Monthly Archives: February 2014

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How to Train Your Church to Laugh at Anything

john-piperBack in 2009 John Piper delivered a message to the American Association of Christian Counselors and it proved to be one of the strangest interactions between speaker and audience I have ever seen.

Piper, as you can see from the video, decided to be as clear as possible on his own sinful patterns in life. He thought it appropriate given the nature of his audience. I find his confession to be humbling and God-honoring. The audience found it hilarious. Piper eventually becomes flummoxed with their reaction and points out how “strange” an audience they were.

But were they really strange?

Greg Gilbert, in an excellent commentary, calls it “one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever heard,” and sees an “incredibly important and massively undervalued lesson” for preachers:

Do you see, at root, what had happened at that conference? Over the course of a couple of days, those conferees had been trained to expect humor from the speakers and therefore to react to the speakers with laughter–all the way to the point that they were incapable of seeing that John Piper was being serious in his confession of sin to them. You can quibble with whether the first couple of Piper’s statements were (unintentionally, it seems) kind of funny. I happen to think they were. By the time he gets to about the 3-minute mark, though, there’s nothing funny left, and he’s moved into very serious stuff. Yet the atmosphere of humor and levity at that conference was so thick–the training so complete–that the people were incapable of seeing it. So they laughed at Piper’s confession of his sin.

Apparently the conditioning of that audience to think everything is funny took no more than a couple of days.

How deep do you think that conditioning would be for a church who sat under a funny-man pastor every Sunday for fifteen years?

A preacher’s content and tone will condition how his church hears God’s word. Pastor, what kind of auditory conditioning will your church have after hearing you preach for a decade?

Let us not be masters at training our churches to laugh at anything. Rather, let us labor to train them to hear with “serious joy in a Sovereign Savior.”

– HT: Justin Taylor

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Two Movements from Sovereign Strength

Faith and Prayer

In Mark 9:14-27 Jesus comes down from the mountain of Transfiguration to find a demonically-possessed, epileptic boy. In yet another compassionate display of His sovereign Lordship casts out the demon and restores the boy to health.1

Sometime later that day the disciples ask Jesus in 9:28, “Why could we not cast it out?” Remember back in chapter six that the twelve received authority over evil spirits and had successfully driven out many demons before this incident, so why their failure now? Jesus answers in 9:29 by saying, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” It seems that the disciples took for granted the power given to them or they thought was inherent now in them. So they no longer prayerfully depended on God for His power and they revealed their lack of faith. There is something in the disciples’ lack of prayer and lack of faith worthy of meditation.

I love symphonies and classical music. Last week as I was writing this sermon a particular song came on that moved me with its unusual grandeur. We might think of Mark’s gospel as a symphony that is sounding for the strength of this Savior with elegance and power as it moves towards the crescendo at Calvary. And does this symphony move you? Let’s consider two ways, from our text, in which this Savior’s strength should move us.

Two Movements from the Savior’s Strength

First, the movement of faith. This text is all about the power of Christ over the forces of darkness and the faith that power demands from us. In 9:19 He rebukes the lack of faith permeating the crowds and scribes; in 9:23 He says all things are possible for those who believe; in 9:24 the boy’s father cries our, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And the unique thing about this text is how it commends small faith. It tells us that small faith in this strong Savior is enough. The father’s faith was small, but it was still enough for Christ to respond with strength.

Let us remember that salvation depends not on the strength of our faith, but on the strength of the one our faith is in – the one who saves. An illustration might be helpful here.

Several weeks back we had our boys at a playground and I set them up high on ledge and said, “Alright, jump to Daddy.” I’m sure many of you have done the same. Hudson only needed a little prodding to take the leap of faith. He’s done this before and knows that Daddy will catch him. Owen however is smaller, the jump looks much bigger, and he really hadn’t jumped from this height before. He didn’t want to do it at first and it took quite a bit of prodding, but he eventually held his breath and jumped with a shaking little body of fright.

What they placed their faith in (my ability to catch them) mattered more than how vibrant their faith was. The same is true when it comes to believing in Jesus. It’s not the quality of our faith that saves, but the object of our faith – Jesus Christ – that saves. Also, it’s not we see from this text that it not as though God requires a certain strength of faith to welcome any who would believe. Mark 9 reminds us that true faith in Christ, no matter how small it is, is still enough because it falls on this sovereign and strong Savior. See the strength of Jesus and be moved to faith. The second movement in our text is . . .

The movement of prayer. Prayer is little more than faith turned towards God. Both faith and prayer testify that spiritual power is not in us, but in God, and both wait upon His promise to answer. Growing faith will lead to growing prayers. For us as a congregation, we long to be filled with faith in our Sovereign God. One way we show our faith is not only in the fact that we pray often, but that we love to pray often. What then does your practice of and delight in prayer say about your faith? It is not stretch to say that all of us would probably say that our prayer life reveals a faith smaller than we would hold. Rather than fall into the serpent’s condemnation on this point, let’s be encouraged to cry out, “Father, help my unbelief!”

The second half of Mark’s gospel is consumed with Jesus’ mission to suffer and die, and the disciples inability to understand this mission. The exorcism of Mark 9:14-29 highlights the disciple’s spiritual weakness and lack of faith, but thankfully it doesn’t leave us with only negative deficiencies. It shows up the priority of faith and prayer in following Christ. Let us crowd around Him in faith collectively, come to Him in faith individually, and call on Him in faith, beholding His power and remembering: Small faith in this strong Savior is enough.

  1. This post is adapted from my recent sermon, “The Savior’s Healing,” on Mark 9:14-29. ↩
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Recent Reads

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.

51mhTcOzj3L._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon. Just like Luther’s Tabletalk, this book find the Prince of Preaching lecturing and riffing on various matters related pastoral ministry. If there is a book on pastoral ministry overflowing with more wit and wisdom than Lectures to My Students, I have yet to find it. The book can be read cover to cover or pastors can cherry-pick those lectures most pertinent to their ministry. I’d start with these five: “The Preacher’s Private Prayer”, “Sermons – Their Matter”, “Attention!”, “Earnestness: Its Marring and Maintenance”, and “On Conversion as Our Aim.” LTMS should be read by anyone who hopes to be in the ministry or already is in the ministry.

41Pyo7Tb0NL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_An Infinite Journey: Growing Towards Christlikeness by Andrew Davis. I have followed Davis’ ministry ever since I read his story of reforming FBC Durham in North Carolina. So when I saw Challies’ high praise for An Infinite Journey I knew I had to pick it up. And what a book this is! Davis writes, “God has set before the Church of Jesus Christ two infinite journeys. Those two journeys have one destination, one ultimate goal, and in the end will prove to have been one and the same journey after all” (17). What are the two journeys? First, “the external journey of the worldwide advance of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ to all nations.” Second, “the internal journey of an individual Christian from being dead in sin to gloriously perfect in Christ.” Davis proceeds to offer a clear and comprehensive map for each journey with warmth and conviction. An Infinite Journey is one of the most useful books for discipling relationships I have ever read. Highly recommended!

41S2NB77hSL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_Practicing Affirmation: God-Centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God by Sam Crabtree. I first read this book two years ago and immediately thought after finishing it, “I need to read this again – right now!” Practicing Affirmation is indeed one of those rare books that I try to reread every year. Crabtree presents a compelling case for God-centered affirmation in the life of individual Christians and the church as a whole. His thesis is quite simple: “Good affirmations are God-centered, pointing to the image of God in a person” (18). I fail, far too often, in the area of affirmation and every reading of this book proves to be timely for my life and ministry.

51ZgHuwEJ1L._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes  by Voddie Baucham. Once a month the men at our church gather for biblical discussion and encouragement on all manner of topics. This year our focus is on what it means to be a faithful shepherd at home. So I read this book to see if it would be one to recommend and, after reading it, I’d have no problem doing so. Baucham’s offering is a lucid entry into the field of complementarian masculinity. Family Shepherds charts a clear course in its calling of men to lead their homes after the pattern of Scripture.

51E-uLPH6UL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes is, hands down, my favorite character in the history of English literature. Oh to have the mind and acuity of the legendary consulting detective from 221B Baker Street! If you’ve never read The Adventures before, stop everything you are doing and get a copy. You just might be stunned by the readability and rapidity of the now infamous cases that occupy this volume.

Among the important elements in the promotion of conversion are your own tone, temper, and spirit in preaching. If you preach the truth in a dull, monotonous style, God may bless it, but in all probability he will not; at any rate the tendency of such a style is not to promote attention, but to hinder it. It is not often that sinners are awakened by ministers who are themselves asleep. – Spurgeon

Lectures to My Students 344
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In Which I Cry “Uncle”

boston

Almost two weeks ago I decided to add a new Endeavor for 2014: read the collected works of Thomas Boston. It was a “go big or go home” Endeavor and I wanted to go big. But now I am going home.

Just yesterday said, “Uncle,” to the great Scotsman.

My reasoning for laying aside the Boston endeavor is quite simple. To read through the twelve volumes in eleven months would mean reading about thirty-five pages a day. If I’m reading fast, those pages would occupy about forty minutes of each day. I spent about ten days attacking the first volume with verve and nearly knocked out the whole thing. But it didn’t take long to realize that this one Endeavor was going to rob time from the other three Endeavors, while also infringing on my afternoon prayers.

Right as I was thinking about laying Boston aside in order to protect prayer time in the afternoon I read this part of Spurgeon’s magnificent lecture on “Earnestness: Its Marring and Maintenance“:

Fan [earnestness] with much supplication. We cannot be too urgent with one another upon this point: no language can be too vehement with which to implore ministers to pray. There is for our brethren and ourselves an absolute necessity for prayer. Necessity!–I hardly like to talk of that, let me rather speak of the deliciousness of prayer–the wondrous sweetness and divine felicity which come to the soul that lives in the atmosphere of prayer. John Fox said, “The time we spend with God in secret is the sweetest time, and the best improved. Therefore, if thou lovest thy life, be in love with prayer.” The devout Mr. Hervey resolved on the bed of sickness–“If God shall spare my life, I will read less and pray more.”

I often think about dying and what I would say on my deathbed. The older I get the more I realize how likely it could be that I would say the same thing as good Mr. Hervey.

And I don’t want to.

So I put Boston back on his venerable shelf in my study and sat down to pray. I think the good Scotsman would commend that endeavor.

A prayerful journey through Boston is still, very much, in the cards . . . just not in 2014.

The grand object of the Christian ministry is the glory of God. Whether souls are converted or not, if Jesus Christ be faithfully preached, the minister has not laboured in vain, for he is a sweet savour unto God as well in them that perish as in them that are saved. Yet, as a rule, God has sent us to preach in order that through the gospel of Jesus Christ the sons of men may be reconciled to Him. – Spurgeon

Lectures to My Students 336
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8 [More] Wishes About the Ministry

Faithful Ministry

Yesterday I gave you the first eight wishes of George Swinnock, a forgotten Puritan, regarding a faithful ministry.

If you are a pastor, I encourage you to pray that God would make these things true in your ministry. If you are a church member, I encourage you to pray that God would make these things true in your pastor’s ministry.

8 [MORE] WISHES ABOUT THE PASTOR’S CALLING

  1. A Prudent Preacher. “I wish that I may prepare for preaching the gospel diligently, ever handle this weapon warily, deliver the message of my God soberly, as may be most for his glory and my people’s good, not with the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and power.” “I wish also that I may preach over every sermon to my own heart before I preach them to my hearers; that I, preaching feelingly, may preach more effectively.” “I wish that I may preach a crucified Savior in a crucified style.”
  2. A Ceaseless Intercessor. “I wish that all my congregants, without exception, may have so deep a share in my affection, upon a religious account, that without ceasing I may make mention of them always in my prayers; that my heart’s desire and prayer to God, both in private and public, for poor and rich, may be, that they may be saved.”
  3. A Patient Instructor. “I wish, that should my labors prove unfruitful when I am faithful in the discharge of my trust, that I may not be discouraged, knowing that I shall be a ‘sweet savor to my God.'”
  4. A Discerning Judge. “I wish, that in the administration of the sacraments, I may have an impartial regard to the fitness and meetness of the subjects, lest I set those precious seals of the covenant of grace to blanks, where by they should signify nothing, especially about the Lord’s Supper.”
  5. A Faithful Shepherd. “I wish that, like a faithful shepherd, I may often visit my flock, and warn every one night and day with tears.”
  6. A Powerful Example. “I wish that I may be as John the Baptist, both a burning light in my sermons, and a shining light in my conversation, lest my works give the lie to my words.” “Oh that I might preach as powerfully by my life as by my lips.”
  7. A Humble Instrument. “I with that . . . when God has enabled me by his Spirit to cast down imaginations and high things that exalted themselves against the knowledge of him, and to bring into captivity many sinners to the obedience of Christ, that I may set the crown of glory upon the head of God alone, and not suffer the least part of his honor to stick to my fingers.”
  8. A Watchful Overseer. “I wish that I may take heed to myself, my doctrine, to my life, be watchful in all things, endure affliction, make full proof of my ministry, do the work of a faithful pastor.”
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8 Wishes About the Ministry

Faithful Ministry

One of my Endeavors for 2014 is to read through the collected works of a Puritan named George Swinnock. One of the more unique aspects of Swinnock’s work The Christian Man’s Calling – which makes up 2.5 of 5 volumes – is its personal nature.

The work is punctuated by small sections of “wishes,” which are something akin to personal prayer requests. For example, after his section on how a Christian may exercise godliness in the practice of prayer, Swinnock offers, “A good wish about prayer, wherein all the forementioned particulars are epitomized.”

Yesterday I read his section on how a Christian may exercise godliness in his particular called and was treated to another collection of wishes, those “about the calling of a minister; wherein several properties and duties of a conscientious pastor are epitomized.”

Just last year Stephen Yuille and Reformation Heritage published this section in a slim volume entitled A Labor of Love: Puritan Pastoral Priorities. So if you don’t want to fork over pretty pennies for the Banner of Truth volumes, make sure to grab Yuille’s book. It would be a great devotional for the pastor and an excellent resource for elder teams. In case you don’t buy either of those choices, here are the first eight wishes from good Dr. Swinnock along with some choice quotes.

8 WISHES ABOUT THE PASTOR’S CALLING

  1. A Royal Ambassador. “I wish . . . that I may take heed to myself, and too all the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made me overseer.”
  2. A True Vessel. “I wish that I may know experimentally what regeneration means, before I travail with others, till Christ be formed in them.”
  3. A Sincere Suitor. “I wish that the spring of my motions, and principle of all my work, may be love to my Master, and not expectation of any temporal reward.” “I desire that my ends in the ministry may be purely to exalt the glorious name of God, in the conversion and edification of his precious and chosen ones.”
  4. A Wise Builder. “I wish . . . that, as a wise builder, I may lay the foundation of sound doctrine, raise up strong pillars of convincing reasons, and cover it with useful and powerful application.”
  5. A Skilled Physician. “I wish, that since I am a steward of the mysteries of Christ . . . that knowing the fear of the Lord, I may persuade men, and give to every on their particular and proper portion in due season.”
  6. A Diligent Student. “I wish that I  . . . may mind the work of the ministry, and make it appear that both in my preparation for, and execution of my office, I labor in the word and doctrine.”
  7. A Tender Mother. “I wish that I may be tenderly affected to all the souls in my charge, as knowing their worth, and believe of what concernment their unchangeable estates are in the other world.” “Lord, when I behold wounded, bleeding, dying souls, let mine eyes affect my heart with sorrow, that both mine eyes and heart by be up to thee, with the greatest importunity for a blessing upon my diligent endeavors for their recovery.”
  8. A Courageous Soldier. “I wish that, being a sworn soldier of the Lord of hosts, whatsoever trials and tribulations I meet in my holy warfare, whatsoever dangers and death shall look me in the face, I may never fly from my colors, or forsake my captain, but ‘endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.'” “My only safety consists in keeping close to my Savior.”
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A Retreating Pastor

Take a Break

A church member recently asked me, “When do you Sabbath?” My response was, “Why did you have to ask me that?” Because I know the answer and it isn’t a good one.

I said, “You can pray for me in this area, I really don’t rest well. I have too much I need to do and too much I want to do to rest. Or at least I think that’s the case.”

As I drove home two things came into my mind. First, how wonderful it is to have church members that care enough to ask a question! Appropriate and consistent rest undoubtedly fuels longevity in ministry. A healthy church will encourage one another in this truth and hold each other accountable to this truth. I am thankful that my congregation cares enough to lovingly correct my power-trippin’, pride-fuelin’ assault on rest.

The second thing I thought about was how I might better incorporate times of rest and retreat into my ministry. I do think there are times for prolonged sabbatical or vacation, but how realistic they are will vary. What’s more realistic are bite-sized sabbaticals and retreats. One helpful resource on this topic is an old lecture from Mike Bullmore entitled, “Watch Your Planning: The Strategic Role of Personal Retreats.” Here’s what Sovereign Grace Ministries says about the talk,

Any pastor benefits from periodic opportunities to contemplate, plan for, and pray about his ministry. These times away from the office allow unhurried reflection, refresh the pastor spiritually, encourage creativity, and practically express dependence on God.

Despite the benefits, difficulties remain. Leaving behind a mountain of work requires faith, and preparing for a fruitful retreat requires foresight and concrete objectives. With these challenges in mind, Mike Bullmore gives this seminar to help pastors plan for regular retreats. He addresses a retreat’s purpose and effects, gives practical pointers, and suggests ways to establish an effective cycle of preparation and review.

So if you, like me, are tempted to think the health of your church requires your incessant labor, let the wise Mr. Bullmore encourage you to retreat from such silliness.