The preacher needs to be pastor, that he may preach to real men. The pastor must be preacher, that he may keep the dignity of his work alive. The preacher, who is not a pastor, grows remote. The pastor, who is not a preacher, grows petty.
The incident of Peter preaching to the Roman centurion, Cornelius, is a prime example of the gospel being received by Gentiles in the book of Acts (chapters 10-11). But Acts 11:19-26 was probably just as significant for the gospel’s spread to them:
Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the Word to no one but the Jews only.
But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.
Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
(All this may well have begun before Peter’s encounter with Cornelius.)
It is very interesting that this Acts 11 gospel expansion to Gentiles was not an organised mission, but took place naturally as the church scattered following the death of Stephen.
In Acts, missionaries are sent out by churches and often seem to work to a discernible pattern. But that needs to be set alongside what we see here: numbers of believers telling the good news as they were scattered from Jerusalem and looked to settle elsewhere.
The responsibility and privilege of reaching out to others is not the preserve of pastors, evangelists and missionaries; it belongs to the whole church and we each have a responsibility to take it to heart.
These early believers shared the gospel naturally, as they travelled, set up home and worked. And there is nothing in the text to suggest that this was somehow unusual and not the norm.
It is, of course, right and good that churches and mission agencies partner in sending out gospel workers. It would be a betrayal of the Lord’s commission not to do so. But our responsibility is not simply to initiate ministries; it is also to be sensitive to and ‘catch up with’ what the Lord is already doing, in what we might think of as spontaneous, ‘unplanned’ ways. That was the reality faced here by the church in Jerusalem.
But that leads to an interesting question. As the gospel spread among the Gentiles, how would the church in Jerusalem react? When Philip preached in Samaria in Acts 8, Peter and John were sent to authenticate the new work, to give it the apostolic imprimatur.
It seems that the church in Jerusalem and its leaders felt the need to assess and approve this gospel expansion. Given that in Acts 11 fully-fledged Gentiles are now being reached with the gospel, how will they react? Will it be with suspicion and a desire to control what is going on there?
What they did was send Barnabas to them. This time they sent one man, not two. And the man they sent wasn’t an apostle; he was a native of Cyprus, as were many of these new believers. He was a man of exceptional spirit, warm and encouraging. This wasn’t control and suspicion, but contribution and support for this young church.
The contribution made by Barnabas was not to impose forms and structures on this fledgling church, but to encourage them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts — a deeply pastoral concern that would have significant consequences for gospel witness (it was in Antioch that followers of Jesus were first called ‘Christians’, people of the Messiah).
The church at Jerusalem had the privilege of being the ‘original of the species’; the apostles were the authentic witnesses to the Lord Jesus and his gospel. But that didn’t mean they must thereafter control everything that happens to spread the gospel.
It is the Lord Jesus who directs the mission; we are his co-workers. So instead of sending people to check out this new development, they instead chose to send a man who would cheer on those involved in it.
Sending Barnabas to Antioch was perhaps the greatest thing the church at Jerusalem ever did for their brothers and sisters there. He was an outstanding example of a Christian and what a gospel worker should be.
He wasn’t jealous of their work, nor did he want to take it over. He rejoiced in the work and encouraged them to keep going and remain true to the Lord. His concern was not sectarian (to make them Jews), but to strengthen their Christian life and witness.
And this humble man was ready to acknowledge that he didn’t have all the gifts necessary to help this church. So he went on a long, 200-mile round-trip to bring Saul to join him in the work.
He recognised the Lord’s calling of Saul (Paul) and the gifts he’d been given. What a great encouragement to Saul that must have been! And, in God’s providence, this almost incidental action had immense strategic significance for the whole progress of the gospel — it was from Antioch that Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the church into further mission.
This short account in Acts 11 is long on significance. God is at work, outside and before our (proper) plans for outreach. Fledgling churches need appropriate encouragement more than they need the approval of others. And actions that seem incidental and slight can have the most far-reaching consequences for gospel advance.
(This article first appeared in slightly modified form in Evangelical Times, January 2014)
Hey, minister guy - find it hard sometimes, doing what you’re doing? Wish there could be others to help you out? You wouldn’t be the first. Go have a look at Numbers 11:16ff. Moses says out-loud what you’ve probably said in your heart: "What have I done to displease you [God)] that you have put the burden of these people on me?"
The LORD’s answer? ‘OK, here’s 70 elders to help you out - I’ll put my Spirit in them, too.’ And he does - even the two who remained back in the camp start prophesying. You can’t stop this God doing what he said he’ll do. The burden gets shared around.
But then maybe, just maybe, your fickle heart begins to think, ‘So there’s even more complexity to handle - a group of leaders to relate to, including those who won’t obey the Lord’s orders. Brilliant.’
So when you read Moses going on to say "I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets", you think ‘Whoah! Way too much trouble! Keep calm, Moses, these days will pass. Order will prevail.’
Well, tough. It’s already happened:
"I will pour out my Spirit on all people…and they will prophesy." (Acts 2:17f)
The blessing - and the calling - of testifying to the grace of God, of displaying his life and declaring his praises is not the professional preserve of the (sometimes grumpy) minister. God’s life in God’s people is far bigger and ‘control’ is not the name of the game.
This is a very thoughtful, helpful piece on preaching. Worth a long, slow read.
If you were asked the question, how would you answer? Here’s what Paul wrote to Timothy on the subject:
1 Timothy
command certain people not to teach false doctrines etc (1:3)
fight the battle well (1:18)
hold onto faith and a good conscience (1:19)
point-out wrong teaching (4:6)
avoid old wives tales and godless myths (4:7)
train yourself to be godly (4:7)
set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, purity (4:12)
the public reading of scripture (4:13)
not neglecting his gift (of teaching?) (4:14)
be diligent & give yourself to these things, so your progress is visible (4:15)
watch your life and doctrine closely & persevere in them (4:16)
don’t rebuke an older man but exhort as though your father (5:1)
treat younger men as brothers (5:1)
treat older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with purity (5:2)
proper recognition to widows who are really in need (5:3)
no partiality or favouritism (5:22)
not hasty in laying on of hands (5:23)
look after yourself physically (drink a little wine) (5:23)
flee greed and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance & gentleness (6:11)
fight the good fight of faith (6:12)
take hold of eternal life (6:12)
command the rich to put their trust in God (6:17)
guard what is entrusted to your care (6:20)
turn from godless chatter (6:20)
2 Timothy
fan into flame the gift of God (1:6)
don’t be ashamed but join in suffering for Christ (1:8)
keep the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love (1:13)
guard the good deposit entrusted to you (1:14)
be strong in grace (2:1)
entrust teaching to those who can train others too (2:2)
suffer like a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2:3)
reflect on what Paul is saying re. focussing on pleasing God (2:7)
remember Jesus Christ (2:8)
remind God’s people of ‘these things’ (2:14)
warn them not to quarrel (2:14)
present yourself to God as one who handles the word of truth correctly (2:15)
avoid godless chatter; it leads to ungodliness (2:16)
flee the evil desires of youth (2:22)
pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace (2:22)
have nothing to do with stupid arguments (2:23)
don’t quarrel or be resentful but be kind to all (2:24)
gently instruct opponents (2:25)
have nothing to do with professing Christians who live ungodly lives (3:5)
continue in what you’ve learned & become convinced of - don’t fall away (3:14)
preach the word, in season and out (4:2)
correct, rebuke, encourage - with great patience and care (4:2)
keep your head in all situations (4:5)
endure hardship (4:5)
do the work of an evangelist (4:5)
discharge all the duties of your ministry (4:5)
be supportive of others (4:9)
be on your guard against those who harm the gospel (4:15)
A recent study by sleep researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to suggest that a person’s emotional response after witnessing an unsettling picture or traumatic event is greatly reduced if the person stays awake afterward, and that sleep strongly ‘protects’ the negative …
No wonder God says to us, “do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”.
Maybe your ambition is to be described in somewhat more glowing terms than ‘a competent minister’. But that’s Paul’s claim for himself and his companions (2 Cor. 3:4-6). I wonder what comes to mind when you think of that phrase: someone who can preach an ok sermon, has a good bedside manner for hospital visiting and feels at ease with young people? ‘Yes, he’s a competent minister.’
I think Paul might be claiming something different and something more. He speaks about them being made competent (notice the source of the competency) "as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
There is a real need for those who handle God’s Word to know how to handle the transition from old to new covenant and what that means for those called to live as followers of Jesus. It isn’t a sermonising skill - far from it; it is broader and deeper. It’s being able to navigate waters of interpretation and application that honour Christ and the Spirit, that breathes life and vitality and newness, that addresses life in the Spirit in the here and now.
That doesn’t mean it’s about how you handle the charismatic issue (that would be a shallow conclusion), but how we promote and cultivate and teach a life that is built on the reality that "Christ is the end of the law" (Rom. 10:4) and that radiates the glory of the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:12ff).
Perhaps your prayer - like mine - is to be made competent, knowing how demanding the task is and not claiming anything special for ourselves.
In this interview, John Dickson was asked about how to effectively engage the broader culture. His remarks, although pertaining to Australian society, have much to say to the needs of the church in the UK:
What advice do you have for church leaders in America about how to engage the broader culture effectively? I think the very first thing is to do is adopt a stance of mission instead of admonition toward the world. Here’s an example. In the Australian context, there are church leaders who remember the glory days when about 20 percent of the nation went to church. They look at how Australia is secularized today, and their stance toward the world is basically admonition, the way you would talk to a backsliding Christian. How dare you slide away? How dare you legislate against Christian morality? I call that the admonition paradigm.
What’s wrong with this approach? I reckon that’s how you kill your mission, because if you speak with a sense of entitlement, you won’t be flexible, you won’t be humble, and you won’t take hits and just bear it. You’ll want to strike back. And people will think you’re arrogant. Quite rightly, probably.
What do you recommend instead? When you move out of admonition into mission, you realize Australia is no longer Jerusalem; it’s Athens. Then you instantly adopt a humbler approach to non-Christians. You don’t expect them to live Christian lives if they don’t confess Christ. You don’t expect Parliament to pass Christian-specific laws. But as a leader, you try to persuade the nation with winsomeness, with gentleness and respect, as Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15.
In an experiment, people who sat by a messy desk that was scattered with papers felt more frustrated and weary and took nearly 10% longer to answer questions in a colour-and-word-matching task, in compa…
OK, I guess it’s time to clear-up in here….
There’s been a really healthy return to emphasising the centrality of Jesus in the whole of Christian experience and as the focus of all the scriptures. Preachers are often encouraged to (rightly) ask the Christological questions and then make the Christological connections in our preaching. Quite so. But is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Sometimes, yes.
Here’s what I mean: preparing to preach this weekend on Luke 22:39-65, the first scene (vv.39-46) is Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. What more natural passage for a focus on the Messiah and his sufferings on our behalf? What clearer opportunity could there be to dig deep into his person and work? But look at what Luke does here: the incident begins and ends (call it an inclusio if you’re posh) with Jesus urging his disciples to pray that they would not fall into temptation (verses 40 & 46).
Luke’s account of the agonies of Jesus here is quite sparing, more so than the other gospel writers. Using the words of Jesus he foregrounds the disciples’ need to learn from what is happening here. This scene is deliberately written-up in such a way that our focus is drawn to the disciples’ (and our) propensity to fall into temptation and our need to pray earnestly in the light of that.
Now, of course, our help in such circumstances is only and ever found in Jesus - preaching on this passage without emphasising that would be hope-less. And to preach it without a proper reverence for the Suffering Saviour would be distinctly odd - and cold. But to preach it with Jesus as examplar would not be wrong-headed or misguided; it would, rather, be following the signposts in the passage itself.
It would be a real shame if, in our desire to honour Jesus, we failed to properly notice what he was so keen to underline.
What is the difference between imagination and reality? Sometimes, not that much. The February 2014 edition of the Monitor on Psychology (v. 45:2, p. 18) lists a brief note about a study published …
I’m linking to this article for a couple of reasons: firstly, it’s both interesting and helpful; secondly, Phil Monroe’s blog is consistently that and worth adding to your list of blogreads.
Mark 1:35-39 is a great lesson in quiet time maintenance: get up early, far away from other people and pray. Except it isn’t. It’s much deeper, more significant, than that. Those are things you or I might find helpful but they’re scarcely determinative - and certainly not the point of this passage.
So what is the point? Jesus goes out to a solitary place - a wilderness place. Guess what? He’s been to that kind of place fairly recently in this chapter - flip back to verses 12,13 and you’ll find him in a similar place. What’s going on back there? The testing of Jesus.
Mark doesn’t give us as full an account of that testing as Matthew and Luke do; he simply notes that it took place and that Jesus was in the company of wild animals and angels came and ministered to him there.
Fast forward to verses 35-39. Jesus chooses to rise very early and go out to pray in a wilderness place. Why? Maybe for this reason: the night before, he healed and delivered scores of people - the whole town had gathered at the door. And when the disciples eventually find him on this morning they give him the (hardly surprising) news that everyone is looking for him.
They love him - he’s a great guy to have around! They no doubt want this first-century Superman to stay with them a long time. Who wouldn’t? And Jesus tells his disciples that he’s not going to stay, that he’s instead going on to the other towns and villages, because he has to preach the gospel there too.
The response of the townspeople is a powerful temptation for Jesus, akin to the presence of wild beasts in the wilderness. Everyone likes to be popular; the pull of a crowd is subtle and subversive - and will eat you for breakfast. And so Jesus gets up early (before breakfast) to pray, in order that he might resist the temptation to settle for being popular and being needed and, instead, to maintain his focus on what really matters: taking the gospel to those who have yet to hear it.
In so doing, he shows us that prayer is more than simply making request of God. There is an aspect of prayer that is about aligning ourselves with, and committing ourselves to, the will of God and the gospel of God in which that will is most powerfully expressed. A later scene in the gospels, where the wilderness is replaced by a garden, confirms that: 'not my will but yours be done'.
Jesus knew he needed to pray to resist temptation and to maintain focus on what matters most. He needed to pray in order to see the issues clearly and to enter into the struggle to make the choice that would honour his Father and drive his mission forward.
I guess we do, too.
"we too often view the opposite of ‘doing’ as ‘not doing’ and then demonise inaction. In fact, good judgement grows out of reflection, and reflection requires the sort of quiet time that gets crowded out by the next demand.
Tony Schwartz is always worth reading, but this article is one of his very best.
Isaac inherited God’s promises to Abraham. In Genesis 26:12 we’re told that he planted crops and in that same year "reaped a hundredfold because Yahweh blessed him”.
When Jesus spoke of the fruitfulness of his word in people’s lives, he spoke of it multiplying thirty, sixty or even a hundred times.
Maybe he had in mind God’s blessing of the patriarchs and his promises to them, which were now coming true through his transforming word?
Disciples cannot stockpile…grace and strength beforehand but must learn from Jesus’ own example of prayer on the Mount of Olives that they are dependent on God from hour to hour. When they become aware of that, they will be more likely to pray than to talk big and be less likely to swoon in a crisis.
What does James have in mind when he speaks about looking in the mirror (James 1:23)? Is he wanting us to see our sins and to come away from the mirror humbled and deflated?
In verse 22 James urges his readers to not simply listen to the word but to do what it says. He then says (v.23) that the person who doesn’t do what the word says is like the person who looks into the mirror and forgets what he sees (v.24). He’s saying that what they saw in the mirror is not repeated and worked-out in obedience to the word.
In verse 25, James then correlates 'looking into the mirror' with 'looking intently into the perfect law that gives freedom'. It seems to follow that looking into the perfect law of liberty/looking into the mirror is about seeing something other than just our own sinfulness - it is, after all, about gazing intently at liberty. I suggest that it’s seeing Jesus, the one who fulfils the law and brings it to its intended outcome, the one who has perfected it; and it’s seeing who and what you are in union with him.
No doubt we will see our imperfections, which are many and complex. But we will see them atoned for; we will see them as antithetical to who we now are in Christ. And in that liberty, we will go into the world not forgetting who we are and, thus, being equipped for keeping the words God has spoken to us.
(preliminary thoughts for a sermon to be preached Tuesday 11th Feb 2014)
"The perplexing thing about the cult of overwork is that, as we’ve known for a while, long hours diminish both productivity and quality."
And Jesus said, Come apart and rest awhile….
Moses is directed by the LORD to make a tabernacle and all its furnishings, exactly like the pattern he would be shown (Exodus 25:9). That tabernacle would be furnished with an ark, a table, a lampstand, an altar for burnt offerings, another for burning incense, And the whole structure was to be covered with elaborate curtains. Every piece had to be made exactly as he would be shown. In addition to wood, metal and fine perfumes for those items, he was also to provide clothes for the priests to perform their duties and anointing oil to set them apart with.
Moses, a shepherd by trade, is to oversee this great work. How must he have felt? These were areas far outside his comfort zone, requiring multiple competencies - woodwork, metalwork, perfumery, needlework and design. How would he be able to handle all that?
Welcome, Exodus 31:1-11 "I have chosen Bezalel…and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills…(and) I have appointed Oholiab…to help him."
Notice the pronouns in use there - the LORD himself would provide all that was needed, personnel included. The work of God is never about one person. No servant of the church is ever called to be all and to do all. In the church of Jesus Christ, every believer is given the Spirit of God "for the good of all" (1 Corinthians 12:7).
That distribution of gifts and abilities is something to cultivate and to celebrate, with huge relief.
And along with it - and without which the project would simply have never got off the ground - was this: after Moses addressed them and told them of what the Lord had called for, "everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought and offering to the LORD for the work on the tent of meeting." (Exodus 35:21)
A people stirred by the call of God responded to the opportunity to give themselves to him and his work, to resource those tasked with detailed works. It’s about the whole body.
The word ‘busy’ is the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal
"If I vainly crowd my day with conspicuous activity or let others fill my day with imperious demands, I don’t have time to do my proper work, the work to which I have been called. How can I lead people into the quiet place beside the still waters if I am in perpetual motion? How can I persuade a person to live by faith and not by works if I have to juggle my schedule constantly to make everything fit into place?" (Eugene Peterson)
An article well worth reading, and not just by pastors.
It has to go down as the sermon illustration with the most potential to get me into huge trouble. I spent all that afternoon going over it and making sure I could use it with a straight face and laughing out loud at the prospect of doing so.
I was preaching on Paul’s words in Colossians 2:20ff, on the Christian as having died with Christ and having been raised with him. We had sung a few songs, prayed and read the Bible. It was now time for the sermon. I began with these words:
"As we come to look at this passage, I have some serious news to share with you tonight: our dear friend John Smith* has died."
(*name changed for obvious reasons)
There was an audible gasp in church - John was sat there in our midst, alive and, seemingly, well. I then went on to say, after a short pause,
"That’s what our text tells us - and it says the same is true for every one who is a Christian…."
We were then going on to think about what that meant and its implications for us.
Trouble was, John had arrived reasonably late to the service and had been unseen by many of the not-very-large congregation. The gasp had that quality of "But he seemed well enough this morning - what on earth has happened? Oh, his poor family, they must be in terrible shock…" and other such thoughts that race through your mind at breakneck speed when faced with such news, in those time-is-standing-still moments.
I can vividly recall the horrified look on the face of one of the said gaspers - she seemed as though she might have a coronary at any moment. I think it was then that I realised the illustration could have done with tweaking slightly. The irony of causing a death by announcing a fake one was rather lost on me in the elation of having accomplished the feat of saying it all without the slightest hint of a smirk (the time spent in front of the mirror that afternoon had been worth it). But it has rather haunted me since.
What did John himself think? He found it a very positive experience, albeit initially somewhat perplexing. He looked up at me with a kind of 'hey, what - really?!?' expression on his face. I half expected him to start taking his own pulse and pinching his wife to see if all around him was real.
But it affirmed for him, in a distinct and memorable way, the wonderful and shocking truth that, yes, the person who is ‘in Christ’ has actually - really and truly - died with Christ, that his death counts for ours and that we shall never have to experience separation from God on account of our sins. And, more, that we are raised with him - really, truly and now - in newness of life.
What a great reality! What a wonderful text. What a……..sermon illustration (fill in the blank as you see fit).