The article by Michael Horton which I mentioned in the previous post is now available online. This is a helpful article critiquing many common assumptions about what pastors should be and do.
Maxwell on Pastoring
Barry Maxwell is a good friend and thoughtful pastor. I recommend his blog. His most recent post is excellent as he discusses his own struggle with the difference between what the Bible calls us to as pastors and what the current church culture expects of us. This is important, valuable stuff. He also interacts with a recent article by Michael Horton in Touchstone Magazine. I was going to recommend that article as well, but I’ll now just point you to Barry’s musings.
Here is part of my response to his post:
You are right Barry. Continue in that way and continuing helping all of us resist the siren song of the culture which seeks to seduce us to false views of ministry. It must have felt odd for the Reformers to shake off the ways that had become so familiar to their setting when they returned to a more biblical path. It will feel odd to us too, and if we are in the least bit humble we will wonder, as you have done here, if we’re on the right track or have simply lost our minds. We must be diligent to encourage one another in this path. And who knows, maybe for our children this biblical path will not seem so strange.
Virile Literature
Old books are fun. You never know what gem you might find in what appears to be the most unlikely candidate. So it is always worthwhile taking a look. For example, I recently found a 1917 volume titled, Public School Methods, vol. 4. The title did not sound very promising, but I discovered that the volume is fascinating. About half of the book is taken up with a discussion of the value and importance of reading. It is very interesting to see how vastly different ideas were 90 years ago.
One section was titled “Virile Literature,” and I thought it was excellent. Here is the bulk of it:
“There is a tendency among boys and some grown people to look upon literature, especially upon poetry, as sentimental, and upon a love for it as effeminate. There is no possibility of such a feeling in the mind of a person who has been properly trained…. There is plenty of manliness in literature and abundant examples for reading which will require all the force of a trained intellect to comprehend. We must do nothing to destroy the virility of reading, but must make it not only the instrument of study but also a means of culture. The wise teacher sees that her classes have a great variety of matter and often leads them into selections that stir the young blood of the manliest boys among her pupils. While there may be fine phrases and elegant structure in such pieces, she encourages the reader to feel the glow of heroism or to warm their souls in the fire of patriotism.”
Indeed. Well put! That is what we aspire to.
Barth, Preachers Must Love their People
I have a number of disagreements with Barth theologically and ethically, but he did often speak truth. This quote from his book Homiletics he expresses well the how essential it is for us to love the people to whom we preach. Without this love it all falls apart.
“Preachers must love their congregations. They must not want to be without them. They have to realize: I am part of them, and I want to share with them what I have received from God. It will not help to speak with the tongue of men or angels if this love is missing.” (Cited in Preaching with All You’ve Got
, David Day, p. 17)
If your theology is better than Barth’s, will your practice be less?
I am like James and John
Here is a perceptive, challenging poem for those of us who are in any sort of leadership.
I am like James and John
Lord, I size up other people
in terms of what they can do for me;
how they can further my program,
feed my ego,
satisfy my needs,
give me strategic advantage.
I exploit people,
ostensibly for your sake,
but really for my own sake.
Lord, I turn to you
to get the inside track
and obtain special favors,
your direction for my schemes,
your power for my projects,
your sanction for my ambitions,
your blank checks for whatever I want.
I am like James and John.
– Robert Raines, cited in Kent & Barbara Hughes, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome
Peter Adam on Expository Preaching
Peter Adam, Principal of Ridley College in Australia, has a good brief article titled, “Fourteen incontrovertible arguments in favour of Expository Preaching.” This is a good succinct argument for the value of systematic preaching through books. It would probably be useful for handing out to a congregation, or even passing on to a pastor friend.
This page on the Ridley College sites contains other useful articles.
(HT: Greg Thornbury)
Scottish Highland Adventures
This book is part of a series of children’s books about adventures in various areas. We were interested in this one because of our years of living in Scotland. Each chapter deals with a specific area or characteristic of Scotland and then uses some aspect to connect to biblical truths. The biblical truths were well handled and provides good intro to discussion of these truths. However, the discussion of Scotland itself was a bit dull. My boys said the word adventures in the title was a bit misleading. It is not a very adventurous book.
If you are considering a trip to Scotland this could be a nice book to read with your kids to get a very basic feel of the area and address biblical truths. I don’t think it is one that will readily and quickly connect with young boys though.
Romans Study
This evening I begin a weekend study of Romans at Poplar Heights Baptist Church here in Jackson. We will meet three hours tonight (6pm-9pm), three hours Saturday morning (9am-noon) and then I will preach from Romans in the morning and evening services Sunday. I previously posted some thoughts on the historical impact of Romans.
In looking back over things today I have read a good bit of Stephen Westerholm’s, Understanding Paul,: The Early Christian Worldview of the Letter to the Romans
Owen on Heb 13:17
I am once more teaching my class on pastoral ministry. Early on we examine Hebrews 13:17 because I am convinced that the oversight of souls, as mentioned in this verse, is the heart of pastoral ministry. I also have the students read John Owen’s commentary on this verse and I commend it to you. All seven pages are worthwhile. Here is one key quote from Owen’s commentary:
“And the apostle compriseth herein the whole duty of the pastoral office…. The work and design of these rulers [pastors] is solely to take care of your souls,- by all means to preserve them from evil, sin, backsliding; to instruct them and feed them; to promote their faith and obedience; that they may be led safely to eternal rest. For this end is their office appointed and herein do they labour continually.”
Gladys Aylward
Gladys Aylward: No Mountain Too High
(Christian Focus, 2003), pb., 175 pp.
Ages 6+
I was really interested in this book because my wife read about Gladys Aylward in Noel Piper’s book Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God