Alistair Begg and Mike Bullmore just might be my two favorite living preachers. I feel as though I’ve learned more from these man about preaching than any one else.
It was with great joy that I saw Bullmore lead a TGC roundtable discussion with Begg and Bryan Chapell on “Sermon Prep 101.” It’s never a waste of time to listen to brothers, seasoned in ministry, ruminate on preparing to preach Christ crucified. So tune in, edification awaits!
I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.
Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal by Richard Lovelace. For years I’ve heard pastors I deeply respect recommend Lovelace’s classic book on spirituality. Tim Keller once said, “Anyone who knows my ministry and reads this book will say, ‘So that’s where Keller got all this stuff!’” After reading it, I totally agree. Many tenets of TGC spirituality we’ve come to know (gospel-centrality, the dangers of moralism, social and urban activism, among others) Lovelace articulated back in the late 1970s. While I think Lovelace is too kind to Pentecostal expressions of piety, Dynamics of Spiritual Life is, one the whole, utterly compelling. Few stones of spirituality are left unturned in this near 400-page work. The work’s unique values is the fact that it comes from the pen of a trained historian. Lovelace’s biblical and systematic theology is – in a good way! – nothing revolutionary, but he weds those disciplines to historical perspectives on revival and renewal I often found captivating. You probably won’t agree with every jot and tittle of Lovelace’s vision for renewal, but Dyanamics will nonetheless stir you to dream about biblical revival in your local church. So buy it, read it, and dream away.
The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God by Robert Louis Wilken. Wilken, Professor of Historical Theology and Patristic Studies at Creighton University, aims to uncover – recover might be the better word – the spirituality of the Church Fathers in The Spirit of Early Christian Thought. He says the intellectual work of the Fathers was “at the service of a much loftier goal than giving conceptual form to Christian belief. Its mission was to win the hearts and minds of men and women and to change their lives.” Focusing primarily on Origen, Gregory of Nissa, Augustine, and Maximus the Confession displays how these theological giants of old were preeminently “spiritual giants.” There is much food for thought in this book, but some of it is overshadowed by some of Wilken’s conclusions, which come from his worldview as a former Lutheran who converted to Roman Catholicism. While one can quibble with his interpretations, one cannot but sing the praise of the man’s prose. Wilken wields a mastery of language that at times left me speechless in its grandeur.
Christian Spirituality: An Introduction by Alistair McGrath. “Textbook” is the right word for McGrath’s introduction to the history of Christian spirituality. Filled with charts, pictures, and various visual aids, Christian Spirituality deals with the types of piety that “ultimately flow from the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” McGrath’s approach is broad and thus includes Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions of spirituality. Although I’ve still yet to read a textbook-ish introduction to biblical spirituality, McGrath’s volume is as fine an entry into Christian spirituality as you can read.
Evangelical Spirituality by James Gordon. When I saw the Table of Contents of this book I thought, “This is going to be a delightful read!” Chapters on giants of godliness like Edwards, Newton, M’Cheyne, Spurgeon, and Lloyd-Jones, alongside those focused on the lesser known Cowper, More, Dale, and Whyte looked magnificent. Well, let’s just say I was a wee bit disappointed. Gordon assumes too much from his readers; if your familiarity with an individual is only in name the author does little to help you gain additional familiarity. Evangelical Spirituality suffers greatly from a lack of cohesion, as many of the chapters read like a collection of quotes from primary and secondary sources with little care to coherent unity and transition. If you are in the academic pursuit of evangelical spirituality, this is a book to have on the shelf. If not, just move along.
I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. The cover of I Am Pilgrim proclaims, “The only thriller you will need to read this year.” I am something of a sucker for espionage thrillers, let alone ones with superlative reviews to such an extent that one major online magazine calls it “the best book of 2014 . . . so far.” So I jumped in with moderately high expectations. The plot is quite simple: the greatest living US intelligence agent, “Pilgrim”, is sent to find “the Saracen”, the most terrifying terrorist to ever threaten our country. Yet, the simplicity belies a rather complex thriller. An investigation into a shocking NY murder gets your attention and Hayes never really lets it go until the final page. The tale does wander at brief points, most usually when it focuses on the Saracen’s movements, but Hayes’ debut novel is a thrilling triumph.
Click here to find other entries in the Recent Reads series.
In 1846 J.L. Reynolds declared, “Church polity has become the absorbing topic of the Christian world.”
If you ever need a quote to highlight the difference between mid-19th century and current 21st century evangelicalism Reynold’s proclamation of polity’s popularity is one to stash away. Yet, I feel as though we are on the precipice of renewed interest and focus on polity. Do you? Maybe it’s just the circles I move in, but whether or not the word is used, discussions of “polity” are increasingly on the rise. If we pay attention to patterns in church history we ought not be too surprised. Whenever there has been a recovery of the church’s “center” it’s never been long before matters of polity start to take a more prominent place on the stage.
And there’s a reason why this has been so.
God’s glory in Christ as revealed in the gospel is indeed the church’s foundation, but gospel focus in and of itself is not enough to, as Carl Trueman rightly said, “ensure the continuation of the gospel.” Yes, Luther recovered the biblical gospel in the Reformation, but if you read his later material you find that the church’s health did not depend merely on letting loose the Word and watch everything be ok. Notice what happens next,
By 1525, of course, the picture starts to look bleaker: Protestantism is beginning to fracture; the protagonists in the Peasants’ War appropriate the democratizing language of Luther’s theological revolution and turn it into the battle cry of violent social upheaval; and the simple declaration of the gospel is becoming mired in the quicksands of human affairs. From 1525 onwards, one must search hard for the language of universal priesthood in the writings of Luther (or many other reformers for that matter). The gospel on its own without careful attention to the kind of structural context advocated by Paul, could quickly be appropriated by the chaotic and sinful ambitions of fallen human beings. Thus, from 1525 onwards, Luther drops the ambiguously democratic rhetoric and start to talk more of church order and offices.
This insufficiency of he gospel is surely why Paul, when writing to Timothy, does not simply tell him to preach the gospel. Yes, he certainly does tell him that; but as the aging apostle looks at the world around him and wonders how the gospel is to be preserved after the first generation of leaders directly commissioned by Christ dies out, he also tells Timothy to find ordinary men to appoint as elders. In other words, Paul sees that a church structure, as well as a church message, is vital to the safeguarding and propagation of the gospel.1
Since the turn of the century we have seen an undisputed resurgence of concentration on getting the biblical gospel right. It now seems, and praise God for this, we are taking those historically subsequent steps of understanding the central role in which polity plays in protecting gospel-centrality. Maybe it’s the circles I move in, but I find matters of polity increasingly occupying our thoughts and discussion. Or maybe the one doesn’t feel the resurgence as strongly as I do because polity often walks quietly onto the scene of biblical faithfulness.
Take any major sport, analyze the ordinary champions in its league, and what you will find is a team made up of superstars and forgotten players. In the sport after my own heart – soccer – strikers, attacking midfielders, marauding outside backs, and immovable center backs generally get all the attention. But any soccer fan knows that the “No. 6”, the holding midfielder, is the anchor and cog on which the team moves. When he plays his part well, he will go relatively unnoticed. His work isn’t flashy or unusually creative, it steady and calming. But when the “No. 6” is off his game, just watch the entire structure of the team’s center fall apart.
Polity is like the “No. 6” of a healthy church’s theology and practice. Other areas – the gospel, God’s sovereignty, Scripture’s infallibity, missions – get more attention, but if a biblical polity isn’t the church’s quiet, steadfast, and strong cog things will eventually begin to fall apart. Just look at Paul Tripp’s recent statement on all the hullabaloo at Mars Hill Church to see how dangerous short-shrifting biblical polity can be. Further, while it wasn’t as broadly discussed, when the difficulties with Sovereign Grace and CJ Mahaney came to the fore several years ago, you know what one of the first major orders of business became? Restructuring the entire polity for the “family of churches”, complete with a Book of Church Order!
Polity is a quiet force in the church, and is thus one that we pastors must give specific attention. We need to think hard and biblically about church structure and governance. We must consider things like:
These things aren’t merely tangential topics, but they cut to the core of the safe-guarding of the gospel. So let’s wrestle with them. Far from pushing the gospel to the periphery, polity is a vital cog for perpetuating the purity of the church’s gospel witness.
Yesterday, I mentioned how the reading of biographies is an underestimated weapon for our pastoral armor. I do wonder, however, if reading a large historical tome might sound daunting to some of you. If so, let me help you consider another vehicle for increasing historical awareness.
Actually, Michael Haykin is here to help. Do you know him?
Dr. Haykin currently serves as the Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality and Director of The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In the foreword to The Pure Flame: The History of Christian Spirituality, the recent festschrift for Dr. Haykin, Russell Moore says:
I often wonder if Haykin is one scholar or a conspiracy of brilliant minds masquerading as one man. After all, he is a pacesetter in the fields of spiritual formation, Baptist studies, patristic history and beyond. All of these are very different fields, demanding a high level of expertise. He is one of the most recognized scholars in the world in each of those fields, having written and lectured extensively in each area, even while serving as a seminary administrator, popular conference speaker and leader within the Canadian Baptist and Southern Baptist churches.
Ian Clary, a former student and editor of The Pure Flame, says, “I am amazed at how profoundly I have been shaped by Michael Haykin . . . I have seen firsthand what a Christian scholar looks like, and learned the importance not only of how to read church history, but how to do so with a commitment to piety and godliness.”
Although I’ve never personally interacted with Haykin I affirm the man’s commitment to godliness. It’s palpable. I’ve observed it in Haykin’s works, but it’s largely through his messages and lectures that I’ve seen how history can catalyze piety.
Which brings me back to the original point of this post: using lectures understand the value of history for pastoral ministry. And I know a great place to start.
A while back I came across an old Sunday School class Haykin taught at Trinity Baptist Church in Toronto on 19th century evangelicalism. I found the material to be immensely helpful. Haykin elucidates just how the incredible figures and events of evangelicalism in the 1800s laid the foundation for so much of modern evangelicalism. Throughout the class the listener is treated to figures well-known (Finney, M’Cheyne, Spurgeon) and not-so-well-known (Asahel Nettleton, Phoebe Palmer), while seamlessly weaving in the pertinent geographical and sociological nuances necessary to understand the times. And true to his passion, Haykin never lets the conversation go far before reminding us of the material’s implication(s) for godliness.
So listen to ’em all to see just how valuable history is for pastoral ministry. Then consider going on to a biography on one of the many figures Haykin covers in the class.
Earlier this year, when preparing to preach on the life and ministry of Spurgeon, I listened to John Piper’s biography on the Prince from way back in 1995.
About eight minutes into the talk he said something that so resonated with my heart for the place of history in pastoral ministry,
Oh how fortunate we are, brothers of the pulpit, that we are not the first to face these things. We are so fortunate. I thank God for the healing of history. Do you read history? Are you slipping into the abyss of the present? It is an abyss brothers! You cannot know yourself, or your times, or your God if you only know the present. I bless God for history and books.
Amen! Pastors need historical sensibilities if they are to engage the contemporary landscape with wisdom and truth. For history is an oh so powerful discipline.
History reminds us modern novelties aren’t really all that novel. History establishes precedent. History enshrines heroes. History discerns the ordinary consequences of decisions. History examines conclusions with hindsight. History exposes present-day blind spots. In other words, history brings awareness.
One of the great verbs of the New Testament is ἀγρυπνέω (agrupneó). It means to be sleepless, watchful, or alert. It paints the picture of a shepherd who stays awake at night to guard his sheep from the creeping presence of wolves and predators. Jesus uses the verb when talking about how His disciples are to live in light of His immanent return. In Gethsemane He used it when warning the Inner Circle against falling into the temptation to sleep. The great apostle used it when exhorting the Ephesians to constant prayer.
Pastor, are you awake today? Or are you, like good Dr. Piper said, falling asleep in the abyss of the present.
Faithful pastors are those who are ever alert and aware. They keep one eye out for any who would harm the body. One ear is always turned to discern danger in the common chatter. Leading includes protecting and history functions as something like armor of awareness for the ministry.
While I believe that every pastor needs history I don’t presume to believe the every pastor loves history. If that presupposition is true I know that many of you might need some unique encouragement in pursuing history as a pastoral discipline. Here then is my one piece of advice: read biographies.
I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t like a good story, and a good story is exactly what good biography is. So be a profligate reader of biography. Read the standard Christian biographies on giants like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edward, and Spurgeon. Read the Pulitzer prize winners on presidents, politicians, and people of power. Not only do I think you will be fascinated by the respected individual’s life, I think you will also be rather surprised at how much history one learns in such an endeavor.
For example, I remember reading Dallimore’s work on Whitefield and was utterly amazed at two things: 1) the sheer Spirit-wrought stamina of the great soul winner, and 2) how Whitefield’s methods were something of a seedbed for 19th century evangelicalism. And if you know anything about 19th century evangelicalism you know that much of our modern evangelical world is direct fruit of those happenings from two hundred years ago.
But more on that tomorrow.
History has power. When the weapon of days gone by is used rightly is not only keeps the pastor alert, but it produces wisdom, caution, modesty, and humility. Will you wield it in your ministry?
In Ephesians 6:19-20 Paul says, “[Pray] also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
He is in chains in a Roman prison at this time, thus it’s interesting to note he doesn’t ask the Ephesians to pray for his release. Rather, he asks them to pray for him to boldly preach the gospel. Are you in a time of suffering and hardship? It’s not wrong to ask for God to release you from your trial, but don’t forget to ask God to empower you to proclaim the gospel boldly in your suffering. Your chains, like Paul’s, just might be the very vehicles God has ordained for sinners to come to faith in His Son.
If ever there was an illuminating and pointed truth on preaching, it’s Ephesians 6:20. For here we see apostolic teaching on what preaching must be. I wonder what adjectives you want to attach to preaching? Complete this sentence, “I look for preaching that is __________.” What came to mind? Preaching that is short, entertaining, compelling, funny? Or do you, like Paul, long for preaching that is bold. The preaching of the Gospel is the means by which God awakens dead sinners, assaults the kingdom of Satan, and establishes the kingdom of His Son. Such bold preaching will always need prayer. Alistair Begg, a master of boldly proclaiming the mystery of the gospel, said, “The devil is unafraid of prayerless proclamation.” Can God use preaching not saturated with prayer? Sure. But we have no reason to expect He will.
In the latter half of the 19th century five young college students were waiting to hear the great Charles Spurgeon preach when a man walked up and asked, “Gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the furnace room of this church?” They were not particularly interested, for it was a hot day in July. But they didn’t want to offend the stranger, so they consented. The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, “This is our furnace room.” Surprised, the students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door, the gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon.
He was the Prince of Preachers because his people were mighty in praying for his preaching.
Look anywhere in church history and you’ll see behind every powerful preacher is a prayerful people. Do you pray specifically for the preaching ministry of your church? I believe with my whole heart that the power of your church’s pulpit will advance only as far as your prayers for it.
A few weeks ago at IDC we began an informal meeting from 4:30-4:45 to pray for the night’s sermon and preacher. I like to think of it as our own little furnace room. And I take it to be no mere coincidence that after our first Furnace Room gathering a brother in our church, who aspires to pastoral ministry, preached a sermon that was received with unusual force in the congregation.
Preachers need the prayers of their people. Pastor, how can you build a culture in your church where preachers are regularly lifted up in prayer?
I first came across Wordsworth’s “See the Conqueror” when one of our elders mentioned it as a potential Easter hymn. This is surely what the great apostle meant by teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom with hymns.
See the Conqueror mounts in triumph
See the King in royal state
Riding on the clouds His chariot
To his heavenly palace gate
Hark the choirs of angel voices
Joyful alleluias sing
And the portals high are lifted
to receive their heavenly King.
Who is this that comes in glory
with the trump of jubilee?
Lord of battles, God of armies,
He has gained the victory!
He who on the cross did suffer!
He who from the grave arose!
He has vanquished sin and satan!
He by death has spoiled his foes!
They raced to the tomb, angels stood by
Mary was weeping for the empty inside
For the sins of the world, for the sake of His bride
He went to His death, and behold, He’s alive!
He’s alive! O He’s alive!
Thou hast raised our human nature
In the clouds to God’s right hand
There we sit in heavenly places
There with Thee in glory stand
Jesus reigns adorned by angels
Man with God is on the throne
Mighty Lord in Thine ascension
We by faith behold our own
We by faith behold our own
See the Conqueror -Jenny & Tyler-Open Your Doors- Copyright 2011 One Eyed Cat Music (BMI)
Verse Lyrics by Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885), 1862.
Bridge Lyrics by Jennifer Somers (BMI), Tyler Somers (BMI), and Mitch Dane (ASCAP)
Music by Jennifer Somers (BMI), Tyler Somers (BMI), and Mitch Dane (ASCAP)
I love the pastoral epistles. As a young pastor myself, I resonate deeply with the great apostle’s instruction to Timothy and Titus.
All throughout my first decade of ministry I’ve found myself regularly returning to these letters for guidance and comfort. So at the beginning of this year I set out to memorize the book of 1 Timothy. Eight months later, by God’s grace, I have committed that great first letter to memorize. Now I am in the beautiful, yet agonizing, phase of retention.
Around the age of 10 a few friends and I located a place in the nearby woods where we would build a tree house. On my first few journeys into the forest everything looked the same. To my young mind it was just trees, trees, and more trees. Yet, as days upon days spent in those woods went by I began to notice the uniqueness of certain trees. Some were “squatty” and small, others stately and magnificent in size.
The more I became familiar with the whole, the more prominent the individual parts became.
The same thing happens in memorizing whole books of the Bible; greater familiarity with the entire book causes certain words and truths to more clearly stand out. My time in 1 Timothy has shown that Paul had consistent concern for these things: faith, love, godliness, a good conscience, dignity, self-control, and purity. You might think of these as seven spiritual fruits a healthy pastor emphasizes in his life and teaching. Thus, some of the following verses speak not merely to Timothy, but to what Timothy must exhort into the lives of his brothers and sisters in Christ.
Let’s see how these emphases play out . . .
Now, it seems like – at least in my experience – that some of those seven fruits are emphasized in popular discussions on godly ministry. Which ones? Faith, love, godliness, and purity seem to be common enough. But what about a good conscience, dignity, and self-control? I don’t hear much about those, do you? Clearly God believes them to be important for His pastors and people. How prevalent are these fruits in your life and ministry?
Oh! may the Spirit work within the hearts of His gospel ministers and grow us all unto a full flowering of:
Faith
Love
Godliness
A Good Conscience
Purity
Dignity
and Self-Control
There are a small number of books I aim to read at least once a year. These books aren’t necessarily the best of the best, but they are those that speak to an issue of perennial importance in my life and ministry.
One such book is Sam Crabtree’s Practicing Affirmation. Because I am innately prone to criticism more than encouragement I continually need to be reminded of my need to grow in God-centered affirmation.
I fully resonate with what Piper says in the foreword,
Sam’s book is a healing balm for cranks, misfits, and malcontents who are so full of self they scarcely see, let alone celebrate, the simple beauties of imperfect virtue in others. Or to say it differently: I need this book.
The absence of affirmation for God’s handiwork in his people is also a kind of sacrilege—for at least three reasons.
First, it is disobedience to God’s command, “A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Prov. 31:30). And I can’t think of any reason this does not apply in principle to God-fearing men.
Second, it demeans Jesus as though he were stooping to do something unworthy when he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21, 23). If he says it, should we consider it beneath us to say it?
Third, all the works of God are worthy of praise. And there is no good in anyone but by the work of God (1 Cor. 4:7; 15:10j).
It gets deeper. Sam says, “The best affirmation is rooted not only in the character of God but in the gospel.” Which means that every glimmer of good in the life of God’s children is blood-bought. Jesus died to make it possible. What does it say about us if he died to bring it about, and we don’t consider it worth praising? That is, to say it again, I need this book.
Pastors are God’s pace-setters in matters of godliness. And it’s no different in the area of God-glorifying affirmation. So, if you are like me and find yourself more likely to critique than encourage, read this book. It may just end up on your own list of “Read It Once a Year.”
In Colossians 1:28 Paul manages to pack in a stunning amount of apostolic instruction on faithful ministry by writing, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
Christ is the message, proclamation is the manner, and maturity is the aim.
Faithful shepherds then are God’s ordinary agents to bring about, through the work of God’s Spirit and Christ’s appointed means, the sanctification of God’s people. God called His sheep before the foundation of the world that they would be holy and blameless before Him. Jesus Christ ascended on high and gave pastors to His church to equip her unto “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
Sanctification plays a central role in pastoral ministry. Pastors must then think rightly and deeply about this core issue of our faith.
Later this week the elders at IDC plan to spend extended time discussing the doctrine of sanctification and its implications for our shepherding. I, like the other elders, have been browsing through various resources to prepare for our meeting and in the course of my perusal I came across an old gem from the boys at Reformed Forum.
Back in January 2012 the now well-known debates on justification, sanctification, and pursuing holiness were just beginning to fan into full flame in the broader Reformed evangelical world. Nick Batzig was able to sit down with Kevin DeYoung and Rick Phillips for a roundtable discussion on sanctification. And oh how useful their dialogue was – and still is! Set aside fifty minutes of time this week to watch their interaction below.
The conversation is clear, pastoral, biblical, and edifying throughout.
Click here to download the audio of this episode.
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