Praying for your Pastor

"...for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance..." (Philippians 1:19, ESV)

In Philippians 1:19, Paul writes that he expects his that his circumstances-- dire though they may seem given his imprisonment-- will result in his deliverance or salvation (the Greek could be translated to as either deliverance or salvation). One of the striking things about this verse is that Paul acknowledges the prayers of the Philippians on his behalf. The people are praying for their pastor and friend! 

What an example worthy of imitation in our churches! If you want to pray for your pastor and would like some suggestions in how you might do so, I'd encourage you to check out the article "How to Pray for Your Pastor: Praying for Your Pastor's Personal Life, Family Life, and Ministry" at Leadership Resources. Consider printing off this article and reading one or two suggestions during your personal or family devotions and incorporating them into your prayers.

Seminary Student: Don't Mix Up What Biblical Maturity Means!

"Sin is not first about the breaking of an abstract set of rules. Sin is first and foremost about breaking relationship with God, and because I have broken this relationship, it is then easy and natural to rebel against God's rules. So it's not just my mind that needs to be renewed by sound biblical teaching, but my heart needs to be reclaimed by the powerful grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The reclamation of my heart is both an event (justification) and a process (sanctification). Seminary, therefore, won't solve my deepest problem–sin. It can contribute to the solution, but it may also blind me to my true condition by its tendency to redefine what maturity actually looks like. Biblical maturity is never just about what you know; it's always about how grace has employed what you have come to know to transform the way you live" (italics mine). 

Paul Tripp, Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 26.

Near-Sighted Pilots

I want to begin this post by saying that I don’t want to write it. I have been working on other, more enjoyable writing projects. However, when the official publication of the Christian Reformed Church decides to publish an article like “Where Have They Gone?” (February 21,2014), a muddled push for rethinking the denomination’s response to homosexuality, I felt the need to offer a response.

I use the word ‘muddled’ in describing this article because it never identifies its real target with any sort of clarity. It speaks about the church’s position on homosexuality in paragraph four, but then in paragraph five the author takes aim at the response of pastors and the congregational response in paragraph eight. Which is it? Based on the concluding remarks about welcoming back same-sex couples I will assume that the denominational position is being challenged, and not just congregational responses.

Further, the author doesn’t provide any significant exegetical support for his conclusion (the treatment of John 10:10, regardless of the conclusion, is simply poor reasoning and dismal hermeneutics) and provides a smattering of underdeveloped arguments. Readers, regardless of the positions they take, should join together in hoping that The Banner elevates its publication standards.

In response to “Where Have They Gone”, I’d like to isolate the premises of one of its arguments: the argument based on feelings of exclusion. I’ll evaluate each premise and offer some concluding remarks.

Premise 1:  The church’s current position on homosexuality has resulted in many gay men and women leaving the church and rejecting God because they have felt excluded [from paragraph six].

I would not disagree over this paragraph. I’m sure anecdotal evidence could be gathered in support of it. Rather than disagree, I’d like to express grief that this is so. I think all Christians should be grieved anytime anyone—gay, straight, transgender, black, white, old and married, young and single—walks away from the church and from God. Sometimes, probably far too often, the conduct of the church towards those who experience same-sex attraction—beyond its doctrinal position—has exacerbated feelings of isolation and confusion. This too is to be grieved and repented of. A sincere apology, however, does not mean one has to concede their principled position.

Premise 2:  A position that causes anyone to feel excluded is wrong and should be changed [implied from paragraph eleven].

If I knew the author of the article, I’d want to clarify whether they thought this supplied premise was a fair one. I’ve supplied it based on paragraphs five, six, and eleven, where the author expresses his or her frustration specifically over the feelings of rejection that have been felt and concludes that it is time to “welcome back its gay sons and daughters, along with their spouses and children”. The article would have been stronger if the author had been clearer about what exactly is problematic about the church’s position on homosexuality—is it that it provokes feelings of rejection in those who experience same sex attraction? The article seems to suggest two reasons for the rethinking the denominational stance on homosexuality: emotional distress caused and cultural shifts.

If the argument is that the position should be changed because the church’s position causes emotional distress, then I think we can work from premise 2. Premise two has some obvious problems. No one can possibly hold to it consistently (premise 2 makes me feel excluded and therefore it is wrong and should be changed! It’s self-defeating). Nor should anyone want to hold it! Suppose an airline company has a policy that only people with 20/20 vision are able to pilot their planes; unfortunately, this makes a near-sighted, jittery applicant feel left out. Does that mean that the airline’s policy is wrong and should be changed? Of course not! And if it ever did mean the airline should change its policy let me know—I’ll return to Scotland by boat!

But, someone might object, applying to fly a plane is hardly the same as wanting to feel included in a voluntary association like a church. What if we narrow the premise?

Mod. premise 2:  Any association that holds a position that causes feelings of exclusion should change their position.

But again, there are problems with this premise. Suppose that John wants to join his local association of Democrats. Rather oddly though, John is for smaller government, less taxes, and fewer restrictions on firearms—positions that immediately clash with the values of the Democratic Party. John expresses his disagreement to the local leaders. Should they recognize they’ve upset someone and change their policies? Will they? No, because presumably they have good reasons for holding the positions that they do. They should explain their reasons to John, but they’re under no moral obligation to change their policies.

Premise 2 is untenable.

Conclusion: The church’s current position on homosexuality, as it makes some people feel excluded, is wrong and should be changed.

Premise 2 appears self-defeating, and would make the world an impossibly unpredictable place to live in (with policies shifting as moods swung… I can’t imagine what that would do to any number of hormonal high school student clubs!). Therefore, the conclusion is not obtained.

To be clear: the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) does not exclude men and women who experience same-sex attraction (at least they shouldn’t!). They and I are extended the same invitation to find grace in the cross of Christ, to participate in the life of the church, and share in ministries of the church in the world. The CRC does say, in keeping with Scripture, that homosexual practice is off-limits, just as it says women who are not my wife are off-limits to me. Gay and straight alike are called to forgo or deny certain desires when we are joined to Christ through faith. Difficult though it may be, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. It is exactly in this dying to our own desires and being raised to new life and obedience in Christ that we come to experience life and life abundant. 

For those who are looking for a helpful resource dealing with a Christian perspective on same-sex attraction, I’d recommend Sam Allberry’s little book, “Is God Anti-Gay?” Allberry is a pastor who experiences same-sex attraction. In his writing he is both compassionate and thoughtful. If you’d like to read a review or two first, you can do so here and here.

Vain Confidence: A Ministry of Me

“The most important resource that you have in your ministry is you,” said the professor.

Gah! I scanned for anything within arm’s reach that I could use to bludgeon myself into an unconscious state that would erase this last pronouncement from my memory. No such luck.

Image Source

I’m the most important resource in my ministry?

Really?

Is the best ministry resource at my disposal a mind and heart that is prone to fits of anger (see my response above) and rotten with self-righteous pride and cynicism? Is my most important resource a personality that acts as a perpetual exhibition of failed love, patience, and generosity? Is that my best resource? Is that the resource that my congregation requires me to make full use of? If so, I’d rather charm snakes. It might be easier. It might be safer.

I am not the most important resource in my ministry.

The Bible makes clear that no man or woman is without sin (except for the Lord Jesus himself). Sin is a war-wager. When we live outside of Christ, having no part in his saving work, sin reigns over us. It is the controlling power, the dominant voice, and the commanding presence. However, even in Christ, having been bought at the cost of his body and blood and forgiven from all our sins, sin still rages against us. The difference between someone who has come under the kindly kingship of Jesus Christ and someone who has not is not that the Christian is sinless but that the power of sin no longer rules over the Christian; instead, he or she is ruled by the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8; Colossians 3). Yet, Christians—pastors, teachers, stay-at-home moms, city employees alike—find themselves fighting against (and sometimes losing to) sexual sin, pride, selfish desires, rage, envy, and other sins. Clearly, even those who are ruled by the Spirit of Christ prove themselves inadequate even to govern themselves. In other words, I can’t help me very well, so how could I possibly be the best resource I have when it comes to helping others? The idea that I am the best tool in my ministerial toolbox is laughable. 

I am not the most important resource in my ministry.

This is not to deny that God gives gifts for serving his church. God, in his mercy, makes us suitable for building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). This is the point though: God makes the unwilling willing; the unsuitable suitable; the wicked righteous; the unskilled skilled; the cowardly courageous; the useless useful. Yes, God’s people are given gifts; but that points to the fact that our greatest resource comes from outside ourselves! God, in his mercy, equips us by his Holy Spirit for building up the church and proclaiming the gospel to the world. I have no ministry apart from God the Father’s sovereign plan. I have no ministry apart from God the Son’s saving work.  I have no ministry apart from God the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work. In all things, the Triune God works to equip me—an otherwise self-interested, self-absorbed nitwit—for performing a work that honors him! O what a marvelous thing!

I am not the most important resource in my ministry.

Friends, apart from God giving us the resources for ministry, we are about as useful as a brick to the head. God the Father gives his Spirit to us. He gives us unique gifts for ministry. He renews our minds, giving us the mind of Christ, so that we know the God we proclaim. Our greatest resource is the power of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit working in us for the good of his people. When you seek the power for obedient ministry, look up, not in. For in this task, as in all others, God must increase, and we must decrease.

The Disposed Griever

"How many people grieving a serious loss discover that the public's tolerance for the continuance of their grief is short and shortly unsympathetic. ("Get over it, already.") But true friendship remains through the more boring, repetitive extensions of sorrows even after the excitement of the new crisis is past. The public-- when it is confronted with an unfinished grief long after it, the public, has finished with the griever-- begins to avoid her as a nuisance, and to blame her as a mope too much in love with her black weeds."

Walter Wangerin, Jr. Letters from the Land of Cancer (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 124.

The Gospel and Sexual Assault

An important resource from The Resurgence is being made available for free today and tomorrow (April 2-3) from Amazon and The Resurgence. Rid of my Disgrace: Hope and Healing for the Victims of Sexual Assault by Dr. Justin Holcomb and Lindsey Holcomb is being made available for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The prevalence of sexual assaults is overwhelming (according to the Holcombs research, one in four women and one in six men have been sexually assaulted-- you probably know a sexual assault victim, perhaps without knowing that they're a victim), and this book will help provide a compassionate response grounded in the good news of our Hope and Healer, Jesus.