Scougal, on the Gravity of Pastoral Ministry

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One of the items I have required in my pastoral ministry class from the beginning is a sermon by Henry Scougal entitled “On the Importance and Difficulty of the Ministerial Function” (found in The Works of Rev. H. Scougal, ed. By Don Kistler). This time around I required the sermon again but failed to supply a copy!

Some industrious students however discovered that the entire book, including this sermon, is available on Google book search! I recommend the book to you. It includes Scougal’s Life of God in the Soul of Man which has had significant impact over the years in the lives of men such as Wesley, Whitefield and more recently John Piper (see the preface to The Pleasures of God).

This sermon is based on 2 Cor 2:16 where in discussing the weightiness of preaching the gospel Paul asks “Who is sufficient for such things?” Here are some quotes to allure you to read the whole thing.

“it [the gospel] proves a vital savor to those who receive and obey it, but a most deadly poison to all who reject and despise it.” p. 228

“And shall we undervalue the price of His blood, or think it a small matter to have the charge of those for whom it was shed? It is the Church of God we must oversee and feed; that Church for which the world is upheld, which is sanctified by the Holy Ghost, on which the angels themselves attend. What a weighty charge is this we have undertaken! And ‘who is sufficient for these things?'” p. 234

“But certainly the greatest and most difficult work of a minister is in applying himself particularly to the various persons under his charge; to acquaint himself with their behavior and the temper of their souls; to redress what is amiss and prevent their future miscarriages. Without this private work, his other endeavors will do little good.” p.241

“Now this supposes a great deal of care, to acquaint ourselves with the humors and conversation of our people; and the name of ‘watchmen’ that is given to us implies no less.” p.252

A Thousand Miles Away

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I am going through some old books and in one book of poems by a Perry Tanksley I came across this poem entitled “A Thousand Miles Away.” It is a negative counterpart to my “Bedtime with My Boys” and a good reminder of the value of reading to and talking with our children.

My boys would burst into my room
And find me in my chair,
And they would ask advice or tell
One of their exploits rare.
But I would wave them on and say,
Whenever they inquired,
“Perhaps you ought to run along;
Tonight I’m very tired.”
And I’d go right on reading news
As they would beg to stay,
But I ignored them like they were
A thousand miles away.
Ah! Things are different now and I
Would give my all in fact
To have them burst into my room
And see them trooping back.
Ala it’s not to be because
My sons grew strong and tall
And moved a thousand miles away-
So far they seldom call.
And it’s not that I want them here
If they are called elsewhere,
Nor is it that I doubt their love.
I’m sure they really care.
But I can’t help but wonder what
The outcome might have been
If I had laid the paper down
And talked to them back then.
Of course, I can’t take these things back
But for my sons I pray
That they’ll each take time with their boys
Before they move away.

Teach Children the Gospel

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I have just read on Tom Ascol’s blog about a publisher of children’s Sunday School curriculum who decided that the cross is too violent for pre-schoolers and as a result they would skip the cross and resurrection in their Easter curriculum! You can see a letter of explanation and defense of their position here.

This is mind boggling. I would be hard pressed to do business with such a publisher again.

This sort of dumbing-down, anesthetizing approach to Scripture is what originally led me to searching out solid children’s material and eventually to starting this blog as a small way of passing on recommendations to others. Children can handle much more than what people today think and by giving them sturdy truths we will rescue them from the spiritual and moral anemia and spinelessness so prevalent today.

Maxwell on Pastoring

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Scottish Highland Adventures, by Catherine Mackenzie
(Christian Focus, 2007), pb., 91 pp.
Ages 6+

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.