have a fear that the church in the West will disqualify itself from being a missionary-sending religion by portraying to its membership a Christianity that is a nice religion but lacks a radical edge. In my visits to the West the most common response I hear to sermons I have preached is something to the effect: ‘I enjoyed that sermon.’ Sermons should disturb, convict, and motivate to radical and costly obedience. I have wondered whether people’s desired result from sermons is to enjoy themselves rather than be changed into radical disciples who will turn the world upside down…
A minor feature of worship – bringing enjoyment – has become a primary feature. Such a church may grow numerically but it will not be able to produce the type of missionaries that the world needs – men and women who will pay the price of identification with the people they serve and endure the frustrations that involves. (p23)
The aspect of the Spirit giving power for service has become very prominent in the church and has been effective in attracting outsiders to the church. This is good and to be desired. But perhaps because of the current marketing orientation of the church, this feature that attracts outsiders has been emphasised almost to the exclusion of the other role of the Spirit as the one who helps form character.
The result of neglecting the latter aspect of the Spirit’s work is that we are seeing a high incidence of moral and spiritual failure among people with powerful ministries…
We all, including those whose primary gifts are preaching and teaching, have to guard against Satan’s trap that lulls us into neglecting the battle against unholiness. He may convince us that we are doing all right because of the apparent power that accompanies our ministries…(p33)
Our life will catch up with our ministry (p33)
‘Burnout takes place when the wick and not the oil is burning’ (p36)
We often react in the wrong way when we face opposition and crisis. We can become overcautious, as the following responses show: “I will never witness in hostile surroundings again’. ‘I will never suggest a radical departure from the norm again. This church is not ready for or interested in change’. ‘I am not cut out for this work. Maybe I should resign’. (p38)
In a time a crisis, before we meet hostile people, we must first meet God. (p39)
Unction – ‘that mystic plus in preaching which no-one can define and no-one (with any spiritual sentivity at all) can mistake’…
‘If nothing else revealed the poverty of our secret prayers, the absence of unction would. Able preaching can often reveal the cleverness of a man… Unction reveals the presence of God’. (p43)
Insecure leaders…
Some become too possessive of they people they minister to and cling too tighly to them…
Some become too possessive of the work itself. They will not hand over a job to someone who can do it better…
Insecure leaders find it difficult to handle criticism and obstacles in their way. Anyone will get hurt and discouraged when such things happen. But those who derive their primary satisfaction from God can snap back after a time. Those who get primary satisfaction from their work often lose control and react excessively in a way that harms people and the work…
Some are obsessed by a burning desire to show people that they are capable… Such people will never be happy, for people are fickle and unreliable when it comes to expressing appreciation for our work.
Some seem to very humble, examples of a servant spirit. They work hard and follow instructions. They are ever ready to help others, but deep down they are bitter… They may say that they do not work for recognition, but they are angry that they have been taken for granted. We may not see this anger at first, but sometimes it comes out, usually in an outburst that leaves the recipient stunned…
I think most of us suffer to some extent with the tendencies we have just outlined. It is when these attitudes control us that the problems become serious. When we find such reactions welling up inside of us, we should take it as an occasion to seek God afresh so that our identity, security, and significance come primarily from him. (p58)
Retreats
A retreat acts an antidote to activism where our fulfillment comes from our busy activity rather than from God. Activism is one of the great pitfalls we face in ministry, and being away from our busy schedules helps orient our minds in a spiritual direction. (p63)
‘We are uncomfortable with silence because silence forces us to face God.’ (p63)
‘The question that must guide all organising activity in a parish is not how to keep people busy, but how to keep them from being so busy that they no longer hear the voice of God who speaks in silence.’ (p65)
A famous Christian leader is reported to have said he used to complain to God about the interruptions he had from his work when God reminded him that these interruptions were his work! All of us have been irritated by occurrences that seem to be demonically designed to disturb our peace of mind and upset our program of life. But we must remember that God is sovereign; nothing happens in our lives without his consent. Therefore we should look carefully at annoyances to see if we can discern God’s hand at work. (p25)
Biblical leaders should be so devoted to their people that in order to help them, the leaders abstain from doing some things that they want to do and perform some tasks they do not like to do. Because of their commitment to a group of people they will persevere in working with them even though inconvenient and seemingly fruitless. The leader’s feelings may say, ‘Drop this work and do something more productive and satisfying. These people do not deserve your commitment.’ But because of the leader’s commitment to the people they refuse to give up on it. (p22)
I have a fear that the church in the West will disqualify itself from being a missionary-sending religion by portraying to its membership a Christianity that is a nice religion but lacks a radical edge. In my visits to the West the most common response I hear to sermons I have preached is something to the effect: ‘I enjoyed that sermon.’ Sermons should disturb, convict, and motivate to radical and costly obedience. I have wondered whether people’s desired result from sermons is to enjoy themselves rather than be changed into radical disciples who will turn the world upside down…
A minor feature of worship – bringing enjoyment – has become a primary feature. Such a church may grow numerically but it will not be able to produce the type of missionaries that the world needs – men and women who will pay the price of identification with the people they serve and endure the frustrations that involves. (p23)
The aspect of the Spirit giving power for service has become very prominent in the church and has been effective in attracting outsiders to the church. This is good and to be desired. But perhaps because of the current marketing orientation of the church, this feature that attracts outsiders has been emphasised almost to the exclusion of the other role of the Spirit as the one who helps form character.
The result of neglecting the latter aspect of the Spirit’s work is that we are seeing a high incidence of moral and spiritual failure among people with powerful ministries…
We all, including those whose primary gifts are preaching and teaching, have to guard against Satan’s trap that lulls us into neglecting the battle against unholiness. He may convince us that we are doing all right because of the apparent power that accompanies our ministries…(p33)
Our life will catch up with our ministry (p33)
‘Burnout takes place when the wick and not the oil is burning’ (p36)
We often react in the wrong way when we face opposition and crisis. We can become overcautious, as the following responses show: “I will never witness in hostile surroundings again’. ‘I will never suggest a radical departure from the norm again. This church is not ready for or interested in change’. ‘I am not cut out for this work. Maybe I should resign’. (p38)
In a time a crisis, before we meet hostile people, we must first meet God. (p39)
Unction – ‘that mystic plus in preaching which no-one can define and no-one (with any spiritual sentivity at all) can mistake’…
‘If nothing else revealed the poverty of our secret prayers, the absence of unction would. Able preaching can often reveal the cleverness of a man… Unction reveals the presence of God’. (p43)
Insecure leaders…
Some become too possessive of they people they minister to and cling too tighly to them…
Some become too possessive of the work itself. They will not hand over a job to someone who can do it better…
Insecure leaders find it difficult to handle criticism and obstacles in their way. Anyone will get hurt and discouraged when such things happen. But those who derive their primary satisfaction from God can snap back after a time. Those who get primary satisfaction from their work often lose control and react excessively in a way that harms people and the work…
Some are obsessed by a burning desire to show people that they are capable… Such people will never be happy, for people are fickle and unreliable when it comes to expressing appreciation for our work.
Some seem to very humble, examples of a servant spirit. They work hard and follow instructions. They are ever ready to help others, but deep down they are bitter… They may say that they do not work for recognition, but they are angry that they have been taken for granted. We may not see this anger at first, but sometimes it comes out, usually in an outburst that leaves the recipient stunned…
I think most of us suffer to some extent with the tendencies we have just outlined. It is when these attitudes control us that the problems become serious. When we find such reactions welling up inside of us, we should take it as an occasion to seek God afresh so that our identity, security, and significance come primarily from him. (p58)
Retreats
A retreat acts an antidote to activism where our fulfillment comes from our busy activity rather than from God. Activism is one of the great pitfalls we face in ministry, and being away from our busy schedules helps orient our minds in a spiritual direction. (p63)
‘We are uncomfortable with silence because silence forces us to face God.’ (p63)
‘The question that must guide all organising activity in a parish is not how to keep people busy, but how to keep them from being so busy that they no longer hear the voice of God who speaks in silence.’ (p65)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Worshipping in the Study
I have been really blessed this year to have read a couple of books by Prof Macleod - he is a master theologian, inspirational preacher and wonderful writer. Below is just one quote from his book Behold Your God (1990)...
On the self-revelation of God
One other fact connected with the revelation of Exodus 3:1-18 ought not to be ignored. Moses’ immediate reaction when he sees the burning bush is to say, ‘I will now turn aside and see this great sight.’ This resolution is deliberately opposed by God: ‘Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground,’ God is not simply a great sight, the object of speculative curiosity. The revelation of his glory and the whole theological process which legitimately follows from it is holy ground. We cannot stand as superiors over God or His Word. We may not coldly or detachedly analyse and collate the self-revealing deeds and utterances of Jehovah. We may not theologise without emotion and commitment. The doctrine must thrill and exhilarate. It must humble and cast down. Our researches must be punctuated with frequent cries of, ‘Oh the depth!’ and even periodically abandoned so that the pent-up emotions of our hearts may find relief in expressions of wonder, love and praise. Theology has lost its way, and, indeed its very soul, if it cannot say with John, “I fell at his feet as dead’ (Rev 1:17). (p39 - italics mine))
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