Category Archives: Pastoral Ministry

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Every Pastor is a Writer

The Pastor's Writing

Sometime during third grade our class had a writing contest. The contest was one of description. Our teacher made each student look at some object in the room and make it come alive on the page. The teacher then picked the best two submissions. The winners went to an all-expense paid “Future Writer’s Workshop.” The teacher—Mrs. Yoke, as I recall—happened to pick my paper and I promptly declared to my parents that I would be a writer when I grew up.

I still hope to grow up and be an author. I have a folder on my computer titled, “Books to Be Written.” Hundreds of thousands of words are in that folder. And not a single one has been published. Only the Lord knows if one will ever be published.

“Stop Longing and Listen,” He Says to Me

There are times when I pray for a bit of margin to slam out a book proposal or polish off that manuscript. I long to make good on that third-grade declaration of future occupation. It’s in those moments, however, that I often sense an inspired voice saying, “You already are a writer. Remember 2 Corinthians 3:1-3.” There the Untimely Apostle says, “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

Oh, the comforts of Scripture! God calls every pastor to be a writer.

Real, But Unreadable Writing

For the next two weeks, I’m at The Institution working on a couple of Ph.D. seminars. I will speak with professors who publish books as often as Messi puts the ball in the back of the net. I will be around other students who are under contract with a publisher or have just published a book. Literary ambition is palpable around these halls. I confess I often get caught up in it all.

So, think of this short post as nothing more than an exercise in personal reminding. God doesn’t hold his servants accountable to writing pages for reading. He holds us accountable to writing real books, but books you can’t read. The congregation’s life in Christ is the book we write. The families we shepherd are the chapters. The individuals we oversee are the paragraphs.

The pastor has three pens he must wield in this work: word, sacrament, and prayer. These ordinary means are how the pastor writes on hearts—they are our Spirit-wrought epistolary tools. We wield this spiritual quill and ink unto exhaustion. Here we agonize with all God’s energy that he powerfully works within us. Here we write.

In Praise of Pastor-Writers

Maybe you are like me—you hope to publish a book eventually. Or maybe that sounds as enjoyable to you as watching turtles race.

Whatever your literary ambition is, God’s word unites us all in this spiritual writing ministry. Every pastor must be a writer. We should say, “Every pastor is already a writer.“ The great question is, “What spiritual book are we writing?” Let us desire, with Paul, to say to our churches, “You are Christ’s letter.”

We write Christ.

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Pastoral Ministry & Old Paths

Old Paths

“Pay careful attention to how you walk,” the Untimely Apostle said. The days are evil and few. Slippery slopes abound, so Christians must pay attention. When it comes to walking there is something comforting about an old path. The weeds have long been trampled out. The path itself was cut ages ago and has thus become nearly one with the earth.

Ah, yes. The glory of old paths.

Walking on Pastoral Paths

Pastors must pay peculiar attention to their path. If they are faithful, they will usually lead from the front. The sheep trail behind hearing the shepherd’s voice, following with trust and care. Therefore, a wise pastor won’t choose a path marked, “Contemporary,” “Culturally Relevant,” or, “Fresh.” Such things—especially in our day—are about as sturdy as an egg’s resistance to a boulder. Faddish paths tend to leave egg on the face. Wise pastors will instead choose paths of pastoral practice well trod by great men of old.

Where can we find such paths? In the books of old.

Three Glories of Old Paths

I tend to read any new book on pastoral ministry that shows up from a reliable publisher. The modern books on pastoral ministry usually only serve to increase my pining for the old ones. Maybe I’m just a soul aged before my time. Or maybe there is something different about an old book. In fact, I’d argue there are three peculiar advantages to reading earlier works on pastoral ministry:

  • Dignity. Our culture’s obsession (many a church’s obsession, as well) with casual authenticity is systematically destroying something God says every one of his elders must have: dignity. The old men radiated dignity in life, love, faith, and purity.
  • Gravity. This second point is a natural consequence of the first. My personal definition of dignity, after all, is the gravity attending godliness. There is a gravity in the old writings on ministry absent from today’s works. Pastoral ministry was serious business. Eternity hung in the balance. The pulpit was the sacred desk, not a bar table to sit behind. The prayer closet was real. The study was his home.
  • Maturity. This, for me, is probably the greatest reason to read the old books. Modern books on ministry are full of biblical awareness and personal experience. But they lack what I call “piercedness.” In my view, the new books don’t pierce like the old ones because they often come from young pastoral pens. Let me listen to a man who is decades into the ministry. Such a man has seen much and so can say much. He has piercing views in the heart. He pierces through the chaff and gives us the blessed wheat for ministry.

To the 19th Century We Go

Let me thus suggest a few 19th–century books on pastoral ministry for pastors to read. I have a theory as to why the 1800s produced such excellent reflections on ministry, but I’ll leave that for another time. Four old, trustworthy, and proven paths for ministry are:

0875521649mWords to Winners of Souls by Horatius Bonar. Bonar gets the first nod because he unleashes conviction aplenty in less than one hundred pages. This is a book you can—and probably should—reread every year.

9780851510873mThe Christian Ministry by Charles Bridges. Simply the best book on pastoral ministry yet written. It comes in second only because of its length (400 pages) being off-putting to some today.

0851518931mPrinceton and Preaching: Archibald Alexander and the Christian Ministry by James Garretson. Oh, how I wish this one got more press! It’s far too underrated. Here’s your opportunity to sit in a seminary class on ministry with Alexander. It may be the most useful class you ever take.

41sqaNuDw7L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_Pastoral Theology by Thomas Murphy. Murphy’s work is essentially his rehashing of Archibald Alexander’s teaching. This work cuts to the quick and is astonishingly expansive. It’s also available for free online.

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Defining the Requirements for Elders

What God Requires from His Men

Lord willing, later tonight The Upper Room rides again at IDC. TUR is our somewhat regular men’s gathering. It’s our standard practice to sing, eat, and then throw some topic on the table for extended discussion and prayer. Tonight we plan to answer this question, “What Does God Require from His Men?”

Knowing that the question can be answered biblically from a variety of places in Sacred Scripture, tonight’s aim is to walk through Paul’s qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3. An elder is to be an example for the church (1 Pet. 5:3), and a mold pressed into the lives of his members, so they attain a similar shape of godliness (1 Tim. 4:12). Therefore, with confidence, we can answer the above question by saying, “Look at what God requires of His shepherds.”

One thing we will do tonight in small groups is try to give somewhat ordinary, everyday definitions to Paul’s requirements. Here’s my stab at the fourteen listed in 1 Timothy 3:2-7.

[Somewhat] Colloquial Definitions for Elder Qualifications

1) Above reproach: It would be surprising (even shocking!) to discover this man fell into sin. His reputation is one of exemplary character and pervasive holiness.

2) The husband of one wife: In thought, word, and deed he is satisfied with the wife of his youth—the marriage bed is kept pure.

3) Sober-minded: He is not given to fits of passion, but is steady in mind and spirit.

4) Self-controlled: He keeps his emotions constrained with love to Christ.

5) Respectable: His typical behavior is orderly and worthy of honor.

6) Hospitable: He consistently seeks to love any and all who are strangers to him.

7) Able to teach: He knows sound doctrine and loves to talk about it, defend it, and commend it.

8) Not a drunkard: Concerning the fruit of the vine, the Spirit controls him—as He does in everything else.

9) Not violent but gentle: He is unacquainted with temper tantrums, but is a best friend of those virtues named Patience and Kindness.

10) Not quarrelsome: He seeks not to complain or argue; he instead proves true the old maxim: “Meekness is not weakness.”

11) Not a lover of money: He is not a greedy mercenary always occupied with the cash money; his storehouses overflow with heavenly treasures.

12) He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive: His children rise and with loving reverence say, “That’s my Daddy. I follow him as he follows Christ.” The glad gravity of godliness—which the Great Apostle calls dignity—seasons all his parenting.

13) He must not be a recent convert: Christ has been his constant companion and chief delight for many years.

14) Well thought of by outsiders: Those outside the church judge him faithful in all things.

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Hearing the Word Preached

On The Battleground of Preaching

At IDC, we provide an “Upcoming Sermons Card” each week that lists the scheduled sermon titles, texts, and preacher for the next six weeks. I’m increasingly convinced this little card may be one of the most underrated spiritual weapons we have in the IDC arsenal—for preaching (me speaking clearly and the church hearing faithfully) is the God-ordained means of tearing down hell’s gates.

So, like any good soldier of Christ, we want to prepare for the battle, and this card can do just that. You can place it in your Bible and make a point to read through the passage we will study a few times during the week. You can pray for the person scheduled to preach. You can read over the passage during dinner with your kids so they might be ready to receive God’s word. Kids, if you can read, you too can take the card, and read the passage on your own, writing down any questions you might have. We don’t want underestimate how much good and power floods into a church prepared for the battleground of worship.

What then are some practical and concrete encouragements for church members who want to prepare for this sermonic battleground? We turn, as we so often should, to the Puritans.

It’s Quite Elementary According to Watson

Earlier today I read Joel Beeke’s little booklet, Piety: The Heartbeat of Reformed Theology. At the end he offers a series of exhortations for growing in piety and—as it should be (Rom. 10:14-16)—faithfulness to hearing God’s word preached comes first. Beeke says, “The Puritans in particular relished good sermons. They attended church faithfully, took careful notes, and often talked and prayer their way through the sermon afterward with their children. These practices were the fruit of Puritan pastors teaching their people how to listen to sermons.”

Beeke then turns to the most excellent Thomas Watson and offers the following “Watsonian” encouragements for diligence in hearing God’s word preached:

  1. Prepare to hear the Word by bathing your soul in prayer.
  2. Come to the Word with a holy appetite and a tender, teachable heart.
  3. Be attentive to the preached Word.
  4. Receive with meekness the engrafted Word (James 1:21).
  5. Mingle the preached Word with faith.
  6. Strive to retain what has been preached and pray about the Word proclaimed.
  7. Put the word into practice; be doers of it.
  8. Beg the Spirit to accompany the Word with effectual blessing.
  9. Familiarize yourself with the Word by sharing it with others.

Thriving on the Battlefield

Faith comes by hearing; life comes from God’s word. Satan is prowling around at all times looking to eat up the seed or snatch it away from a light grip. Preaching is the cosmic battlefield of the ages. How are you helping your people to prepare for the battle?

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He’s Got it Right

“It is our calling [as pastors] to woo and win souls to Christ, to set him forth to the people as crucified among them, to present him in all his attractive excellencies, that all hearts may be ravished with his beauty, and charmed into his arms by love.” — John Flavel

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Shepherding the Children

Let the Children Come to Me

For the last six months or so I’ve been tinkering away at constructing a theology of children. One of the many practical implications of such a study bears down on ordinary shepherding. I’ve come to realize that a fair amount of my eldering over the past few years has been more truncated than it ought to be.

Simply put: it’s easy to focus on the adults of a family and neglect the kids. Part of this is because many parents don’t bring their kids into gathered worship, so I don’t have that supernaturally precious time to shepherd them from the sacred desk. But even in pastoral visitation, I realize how much time I spend speaking with adults and how little time I spend with the children.

I think the Savior would say, “Dear brother, this should not be so.”

I know for sure that the revered Samuel Miller would say so.

Letters to a Young Pastor

In 1827, Samuel Miller published Letters on Clerical Manners, a collection of fourteen different letters he wrote to a student recently graduated from seminary and about to enter gospel ministry. The book is a fascinating glimpse into antebellum Presbyterian ministry and all the idiosyncrasies of the time (for instance, Miller regularly admonishes the student not to spit in public or when in the pulpit). The contextual hilarity, however, belies an astonishing amount of convicting wisdom.

Pay Particular Attention to Children

Miller’s sixth letter is all about pastoral visitation and the third point exhorts pastors to “be particularly attentive to children and young people.” Miller writes, “I have often wondered that a duty so obvious, and recommended by so many considerations, should be so much overlooked by discerning members.”

Here are a few statements that stand out on the subject I would invite you to prayerfully consider how to apply in your pastoral context:

  • Can any thinking man fail to remember, that children are the hope of the church?
  • Impressions made in the morning of life, are generally among the most permanent and ultimately beneficial?
  • Instructions given, and sentiments then imbibed, though they may long lie dormant in the mind, often rise into life and fruitfulness, when he who gave them has gone to his eternal rest?
  • Can it be forgotten, also, that all experience testifies the importance to a minister himself, of paying particular attention to the youth of his charge? It forms a bond of union between him and them which time, instead of severing, will rather strengthen.
  • O, if ministers could fully anticipate the sweetness of children growing up to honor you as a father in Christ, a regard to their own happiness would unite with the purest benevolence, in impelling them to unwearied care in watching over the children of their charge, and in embracing every opportunity to enlighten their minds, and to win their hearts in favor of all that is good.
  • Assiduous attention to children, are among the most direct and sure avenues to the hearts of parents. It often happens, indeed, that parents are more deeply gratified, by kind efforts to promote the welfare of their children, and are more lastingly thankful for them, than for the same kindness bestowed on themselves.

Endeavor in Every Place

What then, my dear ordinary pastor friend, are you doing to shepherd the little lambs in your fold? Never forget that Christ called for the little children to come to Him. Let us do the same. May you take Miller’s exhortation to “endeavor to gain their attention, to win their hearts [for Christ]” to your heart this coming Lord’s Day.

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A Gospel Worship Revolution

Gospel Worship

Last week Christianity Today virtually declared an end to the worship wars. According to the authors, “the waning of the worship wars” is part of a “decades-long trend in American religion away from an emphasis on belief and doctrine and toward an emphasis on experience, emotion, and the search for a least-common-denominator kind of worship in a time of ever-less salient denominationally specific liturgical and theological content.”

I think their conclusion is right. The worship wars are over. Now, in this post, I raise my theological glass to the hope of “worship revolution.”

A Waking Gospel Revolution

Since the turn of the century, the resurgence of gospel-centrality in the larger evangelical is well documented and undeniable. What we’ve seen is a re-centering of the gospel for the Christian life and some congregational life—particularly preaching. But new horizons of gospel centrality must be explored: How does the gospel shape church polity? How does the gospel change church staffing? How does the gospel transform the tone, not just the topic, of preaching? And, how does the gospel inform worship?

More specifically, “how should the gospel inform the design, implementation, and leadership of a gathered worship service?”

When Doctoral Studies Get Quite Practical

That was the question recently posed to me in a doctoral seminar on “Planning and Leading Christian Worship.” My research and subsequent writing revealed something of a gap in the conversation. It revealed an ordinary way most scholars (and thus many pastors) articulate the liturgical practices of the church that I fear can quickly go the way of obscuring the gospel.

Building on the work of James Smith on human beings as “liturgical animals,” I submit that we “a liturgical gospel rhythm” in our worship.

There are, to be sure, many books that have sought to answer how the gospel shapes worship (see here, here, and here). What’s missing, however, is a deeper reflection on the matter and manner of true gospel worship. In other words, what elements must be present for the liturgy to deserve the modifier of “gospel”? What tone must be present if it’s truly gospel-centered?

Revelation-Reception-Response

I’m still ruminating on all these things, but the paper below reflects my initial conclusions. After spending some time asking if the gospel actually should shape our worship gatherings I move on to propose (only points two and four are somewhat unique):

  1. Scripture is the rule of gathered worship.
  2. Revelation-Reception-Response is the rhythm of gathered worship.
  3. Covenant renewal is the form of gathered worship.
  4. Celebratory reverence is the tone of gathered worship.

Those four points represent what I’m calling a “liturgical gospel rhythm” for ordinary churches.

So, if you’re interested and have some time, download the paper below and let me know what you think.

Download “Revelation, Reception, & Response:
A Liturgical Gospel Rhythm.”

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The Purposes of Gospel Ministry

The “grand aims [of gospel ministry] are to exalt Jehovah, the Creator, Redeemer and Judge of the world; to overthrow the power of Satan, the prince of all evil; to save mankind from sin and hell; to banish vice and all other evil from the earth; to bring true happiness to the lost children of Adam; to build up a glorious Church amidst the ruins which sin has wrought; to prepare citizens for the heavenly world who shall behold and share the infinite blessedness of the Son of God. Surely it must be a calling of no ordinary importance which God has appointed for such ends.” – Thomas Murphy, Pastoral Theology, 7.

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365 Days and 207 Books Later

A Banner Year

As I stand on the precipice of another year gone and look back on the last year, I’m convinced 2015 will hence be remembered as a “banner year” in my life.

Our fourth son was born. We moved into our second home. I began Ph.D. studies. I started losing my hair (I’m still trying to discern what, if any, relation it has to doctoral work). After three years of slow, steady growth on Saturday nights, God opened the door for our church to meet on His Day. Theological questions of critical nature popped up, possibly forever altering certain convictions and ministerial trajectory. Suffering struck our church in a new way and brought a taste—not just a sense—of God’s sweet sovereignty.

It was a banner year indeed.

It was also a banner year for book reading. For the first time in my life, I crossed the two-century mark in reading, completing 207 books over the last 365 days.

When the Truth is Terrifying

In 2013, I read 156 books and last year I read 160. How, I’m asking myself, did I add some 47 books to this year’s “Completed Books List?” The simple answer would be to blame the increase on Ph.D. work, for over 50 of the books I read came from some Ph.D. seminar syllabus. As I’ve considered this landmark of sorts in the last week I’ve come to realize the real answer lies within my heart; I love reading books.

Such a statement begs for a derisive, “Duh!” “Of course, a person who reads 207 books in one year loves reading books,” you might say. To which I’d respond, “Did you see where I put the accent? It’s not that I love reading books, but that I love reading books.”

And for the first time in my life that truth terrifies me.

On Books and The Book

What clear and concerning to me is that 2015 revealed a trajectory in my soul, one that proves I tend to reach for man’s book than God’s book. By my calculations, I finished, at least, one book every forty-two hours this year. That means I read tens of thousands of man’s words every two days or so while only reading a few hundred of God’s words.

In years past I’ve been able to say with a clean conscience that my persistent reading of books catalyzed even higher reading of The Book. But this year was different (I’m still trying to discern exactly why this is so). I was too quick to put down The Book to read another book. I thus stand rebuked, first by my words.

In December 31, 2014’s post recounting 160 books read I wrote at the end:

Here’s what I do know: books build my soul in myriads of ways, but not as powerfully as The Book does. I think I held that perspective well this year, and I want to do so even more next year. My conviction then going into 2015 is going to be different than in years past. I really don’t care how many books I read as long as The Book receives my most ardent love and attention.

Tears well up when I reread those words, for The Book didn’t receive my most ardent attention.

Henry Martyn’s example also rebukes me this year. His practice of reading is surely most pious and wise. Do you know it?

Archibald Alexander recounts it in the middle of some sage counsel to the pastor’s study habits:

It has been said that everything a minister studies should have a reference to the word of God. Through whatever fields of science or of literature he may rove, he should come back with superior relish to the Bible. In the varied regions of philosophy and taste he is permitted to rove, but the Bible should be his richest banquet. Make it a rule always to prefer it. If at the hours of devotion you are strongly drawn toward some new and interesting publication, if you are tempted for this to omit the regular study of the Scriptures, regard it as a temptation, and resist it accordingly. You may recollect the resolution of the pious Henry Martyn. He would never allow himself to peruse a book one moment after he felt it gaining preference to the Bible. As long as he could turn to his Bible with a superior relish, so long he would continue reading, and no longer. Go thou and do likewise.

Relish for The Book decreased this year and preference for books increased.

A Fresh Resolve

I thus enter 2016 with fresh resolve and zeal to situate my soul in Scripture. I want holy Martyn’s model to be real in my life next year. Should the Lord tarry and grant me another 365 days, I hope to write a post on December 31, 2016, that announces something different than this one did.

Over 200 books in one year is a banner I thought I’d be proud to wave. But instead, I find myself eager to let the banner fall—and raise a more inspired one in its place.

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24 Points on Piety

Piety in the Ministry

“Piety,” is one of those words I’d love to recover and restore to a prominent place in gospel ministry.

I love how it rolls rhetorically, but my affection for it is ultimately biblical. Paul told Timothy, “Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Pastors must be practitioners of piety.

Old Princeton to the Rescue

The founders of Princeton Theological Seminary established the school with the ambition that it be “a nursery of vital piety.” Archibald Alexander embodied this dream in the seminary’s earliest years. He insisted, “Eminent piety should be earnestly sought after and assiduously cultivated.” To help his ministerial students see the treasure of piety, Alexander—in a lecture entitled “Qualifications for Pastoral Office—offered the following advantages of pursuing piety and helps to maintaining piety.

14 Advantages of Pursuing Piety

  1. Some degree of eminence in piety is requisite for our own satisfaction.
  2. The work is so great and sacred, and the consequences so awful, that none will duly feel and act under the responsibilities of the office, but one whose heart is warmed with the fervent love to Christ and the souls of men.
  3. The duties of the ministry will never be faithfully performed by any one but he who is deeply under the influence of divine truth. He will become indolent and careless or will sink into discouragement—or will become entangled with worldly engagements.
  4. He will not be able to converse with edification to the people without this.
  5. It is necessary to preserve the minister from ambition and vain glory.
  6. Necessary to make him speak with confidence of the excellency and comforts of true piety.
  7. Eminent piety is requisite to enable a minister to compose sermons induced with the right spirit. To feed the devotions of the people, etc.
  8. Without a good degree of eminence in piety, the minsters example will not be savory and consistent. it is necessary to preserve him from sin. He should be higher than all the people in spiritual attainments.
  9. It will greatly increase his influence.
  10. Will enable him to bear with patience the persecution of enemies.
  11. It will be better than all rules of rhetoric in the delivery of sermons.
  12. It will make the work of the ministry delightful.
  13. Will prepare for sickness and death.
  14. Eminent piety will diffuse a solemn seriousness, over the manners. Gravity, composure of countenance—dignity of demeanor—propriety in every word, look and gesture.

10 Helps to Maintaining Piety

  1. You should set yourselves to correct your own faults and imperfections.
  2. You should set before you a high standard of moral excellence.
  3. There must be no procrastination of this business.
  4. You must live under the habitual influence of eternal things.
  5. You must be deeply sensible of your own inability to attain this excellence by your own efforts alone.
  6. You must not despond, or despair of success if you seem for a long time to make no progress.
  7. Avail yourself of your imperfections & faults to measure your humility & caution.
  8. Let the good example and spirit of other ministers enrich you but beware of catching from them a worldly spirit.
  9. Read frequently the memoirs of the most devoted & pious servants of Jesus Christ.
  10. Pray without ceasing for aid from above.

In the Spiritual Gym

I say, “Let the recovery and restoration of piety to its place of necessity continue.” Of particular encouragement, for me at least, is Alexander’s realism about the whole endeavor: “You must not despond, or despair of success if you seem for a long time to make no progress.” I often despair, especially at the end of another year, of my small growth in holiness. I find myself in these days freshly stirred to pray fervently for greater holiness in 2016.

Will you join me?