Category Archives: Pastoral Ministry

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Elder Training at IDC

Training Elders

Over the weekend our church unanimously affirmed our first two elders candidates. It was the culmination of fifteen months spent testing and training. If ever there has been an epochal event in the life of our church, this is it!

PATIENTLY URGENT

When IDC launched in January of last year it did so with me as the only installed elder, so one primary order of business from the outset was identifying and training elders. I liked to tell our church that I wanted to be “patiently urgent” when it came to installing elders. The paradoxical phrase has clear biblical truth behind it.

In Titus 1 Paul said to his young church planter, “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might . . . appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (1:5). There is urgency in this text for Paul apparently doesn’t want Titus to be lazy in the appointment of elders. But Titus 1:5 needs to always be balanced by the patience of 1 Timothy 5:22, where Paul says, “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands.”

For the first eight months of 2013 I observed which men were already doing the work of eldering in the church. Which men were teaching and discipling other members? Which men were known as men of the Word? Which men were dedicated to pray for the church? Which men were leading in various stations of the body? Which men are marked by maturity in Christlikeness?

ELDER TRAINING

The first eight months revealed three particular men that fit the biblical criteria: aspiration, character, and aptitude. In September we began a five-month training period with the aim to nominate all, or some subset, of the men at our February ’14 Family Meeting (think members’ meeting). We met three times each month for prayer and discussion on various aspects of pastoral ministry and biblical, systematic, and pastoral theology. The aim was to uncover convictions in those areas and unify the group’s understanding of IDC’s purpose, polity, and passions.

Here are the books we leaned on most heavily:

One other primary resource is the IDC Elder Confession of Faith, which is an adaptation of the 1689 London Confession. This is a document that all elders at IDC must subscribe to in order to hold the office. I hope to write more on the importance of such a document later this week.

Some other resources that were also used, but not necessarily in full were:

The men also had to listen to several lectures and right short response papers to them. By far and away their largest project was our Elder Questionnaire, which is made up of questions in three sections: 1) Personal Life and Ministry, 2) Biblical/Systematic Theology, 3) Philosophy of Ministry. In many ways this document and the Elder Confession of Faith were the two cogs in the whole process.

CONGREGATIONAL INVOLVEMENT

Right at the beginning of Elder Training I told our church in a Family Meeting which men were involved, what the process entailed, and how they (the congregation) could pray and labor for unity as we looked forward to installing elders. The great benefit to this was the training was well known for almost an entire five-months before men were nominated.

Then in February we nominated two men (the other man ended up moving to another town and is helping plant a church there), thus beginning a two month period of formal congregational prayer and assessment. By this point I had received most of the common questions already, but encouraged the church to open dialogue saying, “Unanswered questions lead to doubt, and doubt is fertile soil for division.” This simple statement proved quite helpful as many people asked questions they wouldn’t otherwise have asked. I can’t tell you the number of times I spoke with someone who said, “I wasn’t going to ask this question because it’s not a big deal, but you said we should ask you anything related to elders, so here goes . . .”

Additionally, our by-laws stipulate that a member must talk to an elder (I was the only installed elder this go-around) before voting “no” on an elder nominee. This wasn’t so I could convince them affirm the candidate, but rather it was possible a member knew something about the candidate I didn’t and the information could be significant and disqualifying.

And so it was this last Saturday that we affirmed our two candidates with a resounded “Aye” from the congregation.

What a day it was.

How can a pastor preach intelligently and appropriately to his people, without knowing their state? . . . O! that ministers could be persuaded to realize that the best part of their preparation for the pulpit, that which is best adapted to impart the richest instructiveness, and the most touching unction to all its teaching, is, not to seclude themselves perpetually in their studies – not to be forever trimming the midnight lamp; but to got forth and put themselves often in contact with the cavils and objections of the enemies of the gospel, as well as with the anxieties, the conflicts, the consolations, the joys, and the triumphs of Christian believers. – Samuel Miller

An Able and Faithful Ministry: Samuel Miller and the Pastoral Office 186
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11 Christ-Saturated Resolutions

An Able and Faithful Ministry

Garretson’s An Able and Faithful Ministry continues to be a surprising feast for the soul. There is a warmth of piety in Samuel Miller’s life that’s beautiful to behold.

Garretson says, “The life of piety for which he was so well known was nurtured in the quiet recesses of his soul through Bible reading, prayer, the sacraments, Sabbath-keeping, and a lifetime of regular fasting.” To see the man’s earnest pursuit of godliness we turn to a diary entry on New Year’s Day 1832, in he wrote,

I would this day make a new and unreserved dedication of myself, with all I have and am, to Christ. I would resolve (Oh that I may have grace given me to make the resolution with unfeigned sincerity and humility, and to keep it faithfully) to be henceforth more devoted to Christ than I have ever yet been.

11 RESOLUTIONS

  1. To be more careful in improving my time than heretofore; and, for this purpose, to avoid all useless reading, and every kind of employment, which does not appear adapted to promote the Redeemer’s kingdom.
  2. To ask daily, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” and to seek to know my duty, whatever labor or self-denial it may cost me.
  3. To be still more careful than heretofore in regard to my diet; guarding against every kind of excess; and endeavoring to eat and drink, not to gratify the flesh, but to glorify God, and to prepare me more effectually and comfortably to do his work.
  4. That I will try to be more plain, faithful and pointed in all my preaching.
  5. That I will strive and pray to be enabled to make a more hallowed and salutary impression on the students of the Seminary. Alas, that I have not set them a more deeply spiritual example!
  6. That I will direct more attention than ever to the eternal interests of my children.
  7. That I will try to make every conversation, in which I shall engage, during the year on which I have entered, as useful as possible.
  8. That I will direct more attention than I have ever yet done to the precious cause of missions, foreign and domestic.
  9. That I will endeavor to profit more by the deeply spiritual and admirable example of my wife, (for the gift of whom I have reason forever to praise God,) during the coming year, than I have ever yet done.
  10. That I will hereafter, as God shall enable me, endeavor to make all my rides and journeys subservient to the best interests of my fellow men.
  11. That I will hereafter endeavor, in all things to regard myself as a consecrated man; as not my own; and as bound unreservedly and forever to be devoted to the glory of God.O thou God of all grace! Let not these resolutions be insincere or transient; but may they be adopted in the fear of the Lord, under a due sense of my own exceeding weakness, and with an humble dependence on they grace for strength to keep them! May the Holy Spirit help me! May thy grace fill my heart!

Two words come to mind: Stirring. Convicting. How about you?

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4 Marks of an Able and Faithful Minister

An Able and Faithful Ministry

Yesterday I started to read Jim Garretson’s An Able and Faithful Ministry: Samuel Miller and the Pastoral Office. It is a mighty fine combination of biography and practicality.

When Archibald Alexander (a legend in his own right) was inaugurated as the first professor of Princeton Seminary Miller gave a sermon entitled, “The Duty of the Church to take Measures for Providing an Able and Faithful Ministry.”1 In it he offers four marks of “a ministry, at once qualified and disposed to perform” ably and faithfully. What are those marks? Piety, talents, learning, and diligence.

Let me try to offer choice gold from Miller on each mark.

AN ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTER IS PIOUS

Miller says that piety is the “first requisite to form a faithful and able minister.” A pious man is one who has “walked in those paths of humility, self-denial, and holy communion with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, in which it is the business of his life to endeavor to lead his fellow men.”

It’s quite clear, according to Miller’s understanding of the pastorals, that piety is essential to qualify a man for the ministerial office. He says, “without piety, he cannot be an able minister. He cannot be ‘a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, giving to each his portion in due season’ (cf. 2 Tim. 2:15; Luke 12:42).” He goes on to offer up a volley of rhetorical questions to understand the place of piety,

How can a man who knows only the theory of religion undertake to be a practical guide in spiritual things? How can he adapt his instructions to all the varieties of Christian experience? How can he direct the awakened, the inquiring, the tempted, and the doubting? How can he feed the sheep and the lambs of Christ? How can he sympathize with mourners in Zion? How can he comfort others with those consolations wherewith he himself has never been comforted of God? He cannot possibly perform, as he ought, any of these duties, and yet they are the most precious and interesting parts of the ministerial work. However gigantic his intellectual powers, however deep and various and accurate his learning, he is not able, in relation to any of these points, to teach others, seeing he is not taught himself. If he makes the attempt, it will be “the blind leading the blind;” and of this, unerring wisdom has told us the consequence (cf. Matt. 15:14; Luke 6:39).

He believes piety is so deeply and vitally important in forming an able and faithful ministry “that there cannot be too strict a guard placed on this point.”

AN ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTER IS TALENTED

“Wise” is a word that better communicates to our culture what Miller intends on this point. Here’s what he wants to emphasize with talents: By which I mean, not that every minister must, of necessity, be a man of genius; but that he must be a man of good sense, of native discernment and discretion;­ in other words, of a sound respectable natural understanding.”

“There is no employment under heaven in which wisdom, practical wisdom, is so important, or rather, so imperiously and indispensably demanded, as in the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18). A man of a weak and childish mind, though he were as pious as Gabriel, can never make an able minister; and he ought never to be invested with the office at all. For with respect to a large portion of its duties, he is utterly unqualified to perform them; and he is in constant danger of rendering both himself and his office contemptible.”

AN ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTER IS LEARNED

Next, Miller highlights the place of learning or competent knowledge for gospel ministry. “Without this, both piety and talents united are inadequate to the official work,” he asserts. How much knowledge is necessary for the ministry? Miller answers in this way, “He [must] be ready, on all occasions, to explain the scriptures. This is his first and chief work.” To make sure his audience doesn’t miss the full scope of learning he offers this elaboration:

A minister must be able not merely to state and support the more simple and elementary doctrines of the gospel; but also to elucidate with clearness the various parts of the sacred volume, whether doctrinal, historical, typical, prophetic, or practical. He is to be ready to rectify erroneous translations of sacred scripture; to reconcile seeming contradictions; to clear up real obscurities; to illustrate the force and beauty of allusions to ancient customs and manners; and, in general, to explain the word of God, as one who has made it the object of his deep and successful study. He is “set for the defense of the gospel” (Phil1:17); and, therefore, must be qualified to answer the objections of infidels; to repel the insinuations and cavils of skeptics; to detect, expose, and refute the ever varying forms of heresy; and to give notice, and “stand in the breach” (cf. Ps. 106:23), when men, ever so covertly or artfully, depart from “the faith once delivered to the saints” (cf. Jude 3). He is to be ready to solve the doubts, and satisfy the scruples of conscientious believers; to give instruction to the numerous classes of respectful and serious inquirers; to “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). He is to preach the gospel with plainness, dignity, clearness, force, and solemnity. And finally, he is to perform his part in the judicatories of the church, where candidates for the holy ministry are examined and their qualifications ascertained; where a constant inspection is maintained over the faith and order of the church; where the general interests of Zion are discussed and decided; and in conducting the affairs of which, legislative, judicial, and executive proceedings are all combined.

Read that slowly again, because you may have missed the weight of it by reading such a long quote quickly. Is that not a convicting and stirring view of ministry?

AN ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTER IS DILIGENT

The final mark is diligence. Piety, talent, and learning need to all be coupled with diligence if they are to have any effect. “However fervent his piety; however vigorous his native talents; and however ample his acquired knowledge; yet, if he is timid, indolent, wavering, easily driven from the path of duty, or speedily discouraged in his evangelical labors, he does not answer the apostle’s description of “a faithful man” (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2).”

Here then is summary portrait of an able and faithful minister:

Such is a faithful and able minister: a minister fervently pious; eminently wise, discerning, and prudent; extensively learned, especially mighty in the scriptures; abounding and prevalent in prayer; a bold, energetic, instructive, experimental preacher; a zealous, affectionate, condescending, laborious pastor; a friend to revivals of religion; a firm and persevering contender for the truth; one, in short, who devotes all his talents, all his learning, all his influence, and all his exertions, to the one grand object, “fulfilling the ministry which he has received of the Lord Jesus” (cf. Acts 12:25; 20:24).

What about you? Any marks you would want to add?

  1. Read it online here. ↩
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Shepherding & Scheduling

Shepherd's Schedule

One of the best parts about Matt Perman’s What’s Best Next is his discussion on the necessity and value of setting up one’s work week to a particular schedule or routine.

His focus on a weekly routine is nothing new, but the nuance he brings to the discussion is oh so good. See if you can spot it out:

The key to effectiveness – putting the most important things first – is knowing what is most important and then weaving it into your life through simple structures and systems . . . [You need to create] a basic structure for your life by identifying the most important activities from your roles and then slotting them in to create a flexible framework for you week so that it is natural to do them.

Did you spot the wonderful nuance? “Nope,” you say, “maybe if you italicized something it would be easier.”

Well, the glorious wrinkle on routine is this: Perman exhorts scheduling your week to do the most important things so that those things become natural.

SHEPHERDING & SCHEDULING

There is pointed application to pastoral ministry here. A biblical understanding of pastoral ministry leads us to conclude that pastors labor in word, sacrament, and prayer. Of course there are other things we must do, but these things must get done if ministry is ever going to be faithful.

Four years ago I implemented a weekly schedule in order to effectively accomplish all the demands on my plate, and precious few things have had more effect on my ministry. In the last week I have had three different brothers ask me about this practice and I thought it might be helpful to just throw it out there for others to see.

Before beginning, let me throw out a few necessary caveats. First, I believe that routine isn’t essential to faithful ministry, but beneficial. Second, my routine is by no means the right one; it’s just an option among innumerable others. Third, it is entirely flexible. The flexibility usually hinges on the sermon. For example, yesterday I completed the first draft of my sermon for this weekend, so instead of four hours of sermon prep this morning, I will spend that time in extended reading.

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Download PDF.

THOUGHTS ON THIS SCHEDULE

This schedule is of great benefit for my ministry because it allows my to get in the natural rhythms of the word and prayer. I have used this scheduled for about fourteen months with little deviation. The best part, for me, is that sermon prep preoccupies Monday and Tuesday because it is the biggest thing on my plate each week. Every once in a while the sermon prep will bleed into Wednesday and if that happens I normally drop the periods to read and write.

The other thing I love about this schedule is how much time it allows for shepherding. Shepherding meetings can be anything from a Missions Team meeting, to book study, to simple hospitality. It’s also worth the simple reminder that sermon prep and prayer blocks are shepherding times. Word and prayer. Word and prayer.

So there you go. Anyone else have a routine to share?

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A Scottish Appetizer

robert_mcheyneA few years ago I read Andrew Bonar’s Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne and in many ways I’ve never been the same.

“This is one of the best and most profitable volumes ever published,” said Spurgeon. “The memoir of such a man ought surely to be in the hands of every Christian and certainly every preacher of the Gospel.”

M’Cheyne’s zeal for Christ and pursuit of holiness bleeds through on every page and the spilling is oh so glorious. Here are a few choice quotes to whet the appetite.

FEASTING WITH M’CHEYNE

  • “If I am to go to the heathen to speak of the unsearchable riches of Christ, this one thing must be given me, to be out of the reach of the baneful influence of esteem or contempt.  If worldly motives go with me, I shall never convert a soul, and shall lose my own in the labour. (16)
  • Clear conviction of sin is the only true origin of dependence on another’s righteousness, and therefore (strange to say!) of the Christian’s peace of mind and cheerfulness.” (22)
  • A M’Cheyne letter to a young student, “Remember you are now forming the character of your future ministry in great measure, if God spare you.  If you acquire slovenly or sleepy habits of study now, you will never get the better of it.  Do everything in its own time.  Do everything in earnest; if it is worth doing, the do it with all your might.  Above all, keep much in the presence of God.” (29)
  • “Nothing is more needful for making a sermon memorable and impressive than a logical arrangement.” (31)
  • “Enlarge my heart, and I shall preach.” (40)
  • “I see a man cannot be a faithful minister, until he preaches Christ for Christ’s sake – until he gives up striving to attract people to himself, and seeks only to attract them to Christ.” (45)
  • “Two keys are committed to us by Christ: the one the key of doctrine, by means of which we unlock the treasures of the Bible; the other the key of discipline, by which we open or shut the way to the sealing ordinances of the faith.  Both are Christ’s gift, and neither is to be resigned without sin.” (73)
  • “How will we accomplish [deeper affection for Christ]?  To begin with, we need to simply spend more time with Him.  The Christian’s love for the unseen Christ grows by communion with Him.  He is a person, a real person, a living Lord and Savior, who has promised to be with us all of our days.  We must spend time with Him daily, and as we do, we will be overwhelmed with His greatness and glory to the end that we will want to tell others about Him.” (110)

I remember thinking after reading the memoirs of M’Cheyne that only Edwards’ diary, in my opinion, exceeds the Scotsman in a warm-hearted, Christ-centered piety. M’Cheyne would seem to agree for notice what he said one March 20th:

Read part of the Life of Jonathan Edwards.  How feeble does my spark of Christianity appear beside such a sun! But even his was a borrowed light, and the same source is still open to enlighten me.

Awesome. And yes, the same sun shined brightly on the young Scotsman. So grab a copy of Bonar’s work and let Mr. M’Cheyne encourage you unto Christlikeness.

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A Catalyst for the Pastor’s Prayer

Praying Pastors 2

I doubt any pastor would argue with this statement: “Faithful pastors are praying pastors.” I also doubt that any pastor wouldn’t simultaneously say, “I wish I was more faithful in private prayer.” The great Bishop Ryle knew this struggle well as he said, “Let us pray more heartily in private, and throw our whole souls more into our prayers.”

There are many things a pastor can do to see the consistency of private prayer grow in his ministry, but let me encourage you to one specific resource that you may “pray more heartily in private.”

A church directory.

AN UNDERRATED CATALYST FOR PRIVATE PRAYER

A directory can come in many different forms these days, but I personally prefer an old school paper directory complete with essential contact info and pictures. My goal is to pray through one page of the directory, sixteen people on average, each day. This simple commitment has done wonders for my prayer life and pastoral ministry.

First, praying through a church directory encourages specific prayer. In my experience and observation, most pastors seem to spend most of their prayer time hovering way up in the sky with their requests. We offer broad, and biblical, petitions like: “Help us to be faithful in disciple-making,” “give us teachable hearts,”  and “mold us into the likeness of Christ.” All good and necessary prayers for sure! But faithful pastoring means getting down into the trenches, even with our prayer requests. A church directory helps with this. Praying through individual names means I am, necessarily, offering specific intercessions that I wouldn’t otherwise probably be making. Intercessions for their children, jobs,

Second, praying through a church directory encourages consistent prayer. I block off time in the middle of each afternoon to pray for our church. Having the goal of praying through one page per day gives that time not only structure, but consistency. Even if nothing else pops into my mind for church-centric prayer, having the directory on hand gives me at least sixteen different people to pray for.

Third, praying through a church directory encourages public prayer. In his timeless little work on prayer JC Ryle said, “You may be vary sure people fall in private long before they fall in public.” If we are falling in private prayer we are undoing our public prayer. A maxim we pastors ought to live by in this area is, “He who fails in private prayer will fail in public prayer.” I know this to be true on a week by week basis. Those weeks where private prayer is lax, I feel my public prayer cold. Those weeks where private prayer is vibrant, I feel my public prayer has more heat. If a church directory indeed encourages specific and consistent private prayer, we can be sure that it is also fueling our public prayer in profound ways.

Fourth, praying through a church directory encourages peaceful unity. Ephesians 4:3 calls us to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Colossians 3:15 commands the church to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” Just the other day one of our elder candidates said, “You know I looked around the room during gathered worship and I felt such joy that I get to worship with this body. And I think it is because of your encouragement to pray through the directory.” Why might he say that? I believe it’s because intercessory prayer helps build chords of unity within the body in ways nothing else can. We all know, intuitively, the power prayer has to overcome the pettiness and prejudice we can have towards our brothers and sisters in Christ. Prayer kills the weeds that quench peaceful unity. Simply put, it’s hard to remain frustrated with people you consistently pray for.

So then, praying through a church directory is, probably, much more than a catalyst for private prayer. It might just be a catalyst toward church health. You might want to give it a try.

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A Series Worth Serious Investment

Crossway has partnered with 9Marks for a series of books entitled “Building Healthy Churches,” they are an expansion of Dever’s incredibly useful 9 Marks of a Healthy Church. Each entry elaborates on one of the nine marks in a short and readable book.

If the first three books already published are a faithful representation of what’s to come, the Building Healthy Churches series will be one of the most useful resources available for the church – members and leaders alike. Here are the books already in print or soon to be in print.1

9MARKS: BUILDING HEALTHY CHURCHES

9781433532337Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus by Jonathan Leeman. “Church discipline is essential to building a healthy church. So how exactly do we practice church discipline? Jonathan Leeman helps us face the endless variety of circumstances and sins for which no scriptural case study exists, sins that don’t show up on any list and need a biblical framework to be corrected appropriately in love. Here is a contemporary and concise how-to guide that provides a theological framework for understanding and implementing disciplinary measures in the local church, along with several examples of real-life situations and the corresponding responses.”

9781433532375Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus by Jonathan Leeman. “Why should you join a church? Becoming a member of a church is an important, and often neglected, part of the Christian life. Yet the trend these days is one of shunning the practice of organized religion and showing a distaste or fear of commitment, especially of institutions. Jonathan Leeman addresses these issues with a straightforward explanation of what church membership is and why it’s important. Giving the local church its proper due, Leeman has built a compelling case for committing to the local body.”

9781433535895Sound Doctrine: How a Church Grows in the Love and Holiness of God by Bobby Jamieson. “How do you feel about doctrine? Whatever answer comes to mind, this book will not only convince you that sound doctrine is vital for living a godly life, it will also explain the essential role of theology in the life of a healthy church. After all, thinking rightly about God affects everything, from guiding us in practical issues to growing a church’s unity and witness. This short, readable book shows how good theology leads to transformation, life, and joy.”

9781433540875Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus by Jeramie Rennie. “What does effective church leadership look like? In this conversational book, Pastor Jeramie Rinne sets forth an easy-to-understand “job description” for elders drawn from the Bible’s teaching on church leadership. Offering practical guidance for new elders and helping church members better understand and support their spiritual leaders, this succinct volume will encourage elders to embrace their calling with grace, wisdom, and clarity of vision.”

9781433544651Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus by Mack Stiles. “Evangelism is more than a program. Every few years, churches jump into the latest evangelistic fad. Leaders administrate the new program, and members go on a raid. But picture a church where evangelism is just part of the culture. Leaders share their faith consistently and openly. Members follow, encouraging one another to make evangelism an ongoing way of life. Such is the way of evangelism presented by this brief and compelling book. No program here. Instead, it just might give your church a new way to live and share the gospel together.”

9781433543135Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God’s Word Today by David Helm. “What makes for good preaching? In this accessible volume—written for preachers and preachers in training—pastor David Helm outlines what must be believed and accomplished to become a faithful expositor of God’s Word. In addition to offering practical, step-by-step guidance for preachers, this short book will equip all of us to recognize good preaching when we hear it.”

9781433540837The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ by Ray Ortland. “How does the church portray the beauty of Christ? The gospel is a theological message. But this message also creates human beauty—beautiful relationships in our churches, making the glory of Christ visible in the world today. In this timely book, Pastor Ray Ortlund makes the case that gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. In too many of our churches, it is the beauty of a gospel culture that is the missing piece of the puzzle. But when the gospel is allowed to exert its full power, a church becomes radiant with the glory of Christ.”

I hope these book don’t fly under the radar, but are used mightily by God to build His church.

  1. All descriptions taken from Crossway. ↩
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3 Criteria for Selecting Congregational Music

Preaching Pastors as Worship Pastors

Finalizing the content for the coming weekend’s corporate worship service at our church occupies part of my Tuesday morning routine. Yesterday I spent time working on new songs to add to the song library at IDC. It’s always a joyful and weighty task.

I’ve said before that preaching pastors are worship pastors. Preaching pastors – and any installed elders – are charged with overseeing all aspects of the church’s teaching ministry. Songs teach the congregation (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). Therefore, preaching pastors ought to ordinarily oversee the selection of songs for their congregation’s gathered worship. It just so happens in the life of our church that I regularly pick the songs we sing.

One of the most helpful grids for choosing songs I’ve seen comes from Kent Hughes’ contribution to Worship by the Book. He says congregational music must meet three criteria: text, tune, and fit. I choose to think in the categories of theology, melody, and suitability.

THREE CRITERIA FOR SELECTION SONGS

Evaluate the song’s theology. Evaluating the song’s lyrical content must always come first. The song, of course, must be faithful to Scripture and orthodox theology. But it isn’t enough that the song simply use biblical language, it must use such language correctly. We must do the hard work to parse out the intended, and unintended, meanings of the words and phrases employed. Here also I would advocate not settling for mere simplicity in lyrics. A song can be true biblically, but actually communicate very little. Give your people some red meat for their soul in the songs you choose.

Evaluate the song’s melody. This is generally where most songs get chucked, at least for me. In evaluating the song’s melody we must first ensure it fits the meaning of the text. Many faithful lyrics have crashed a sad death on the rocks of a “cool” melody. Secondly, the melody of the song must fit the congregation that will sing it. A good question here is, “Can the average church member sing it?” Which leads to the third criteria.

Evaluate the song’s suitability. Some songs will work in one congregation and not in another. Cultural context ought not to be ignored when selecting the arrows we launch into Satan’s kingdom each weekend. A particular song might be too formal for your congregation, where another might be too informal. Or maybe the dynamics of a song do not fit the median musical style of your church.

I hope it’s clear that I am always picking songs with my individual congregation in mind. They are the chief instrument of praise and I want to help them assault hell’s gates with battle cries of depth and delight. Like every area of pastoral ministry, patience is indispensable when it comes to song selection. I feel that it took us a good 10-11 months after planting Imago Dei before it felt as though everything clicked in our singing.

Good songs are applied theology and will shape the life of your congregation. So choose ’em wisely.

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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.