Biblical Guidelines for the Church: Authority and Accountability

                                                        Leadership and Authority

Leadership in the church is not based upon power, but upon authority. Therefore being a pastor/elder is not a position of power, but a position of authority. However, it is not an authority inherent in the person, it is a delegated authority because of the position held. It is delegated from God to the elders, and also delegated from the congregation to the elders.

It is God who has created the position of pastor/overseer/elder and laid out the qualifications for the office, and it is the recognition by the congregation of those who meet God's qualifications (I Timothy 3, Titus 1) that bring the man of God to that position. So God calls the pastor/elder to that office from the congregation with their approval.

The pastor/elder is to lead, not lord it over the people (Hebrews 13:7, I Peter 5:2-3); and the people are to voluntarily submit to his leadership and follow his example (Hebrews 13:7, 17; I Corinthians 16:16), just as a wife is to voluntarily submit to her husband.

As such, the man of God is accountable to both God and man, as both were instrumental in placing him in that office; and both delegated to him the authority which the office holds.

The Three Cords of Church Leadership

In Ecclesiastes 4:12 we learn that a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart or easily broken. It is interesting to note how many times we see this principle applied in the Scriptures. One of the applications of this principle is in the requirements for the elders given in Titus 1:5-9.

In verses 6-7 we see he is to be a man of moral integrity. These verses are governed by the term above reproach, which means not that he is sinless, but that he is held blameless from the charge of moral impurity. What is stressed in these verses is what the man of God is not.

In verse 8 we see he is to be a man of spiritual integrity. What is stressed here is what the man of God is, with the word devout governing the verse. Devout means to be pious, clean, and pure. It also denotes devotion and loyalty to the Lord, and emphasizes that he lives his life in conformity with the word of God.

In verse 9 we see that he is a man of biblical and doctrinal integrity. What is stressed here is his biblical and doctrinal fidelity, which is demonstrated by what he holds to. His teaching and preaching are always in conformity with the body of doctrine given in the Scriptures. He does not deviate from the faith once for all delivered to the saints; and, just as he is a one woman man, he is also a one word, one doctrine, one faith, and one Lord man. He is a man of unwavering devotion to the faith that is contained and presented in the Scriptures and he will not teach anything that contradicts it.

Also of note in these verses are the three words describing the role of a church leader:

First is elder, which denotes dignity, maturity, and leadership. This word gives us a picture of his role and the gravitas of the office. It says this person is to be looked to for leadership, and his persona should be able to bear the weight of the mantle of leadership. Implicit in this word is the earned respect and trust of the people he leads.

Secondly, we see the term overseer. The word means superintendent, magistrate, or watchman; and gives us a picture of the authority and function of the office. This person is to be able to watch over, guide, and direct the church. This word shows us that the church leader is responsible for the protection and direction of the church.

Thirdly, we see the term God's steward. The word steward means house manager, one who manages the affairs of another, one who is in charge of another's property, including slaves; and he is usually a slave himself. This term gives us the understanding of the responsibility and accountability of the office. This man is responsible to God for the household of God, as the church is not his property but God's. It is the Lord's church, which is the people of God whom God has called out to be His possession. This means that the church leader is accountable to God for the wellbeing and the spiritual prosperity of God's people whom He has purchased with the blood of His Son. 

As leadership goes, so goes the church, which is why the Lord gives Titus these guidelines for the men who would be the leaders in the church. The church is only as strong as its leadership, and when leadership fails, or leads poorly then the church is weakened and the flock is left unguarded or misguided. It then becomes vulnerable and is at risk of being defenseless and directionless.  

In the three elements of integrity we see a strength and quality of character combined with commitment to the Lord and commitment to His word as given in the Scriptures. The combination of these qualities of integrity affirm and strengthen each other and make the church leader strong in resisting the attack of the enemy, who seeks to devour him. When possessing these strands of integrity the church leader will lead ethically, will lead spiritually, and will lead biblically. This is the type of man people will want to follow, who will be trusted to follow, and will be safe to follow.

In the three terms for church leader given here we see the strength of balance. These descriptive terms define role, function, authority, and accountability, with each of them governing the others. They not only define the role of church leader, but in defining the role give it its parameters and boundaries. An understanding of his role, function, authority, and accountability keeps the church leader from misusing or abusing his office; and it also gives the church a benchmark from which to evaluate and measure his ministry; and will give them the knowledge to keep themselves from being taken advantage of or abused.

Yes, a cord of three strands is not easily broken!  How wise is our God in His design for the leadership of the church.

Ministry Made Simple

 The task of spiritual leadership may

not be easy, but neither is it complicated.

When God called us to serve as leaders in

the church, He did not give us the 

responsibility to build the church. Instead,

He gave us the responsibility to proclaim

His word in order that people might be

transformed into the character of

Christ...

Ministry is really simple; it's a matter

of preaching the Word, loving the 

people, and living our lives as an

example for others to follow.

Glen Daman

Leading the Small Church

Page 224

                                                  

Spiritual Leadership

 

Spiritual leadership without character is only religious activity,

possible religious business or, even worse, hypocrisy......

The qualified leader is a man of the Book, using it not just

to prepare sermons and preaching notes, but, first and foremost,

to prepare himself.

James M. George

The Call to Pastoral Ministry

Pastoral Ministry

(How to Shepherd Biblically)

Page 91

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you;

and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

How important it is for those of us who occupy a place of spiritual leadership to be men of character, character forged by the Holy Spirit and formed by the Word of God. Providing spiritual leadership is a daunting responsibility, a responsibility that underscores the Lord's admonition in James 3:1 "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." This is why the Lord stresses Godly character in His requirements for those who occupy the post of pastor; and why Paul buffeted his flesh, so that after he had preached to others he would not be disqualified.

The landscape of the church is littered with the moral failures of those who failed to watch themselves.  In fact, it has become much too common.  And it is just not in the area of sexual immorality, as noted there is also the issue of the SBC having been taken to task by those within its own ranks for inflated membership numbers and an evangelastical (intentional spelling) way of counting baptisms. Speaking of the SBC, they have remained in the news due to plagiarism among high profile pastors, downplaying sexual immorality, and public non-repentant abuse of a pastor and his wife by a seminary staff. Other churches have dismissed pastors for abusive behavior. A well known megachurch in the DC area has its members filing lawsuits against the church amidst accusations of lying and manipulation by its leadership team.

These are the obvious, the news grabbing and headline making, but what about the ones that don't make the news, the ones that cause damage just as great? I read an internet article about how Peacemaker ministries worked to reconcile a church's pastor and elders after temper, egos, and innuendos had split them and the church. What about the detrimental effects of pride, stubbornness, selfishness, ambition, jealousy, unforgiveness, greed,  and gossip? What about those that fear man more than they fear God, those that are men-pleasers vs God-pleasers, and those who would compromise rather than confront? What about the small things that are done daily that add up over time?

I remember hearing Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, preach several years ago, and in his sermon he was stressing the need for moral integrity. He said that he had asked God to take him home before He let Bill commit adultery. Admirable, yes, but for most of us, we are on guard against the big A; but it is the perniciousness of the so called small sins that we ought to be on guard against as well. Is our prayer, "Lord, lead me away from temptation in the areas where I am weak and most easily tempted, and let not evil have any way with me. Please keep me from causing any of the brethren to stumble. Help me to adorn the doctrine I preach with the life that I live. Help me to do what is right, to love what is good, and to walk humbly with You. Let not anyone, saved or unsaved, look at me and cry hypocrite. Let me be at home what I am publicly."

Who is adequate for this? None of us outside of the power that God supplies. There is a greater burden, a greater responsibility, for those of us whom God has called into ministry; but there is a greater grace available as well. Let us be on our guard, empowered by the grace of God, so that sin will not have its way with us, not derail us, nor render us impotent in our efforts to advance the kingdom of God in our own lives, so that we will be effective in advancing His kingdom in the lives of those whom He appointed to our shepherding. Let not the sin in our own lives be an impediment, an excuse, for those in our flock in dealing with the sin in their own lives.

Father, guard our hearts and our minds. Work within us only that which is pleasing in Your sight. We are frail and weak in our own strength, so help us by the strength which You supply to live a life worthy of the gospel of Your Son, and a life worthy of the calling with which we have been called. Empower us to be an example to the flock, living a life worthy of admiration and imitation. Guard us from our own selves, and give us a sensitivity to the sin which so easily entangles us. Strengthen us to fight the good fight of faith and finish our course without disqualification.  AMEN.

Pastoral Leadership

But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing

mother tenderly cares for her own children.  Having

so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased

to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also

our own lives, because you had become very dear

to us.  For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship,

how working night and day so as not to be a burden to

any of you we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and

uprightly we behaved toward you believers; just as you

know how we were exhorting and encouraging and  

imploring each one of you as a father would his own children.

...For this reason we also constantly thank God that when

you received the word of God which you heard from us,

you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it

really is, the word of God, which also performs its work

in you who believe.

I Thessalonians 2:7-11, 13

italics and underlining mine

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God

to you; and considering the result of their conduct,

imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

italics and underlining mine

There is much said and written about pastoral leadership and all that is required, even conferences and seminars dealing with this issue ad nauseum. I think understanding leadership and its principles is good, and even helpful; but when dealing with pastoral leadership there is a paradigm shift from the leadership model that is touted in our corporate and sports world, and unfortunately this model is what is suggested most often in the context of pastoral leadership.

I find it interesting that the Bible does not go into all the areas that the modern seminars do in talking about pastors as leaders, but what is does do is to lay out the basics for a pastor, which assume the pastor will be leading a group of people. The core requirements in the Scriptures are contained in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and revolve around demonstrated character, demonstrated management of his own home, and a demonstrated ability to teach that comes with a knowledge of and proficiency with the Scriptures. The reason for these requirements, and how they flesh out in the pastor's leadership is demonstrated in the Scriptures above. The pastor is to lead with the Word and by example. 

Notice how many times the gospel/word of God is used in the section of I Thessalonians. Notice the leaders who were to be remembered and imitated in Hebrews....those who spoke the word of God, whose conduct bore spiritual fruit. These, of course, fit in with the Lord's instruction to Peter to feed his sheep. The pastor must lead his flock with the word of God. After all the word of the Lord is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Our first priority must be to lead our people with the word of God.

In addition to the Word, we must be leading our people by our example. To do this we must also be leading ourselves with the word of God. Again, listen to the Psalmist in Psalm 119:9 "How can a young man (or older man for that matter) keep his way pure?  By keeping it according to Your word."  It is the pure way, the Lord's way, that when lived out by the pastor is the example to his people....the example that is to be imitated. 

Why did the people in Thessalonica receive the Word as the word of God, and not the word of men?  Because they saw it lived out in the lives of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. Look at the underlined words above...they proved themselves, they imparted their lives, they behaved in a devout and upright manner. And this did not happen in a vacuum...the Thessalonians were witnesses, knew personally what Paul and crew had done and how they behaved, and were to recall these very facts. Also, we see that the Hebrews were to remember the result of the conduct of their leaders, in other words, the fruit born out of their lives, and then to imitate their faith.

The lives of the pastors give weight and credence to the words that they preach and teach. In essence you should not be able to separate the man from his message, they should be the same. This is the way that God has designed it, so that His people could be sure about both the message and the man. So when we think about our pastoral leadership, let's make first things first....let's put first things first....let's emphasize in our ministry what the Lord emphasizes, our handling of the Word and the life that we live. These should be the foundation of our pastoral leadership, and will provide a firm foundation for all else that is part and parcel of a gospel ministry. 

The Measure of a Church

The measure of a church is the measure of its people. As its people go, so goes the church. What is it that we as a people of God must possess and practice to be spiritually healthy, vibrant, and effective, so that our church(s) can therefore be the same way? In I Corinthians 13 Paul gives us three eternal spiritual qualities that I believe we must be strong and growing in as individuals so that the church we belong to will be strong and growing as well. These are faith, hope, and love. As believers we have these attributes, yet we may be weak in one or more of them. For example, the church at Corinth was spiritually immature and was especially weak in love (I Corinthians 13), and you can see the many problems it had as a result. The believers written to in II Peter needed to be diligent in developing their faith (II Peter 1:5-11) so that they would not be not only fruitful, but also not susceptible to the cleverly devised tales of the false teachers. The believers in Hebrews needed to leave behind the elementary teachings about the Christ and press on to maturity so as to anchor their hope more securely (Hebrews 6:19-20, 10:35). In his epistle to the twelve dispersed tribes James describes what real faith looks like.

Faith, hope, and love are mentioned in almost every New Testament book; and out of all the churches and groups written to there are only two that are commended for all three of these qualities. They are the churches at Colossae and Thessalonica. In the first chapter of both epistles Paul says that he is thankful for them and praying for them. He commends the Colossians on their faith in Christ Jesus, the love which they had for all the saints, and their hope laid up in heaven. He commends the Thessalonians for the work of their faith, the labor of their love, and the steadfastness of their hope. Also, in the first chapter of both epistles, he talks about the reception and power of the gospel, which is the tool God uses to develop faith, hope, and love in His children, and as His children are, so is the church.

Even though these attributes are spiritual and intangible, they are not inconspicuous. They are evident in the life, the attitude, and the actions of the people of God. They are the ground of our motivation, the core of our spiritual life, and the evidence of our salvation. So we in the church must look to make sure these qualities are ours and are increasing, and those of us who preach, teach, and lead the flock must be diligent to develop these qualities in the flock that God has assigned to us, so that the flock will be spiritually healthy, vibrant, and effective (I Timothy 1:5, Ephesians 4:11-16, Philippians 1:9, 25-27, I Thessalonians 4:1, 9-10, Galatians 4:19).

Truth--The Responsibility of the Pulpit

Truth, by its very nature, is confrontational. It is such because it is absolute and concrete. Therefore it is unassailable, unshakable, unrelenting, immovable, and unchangeable. Truth is always a force to be reckoned with. Truth is the most powerful moral force in the world; in fact, truth is what makes morality moral, as it is the under girding of all morality. Truth is discriminating as it reveals all that is not true.  

The inherent power in the Scriptures is that they are true, they don't merely contain truth, but are truth in and of themselves. Jesus asked the Father to sanctify His disciples in the truth, and then went on to say, "Your word is truth." (John 17). Psalm 119:160 tells us, "The sum of Your word is truth." Psalm 12:6 says, "The words of the Lord are pure words; like silver refined in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times."

Because it is truth is why the Bible is confrontational. It shows us the truth about God, the truth about ourselves, the truth about life, and the truth about eternity. Because it is confrontational, it is also controversial. It is why it is attacked, mocked, derided, and considered out of step with modern morality. 

Because of its confrontational nature, because it raises the ire of those on whom it shines the light of truth upon, because when confronted with the truth people will typically fight or flee (John 3:18-21). This is why many who occupy the pulpit will not preach the word in all its fullness, seeking to make it more palatable to those who hear. Such preaching neuters the word, and promulgates a form of godliness that denies the true power of the gospel. 

Those who occupy the pulpit have a responsibility to preach the whole counsel of God, to preach the word in all of its fullness, to preach so that the sharp edges of truth are not blunted, to preach so that the truth is not veiled, to preach so that the truth of God is brought to bear on the minds and the hearts of those who hear. This understanding, this sense of responsibility, this allegiance to the truth is the great need in the preaching of our day, and indeed, if you follow church history, this is the great need in the pulpit in every age. This has never been nor will ever be a position of great popularity; but those who preach the truth are beloved by those to whom they preach, as well as the One for whom they preach. 

Let those of us who occupy the pulpit pledge our allegiance, our fidelity, to the One who is the truth; and as such preach His truth...unashamedly and unapologetically.

The following is from Tom Ascol, in his blog at www.founders.org. I will let him have the last word.

"Discriminating, expositional preaching is a great need in our day. We must be willing to show from the text what God says is right and true and then distinguish that from all of the counterfeits that plague the world and church today. Failure to preach and teach like this leads to a mongrel religion that may fly under the banner of Christianity but has missed Christ altogether. It is a frightening prospect. Where there is no discriminating preaching, it has been and remains a tragic reality."

A Pastoral Prayer for Sunday

 

Lord, love Your people through our worship.

May Your truth be spoken in prayer and praise.

Attend Your word to their mind and heart;

And may mind and heart and soul be lifted

up to You.

Lord, love Your people through the preaching.

May Your truth be in every word spoken.

Attend Your word to their mind and heart;

And may each piece of dross be removed,

  each facet of godly character be refined, each godly

 motive be reinforced, and each stain

of soul be cleansed through repentance.

Lord, love Your people through Your presence.

May Your presence be in our prayer, and praise, and preaching.

Take away all other thoughts than You.

Make Yourself our only desire, and Your will

our greatest delight.

We Should Strive to be Faithful

In our roles as pastors/spiritual leaders we should strive to be faithful, not seek to be famous. There is a striving, a working, even an agonizing that is required in the pursuit of faithfulness. Striving is required if we are to remain faithful to the call of God upon our life. Striving is required because there will be obstacles to overcome in order for us to remain faithful. Striving is required in order for our faithfulness to be tested and measured. Striving is required in order for our faithfulness to be considered just that...faithfulness. Striving is required for us to be truly God glorifying.

On that day the Lord will say, "Well done my good and faithful servant." not "Well done my good and famous servant." as we enter into His joy.

Fellow pastors, let us strive together to be faithful, and may His joy be full in us.

Turth, the Great Need of Every Hour in Every Age

I write so that you will know how one ought

to conduct himself in the household of God,

which is the church of the living God,

the pillar and support of the truth.

I Timothy 3:15

What will people hear when they come to your church? What should people hear when they come to your church? What do people need to hear when they come to church, any church? The answer is simple, really, and it is....."The Truth." What people should hear, and need to hear is "The Truth," yes, with a capital "T". 

They don't need stories, they don't need therapy, they don't need moralism, they don't need movie clips or skits, they don't need placating, they don't need pandering, they don't need platitudes, they don't need entertainment, they don't need titillation, they don't need warm fuzzies, they don't need their self-esteem boosted or their ego stroked, they don't need to be manipulated, they don't need to be sold, they don't need vision, they don't need wit or comedy, they don't need a slickly produced event, they don't even need the pastor to be a great communicator. Plain and simply they need the pastor to be a truth-teller; and they need the pastor to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help him God.

They need to hear the truth throughout the service, in the praying and the praising and the preaching. The entire service should carpet bomb them with the truth. In our post-modern age, truth is the great need of the hour; but that is no different than it has ever been, as man has always had an aversion to the truth, which is why people will pile in heaps those who will tickle their ears with what they want to hear, and pile on those who don't. But just because men and women are averse to the truth, doesn't mean they don't need the truth. In reality it is their very aversion to the truth that causes them to be in such great need of the truth.

Fortunately we have the great repository of the truth, the Bible, which is the very truth of God who cannot lie; and we have the Living Word, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, who is truth incarnate and personified, and the locus of the truth (Ephesian 4:21, John 14:6). So if we are to give the people the truth, we should preach and teach the infallible and inerrant word of God, and tell them of His Son who spoke truth and lived the truth (Ephesians 1:13a, John 8:40). 

In Acts 20:26 Paul testifies that he is innocent of the blood of all men. How could he make such a bold and powerful statement? Because he knew that He preached the truth, he knew that he declared the whole counsel of God. It wasn't platitudes that caused him to be stoned, but the truth. It wasn't a therapeutic sermon that caused him to be beaten with a rod, but the truth. It wasn't entertainment and titillation that caused him to be imprisoned, but the truth. It wasn't self-esteem, make them feel good about themselves, tell them God loves them just like they are sermons that caused him to be run out of several towns, but the truth. It was the truth he preached that contradicted the pagan cultures that made him unpopular and the object of wrath, but it was the same truth that was the seedbed for the churches he planted.

Man's great need is the thing he hates to hear the most, the truth. If we are called to preach, then we are called to declare the truth. Anything else, really anything less, is a betrayal of our calling. Let's remember James 4:17, and don't give lip-service to preaching the truth; but preach the truth to the best of our God-given ability, asking Him for His grace and empowerment, trusting in His truth to do what only it can do and trusting in Him for the effects. This is what makes us worthy watchmen (Ezekiel 33:1-9).

The Three Essential Elements of Powerful Persuasive Preaching

Preaching is both a human task and a Divine event, a combination of man and God delivering the message of God. As preachers we are both blessed and burdened in our preaching. We are blessed with the opportunity and the privilege and burdened with the responsibility and accountability, of speaking forth the oracles of God. Those truly called to preach have been gifted so as to be the mouthpiece of God, so that when we speak for God it should be as God Himself would speak. As such, preaching has been depicted as God speaking through the personality of men. 

In this vein we must realize that there are certain keys, certain requirements, certain foundational principles required on the preacher's part so that the Spirit of God can and will attend and give unction to his message. It is not erudition, articulation, or winsomeness, although those are certainly helpful. It is good to be learned, it is good to be a wordsmith, and certainly an attractive personality and engaging presentation will help; but all of these can be present and yet, the sermon can be devoid of power and spiritually impotent. 

What then are the keys to powerful, persuasive preaching? What is required of those who would stand in the pulpit and herald forth the word of God? What must we as preachers do in order for our sermons to be attended by the Holy Spirit and for us to preach in His power? I believe there are three keys, three foundational elements, that are required of the preacher for his preaching to be spiritually powerful and effective. In listening to and experiencing sermons I have seen these essential elements to be present in the preacher whose sermons have been marked by the attending power of the Holy Spirit; and all the great preachers in the church have possessed and exhibited these elements in their preaching. They are:

1. A thorough conviction of the truth.
This is ground zero for all who would be powerful in the pulpit and is the primary essential element and the guiding principle for all who would have their preaching attended by the Holy Spirit. The preacher who would be powerful in the pulpit will always believe that the word of God is true, absolutely true; not just true as regards the things of salvation, not just true in the matters of faith and practice, but true in every area to which it speaks, whether it is creation, revelation, miracles, history, or prophecy. He does not look for holes in the Scriptures, but has a steadfast hold on the veracity of the Scriptures and believes that they are truth without any mixture of error. He then preaches as presenting the truth, with the conviction that what he is saying is true, and therefore his preaching will be attended by the Spirit of truth. This gives the message authority.

2. A thorough knowledge of the truth.
Shallow knowledge begets shallow sermons, and shallow sermons are never powerful sermons. There is a saying that knowledge is power, and the powerful preacher will have a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, not just in a pet area, but in the full flow of the grand narrative of the Bible. He will understand where the passage he is preaching on falls in the scope of the Bible, he will understand its context, its historical surroundings, its audience. The preacher will have a knowledge of the subject he is preaching on, and what the Bible, as a whole, has to say about the subject. This lends weight to his sermon, this gives breadth and depth to his sermon, and thereby gives his preaching the appropriate gravitas. Alongside this the Holy Spirit of God also gives the preacher wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. This makes the preacher believable.

3. A thorough explanation of the truth.
Just as thorough knowledge makes the preacher believable, thorough explanation makes the preacher understandable. What makes the sermon finally and ultimately powerful is the explanation and application of the truth. A correct and thorough explanation of the truth is a prerequisite to the Holy Spirit applying the truth to the hearts of the hearers. People cannot apply what they do not know or understand. The truth must be presented clearly and precisely. The meanings of words, their tenses and contexts, and what other verses say about the same subject give light to the mind in understanding the meaning of the passage. Once a passage is understood the Holy Spirit will apply it to each person's heart within the context of their own walk and experience. This makes the sermon personal, this makes it powerful, this makes it effective. 

As preachers we must preach to the heart through the mind in order to bend the will. In order for this to take place we must be convinced that what we are preaching is true, we must know our subject, and we must be able to explain so as to bring clarity and insight into the mind of the hearer. When this is done, the Holy Spirit will attend our sermon and give it all the spiritual power necessary to accomplish its aim. 

I hope these essential elements are present in your preaching. They are attainable for us all, from the least gifted of us to the most gifted, from the least eloquent to the most eloquent, from the least winsome to the most winsome. Possessing these foundational and essential elements in our preaching does not guarantee us large crowds or growing churches or notoriety or a place on the conference circuit, but they do guarantee us that our sermons will be spiritually powerful and effective in the sphere in which our Lord and Master has placed us. This will lead to His approbation, "Well done, My good and faithful slave, enter into the joy of your Master."

Preaching to True Needs

 There has been much discussion, both pro and con, concerning preaching to felt needs. As real as the felt needs are, both in the mind of the hearer and in the mind of the preacher, I believe that they are but the symptom(s) of a greater, deeper, ultimate true need; and that is a right relationship with the Living God. If this is the case, and I believe it is, then man's truest need is that of salvation; and what all men need, both saved and unsaved, is to hear the gospel preached. And what needs to be preached is a robust and full orbed gospel, telling everyone all that is contained in the gospel, all that God has provided to meet man's greatest, deepest, ultimate need, which is God Himself; and it is in the meeting of that ultimate need that all other needs are met.

Man needs salvation and all that salvation brings in all of its aspects. Underneath the umbrella of salvation there are many needs that are met that tie directly into salvation and what it provides. Let's look at the different aspects of salvation to see what all is provided by God to meet man's true needs.  

Man needs the guilt of his sin removed from him. God has provided that through expiation.

Man needs the the wrath of God towards his sin to be satisfied. God has provided that through propiation.

Man needs the enmity between him and God, that has caused his alienation from God, to be done away with. God has provided that through reconciliation.

Man needs to be free from his bondage to sin and be out from under the dominion of Satan. God has provided that through redemption.

Man needs acceptance and a family to which to belong. God has provided that through adoption.

Man needs to be made clean and have a fresh start. God has provided that through regeneration.

Man needs to be righteous as God is righteous. God has provided that through imputation.

Man needs to be innocent before God. God has provided that in justification.

Man needs a new heart towards God. God has provided that through circumcision.

Man needs to be able to live a life pleasing to God by overcoming sin. God has provided that in sanctification.

Man needs an advocate before God. God has provided that through Christ's intercession.

Man needs a hope for the future. God has provided that through glorification.

The felt needs of man really relate back to his greatest needs, his truest needs, which are spiritual. Man, at his core, is a spiritual being. If we as preachers would preach to his greatest needs, which are spiritual, then we would see his felt needs being taken care of and resolved. Preaching a robust and  full orbed gospel does just this, because the gospel includes all of the above. The gospel speaks both to the unsaved and the saved. To the unsaved it reveals his greatest and truest need, and to the saved it reveals all that God has done to meet that need. Understanding all that is provided in salvation is important and it is revealed in the proper preaching of the gospel.

Friends, our ultimate need is God Himself, a real and right relationship with Him. He has provided in His Son for that need. Look to Christ today as the only true satisfaction, the ultimate satisfaction for your greatest need, for all that you need is found in Him. Study and learn the gospel, for it truly is good news.

The Value, Benefit, and Necessity of Reminding

In Titus 2:15-3:1a, Paul lays out for us several responsibilities for the Pastor in regards to his preaching. All of the verbs here are present imperatives, which mean they are ongoing commands, not just for Titus but for everyone who occupies the pulpit. 

If you have studied what are called the Pastoral epistles of Paul, and followed his ministry through the book of Acts, most of what is listed here should not come as a big surprise; in fact, the commands are the usual suspects when it comes to preaching the word of God. We understand that we are to be continually speaking the word, and with the word to be continually exhorting and reproving. We understand that when we speak the word we are speaking it under His authority, and therefore with His authority. We also know of the importance of never letting anyone disregard or blow us off as we deliver His word.  However, have you ever thought about how a part of our responsibility as a pastor is to be continually reminding our people about what the word says?

That's what Paul says right there in the very first word of verse one of chapter three...be continually reminding them.  It is the last of the commands, and magnifies and reinforces all the others. When you remind someone, what you are doing is bringing to their remembrance something that they already knew. It is not giving them new knowledge, but is the re-giving them of something already taught. It is the re-telling of Biblical truth. It is the re-explaining of Biblical principles. Reminding is for remembering and therefore reinforcing. What are we to remind them of? We are to remind our flock what the Scriptures say, and what they already know to do in light of what the Scriptures say. We are commanded to remind, so it must be important. 

The Lord is big on reminders, from Genesis all the way through the rest of the Bible. In the Old Testament we have memorials and altars. We have covenant reminders. We have feasts that were to be held every year, and rituals to be continually followed (Hebrews 10:1-3). In the New Testament we have the Lord's Supper, which is to remind us of His death and our covenant with Him. In baptism we are visibly reminded or our union with Christ and our new identity in Him. So why is reminding so important, and why does He remind us so often? So we won't forget or be neglectful.

There are three primary words in the New Testament that are translated remind: 

The first is hupomimnesko, and it just simply means to remind, to bring to remembrance. We see this word used in II Timothy 2:4-14, II Peter 1:12-13, and the purpose of being reminded here is to remind them about the things concerning salvation and sanctification. As used in II Peter 3:1 it is so that they would be stirred up to remember the Scriptures. In Jude 1:5 it is used so as to remind them about the judgment of God upon those who do not truly believe. In Titus 3:1-2 it is used to remind them how they are to behave as Christians.

The second is anamimnesko, which means to remind again, to re-remind, if you will. It is used in
I Corinthians 4:17 to remind the Corinthians of Paul's example, his teaching and its uniformity. In II Timothy 1:6 it is used so as to strengthen and encourage Timothy.

The third is epanamimnesko, which means to strongly or greatly remind, so as to never forget. Paul uses this word in Romans 15:15-16 to tell them that he has written this great epistle to them so that they will never forget the gospel. In other words this epistle was written so that the gospel would be forever etched in their minds.

Additionally, in Philippians 3:1 we see Paul telling the Philippians that to write the same things again is a safeguard for them, so here we see that reminding is also for our protection. 

So in these verses we see some of what reminding is intended to accomplish. 

You see, going to church, studying the Bible, and listening to sermons is not always about hearing or learning something new, but many times it is to be reminded of what we already know. We are never too old in Christ or too old in years to learn something new, and we will never reach a place where we have heard it all or know it all. However, we will also never reach a point or ever reach an age where we won't need to be reminded. You see, so much of our Christian life is about being reminded. We, being the weak frail creatures that the Scriptures tell us that we are, need to be reminded. We need to be reminded so we won't forget. We need to be reminded so our faith will be reinforced and strengthened. We need to be reminded so as to be refreshed when we grow weary. We need to be reminded to be reproved for not doing what we know to do. We need to be reminded so as to be revitalized so we will fight the good fight and press on in our faith. We need to be reminded so we can be restored when we have been wounded or brought low. We need to be reminded so as to be renewed to a greater state of Christlikeness. Sometimes we just simply need to be reminded that we need to be reminded; and, if you  think about it, many times we are the most blessed by hearing a truth that we already hold dear.

So, fellow pastors, let us not forsake, neglect, or forget our responsibility to remind our people about what the Bible says. Let us not be afraid to remind, for we are in the reminding business. Those of us who preach should love to tell the story, again and again. Indeed, that is our charge. 

And how is the best way to do this, so that it doesn't grow stale from the repetition? Preach through the Bible verse by verse, book by book. This is one of the beauties and benefits of consecutive expository preaching. This way you will present the same truths and cover the same themes, but in different contexts and from different angles; and, in doing so, the gospel will be kept fresh, both for you and for your people.

The Pastoral Desire

The following is an excerpt I ran across from the book Pastoral Ministry, written by members of the Master's Seminary.

"Paul introduced the qualification of the pastor by extolling the ambitions to pursue the office and the function of an elder.  In fact, he spoke of pursuing that office with intense desire (I Tim. 3:1 epithumeo).  It is true that ambition, when selfishly motivated, is dangerous.  At this time restraint and caution should prevail.  However, ambition not motivated by eagerness for the prestige of power but rather by a passion to serve the Master is right.  Desire for positional prestige corrupts because it originates from impure motives (see Jer. 45:5). Yet desire for service purifies, because it seeks only the service of the one who has been called to service (Rom. 12:1; Mark 10:42-44). The true spiritual leader is concerned infinitely more with the service he can render God and his fellowmen..."

Politics and the Pulpit

I have been very disturbed over the past many months with the number of pastors who have come out in support of, endorsed, or campaigned for people running for President of our country. Even if we had two people of reputable character running for president, which we don't, I would not feel any differently. One of the things that has bothered me deeply, is that when endorsing the candidate they have chosen, pastors and religious leaders act like or make statements to the effect that their particular choice of candidate will deliver our country. No man or woman, not the Republican, not the Democrat, not the Libertarian, not the Green Party candidate can deliver our country from the morass of problems that beset us, for there is One and only One deliverer, and that is the Lord. 


The root issue in our country is that we have lost our moral moorings. In other words, the root issue in our country is a spiritual one which is manifesting itself through the different crises we are seeing and experiencing. The enmity and hatred behind the racial clashes is a spiritual issue. The sexual assault on college campuses, which has been called an epidemic, is a spiritual issue. The sexualization of our culture is a spiritual issue. The degradation of women is a spiritual issue. The glorification of violence is a spiritual issue. Pornography of every type is a spiritual issue. Drug use and abuse is a spiritual issue. Public anarchy and its manifestation in rebellion against law and order is a spiritual issue. Heavy handedness by law enforcement is a spiritual issue. Moral relativism is a spiritual issue. Islamic assault against us is a spiritual issue. Class envy is a spiritual issue. Abortion is a spiritual issue. Human trafficking is a spiritual issue. Greed and avarice are spiritual issues. Immorality is a spiritual issue.  These issues are the root causes of the problems that beset our country, and why would anyone think that our political system or a person can solve the basic issues of the human soul, especially those who should know better....pastors and religious leaders, those who are charged with knowing the word of God.


Neither politics nor politicians have the power to deliver anyone. They cannot empower anyone as they have no inherent power to give. They cannot change the heart. They cannot enlighten the mind nor give eyes to see or ears to hear. They cannot provide forgiveness nor promote mercy or compassion. They cannot prevent bribes. They cannot bridle the tongue, season our words with salt, and bring words of peace and healing. Nothing they can do, nothing that can be passed through the system will have any affect on the heart of man. The best that politics and politicians can do is put a Band-Aid on the symptoms, but they cannot provide a cure for the root problem. Therefore, they cannot fix the mess we are in and there comes a point where the Band-Aids just aren't big enough to cover the wound anymore. Ultimately, all politicians and elected officials can do is stir the pot; and why certain pastors and evangelical leaders continue to put their faith in a man or woman to right the wrongs and lead us to the Promised Land, and encourage us to jump on their bandwagon and do the same, is past credulity. Honestly, they should all know better; but the very fact that they are putting their faith in man shouts loudly about why the church in our country is in the condition that it is in, and why it has become contaminated salt that has lost its saltiness, and now is only good for the manure pile.


As pastors, our job is not to be political commentators or cultural watchdogs, but it is to be heralds of the Lord God, Himself, by preaching and teaching His unchanging and unerring Word. There is only one Promised Land for the people to be led to, and that is the coming new heavens and new earth.  There is only one kingdom worth promoting and that is the kingdom of heaven; and there is only one King to pledge allegiance to and endorse, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Lord that removes kings and establishes kings (Daniel 2:21). It is the Lord that determines the times and boundaries of the nations (Acts 17:26). There is only One who delivers all men from their spiritual bondage, and it is Jesus Christ. It is Him and His kingdom we should serve, not the leaders and kingdoms of this world.


Maybe, just maybe, if the pastors and religious leaders would work just as hard and be just as vocal in preaching repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ, the issues troubling our country would be resolved and lessened. But, that is not as popular nor as easy, and will be met with greater resistance, because of the hardness of the human heart towards the things of God. 


Ultimately, we as pastors need to remember that we are but aliens and sojourners in this world and our time upon this planet is so very brief, and that it is our duty and our charge to lead people up to Christ, not down to the politicians of this world. It is time for the church in our land to repent of our worldliness and dependency on human solutions to spiritual problems, and it needs to begin with us, the pastors and shepherds of the flock of God. Let us lead forward in repentance and ask God to have mercy on us and on our nation. Please, Lord, make it so.

Success(?) in Ministry

We had the great blessing to attend the Shepherd's Conference last week at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles. It was a wonderful time of preaching and singing and worshiping and fellowship. The theme this year was pastoral encouragement, and each speaker addressed it from different perspectives. Nathan Busenitz preached an excellent sermon on pastoral success, which I enjoyed; but he did not go quite far enough in his sermon. I think we as pastors and Christian workers, especially in our American context need a paradigm shift regarding how to measure our ministry; and the shift would be from measuring it according to secular criteria to measuring according to Biblical standards. This will cause us to take a closer look at what the Bible lays out as the true measure of a ministry. Let's take that closer look. What follows is a repost from a previous blog.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me,

because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.

I Timothy 1:12

(italics mine)

As pastors, our desire should be to be faithful, not successful! Too much, pardon me...way too much... emphasis is put on a pastor being successful. Pastors grade themselves, and are graded by others, on the success of their ministry, instead of the faithfulness of their ministry. There are conferences, seminars, magazines (Leadership), blogs, articles, and websites that are devoted to the pastor's success. There are secular standards of measure that are used such as numbers, growth, baptisms, budget, missions involvement, influence, twitter followers, website or blog hits, and the like. And, yes, the more 'spiritual' will talk about how true success in ministry is measured in spiritual terms, or how you can't measure success because it is spiritual; but the problem is that the stress is still on being successful.

I cannot find one scripture in the entire Bible that refers to a pastor being successful. In fact, the Bible never stresses the success of the pastor, but stresses the faithfulness of the pastor. For example see I Timothy 1:12 above and listen to I Corinthians 4:1-2 "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found (pistos) faithful/trustworthy."  

This is why we never find any Scriptures where the Lord is measuring our success, but we see where He is always measuring our faithfulness, our trustworthiness. For example:

Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing will be unrighteous in much. 

For us as pastors we see this principle in Luke played out in Matthew 24:45-46 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes." And we see this illustrated vividly for us in a parable of the kingdom, Christ's kingdom, in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable we see the Master leaving and entrusting his possessions to his slaves, and in verses 21 and 23 we see His commendation upon His return, "His master said to him, "Well done good and faithful slave, You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master." Christ has left this earth for a while, and has given us pastors charge over His possessions (His people, see I Peter 2:9, Titus 2:14). His concern, as so wonderfully illustrated in the Scriptures above, is for us to be faithful with what He has given us, and He has not entrusted everyone with the same amount.

You see, when you try to measure success, the only true way to measure is if everyone is given the exact same ministry, the exact same gifting, the exact same set of circumstances, and so on. But the Lord has not seen fit for it to work in that way.  In addition to the verses listed above in Matthew consider this in Romans 12:3-6 "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith." So there is no standard by which we can all be measured, except our faithfulness. So as we have seen in Matthew (and also in Luke 19) when the Lord measures a ministry, He measures it by faithfulness.

When we measure our ministry and its 'success' by the secular standards mentioned above, then we automatically start comparing ourselves to others, or others to ourselves. This will lead to our either being puffed up or deflated, to our being envious or condescending, to our being bitter, or to our dying a thousand deaths if not enough people show up.

What we are concerned about in our ministry will be what we emphasize in our ministry. When our concern is our success, then success, in whatever way we measure it, will be the emphasis; and if success in ministry is our goal, then our ministry automatically becomes about us and our goal(s) and not about the Lord and the accomplishment of His purpose(s).  

As indicated above, the Lord is using us (talking to pastors in particular here), to accomplish His purpose(s). We are the tools, the means, the vessels that He has chosen to use, but it is Him that is accomplishing His purpose(s) through us. When we put the emphasis on our success, it then becomes us achieving our goals with the Lord's "help." When the emphasis in on our success, the Lord becomes our means in accomplishing our goals instead of us being the means of the accomplishment of His eternal purpose; and, in effect, the Lord becomes our servant and we cease to be His; and thus, the glory is no longer the Lord's but ours. This is very subtle, but it is rampant in the ministry here in the states, as we have corrupted the ministry with the American success syndrome. In considering this, let us look at a few Scriptures that can give us the right perspective on this:

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keep awake in vain.

II Timothy 2:21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor; sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared (made fit) for every good work.

II Corinthians 3:4-6 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit...

I Corinthians 12:4...the Spirit gives the gifts

I Corinthians 12:5...the Lord gives the ministries

I Corinthians 12:6...our God causes the effects

Isaiah 10:15 Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.

Keeping these verses in mind, that it is the Lord who is ultimately in charge of the ministry He has privileged us with, will shape our perspective, and keep us from thinking is all about us.

II Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

How these verses work together in a gospel ministry is illustrated in the following mysteries:

Mark 4:26-28 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. The soil produces the crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

I Corinthians 15:10 By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove in vain (because Paul was faithful), but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God with me.

Brother pastors and fellow Christian workers. Let us no longer be slaves to the secular success syndrome that has crept into the church and try to measure our ministries by artificial and arbitrary standards. Let our concern not be for our success, but for our faithfulness; and therefore let us seek to be faithful in the task, the great and noble task, of expanding the kingdom which was begun in Christ and will be culminated in Christ when He returns and rules. Let our success be found in our faithfulness to the Lord and to the ministry to which He has called us, and has equipped us and gifted us to perform; and let us keep our hands firmly on the plow as we follow His path and pray for His will to be done and not our own.

God's Glory Made Known

"...God wishes to to dwell with men, to have His reality and splendor known to them. But this is only possible when they take account of the stunning quality of His holiness and set out in faith and obedience to let that character be manifested in them....But nowhere is the reality and the splendor of His presence and His character seen as in His Son (Isaiah 4:2). Here the near blinding quality of His glory is fully portrayed, "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth."  (John 1:14). Through Him and through His presence in the church, God' glory is indeed filling the earth.

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
Volume I
Page 943
A study on the word "kabod"

This is part of the reason we celebrate Christmas...Immanuel, God with us, God making Himself known in Christ, God revealing Himself in Christ.  As Christ Himself said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). The church is the body of Christ and part of its responsibility is to show forth the glory of God on the earth. Let us endeavor to conduct our services to accomplish that each Sunday so that each of us will carry that forth with us by faith and obedience during the week.

A Prayer for Sunday

Father, speak Your Word through me this morning.

Through Your Word, train, instruct, strengthen,

encourage, and correct your people.  Send forth

Your Word attended by Your Spirit, so that it

may do all you have intended in the lives of those

who hear it today.  For Your glory and Your

kingdom. Amen

Measuring Your Ministry

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me,

because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.

I Timothy 1:12

(italics mine)

As pastors, our desire should be to be faithful, not successful!  Too much, pardon me...way too much... emphasis is put on a pastor being successful.  Pastors grade themselves, and are graded by others, on the success of their ministry, instead of the faithfulness of their ministry.  There are conferences, seminars, magazines (Leadership), blogs, articles, and websites that are devoted to the pastor's success. There are secular standards of measure that are used such as numbers, growth, baptisms, budget, missions involvement, influence, twitter followers, website or blog hits, and the like.  And, yes, the more 'spiritual' will talk about how true success in ministry is measured in spiritual terms, or how you can't measure success because it is spiritual; but the problem is that the emphasis is still on being successful.

I cannot find one scripture in the entire Bible that refers to a pastor being successful.  In fact, the Bible never stresses the success of the pastor, but stresses the faithfulness of the pastor.  For example see I Timothy 1:12 above and listen to I Corinthians 4:1-2 "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  In this case moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found (pistos) faithful/trustworthy.  

This is why we never find any Scriptures where the Lord is measuring our success, but we see where He is always measuring our faithfulness, our trustworthiness.  For example:
Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing will be unrighteous in much. For us as pastors we see this principle in Luke played out in Matthew.

Matthew 24:45-46 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?  Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes."  And we see this illustrated vividly for us in a parable of the kingdom, Christ's kingdom, in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable we see the Master leaving and entrusting his possessions to his slaves, and in verses 21 and 23 we see His commendation upon His return, "His master said to him, "Well done good and faithful slave, You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master." Christ has left this earth for a while, and has given us pastors charge over His possessions (His people, see I Peter 2:9, Titus 2:14). His concern, as so wonderfully illustrated in the Scriptures above, is for us to be faithful with what Has given us, and He has not entrusted everyone with the same amount.

You see, when you try to measure success, the only true way to measure is if everyone is given the exact same ministry, the exact same gifting, the exact same set of circumstances, and so on.  But the Lord has not seen fit for it to work in that way.  In addition to the verses listed above in Matthew consider this in Romans 12:3-6 "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.  For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith." So there is no standard by which we can all be measured, except our faithfulness.  So as we have seen in Matthew (and also in Luke 19) when the Lord measures "success," He measures it by faithfulness.

What we are concerned about in our ministry will be what we emphasize in our ministry. When our concern is our success, then success, in whatever way we measure it, will be the emphasis; and if success in ministry is our goal, then our ministry automatically becomes about us and our goal(s) and not about the Lord and the accomplishment of His purpose(s).  

As indicated above, the Lord is using us (talking to pastors in particular here), to accomplish His purpose(s). We are the tools, the means, the vessels that He has chosen to use, but it is Him that is accomplishing His purpose(s) through us.  When we put the emphasis on our success, it then becomes us achieving our goals with the Lord's "help."  When the emphasis is on our success, the Lord becomes our means in accomplishing our goals instead of us being the means of the accomplishment of His eternal purpose; and, in effect, the Lord becomes our servant and we cease to be His; and thus, the glory is no longer the Lord's but ours. This is very subtle, but it is rampant in the ministry here in the states, as we have corrupted the ministry with the American success syndrome. In considering this, let us look at a few Scriptures that can give us the right perspective on this:

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keep awake in vain.

II Corinthians 3:4-6 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit...

I Corinthians 12:4...the Spirit gives the gifts

I Corinthians 12:5...the Lord gives the ministries

I Corinthians 12:6...our God causes the effects

II Timothy 2:21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor; sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared (made fit) for every good work.

II Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

How these verses work together in a gospel ministry is illustrated in these mysteries:

Mark 4:26-28 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. The soil produces the crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

I Corinthians 15:10 By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove in vain (because Paul was faithful), but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God with me.

Brother pastors and fellow Christian workers.  Let us no longer be slaves to the secular success syndrome that has crept into the church and try to measure our ministries by artificial and arbitrary standards. Let our concern not be for our success, but for our faithfulness; and therefore let us seek to be faithful in the task, the great and noble task, of expanding the kingdom which was begun in Christ and will be culminated in Christ when He returns and rules.  Let our success be found in our faithfulness to the Lord and to the ministry to which He has called us and has equipped us and gifted us to perform; and let us keep our hands firmly on the plow as we follow His path and pray for His will to be done and not our own.

Persuasive Preaching or Powerful Preaching?

The word persuade is defined as causing someone to do or believe something. There are many who believe that preaching must be persuasive, and to a degree it must be. However, there is a fine line between persuasion and manipulation.  There is much preaching that goes on that is nothing but rank manipulation, and I am not talking about only the religious hucksters, the religious profiteers, and the televangelists, for they are the most obvious ones; but I am also referring here to the regular pastor/preacher types.

There is tendency, indeed a temptation, that for a sermon to be successful it must elicit some type of visceral response, cause some type of emotional reaction, or cause the congregants to tell the pastor how good the sermon was or how moved they were.  There is also the temptation to "move" the congregation to get behind a particular issue or event or project that is important to the pastor.

Honestly, the need to have these kind of responses reveal a great deal about the pastor...his ego and his insecurity.  To be frank, all of us who preach want to know if our sermons are hitting the mark, if they are effective, if they are doing anyone any good; but a preoccupation with the effect of the sermon or the response to the sermon, can cause the pastor to incorporate manipulation into his sermon (its production and presentation) so as to get the response he desires.  There is also the desire to come alongside certain issues or projects that particularly appeal to us that fits in here as well.

So, should sermons be persuasive?  Of course, they should!  But they should be spiritually persuasive because they are spiritually powerful.  A spiritually powerful sermon is always persuasive, but in order to be spiritually powerful, they must be based on Scripture, kept in context, accurately handled, and, might I add, soaked in Scripture.

The Lord tells us in Jeremiah 1:12 that He stands over His word to perform it. In Isaiah 55:11 the Lord states that His word will not return to Him empty without accomplishing His desire for it.  In I Thessalonians 2:13 He tells us that His word performs its work in those who believe.  In I Peter 2:2 we learn that it is His word that causes us to grow in respect to our salvation. Notice that it is His word He stands over, not the preacher's; it is His word that does not return empty, not the preacher's; it is His word that performs its work in the heart of the believer, not the preacher's; and it is His word that causes spiritual growth, not the preacher's. So for us to be spiritually persuasive, and, therefore spiritually effective, we must use more of His word and less of our own.  It is only sermons that are spiritually persuasive that have a lasting effect.

As preachers we preach to the heart through the mind in order to bend the will.  The will once bent will remain that way, but the bending of the will comes incrementally, much like watching a blacksmith forge an iron tool as he gradually conforms it to the shape he desires.  True change that is the result of true persuasion, is change that is permanent in nature.  Only the word of God attended by the Spirit of God can effect such a lasting change.

So if you want your sermons to be truly persuasive, then base them on the word of God, having accurately handled it to get its message (not your own) out of the text. And, be patient, trusting the Lord and His word to do what only they can do.

Preparing Ourselves for Sunday

As we prepare for Sunday, let us remember

that what we do is important, not because we

are doing it, or because it is our ministry.

It is not important because of the size, or

lack thereof, but it is important because

 it is His work He has called us to do.

Keeping that in mind is part of 

preparing ourselves for Sunday.