Category Archives: Spiritual Growth

by | June 17, 2013 · 8:36 am

Being the Least

The LeastMy local fellowship has been traversing the landscape of Matthew’s account of Jesus and yesterday we were called to account for the “least” (Matthew 18:1-20). The “kingdom of heaven”, after all, belongs only to the least. This is the point of the little one called into the disciples’ midst in their question about greatness. It has nothing to do with the purity of a child (those who think such have apparently never raised a three or four year old). It also has nothing to do with acting or thinking like a child (Paul himself said he was done with that: 1 Cor.13:11).

It has everything to do with taking the status of a child: as the “least”. As the one under authority. As the vulnerable. As the helpless. This is what it means to be the least and it is as the least and welcoming the least that we encounter Jesus (Matt.18:5). It is in our joining together to agree in reconciliation that we share the burdens of the least and care for those whom God our Father cares for (18:10, 14). It is the Father who cares for widows and orphans. It is the Father who defends the downtrodden, the poor and the oppressed. It is the Father who gives strength to the weak, , who binds the broken-hearted, and who sets the the captives free. These are the least. This is where His children are to be found. This is where the disciples (called the brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus) live.

So the question for us as pastors must be, Are we numbered among the least? Or has our quest for greatness (however humbly we may be conceiving it) led us away from the surrender, vulnerability, and helplessness of being disciples of Jesus and children of God? May we be numbered among the least. May we be found serving among the least. May we live as God’s children, born of His Spirit, and conformed to the image of His Son, who

though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil.2:6-11 NLT)

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by | June 12, 2013 · 11:51 am

Let’s Be Honest

Mark Driscoll (pastor of Mar’s Hill – Seattle)Honesty just blogged a reply to the question “Do you think it’s wise to take up a pastoral position at a church with which you differ on a few doctrines but agree with on most?” He gives several pointers to consider (read them HERE), but basically he replies (in my words) that the pastoral candidate needs to be honest with the church about the differences and honest with themselves about knowing just where the differences may lie.

Honesty is a paramount practice for pastors and pastors-to-be. Whether it is a matter of sermon presentation, financial management, mileage reporting, etc. But, my takeaway from this is that the greatest need for honesty is toward ourselves.

  • Are we being honest about our spiritual life?
  • Are we being honest in our prayers for ourselves, our families, our congregations and communities?
  • Are we being honest in our study of Scripture to discern just what God is actually saying rather than what we desire to hear and preach?
  • Are we being honest in our humility?

Lord, help us to be honest in all things. May the lies we tell ourselves be renounced in full integrity and the Truth of who You are be made known in, to, and through us.

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by | May 11, 2013 · 8:41 am

Are you dwelling in the knowledge of Christ?

Remembering some great quotes from Dallas Willard, I ran across this one from his book, Knowing Christ Today. 

Whatever your situation, there is nothing more important on earth than to dwell in the knowledge of Christ and to bring that knowledge to others.

 

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by | May 8, 2013 · 5:59 pm

Long Distance Mentors

I have a few mentors that I can meet in person. Others have mentored me from a distance and through their writing. One of the great “long distance” mentors in my life has been Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy is one of the most profound books I have ever read. His impact on my life will be long lasting.

He passed away today at the age of 77. The church has lost a great prophetic voice.

Eternal memory.

 

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by | March 25, 2013 · 10:11 am

What Are You Doing Pastor? Growing the Church

Got PurposeSo what exactly is the job of a “pastor”? It would seem it is about the formation of God’s people and not about the gathering of people (God’s or otherwise). The call to serve the Church by serving a local gathering of those who call on the name of the Lord is not a call to gather crowds. It is a call to see folks transformed by the power of the Spirit into the community of God. It is to see God’s kingdom in the lives of God’s people. It is to share in the life of Jesus and to grow in our staying in step with the Spirit. It is about reconciliation, whole-ness, and holiness. It is about the making of disciples, not the growing of numbers in a service.

Preaching and teaching play their part in this. The public (and private) hearing and obedience to Scripture. Praying without ceasing. Guarding one’s life, family, and church against the wiles of the enemy by walking in mercy and holiness. I could go on, but the point is that it is about the formation (really, the transformation) of God’s people as saints who are being discipled and making disciples. It is not about numbers. It is about people…God’s people.

So what is the job (perhaps I should say “calling”) of a pastor? To be a faithful, Spirit-empowered equipper of the saints who, together with all those whom God by His Spirit gifts, serves to see the whole community of God’s people growing together in

unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. (Ephesians 4:13-15 NLT)

Amen and amen! This is actually the only “growth” laid out for the pastor (indeed for all of the Church). Growth in Christ Jesus as Lord of all!

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by | February 22, 2013 · 11:30 am

Why Is It That Christians Don’t Want to Grow Up?

This was a question posed on a paper from a student in my Hebrews class. The passage was Heb. 5:11-14.

What a great question.

We could blame pastors or the church. That’s the easy target. And it’s not an invalid target.

That’s why we do this blog. We WANT pastors to step up. GROW the people you lead. Don’t just grow the numbers, grow the people. Quit giving them cotton candy every week!

But if we do challenge people, there is the very real possibility they go on down the road to the next church. Such is life.

The question is still real and it shouldn’t be just for pastors. It needs to be for every individual believer.

I can refuse to grow up by:

1. Only listening to one type of “voice” in my life.

I could listen only to “health and wealth” preachers, or only Reformed preachers, or only John Hagee type preachers. I can decide what I think is “mature” and keep only those voices in my life.

2. Only reading those passages of the Bible I understand.

3. Refusing to pray effectively… and then forgetting to pray at all.

4. Refusing to have friends who ask me tough questions.

We can stay immature in so many ways. We need these tough evaluations in our lives from time to time to get our spiritual pulse checked.

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by | February 17, 2013 · 1:24 pm

Why Prayer Is Not Important

ImageOnce again, our adult Sunday School class was studying prayer in the Scripture this morning and my mind was taken with the many directions of our conversations with the Scripture. But one thing that came to me in all of this discussion was that prayer is not important.

Prayer is not important…it is essential. We live and breathe by the mercy and gift of Almighty God. We are kept from sin and sanctified to His purpose by His Holy Spirit. We are clothed with His power, by abiding in His presence. Prayer is essential! It is not simply “important”.

While meditating on this (after morning worship), I happened upon a brief article entitled: “Is Prayer Essential?” (by Walter Raymond Beach in Ministry: International Journal for Pastors [April 1968]) which spoke volumes in its short message. The following was particularly poignant:

“We must not conceive of prayer,” wrote the saintly Trench, “as an attempt to overcome God’s reluctance, but as laying hold of His highest willingness.”

Prayer is not designed to change God, but to change us. The chief aim of the prayer is for the supplicant to come so completely into harmony with God that God’s will be­comes his. Then the supplicant becomes a partner with God and is ready to cooper­ate with Him in whatever God wants. He identifies his will and purpose with God’s will and purpose. Then God, if need be, can lift his mind from what he prayed for, to something better. The supplicant will realize that God is working on His plan and that all things will work together for good.

And certainly, our prayers should be in­volved more with spiritual blessings than material blessings. Origen recalled this word from apostolic days: “Ask the great things and the little things will be added unto you; ask the heavenly things and the earthly things will be added unto you.”

You can read the rest of the article HERE.

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by | February 9, 2013 · 9:45 am

The Dangers of Falling Away

I am teaching Hebrews as an adjunct professor this term, but the passage in Heb. 5:11-6:8 is always a sobering one for me as a pastor.

While it’s fun to debate the Calvinist/Arminian sides of “falling away,” what I see as a pastor is another issue. It is the matter of leading people into maturity. The warning here is to have the readers quit thinking the rehashing of the basics is teaching “mature” things. Establish the foundation and build UP.

Are we, as pastors, growing in spiritual matters and theological thought? Are we re-hashing the same things we were teaching at the beginning of our ministries?

When I hear someone who has been in the ministry over 30 years re-hash the same “prosperity gospel” heresies, or the “differences” between Charismatics and Pentecostals, I get disappointed. They are old arguments for another era.

How can we teach our churches to grow up if WE don’t grow up?

I want the basics SOLID in my life. Yet, I don’t want to keep teaching the basics like they are really “meat.”

We need, as pastors, to teach our folks to think. We need them solid in their beliefs so that they are not thrown off by other arguments and discussions. There was a period of time when I watched several college-age students walk away from the faith completely because they had grown up in Pentecostal churches that had not taught them to think and believe in a mature way. Then, when they read the new atheists like Christopher Hitchens, they saw those arguments, thought they were more cohesive, and walked away from their faith. (Or, for you Calvinists, they never really believed. You pick. I don’t care.)

One of the greater warnings out of this passage just may be to us as pastors. Teach our folks to grow up. Insist on it. Don’t be afraid to try and get people to think, to ask questions, to know that if they have questions they don’t need to leave the church.

May WE continue to grow in our spiritual lives, then be able to lead others in that path.

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by | November 2, 2012 · 1:16 pm

Why Pastors Fail

This is important – too many of our colleagues in the ministry become victims of failing in the ministry due to a variety of “moral failures” (not just sexual issues either, they can be financial, ethical, and other misc “moral” failures).  Let’s read this article, take heed ourselves, and also work to “stand in the gap” for each other in prayer!

Steve Gallagher, Why Pastors Fail.

Here is an excerpt:

The danger those in ministry face are not the sexual enticements one is assaulted by in the sexualized culture of America but the overwhelming pressure exerted upon them to slack off spiritually. In Galatians 5 — that marvelous chapter that describes the battle between the Spirit-led life and the carnal life —Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (verse 16). My testimony is that in all my years of ministering to Christian men who had fallen into sin — including many pastors — I have never found any evidence that would dispute the truth of that statement. To put it in its most basic terms: those who walk in the Spirit in their daily lives will find the strength available to withstand temptation when it presents itself; those who walk in the flesh will not.

Ask yourself, and others, How are you doing?  How is your Bible reading?  How is your prayer life?  Are you in a small group too?

This is an issue that is just as problematic for small church “blue chip” pastors as it is for leaders of large churches and ministries.  All are vulnerable, all need prayer and support.   None of us us impervious to these things, no one is perfect, we are still human beings and we need each other to get through it, but it takes work, a lot of hard work.

Blessings,

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by | August 16, 2012 · 9:25 am

A Church I Can Believe In

A major issue in our western consumerist culture is that consumerist concerns are immediately applied to the way church is viewed and practiced.  What can be offered for me?  What do I gain by being a part of this church?  What can we do to attract more folks?

While this is not only a problem in the contemporary or western Church (think of the issues mentioned by Paul concerning preachers in it for their own gain, or the Corinthian battle for pneumatic-supremacy).  Yet, it has been sharpened by our propensity to consume.  If we don’t find what we are shopping for then we move on.    This does not tend to be driven by any biblical notion of priorities for participating in the life of the church.  Instead, it seems to be driven by market values (e.g., programs).

Certainly there is much to be said for trying to reach our culture in relevant ways, but should it be done at the expense of seriously thinking through our practices as the church?  Why do we offer this or that message or program?  Why do we feel the need for it?  In fact, what is the purpose of the Church?  Why do we exist and to what end?  Do our various programs actually advance this center or do they simply offer trendy appeals to consumers?

I have often remembered the words of old-time evangelist Vance Havner who wrote, “Your job as the pastor is not to fill the pews, but to fill the pulpit.”  If we are faithful to what matters, we will not try (by other routes) to accomplish what God has determined to do if we are faithful.

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