Category Archives: Pastoral Ministry

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A Short Sabbatical

In Quest of Rest

Later on today I will leave for a 19th-century era cabin with one goal in mind: rest.

One of my many ministerial flaws is an almost complete inability rest for an extended period of time. But I am trying to grow in this area with the help of a loving wife and caring congregation.

OUT OF THE HARNESS

I have long cherished Spurgeon’s passionate labor and self-conscious desire to exhaust himself in the gospel ministry. He said,

‘If by excessive labour, we die before reaching the average age of man, worn out in the Master’s service, then glory be to God, we shall have so much less of earth and so much more of Heaven!’ 1 ‘It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed.’ 2

Such Christ-fueled energy (cf. Col. 1:28) is a great challenge to much of our contemporary evangelical culture that bristles at the thought sweaty ministry. Yet, like any author, we can read the Prince in a vacuum or in isolation. For he was just as keen to seize sabbath opportunities when it was wise to do so,

It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less. On, on, on for ever, without recreation may suit spirits emancipated from this ‘heavy clay’, but while we are in this tabernacle, we must every now and then cry halt, and serve the Lord by holy inaction and consecrated leisure. Let no tender conscience doubt the lawfulness of going out of harness for a while.3

I count it no small act of God’s providence that the very week I reread the Prince’s passages above4 my wife gave me an anniversary getaway. She saw knows me better than anyone and said, “You need a break.” That 36 hour “out of the harness” endeavor begins this afternoon.

RESTING THROUGH READING

My aim is simple: rest through reading. Few things calm my soul as extended and uninterrupted times of reading. Here are the four books I hope to complete by Friday morning:

It may sound like a lot, but I am already at the finish line of the last two. Thus, I should be able to close out Turley, Hastings, and Iles tonight. Which leaves tomorrow dedicated to Beaty’s promising study of M’Cheyne, further memorization of 1 Timothy,5  and much time on bended knee.

I am excited and eager. Bring on the “holy inaction.”

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  1. Spurgeon, An All Around Ministry, 127. ↩
  2. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, 157. ↩
  3. Ibid, 161. ↩
  4. In preparation to preach this sermon. ↩
  5. I’ve memorized the first four chapters and would love two write the last two on my heart this week. ↩
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The Necessity of Dignity

Dignity in the Ministry 2

There is a prominent little word in the pastorals that gets little attention in modern discussion on ministry: dignity. In fact, the great apostle tells us that “dignity” ought to be not only the aim of every church officer, but every Christian as well.

THE UBIQUITY OF DIGNITY

To see the pervasiveness of dignity we need only look to how its commending and commanding in 1 Timothy:

  • Christians everywhere are commanded to pray for governing authorities so they may live a life of dignity that stretches into every sphere (1 Tim. 2:2).
  • Distinguishable dignity must characterize an elder’s life and ministry (1 Tim. 3:4-5).
  • Ditto for deacons; they gotta be dignified too (1 Tim. 3:8).
  • Dignity is as valuable a jewel for women as it is for men (1 Tim. 3:11).

THE GRAVITY OF DIGNITY

So, dignity is necessary, but what is it exactly? I suspect it’s a word most people would be able to spot, but few would be able to define. The Greek word Paul uses is σεμνότης (semnotes) and is synonymous with honor, gravity, or seriousness.1 Here then is my working definition of dignity:

Christian dignity is the moral and spiritual gravity attending reverent godliness.

If we understand the inherent seriousness of dignity we can understand why it’s a characteristic going the way of the dodo. We live in an evangelical climate that all too often completely reflects our broader culture, a culture that heralds youthfulness on an unprecedented scale. Look no further than recent the recent radio smash “We Are Young” where a man in his fourth decade of life celebrates youth that “sets the world on fire.” (If you need convincing of how much the secular youth culture drives contemporary evangelicalism check out Stephen Nichols incisive article on “Youth-Driven Culture.”)

Dignity has never been, nor will ever be, a flag waved on high by youth. Thus, whenever and wherever the church caves into culture’s celebration of youth we can expect dignity to gather dust in the corporate attic. It seems, to me at least, that it’s high time to dust off this glorious jewel and reclaim it as a requirement for pastoral ministry. For if we want our churches to be a dignified witness, and we should, we must begin with pastors dripping in dignity.

THE MINISTRY OF DIGNITY

This reclamation project must begin with a reorientation of our hearts and minds to the biblical reality that pastoral ministry is necessarily a dignified ministry. And a dignified ministry requires dignified men. Christ has entrusted His ministers with His mission and His means of grace. Dignity courses through our calling like blood flows through our veins. His mission is grave – life and death hang in the balance – so there must be a sense of gravity when we storm the mercy seat and ascend to the sacred desk. His meal of grace is one we offer in reverent faith lest we eat and drink God’s judgment.

Each week the pastor lifts up the Kings of Kings whose kingdom is not of this world so we dare not hold Him with common casualness. Charles Bridges is right to say, “The moment we permit ourselves to think lightly of the Christian Ministry, our right arm is withered; nothing but imbecility and relaxation remains.” He later says, “Dignity of character will thus correspond with dignity of station.” What then might a dignified character look like?

Consider this portrait of the late and great Samuel Miller of Princeton,

He seldom entered a house, or engaged in conversation, without dropping a word at least to comment the Savior. His sermons . . . were full of weighty gospel truth, and were delivered with great animation and unction. . . . His fidelity to souls; his watchfulness for opportunities of doing good; his practical wisdom; his prudent management of all his private affairs; his tender dealing with prejudice and passion; his guardedness against giving offense; his remarkable freedom from envy and jealousy; his large, disinterested benevolence; his liberality and unworldliness; the dignity of his manners . . . always commanding respect; his habitual cheerfulness; his whole consistent life and ministry, ‘forever the same’, were constantly conspicuous and most influential for good.2

That sure seems to be a life of moral and spiritual gravity attending reverent godliness. May God help us to cherish and aim for such dignity in the ministry.

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  1. See George Knight, in his “must be reckoned with” commentary on 1 Timothy, p. 161-162. ↩
  2. The Life of Samuel Miller, 84. ↩
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How to Encourage Your Pastor

How to Encourage Your Pastor

What is the most powerful, yet least talked about, way every church member can encourage his or her pastor?

Faithful attendance at the church’s gathered worship.

Your consistent commitment to the corporate gathering reveals many different things:

  • Your obedience to Hebrews 10:25
  • An expectation to meet with God through worship with the body of Christ
  • A hunger to hear from God through the preaching of His word
  • A hopeful lifting of your gaze off the world and on to Christ
  • A delight in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ
  • A cherishing of the ordinary means of grace
  • A prioritization of the things of God over the things of men
  • A treasuring of the primary way God shapes His people into Christlikeness

And all of these things encourage your pastor to faithfulness in his ministry of the word and prayer! It gives him excitement when he prepares a sermon, fervor in his prayer, joy in his shepherding, and longevity in the ministry. And the inverse is true, inconsistent attendance at gathered worship tempts pastors to despair and steals joy from shepherding.

In What is a Healthy Church Member? Thabiti Anyabwile makes a similar point,

Few things are more discouraging or dishonoring to [faithful preachers] than a congregation inattentive to the Word of God. Faithful pastors flourish at the fertile reception of the preached word. They’re made all the more bold when their people give ear to the Lord’s voice and give evidence of being shaped by it. As church members, we can care for our pastors and teachers and help prevent unnecessary discouragement and fatigue by cultivating the habit of expositional listening.

How then, dear church member, are you doing in this area? Is your pattern of attendance one that discourages or encourages your pastor? For the health of your soul and your soul, let it be the latter.

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Don’t Let Them Get You Down

Churchill on Criticism

Do you read history and biography? If not, you are missing out on silver bullets of wisdom and perspective.

Reading about the kingdoms, lives, and policies of eras gone by not only protects one against chronological snobbery,1 but gives unique encouragement to know oneself, one’s world, and one’s God.

CHURCHILL ON CRITICISM

For me, one of the most fascinating and challenging men of the last few centuries is that lion Winston Churchill. His leadership, oratory, and overall brilliance have challenged me in untold ways. Yet, there is one lasting lesson from Churchill I’ve been unable to shake: his approach to criticism.

If you know anything about his life you know there was much to criticize and his enemies heralded his woes with the greatest amplification possible. Churchill took criticism and did three things with it. First, he took encouragement from it, saying, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” Second, he learned from it, “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body; it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is heeded in time, danger may be averted; if it is suppressed, a fatal distemper may develop.” Finally, once these applications were gained, he forgot about it.

In his masterful biography on Sir Winston, Paul Johnson provides an epilogue that offers five leadership lessons from Churchill’s life. Notice what he says on the third lesson,

Third, and in its way most important, Churchill never allowed mistakes, disaster – personal or national – accidents, illnesses, unpopularity, and criticism to get him down. He powers of recuperation, both in physical illness and psychological responses to abject failure, were astounding. To be blamed for the dreadful failure and loss of life in the Dardanelles was a terrible burden to carry. . . . He made a fool of himself over the abdication and was howled down by a united House of Commons in one of the most savage scenes of personal humiliation ever recorded. He scrambled to his feet and worked his way back. He had courage, the most important of all virtues, and its companion, fortitude. These strengths are inborn but they can also be cultivated, and Churchill worked on them all his life. (164, emphasis added)

CRITICISM AND PASTORAL MINISTRY

If you are a pastor criticism will hit you in diverse and sundry ways. What will you do with it? You can trust that your enemy and the world hope you fall into a stupor of anger, bitterness, depression, or defeat. But God desires something much different. Consider the following proverbs, which all speak to criticism in some way:

  • “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.” – Proverbs 10:17
  • “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” – Proverbs 12:1
  • “The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.” – Proverbs 15:31
  • “Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.” – Proverbs 15:32

When the inevitable criticism comes your way, take a cue from Scripture and then from man named Churchill: be encouraged by it, learn from it, and then move on from it.

  1. A term coined by CS Lewis’ friend Owen Barfield. Lewis defined it as, “The uncritical assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that account discredited.” ↩
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Systematic Meditation

Memorize A Catechism

My first seminary class at RTS was with that great Welshman Derek Thomas. His syllabus included a major project that caused me to go a bit bug-eyed: punctuation perfect memorization of the first 38 questions from the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

The project took me quite a while, due in large part to how those 17th century divines employed commas and semi-colons, but it proved to be the most profitable project of my entire seminary education. In fact, it was so helpful that I went on to memorize the whole thing.

While I am running the risk of universalizing my experience, I do think catechism memory can be one of the most beneficial things a pastor can commit himself to. Why? Here are three reasons.

2 REASONS TO MEMORIZE A CATECHISM

First, memorizing a catechism helps a pastor be precise. Clear and precise definitions are best friends for personal and pastoral theological discussion. As pastors faithfully engage in discipling relationships they will inevitable meet with members who ask questions like, “What is justification?” How helpful would it be to have memorized a definition like this:

Q. 33. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

You need not communicate the oddities of the King’s language to a church member, but when talking about justification you want to make sure to cover the bases and Question 33 does it with precision. Every word is carefully weighed and the fluff of verbosity finds itself on the cutting floor.

One of the most common issues I confront in pastoral ministry is helping people to understand what biblical repentance is. This frequently shows up in counseling situations and discipline cases. You’ll never know how many members have heard some variation of Question 87:

Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?
A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.

A catechism will help your ministry be a precise one.

Second, memorizing a catechism helps a pastor be concise. We want to not only be precise in our presentation of truth, but concise as well. I think precision and concision are the two sides of a coin named “Clarity.” When the apostle to the Colossians to pray for him, he said, “Pray that I might make the gospel clear, which is how I ought to speak.” Catechisms help us in this endeavor, for what is a good catechism if it isn’t clear?

Consider how concisely Question 6 articulates an orthodox understanding of the Trinity:

Q. 6. How many persons are there in the godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

Now that is precision and concision. I had a large group of our men at IDC memorize that definition last year, and I still have people remark about its usefulness. But let’s move away from the finer points of doctrinal discourse and venture in the fields of practicality. Faithful ministers will want to train their people unto a healthy understanding and application of the means of grace. Notice how useful the catechism definition of prayer is:

Q. 98. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.

That’s a worthy weapon for helping our people apply Ephesians 6:18’s command to pray at all times in the Spirit. It hits on all the necessary parts of prayer (according to God’s will, in Jesus’ name) and uses of prayer (petition, confession, thanksgiving).

GET STARTED

So, where could a pastor start in this worthy endeavor of catechesis? First, select which catechism you will use. I’d use one of these three:

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism – 107 questions with short and sharp answers.
  • Heidelberg Catechism – 129 questions with answers longer than the WSC, but I consider them more warm-hearted.
  • New City Catechism – Tim Keller’s modern adaption of the Westminster and Heidelberg catechism. It has 52 questions and answers in contemporary English, thus you would just memorize one questions each week.

Second, select with questions and answers you want to memorize. Start small and then work your way up to more if you find it valuable.

Finally, do the project in community with other church members or leaders. You will probably need the accountability and the ensuing discussions about “the deep things” will do wonders for your soul’s adoration of God.

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The Soul-Stirring Spurgeon

As a young child I loved the newspaper; and when I say newspaper I mean the sports page of The Dallas Morning News.

Every so often, however, I would dare to venture beyond the league standings, players statistics, and bombastic opinions of columnists. One such venture was the weekly citizen profile in the metro section. The profile would take a notable citizen in the county and ask him or her several questions so readers could get to know them better. One of the most common questions was, “If you could invite any three people do a dinner party, whom would you invite?”

What would you say if I adjusted the question to ask, “If you could invite any one person from church history to a dinner party, whom would you invite?”

For me, the answer must be, “Charles Haddon Spurgeon.”

No man in church history stirs my soul like the Prince of Preachers. His energy, intellect, wit, and eloquence would make that dinner party one to remember for a lifetime. I have never read Spurgeon without finding my heart filled with the majesty of God and the glory of Christ. Have you ever experienced the lion of the Metropolitan Tabernacle?

If not, let the good Dr. Piper introduce you to him.

PIPER ON THE PRINCE

In 2012 RTS Orlando established the Nicole Institute of Baptist Studies and invited Piper to give the first “Spurgeon Lecture”, an annual message designed to equip and inform the audience on a broad range of theological, historical and cultural issues. And what a lecture it was!

Carve out an hour of your day and let the Prince stir your soul in ministry.

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What is Faithfulness and Fruitfulness?

Faithfulness and Fruitfulness

Yesterday, I tried to provide some clarity to the debate about how we ought to measure our ministry, by faithfulness or fruitfulness? The right answer is both.

Three foundational statements ground this idea:

  1. Faithfulness and fruitfulness both come from God.
  2. Faithfulness is fruitfulness and fruitfulness is faithfulness. They are perspectives on godliness.
  3. Fruitfulness is not defined by the size of the increase, but the reality of increase.

Now, we are talking about the measure of a ministry not just some esoteric explosion of common presuppositions of the day. No, we want some sturdy handles on which to evaluate ministry. But we want biblical handles. The best way to do that is to show what corporate faithfulness and fruitfulness is according to Scripture.

5 MARKS OF FAITHFUL & FRUITFUL CULTURE

What we want in our churches is a culture of faithfulness and fruitfulness, where Spirit-wrought faith and fruit are regular and increasing. As I look at Scripture I see five distinct, yet universal, characteristics of corporate faithfulness and fruitfulness. Let me run through each with brief biblical comment and then offer some questions intended to help measure this aspect of the church’s culture.

A culture of prayer. If we read Paul’s letters to the early churches in one sitting, I bet we’d quickly hear the metronome that keeps the rest of his instruction in time: the beat of prayer. In his letter to the Romans Paul commands, “be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12); to the Ephesians, “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18); to the Philippians, “in everything by prayer make your requests know to God” (Phil. 4:6); to the Colossians, “continue steadfastly in prayer” (Col. 4:2); to the Thessalonians, “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

To measure faithfulness and fruitfulness in this area ask questions like:

  • Is prayer a vital element in our gathered worship services?
  • Do our corporate prayers reflect the prayers of Scripture; i.e. prayers of praise, confession, thanksgiving, and petition?
  • Do we have times for the church to pray outside of the regular worship gathering? Are more and more of our members attending these meetings?
  • Are increasing numbers of members meeting during the week to pray and encourage one another in prayer?
  • Are our prayers increasingly reflecting the priorities of Scripture?
  • Are faith, hope, and love growing as a result of God’s answered prayers?

A culture of the word. One of the great themes of the Bible is the connection between God’s Word and life. When God gives life, he does so through the power of his Word (Psalm 119:37). With His word He spoke creation into existence (Gen. 1:1), a nation into existence (Ex. 20:1), a people into existence (Ezek. 37:7-10), and He upholds everything by the power of His word (Heb. 1:3). Christ is the incarnate Word (John 1:1-4) who redeems His church with His blood and calls her to be “a pillar and buttress of truth” (1 Tim. 1:15). He gave shepherds and teachers to His bride (Eph. 4:11) so that they might preaching His word (2 Tim 4:2) and so edify God’s people (Eph. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16).

To measure faithfulness and fruitfulness in this area ask questions like:

  • Is the word preaching with clarity and boldness?
  • Are the shepherds progressing in the skill of handling God’s word?
  • Is there growing commitment among the membership to devote themselves to hear God’s word preached each week?
  • Is there growing delight in our members’ disciplined reading of Scripture?
  • Are the songs we sing saturated with biblical truth?
  • Are we regularly partaking of that visible sermon, the Lord’s Supper?
  • Is theological growth valued and pursued with humble earnestness?
  • Are members committed to arriving early and stay late to welcome and engage guests?

A culture of love. The greatest commandments are one’s of love: love the Lord with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). How will the world know that we are faithful disciples of Christ? If we have love for one another (John 13:34-35). When all the parts of the church are working together properly, the church will build itself up in love (Eph. 4:17).

To measure faithfulness and fruitfulness in this area ask questions like:

  • Is our church maintaining the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace?
  • Are personal preferences put aside for the cherishing of corporate unity?
  • Are our members increasingly interceding for other members in times of spiritual and physical need?
  • Are members committed to serving not merely out of gifting, but loving care to meet a need?
  • Is formative and formal church discipline lovingly practiced whenever necessary?
  • Are older members gladly serving younger members?
  • Are increasing numbers of adult members joyfully serving the children and students of the church?

A culture of discipleship. This is the church’s mandate, “to make disciples” (Matt. 28:19), so disciple-making – in its full sense – must be present in a faithful and fruitful church. As a people called by Christ and possessing the Spirit of Christ, the church aims to grow into the image of Christ (Eph. 4:22-24). When the church’s conversation is fitting into its Scriptural mold, it will constantly be building up and giving grace (Eph. 4:29).

To measure faithfulness and fruitfulness in this area ask questions like:

  • Are older members increasingly delighted to disciple younger members? Are younger members eager to be discipled by older members?
  • Is there a growing sense of sin leading to repentance? And a correlating increase in forgiveness?
  • Is every one of our members in a discipling relationship?
  • Are our members sacrificing personal interests or projects to help others grow in Christ?
  • Are increasing numbers of our people hosting Bible studies in their homes for neighbors? At work for co-workers?
  • Is family worship becoming more regular in our homes?
  • Are our parents leading their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord? Are the children subsequently increasing in obeying and honoring their parents?
  • Is sacrificial giving growing in our membership?

A culture of evangelism. Jesus came to seek and save the lost and has commissioned His people to do seek and teach the lost (Matt. 18:11, 28:19). Christians are always to be ready to give an account of their faith in Christ (1 Pet. 3:15). A faithful pastor will “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5) and will equip His people to do the same.

To measure faithfulness and fruitfulness in this area ask questions like:

  • Is there an increasing compassion and concern for the plight of sinful men?
  • Are we prioritizing our week to make room for hospitality?
  • Are growing numbers of members sharing the gospel with the lost?
  • Are we finding more people stirred to take the gospel to all nations?
  • Do our members know their neighbors?
  • Are members increasingly bringing lost friends and family members to church?
  • Is there an increasing accent in our prayers for people to come to faith in Christ?
  • Are we increasingly seeing people baptized?
  • Are there groups of members banding together for the task of encouraging and challenging each other in personal evangelism?

A FAITHFULLY FRUITFUL CHURCH

These are the avenues on which a faithful and fruitful church loves to ride: prayer, the word, love, discipleship, and evangelism. We love to hear if we are to be faithful, and it is only here that we will ever be fruitful.

In sum, the question ought not to be, “Is faithfulness or fruitfulness the right metric for evaluation?” Scripture doesn’t separate the two, so let us not tear asunder what God has joined. What we long for is faithfulness in fruitfulness.

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The Faithful and Fruitful Debate

Faithfulness and Fruitfulness

Last week the boys over at Reformation 21 had some friendly friction over whether or not fruitfulness should be the measure of ministry.

It all began when Phillips disagreed with Tim Keller who says we must not settle for mere faithfulness, but must see fruitfulness as the measure of our ministry.1  Phillips was balanced in his disagreement, showing how one can still profit from a critique that falls short of the biblical mark. Paul Levy jumped into the fray reminding readers, “A healthy tree or plant will be fruitful. Faithfulness and Fruitfulness must never be divided.” Finally, Todd Pruitt rightly acknowledged that the three men are likely talking past each other, wondering if a preoccupation with fruitfulness will “easily lead our hearts down a dangerous path.”

This is not the first time the faithfulness vs. fruitfulness tiff has appeared under the sun, nor will it be the last.2 I do think that all three Ref21 men are right in their own way, but we need to take the conversation a bit further. We need to define our terms with greater precision. What exactly is faithfulness in ministry? What exactly is fruitfulness in ministry?

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

If we are going to understand rightly how to balance faithfulness and fruitfulness in ministry, we must load our hearts with two biblical presuppositions.

First, faithfulness and fruitfulness are consequences of God’s sovereign grace. Many people, and rightly so, employ 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 when talking about the issue. But it seems that the language often has an air about it of, “Just like Paul and Apollos, I am called to be faithful and then let God worry about the fruit. After all, he alone gives the fruit.” We must acknowledge that both faith and fruit come about only through the sovereign kindness of God. Yes, God alone gives the growth – i.e. fruit –  (Col. 2:19), but He also gives the faith (Eph. 2:8).

Knowing faithfulness and fruitfulness are sovereign acts of God help us from pitting the two against each other, which leads to the second foundation.

Second, faithfulness and fruitfulness are perspectives on godliness. We can too quickly drive a wedge between these noble callings and, like human beings are prone to do, create a super heavyweight prize fight between friends. But when the great apostle defines the fruit of the Spirit, what is one of the fruits He includes? Faith.

Thus, faithfulness is fruitfulness. If you are faithful, you are fruitful. And all glory goes to God because He creates and sustains both.

THE MORTIFICATION OF WESTERNIZATION

I may just be playing around with spiritual straw, but it always seems to be the smaller church guys who place the accent on faithfulness and the larger church leaders who emphasize on fruitfulness. May this merely be a product of western minds that can’t stop thinking about “measurables”?

Now, the Bible is keen on God’s people measuring things. This is exactly what Paul has in mind in 2 Corinthians 13:5 when he talks about “examining oneself”; he’s talking about measuring our spiritual state. So we must say that measureables are not unbiblical. They may, however, be defined unbiblically.

And this seems to be the issue in the “Faithful vs. Fruitful” fight. I fear we have loaded “being fruitful” with western notions of quantifiable numerical increase—i.e. “bigger is better.” If this is true (and I think it is), we have not defined the term biblically.

One needs only to look at the Parable of the Talents to understand the appropriate and biblical tension on numerical growth. One servant received five talents and brought his master five more. Another received two talents and brought his master an additional two. And they both received the same commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Do you see how helpful this is to the fight at hand? Fruitfulness is a sign of faithfulness in both situations, but the size of the fruit doesn’t enter the equation. The amount of the increase isn’t the issue; it’s the reality of increase.

THE COURSE IS SET

These then are the three foundational building blocks for right thinking on this matter:

  1. Faithfulness and fruitfulness both come from God.
  2. Faithfulness is fruitfulness and fruitfulness is faithfulness. They are perspectives on godliness.
  3. Fruitfulness is not defined by the size of the increase, but the reality of increase.

If we get these essential truths right in our minds, our souls and ministries will have the necessary ballast to navigate the often treacherous and testy waters of “Faithfulness vs. Fruitfulness.”

Tomorrow I will attempt to provide a few basic handles on what practical faithfulness and fruitfulness entail.

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  1. The exact quote from Keller’s Center Church is, “A more biblical theme for ministerial evaluation than success or faithfulness is, fruitfulness.” ↩
  2. The TGC folks even assigned Chandler the topic at last year’s conference. ↩
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One Meal at a Time

Preaching Header

One of my best friends growing up had a Chihuahua named Goliath. The name was rather apt, for Goliath was the largest little dog I’ve ever seen.

His girth was due, it seemed, to the chaos often surrounding meal time at my friend’s house. They were a large family with large appetites and small worries about any food falling to the floor. And so it was that Goliath’s girth expanded.

If dogs could talk I doubt Goliath would recall many specifics about the offerings he consumed, yet his weight would bear great testimony to their power.

And so it is with faithful preaching.

THE RIGHT PERCENTAGE

I doubt my preaching experience and evolution is terribly different from many pastors. My first three years were spent in student ministry, and weekly preaching to teenagers allowed me to figure out the preparation and delivery methods best suited to my personality. The next five were spent as an associate pastor with sporadic preaching opportunities (6-8 times a year). And these years were spent in regular pursuit of “the home run.”

But it didn’t take long to realize that home runs in the pulpit were elusive, and few and far between. On-base percentage was, and is, better than slugging percentage. Faithful exposition, week in and week out, is the ordinary means by which God grows His church.

PREACHING THAT FATTENS THE SOUL

I have come to think of the preaching as being somewhat like those mealtimes at my friend’s house from days gone by, when Goliath excitedly snapped up any and every crumb. Many of my church members will not be able to recall specific sermon points or applications years after the original delivery. But, Lord willing, what you will be able to see is the quantitative impact of their soul feasting on God’s word. You’d see souls transformed for the glory of God and being powerfully renewed unto the image of Christ. Their spiritual weight would bear testimony to the power of God’s word.

And that really is to be the preacher’s aim isn’t it? Souls fattened by the truth and in the truth. Paul said, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Now, that is a good word . . . mature.

We preach to present men, women, and children mature before God. So rather than aim for the rightly desired, but rarely achieved grand slam of exposition that blows the winds of revival through the city, let’s aim for the simple and plain preaching of God’s word.

Such preaching fattens the soul.

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An Elder Confession of Faith

Training Elders

One of the best parts of our recent elder training process at IDC was the use of an Elder Confession of Faith. Our church members subscribe to a revised version of the New Hampshire Confession (1853), while our elders also subscribe to a revised version of the Second London Confession (1689).

Allow me to postulate these next two days on the value of an elder confession – or affirmation – of faith. Today I want to address why they are valuable and tomorrow how they are valuable.

TO USE OR NOT TO USE AN ELDER CONFESSION?

Should a church have more stringent standards of subscription for elders than other members of the church? Mark Dever says, “No.” In his excellent book A Display of God’s Glory Dever writes,

I know that there are many godly, congregational, baptist churches which, in deciding to have elders, decide also to have different, more stringent standards of subscription for elders than for other members of the church. . . . While the desire for exemplary maturity in the elders of a congregation is healthy and even biblical, this means of achieving it may leave something to be desired. Do we see such clearly modeled in Scripture? No.

He fears that such a formal requirement would tend to move the church to a more “clergy-dependent” position. It’s a very rare day when I find myself disagreeing with the Bishop of 9Marks, but I side with Piper on this one.

About fifteen years ago the elders at Piper’s church, Bethlehem Baptist Church, “felt the need to define what they believe and teach for the clarity and continuance of Biblical faithfulness in the church.” Piper, surprise surprise, was charged to write the first draft. What became known as The Bethlehem Baptist Elder Affirmation of Faith is a model of biblical clarity and conviction.

I came very close to using it with our elders. My historical sensibilities led me to go with the revised 1689 Confession to show, in some sense, historical solidarity with the Baptist tradition.

DRAWING IN THE DOCTRINAL SANDS

The clear witness of the New Testament is that one needs to only make a credible profession of faith to be received into membership in a local church. Thus, the confession for church members ought not to draw more doctrinal lines in the sand than Scripture. It ought to be clear on Scripture, God, the gospel, and the church. Going much further than that would make subscription for members unnecessarily restrictive.

In fact, here is a screenshot from a handout we use in our membership class to show just how ordinary our church confession is:

Screen Shot 2014-04-22 at 3.31.43 PM

Now the question when it comes to elders is, “Should there be a higher level of subscription?” Or maybe a better way to word it is, “Should there be a more detailed level of subscription?” In my view the answer is, “Definitely.”

The ecumenicism of the New Hampshire Confession is fabulous for church membership, but is lacking when it comes to eldership. I could see a  continuationist, convinced cessationist, progressive dispensationalist, and confessing covenant theologian all agreeing with the document. I don’t think that’s a bad thing for church membership, but for an elder board such diversity of theological conviction undermines unity in theology and philosophy. Few would probably disagree with me here.

So then a more detailed confession that draws simple – yet appropriate – lines in the doctrinal sand is valuable for testing and teasing out the convictions of elders candidates. I wouldn’t advocate a document that draws such lines all over the place, but it would draw foundational lines.

Here’s are two simple examples of this works out at our church with the New Hampshire Confession (NHC) and the Second London Confession (SLC):

  • Agreement with the NHC means subscription to the infallibility of Scripture
    – Agreement with the SLC means subscription to the infallibility and sufficiency of Scripture
  • Agreement with the NHC means subscription to the sovereignty of God
    – Agreement with the SLC means subscription to sovereignty of God and compatibilism

So the elder confession allows us to “up the ante” of theological conviction, which I believe is a good thing the more a person increases in leadership responsibility. One way to think about it as when you join a church very few things are in the “closed hand” of theology, but the further up and further in you go the more get put into confessional fisticuffs.

THE AIM OF UNITY

Titus 1:9 says an elder “must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

Elder confessions of faith, when done rightly, help existing elders more sharply discern what doctrines a candidate would teach and which doctrines he would refute. So rather than creating a more “clergy-dependent” church, the document actually increased Ephesians 4 type realities: unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, equipping saints unto unity in the knowledge of the Son of God, and speaking the truth in love.