A delicate line often separates conviction and concession. What are matters of conviction for one could are easily conceded by another. God’s wisdom must distinguish between holding one thing fast and holding another thing loosely. That said, is it ever wrong to be right? Paul instructs us in many places to keep the weaker brother’s interest at heart. In other words, there are simply some issues that are not worth […]
Apart from such external [unmentioned] things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches (2 Cor 11.28). There are few, if any, who will experience what Paul endured in Christian ministry. In 1 Corinthians 11.12-27 he took inventory of his apostolic life: prisons, floggings, death beds, stonings, shipwrecks, homelessness, muggings, deprivation and danger from all sides. Paul hinted in v28 he would leave much more […]
“If you are not holding down a little church merely until you get a big one, but really care for people, at least as much as you care for your own life and children, then you must convey to them a real awareness that you are interested in their problems. If you are not interested in the problems of sincere, ongoing Christians you ought not to be in the work […]
“You may have heard the story of the man who went to the psychiatrist and told him that his problem was an inferiority complex. The psychiatrist did his best with him, and then brutally, perhaps too brutally, gave his considered opinion. ‘Your trouble is not inferiority complex,’ he said, ‘but just that you are plain inferior.’ Cruel, but probably true! “There is a lesson here. Some meddling ministers want to […]
“. . . the American church has not treated [growth in Christ] with an equivalent urgency [compared to evangelism]. The American church runs on the euphoria and adrenaline of new birth–getting people into the church, into the kingdom, into causes, into crusades, into programs. We turn matters of growing up over to Sunday school teachers, specialists in Christian education, committees to revise curricula, retreat centers, and deeper life conferences, farming […]
When considering pastoral ministry I’m confident it was neither pastoral nor ministry at all I was considering. I wasn’t driven by a deep desire and compassionate love to shepherd souls through the ministry of the Word and prayer. I was driven by the egotistical desire to be heard. If you love preaching but don’t love those to whom you preach then you simply love being heard. You love people listening to […]
“God has caused you to become pastor to some souls here who are as valuable to Him as any in the world – your quiet persistence will be a sign that you believe God has a purpose of grace for this people, and that this purpose of grace will be promoted, not by gimmicks, or stunts, or new ideas, but by the Word of God released in preaching by prayer. […]
Recently, John Piper answered the question, “Should pastors get PhDs?” His tempered and pastoral response provoked some contemplation here at BMF. Virtually every pastor I know has considered whether or not he should pursue further studies. Whether or not a pastor should pursue a PhD is up to that pastor, his God and his church. He must determine if his efforts will ultimately result in more faithful ministry to the […]
Today I had the privilege of sitting in the shadow of ten giants of the church. Ray Van Neste and nine pastoral ministry students at Union University graciously and patiently endured my rambling thoughts on pastoral ministry. For those (or the one) so interested here is the manuscript. Sweet dreams.
The New Testament describes a Spiritually communal approach to developing and incarnating a sound biblical theology. The Bereans didn’t care how famous the dynamic duo Paul and Silas were (Acts 17.10-11). They were as eager in their scrutiny of the apostolic witness as they were in receiving it. The Corinthians themselves would be responsible for validating prophecy shared in their assembly (1 Cor 14.26-33). They wouldn’t write down all the […]