The Pilgrim Pastor

So, I stumbled onto this blog recently.  (The Naked Pastor) He is a former pastor, so of course I was interested in what he has to say.  He is also an artist and cartoonist.  His cartoons are thoughtful, provocative, insightful, challenging, and worth a look. Blessings!

I love his cartoon post today.  It’s a tough job being a pastor and one of the rewards… Rhino thick skin!

Tonight the family and I ended up at a certain store which carries everything from baby chicks, toys, to riding lawn mowers, and clothes.  The specific store doesn’t really matter, but I suspect that if the general management knew how difficult it was for us to make a purchase, they would think it does matter! When we checked out at the register the clerk was able to scan every item with no problems except for one item.

Now, this one item is probably the most important item; at least to my three year old superhero.  He found the shirt on the rack, picked it out, and asked for it, and said “all-wight!”when I said that he could get it.  Apparently the bar code wouldn’t scan properly due to a recent update of the system of some sort.  The clerk tried two or three times and different ways to enter this code and that other code, but she just couldn’t scan it in.  She called a front line supervisor who said, “I’m sure the system will be updated in a couple of days.  Try coming back after the weekend and but it then.” Really?!

Christina & I were really surprised by this.  I have never been to a store where I had to work this hard to make a purchase!  I had money in hand and they wouldn’t take it for the shirt!  There was even a price tag on it.  Christina said “well can’t you just put in the price and override the system or something.” (Silly her, thinking that a store would want to sell its goods for a profit…) The answer was no.  Come back in a couple of days!

After getting the store manager involved, the clerk was finally able to make the sale through some kind of system trickery or tomfoolery or mystical retail sales enchantment or something – very much to my superhero’s liking.  This experience got me thinking though; the local church can be just the same way.  We don’t have anything to sell but we do offer “spiritual goods” and the sign is not always blinking “open” on our spiritual store front is it?

A stranger asks for help and we say, “come back tomorrow, I’m busy.”  An obviously downtrodden fellow believer walks past us on the way out of the door and we say to ourselves, “ah… maybe next Sunday I’ll ask how they are doing.” We over hear a man in the convenient store telling the clerk, whom he apparently speaks to frequently, about his personal struggles, we feel the Holy Spirit leading us to offer to pray for him, to share the Gospel with him, but we say “well,the line is long and it would be embarrassing and besides, I’m late for work;maybe next time.”

Friends, there may not be a next time.  I performed a funeral for a woman today who I had no reason to suspect would pass from this life into eternity only a few days ago.  She was elderly and had health concerns but it came quickly, as it almost always seems to do.  We are not promised tomorrow.  The sale – in this case the free gift of Christ love – must be made now. 

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 KJV) Speaking of a certain greedy man who thought he would store up treasure for himself, Jesus says, “But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'” (Luke 12:20 NIV)

We only get one time through this life and we are not promised tomorrow.  “This is the day theLORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalms 118:24 NIV)  This moment is all that we have.  Let us live it for Christ completely! 

The German reformer, whose 95 Thesis sparked the Reformation, Martin Luther wrote "Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ."  There is an amazing thing about the grace of God... once it gets inside of you it works - of its own power - to transform you.  

God's grace has a lot in common with the gum that sometimes ends up in a child's hair who refuses to listen to a parent about removing it at bedtime... it works its way in and through and cannot be removed. (This is a memory from my childhood by the way, not my parenthood!) 

We are sinners saved completely by God's grace. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this notfrom yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

Sincerely,

The chief of sinners, rejoicing in God's grace...  

I like being known as a good person.  I really do. I am constantly working hard to deflate the ego of the 10 foot tall bulletproof Marine who lurks somewhere deep within me.  Churches like being known as “good churches” too, don’t they?  I mean what church member doesn’t like to be a part of a place known for its beautiful edifice, its smiling pastor, or its wonderful luncheons? Who could blame them, right? 

We all like to be a part of places, own things, or attend church in buildings which are known for being good.  But what is a good church anyway?  I met a man not long ago who asked me “whatis good preaching anyway?”  He doesn’t go to church or have a particularly profound Christian faith.  His question was pretty honest and fair.  My answer: “Good preaching is that which adequately articulates the worth of God.”  Surely there is more to it, but that kind of sums up the essentials I think. 

What about church? What is a good church?  Is Church a place, a thing, or just a building? 

In Matthew 16:18, speaking of Peter’s declaration that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus says, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not over power it.” (NASB)  Jesus promise is that He will build (is building) His Church upon the truth that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah,the Savior of the World, through whom we have peace with God, reconciliation with one another, and eternal life.

The Greek word translated Church in this instance is “εκκλησι
α,” ekklesia.  In its most literal rendering it means “the called people” or “those who are called out or assembled.”  The Church is made up of those who are called out of this world by the grace of God to be assembled together in one body – the Church. 

Church is not a place.  Church is not a thing.  Church is not a building.  The Church is a gathering of people who have been called by God to collectively engage in worship, spiritual growth, and evangelism.  A cycle of knowing, growing, and showing the worth of God. The primary mission of the Church is to make disciples and then… make more disciples! It’s pretty simple really.  That is, when we make Church about being the called out ones.

We gather together to know God, grow in our knowledge of and dependence upon God, and then we show the world the power of God in us through the active tense proclamation of the Gospel – in word and deed.  Church is a verb!  Church is the present tense activity of God in us displaying His worth.  Church is a verb.  

These are often dismal days in the life of the Church in our land.  We pray for revival and God tells us to get up out of our buildings and imitate Christ!  We pray for God to provide the means necessaryto upkeep our aging buildings and God tells us to get out of our buildings and win our communities to Christ!  To quote the late Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill, “Revival tarries because we tarry.”

We are not all called personally to be evangelists, however,we are “called out” collectively to proclaim the Gospel plainly, unashamedly,and to focus on being disciples and making more disciples.  Church is a verb.  How can God use you today to actively proclaim His worth?

Here are some practical ways to share your faith:

1.      http://www.evangelismcoach.org/2008/10-practical-ways-of-sharing-your-faith/

2.      http://www.gospeltractsociety.org/(I have begun a personal campaign of sharing tracts)

3.      Pray fervently that God would open a door for evangelismand be sensitive to recognize when that door opens and courageous enough to gothrough it.

4.      http://www.ptl.org/sharing/92ways.php

5.      http://christianity.about.com/od/practicaltools/a/shareyourfaith.htm

Among the greatest enemy’s of faith is ambition.  How many flames of faith are quenched out ofan unwillingness to set aside ambition? Ambition is pride’s slave.  Where would pride be if it did not have ambition to do its bidding?  Remember the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:21-22.  “Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” (NIV)

It was his love of wealth which kept him out of the kingdom.  Similarly, for many it is ambition, with its many tentacles of greed, power-mongering, selfishness – all rooted in pride – which keep them out of the kingdom or struggling to find the power of the kingdom in their lives, though they have come to Christ.  Faith is held captive by worldly ambition. 

I took this little snapshot today of a tree in early springtime just about to bud flowers.  For our purposes here I have title it “Faith held captive by ambition’s cold winter.” When the cold dissipates the flower will bloom.  Similarly, when we surrender our ambition to the Lord’s will and use whatever measure of success we have in this world for the cause of Christ, our faith is freed to bloom.  We will never know the power of faith in God through Jesus Christ, until our heart’s ambition is to surrender to Him rather than serve that cruel taskmaster – pride. 

I am almost done preaching through the book of Romans.  Here is a thought for expository preaching: It can be done by preaching one verse from this book and one verse from that book in a non-systematic way, but, preaching & teaching through a complete book of the Bible is like completing a sentence, finishing a thought, or saying your peace in one conversation.

Preaching a verse here and a verse there is a bit like writing someone a letter then tearing it up and mailing it to them one piece at time and not necessarily in proper order.  It is much clearer to read a letter from start to finish. 

Rather than seeking out texts which lend themselves well to eloquent sermons and expedient ideas, pulpit workers need to concern themselves most with matters of clarity and completeness – preaching the whole counsel of God with lucidity and a sense of urgency. “Eloquence is vehement simplicity.” RichardCecil (1748–1810)

There is a right way and wrong way to do things...  More specifically there is a thoughtful way and a hasty way to do things! My three year old son Ephram calls himself “Pastor Ephram.”  He has every intention, at least for now, of pursuing full time ministry when he grows up. He even has a complete wardrobe of “pastor clothes” as he refers to them.  When he is not wearing his latest superman or batman pajamas, he has suits and ties just his size, although he usually shows up to church wearing with one of my ties dangling just below his knee caps. 

Yesterday while he and my five year old son Sebastian assisted me in the grocery store, he proved my point about a right and a hasty way to things. Sebastian and I were calmly examining his shopping list to ensure that we didn’t forget the most important items – marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate for a backyard bbq round of S’mores.  Meanwhile Pastor Ephram, who is slightly taller than a parking stump, decided all on his own initiative to “gently place,” uhhh… I mean heave like a discus thrower, a carton of 18 eggs into the cart!  17 of them broke.  1 remained intact.

His reply to my rebuke, "Well daaaaaaad... we neeeeeeeded them..." Should the lord actually lead him into ministry, my advice to him then will be similar to my chastisement that day in the store.  Slow down and do it right. I've taught you that it is ok to ask for help. In other words, get training. Anything worth doing is worth taking the time to prepare for.  “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” (II Timothy 2:15-16 KJV) 

We don’t need intellectual elites in the pulpit. However, we do need trained pastors who understand the difference being pleasing God and men; between proclaiming truth and earning favor; shaking hands after a worship service, for example, as an extension of the service of ministry to the people of God, not fishing for a pat on the back.  Not everyone is going to like every sermon.  Not everyone should like every sermon! While a preacher hopes for his sermons to be received on their own merit and used by God, some sermons should be challenging, exposited from challenging Bible texts, to the point that they bring conviction.  

Pastor Ephram, I will say, Seek respect as an honest expository preacher more than to be liked as a jovial preacher.  It is good to be loved but faithfulness is a higher virtue than likability.  Make Christ the center of your preaching because He is the gospel! I am afraid for my son though, in light of all of the abuses and lack of plain, honest, biblical preaching in our day.  It may well get worse before it gets better.  When that day comes, Pastor Ephram may have to stand in very short company in the gate of biblical faithfulness.  

Yet stand he must and so must we all.  Truth is immortal. (visa-vi Balthasar Hubmaier) 

(http://brad.chando.net/2007/01/28/truth-is-immortal/)