Daniel Darling's Blog, page 80

5 Ways Pastors Can Encourage Working Men and Women

Yesterday America celebrated Labor Day, the holiday reserved as a tribute to American workers. This is a good time to discuss ways pastors and vocational ministry leaders can encourage working men and women in their congregations. This is an oft-neglected, but essential part of ministry, because most Christians who attend church on Sunday don’t draw a paycheck from a Christian organization. They have to get up on Monday morning and perform in the so-called “secular” workforce. Those of us privileged to do so-called Christian work for a living don’t always understand the pressures of the American workforce. So here are five ways pastors can encourage the laity:

1) Read Work Matters by Tom Nelson. Every pastor should read this book, which gives a thorough theology of the oft-neglected doctrine of vocation. Pastors should be able to articulate this in their preaching and counseling. Most Christians don’t understand that the actual work they do in the workplace matters to God. Their role as a plumber or bank teller or lawyer isn’t simply a means to tithe money or be a witness. God is intimately invested in the quality of work produced by our hands. Good work bring glory to the Creator. Reading Work Matters can help you form a theology of work which will in turn help you encourage the men and women in your church to think biblically about their God-given callings.

2) Repent of dividing clergy and laity. All of us in professional pastoral ministry, at some times, have elevated the so-called full-time positions of pastor/teacher/youth pastor/worship leader above the supposed lesser callings like carpenter, fast-food worker or CEO. But Scripture makes no such distinctions. Sure, spiritual leaders bear a sober responsibility, but their work is no more noble than that of the faithful lay person who performs his work to the glory of God. In fact, those who work in secular vocations are arguably on the mission field longer than pastors, because they interface with more unchurched. They are in situations that force them to practice godliness in workplaces largely hostile to Christian values. Rather than treating them like second-class citizens, we should honor the faithfulness of Christian laity by equipping them for their mission, affirming their callings, and encouraging them to faithfulness.

3) Start Connecting Sunday to Monday. We need to infuse our sermons with more illustration and application to Monday. We need to remind the administrator who dreads facing that Monday budget meeting that he is not there simply to collect a paycheck. He is there as God’s representative in his workplace, as a light in the darkness, as a molder and shaper of those in his employ. We need to encourage the stay-at-home mom that her long days of changing diapers, grocery shopping and administering teething drops has a purpose beyond survival. We need to identify with the struggles of those who go in to work every day and are often beaten down by surly bosses, unethical coworkers, and tough working conditions.

4) Reward Faithfulness In the Workplace. I’m not quite sure how to do this, but somehow we need to acknowledge those who work their jobs with integrity and faithfulness. We often reward and celebrate achievements that happen at church–and we should–but what if we publicly acknowledged the teacher who celebrates 30 years in the classroom or the employee who has a faithful attendance record at work or the police officer who is rewarded for community service?

5) Get to Know the Struggles of the Working Man or Woman. The best way I’ve found to help encourage the working man or woman in my church is to simply find out more about what their days are like. Ask questions about their jobs, probe a bit and see what struggles they face everyday, what issues can you pray for? I’ve found people really enjoy when I ask them specific questions about their vocations–how they got to where they are, what they enjoy about it, how their businesses work, etc. This also helps me pray better as well. And it makes me grateful for the job I do as pastor. I often tell people, “I’m not sure I could do your job. It sounds way harder than mine.” Knowing the day-to-day struggles of the people you serve helps you appreciate their contribution, not only to your church, but to the community.

5 Attitudes Toward Someone With Whom You Disagree

We live in a generally uncivil world (because we are fallen creatures) and we are in the midst of an uncivil season (Campaign 2012). I don’t buy the idea that this is the “most negative campaign we’ve ever had.” One only needs to read biographies of the American founders (unless written by David Barton) to realize the human capacity to savage one another was alive and well in the golden years of America’s founding. Still, technologies, the proliferation of campaign spending, and the insidious, but effective tool of dishonest 30-second TV ads all add to a very uncivil culture.

For Christians, it can be difficult to know how to engage in an uncivil culture and in an uncivil season. On the one hand we want to stand boldly for truth, speaking prophetically to our culture and wisely steward our rare gift of shaping our government. On the other, we’re commanded by Scripture to comport ourselves differently. So how do we do this? Here are five principles from the Scripture that helps us adopt grace-filled attitudes toward those with whom we vehemently disagree:

1) Love Your Neighbor As Yourself (Mark 12:31). At the very least your political opponent, whether it’s the President, someone in the other party, your opinionated relative, or the blogger who has it all wrong–that person is your neighbor. And we are to love our neighbors, not with a sort of grudging foot-dragging love, but “as yourself.” In other words, you are to treat them with the same respect you would want to be treated. How does this play out in the public square? Well I think it means we argue principles without making it personal. It means we give them the benefit of the doubt. 1 Corinthians 13 says that one of the definitions of love is that it “believes all things and hopes all things.” In other words, we can oppose someone politically without thinking they are part of some evil, Machiavellian scheme to make our lives miserable.

2) Love Your Enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). I think viewing a political opponent as an “enemy” might be too strong, but let’s just assume that for a moment, on the issues about which you care, he or she is your enemy. For instance, I think it could be honestly said that most liberals are adversaries of the pro-life position that I hold. So how does Jesus’ words to love them apply? Well, I’m suppose to love them with the fullest definition of love. I can oppose what they stand for without ridiculing the person or mocking them or their families. I love my political adversaries by speaking only what I know to be true about them. I means I see any good and redeeming values in them and pray for them.

3) Honor the King (1 Peter 2:17). Peter wrote these words to a church about to endure four decades of brutal persecution at the hands of Roman oppressors. And yet Peter writes, “Show proper respect to everyone, Fear God, Honor the King.” If this seems difficult to do under leaders who might oppose biblical values, imagine how difficult it was for Christian citizens of Rome. But it’s made easier with the middle words of that phrase, “Fear God.” Romans 13 reminds us that nobody is in power except those God anoints and puts in power. So, you can show proper respect to a political adversary because you acknowledge the sovereignty of God and you affirm that even your enemy was created in God’s image. And therefore you can honor a political leader because in doing so you’re honoring the God who put him or her there. I think the words, “respect” and “honor” give us a good grid for how we should make political arguments. We can forcefully oppose unjust, unwise, or unbiblical policies without resorting to name-calling, mockery, and slander. In doing this, I think Christians set themselves apart. Think of men like Nehemiah, Daniel, and Joseph who served wicked monarchs and still always showed proper respect to the office.

4) Pray for Your Leaders (1 Timothy 2:2). There are not many specifics in the New Testament about Christian political activism. I might point to Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus prayer in John 17 and Paul’s appeal in Romans 10 for the necessity of Christians to shape culture at all levels (including political and governmental). But the one very specific instruction regarding Christians and their leaders is the command to pray for them. We Christians (myself the most guilty) seem to have it backward. We treat activism as a necessity and prayer for our leaders as an option. We should do both. We should pray and watch, pray and build, pray and act. But we must never diminish prayer. We must pray for our President, our Congress, our Governors, our statehouses, our mayors, our local leaders. Public service is a difficult calling. I like what Max Lucado is doing this year to gather Christians to pray during this election season.

5) Speak with Grace (Colossians 4:6). Paul writes to the church at Colosse, “Let your conversation be always full of grace.” This verse really convicts me, because I now that my speech is not always marked by grace. Especially in election season. Especially when I’m all wound up with an opinion or idea about someone with whom I disagree. But followers of Jesus should be marked by grace. This means that what we post, what we say, what we discuss should run through the prism of grace. How is graceful speech different than ordinary speech? It flows from a heart humbled by God’s forgiveness. It considers the human behind the argument. It tries not to divide, but to unite. It grounds every argument in the gospel story. Graceful speech doesn’t post angry, half-truth, slanderous opinions on Facebook. Graceful speech doesn’t support distorted 30 second TV ads. Graceful speech is open to new arguments, admits wrongs, and doesn’t assume that it’s right all the time.

Summary: This is not a complete or exhaustive list, just a few ideas about living out the gospel during political season and beyond. Christians can be both civil and engaged, full of grace and yet firm in support of truth.

The Echo Chamber of Leadership

Unless you were living under a rock (in which case I envy you, actually), you read, heard, or watched the brouhaha surrounding Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, a staunchly prolife candidate who conflated issues of rape with abortion. What he said on TV was not only horrific, it offended a lot of people and essentially the entire conservative movement has abandoned him.

There’s a lot of lessons to be learned in Mr. Akin’s fall. One is that it matters not simply that we have the right positions, but that we articulate them well in the public square. Words do matter. But there’s another lesson I think we can learn from Mr. Akin’s foibles.

My friend, Matt Lewis, a political writer for the Daily Caller, says this incident may not have happened had Todd Akin had some experienced political hands around him to prevent this sort of public debacle. But apparently, the Akin campaign is run by the Akin family. And so there is an echo chamber of leadership. Writes Matt:

It’s dangerous to live in a bubble — or be surrounded by “yes” men. No matter how important you are, you always want someone around who can tell you “the emperor has no clothes on.”

A little while later he writes of the value of having people who don’t know you and who are willing to criticize:

Qualifications aside, the problem with family is that they tend to love you. They might even revere and respect you. That’s good in a son or daughter or wife, but not in a campaign manager or adviser.

What you want is someone who is a little bit dispassionate — someone who can say: “Hey, I heard what you said during that interview taping. It was dumb. My candidate in ’04 said something similar. We need to clean this up.”

There’s a tendency in Christian leadership circles to sort of emulate this “family first” mentality. And on the one hand, it’s perfectly legitimate to have sons or daughters serve prominent roles in a ministry, if they are qualified. Typically ministry gifts and talents continue from generation to generation. And yet, like Matt, I’ve seen the danger in exclusively having family or friends surrounding the leadership. It just creates a dangerous bubble that prevents healthy introspection or organizational course correction. It also can blind a leader to his own flaws.

Better to have at least a few people in the leadership circle who are able and willing to sometimes offer constructive criticism, without fear of retribution. I’ve learned this with my work and ministry. For instance, I send every manuscript I write to a few people who I know will “beat it up.” Not only have I given them permission, I request that they do it. Why? Because I know back pats and smiley faces on my paper won’t get my writing up to the level it needs to be to inspire the reader.

I try to do this in my leadership at GLBC as well. I want my leadership team to offer healthy criticism. I like this for three reasons: 1) Sometimes my ideas are bad and need to be shot down. 2) I’m blind to my own flaws. 3) I don’t have all the good ideas or good judgement or good wisdom.

I’m guessing this wasn’t Todd Akin’s first verbal gaffe, but perhaps his being surrounded by family kept him from hearing from an aide, long ago “Hey, dude, you can’t say that.” Had he been challenged in a private conversation, he might have avoided this epic meltdown. And so it is with our leadership. The presence of those who disagree with us, who are willing to correct our mistakes saves us from large-scale mistakes down the road.

 

Wanted: 10 Book Bloggers

I’m continually working to get the word out about my book, Real, Owning Your Christian Faith. I really believe in the message of this book: that those who grew up in the faith are as desperate for God as those who haven’t. So, I’m looking for ten bloggers willing to blog about my book this way:

1) Write a substantive review and/or

2) Conduct an interview with me

3) Send at least two-three messages on social networks like Facebook and Twitter

Now, I have some qualifications to ensure the message gets out in a timely fashion and to a wide swath of readers:

You must be a regular blogger, which means you post something at least two times a week. 
You must have a decent following on social networks. You don’t have to have a million followers, but a least a few hundred. 
You need to post a review and/or interview by the middle of September.
You don’t have to, but are welcome to use the book trailer found on this page. 

So, if you’re game for this, please send an email to me through my contact page here.

5 Things Love Isn’t

Perhaps there is nothing the human heart craves more than true love. We are wired to love and be loved. The problem is that we don’t actually understand what love really is. We get all kinds of definitions from the culture and from our own feelings.

In fact, I think it’s helpful to think a little bit, not about what love is but what love isn’t. So here are five things love isn’t:

1) Love Isn’t Having Someone Fulfill All My Fanciful Dreams  

When we think about the love between a husband and wife, we often think of that “soulmate”, that person who just magically fits into all the areas I need and will make my life better. These expectations, which we carry into marriage, do more to derail relationships than anything else.But this is really humanistic thinking. It views the other person as a benefactor that must meet all of my needs. But God didn’t purpose marriage for my own fulfillment, but as an opportunity for me to a) display His glory b) grow in character and grace by adjusting, sacrificing, and loving another and c) fulfill the mandate by establishing another generation of godly offspring. And here’s a secret of marriage that I’m still figuring out after ten years: my dreams are petty compared to God’s dreams for me. When I hold them loosely and allow God to shape them (by giving me a spouse who bumps up against my desires), I discover a joy and fulfillment I would not have found on my own.

2) Love is Loving the Person I Expect Someone to Be 

This follows closely on the lie of expectations, that I only experience love when someone is everything I expect them to be. A wife gets married, not to a fallen sinner who needs grace, but to an idea of what she thinks this man might be to her. He’s the composite of all the princess movies, romance novels, and stored up dreams. But after the honeymoon is over, she meets another man, the sloppy guy who leaves his underwear on the floor, stays up too late playing video games, and sometimes buys boats without asking her. A husband gets married to a perfectly shaped beautiful goddess, whose every word is inspiring and motivates him to greater heights, who will satisfy his basic needs in every way. Then he gets home from the honeymoon and finds another woman in his home. This girl has occasional mood swings, yells at him for the smallest things like leaving his underwear on the floor, and she often burns the meatloaf. So then the husband and the wife have a choice. They can manipulate their mates into being what they need them to be, spark a lot of useless arguments and friction, and ultimately choose divorce. Or, they can confess their idolatry, realize their own brokeness, and recognize that love is about loving all the parts of those we are supposed to love, even the areas we really don’t like. It’s loving on those days when you don’t want to and loving the person you see before you, not the person who wish or hope they can be.

3) Love is always saying nice, but meaningless things, to each other. 

Love is action as we’ve said. Love is a committment. Which means sometimes we must speak the truth in love. This is not to be confused with tearing down, hurting, destroying someone’s soul for the sake of our own selfish gratification (see 1 and 2 above). This is the love that has the courage to tell someone when they are seriously going down a wrong path. The is the kind of love Jesus demonstrated with his disciples, when he repeatedly corrected their wrong ideas. We have this idea of love that it overlooks sin and that just sort of winks at poor life choices. Ahh, but love is not this way. If you truly love someone, especially someone you are married to your called to care for, you will gently, in the right timing, powered by the Spirit of God, communicate the loving truth. And you will receive correction as an act of love from another. In marriage this means you sometimes hear the hard, but true words of a spouse and take them as God’s loving act of discipline on your soul, shaping you into the character of Christ. I will tell you that this is never my first response to rebuke from Angela. But it should be. And often later the Spirit whispers to my soul, “You know, she’s right and if she didn’t love you, she wouldn’t have said what she said.” Then I have to go back to her and say, “I’m sorry. You’re right. Forgive me. I’ll work on that.” I have to say that after ten years, the person I credit with most of my spiritual growth is my wife. Marriage can and should be a discipleship relationship, provided both are committed to following Christ. As one of my favorite authors, Gary Thomas, says ,”God’s desire in marriage isn’t to make us happy, but to make us holy.”

4) Love Isn’t Conditional On Good Times

Bad times actually test your love, especially in marriage. They reveal our hidden idols. So, for instance, when money gets tight, this is usually a trigger for an epic argument. It’s easy to blame the other person. If she didn’t spend all that money on shoes, we’d be able to pay the electric bill. or If he had a better-paying job, we wouldn’t be in this mess. or If only he’d step up and do the budget, it wouldn’t be so hard on me. or, If she would just be happy with what we have. Or perhaps its trouble with a child. Again, we blame: If he’d get off the iPhone and pay attention, our kid wouldn’t act out so much. or If she’d just loosen up, maybe the kid would respond better. or, If he’d get home at a decent hour. or If she’d stop worrying so much about the house. 

You see what happens. Hard times bring all of our hidden anxieties and insecurities to the surface. The idolatry of financial security. To be financially secure is a good and worthy and biblical goal. But hard times come and threaten that. So if financial security is your idol, when it’s ripped away, you’ll kick and scream and do damage to your relationship. The idolatry of a well-adjusted family. Again, well-behaving kids in a safe, harmonious house is a good and worthy and biblical goal. But it’s a poor idol. And when this is ripped away for a season, if this is the altar at which we worship, we’ll kick, scream, and do damage to our relationships.

The point of all this is this: we think love would flourish if only our circumstances were better. If we had a bit more money, if the kids wouldn’t misbehave so much. But the truth is that real love, lasting, deep, abiding love grows during times of duress. But this only happens if you put Christ at your center and give up on the small, petty dreams and realize God is active in the midst of your hardship, to bring about His glory. Trials can be a catalyst for deeper marital love. They have for Angela and I. We wouldn’t want to repeat any of the terrible things we’ve faced, but we can both look back and say this cemented our love and commitment to each other.

 5) Love Isn’t Found Elsewhere

When you’re in a bad season of marriage, brought on by strife, difficulty, tragedy, it’s temping to think you’d be happier elsewhere. But real love is only found in renewing your commitment to each other in marriage. Love says, “I’m here for the duration. I’m committed. I’m going no where else.” Love is actually living out what we stood and said on our wedding day: “In sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, as long as we both shall live.” Love is not saying, “As long as he has a job. As long as we have a house. As long as she our kids our healthy. As long as she doesn’t get sick.”

And here’s the secret: when you are absolutely, 100% committed to each other, it makes it easier to work out your differences. Why? Because you’re forced to. You’ve got no other option. And so each of you must give, bend, sacrifice. You must commit to grow, change, and serve. Now, to be clear: your willpower and commitment to stay alone won’t give you a great marriage. You need gospel of Christ which initiates the cycle of confession, repentance, and forgiveness. But I would argue that the gospel is the very catalyst that keeps you committed, because you realize you are in marriage for way more than your own expectations and self-fulfillment.

Friday Five: Jeremy Roberts

I’m so pumped to interview Jeremy Roberts. Dr. Jeremy Roberts, 28, is the Pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN.  Previously, he pastored in Tennessee and Texas.  Dr. Roberts served as Adjunct Professor at Criswell College, Dallas, TX and Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA.  Dr. Roberts served on staff with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia.  Additionally, he has also served as personal assistant and intern to influential leaders such as Dr. Jack Graham, Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, TX; Dr. Ronnie Floyd, Cross Church, Northwest, AR; and Dr. Jay Strack, Student Leadership University, Orlando, FL.

Jeremy earned his Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX and a his Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Arts (MA), and Doctor of Ministry (DMin) from Liberty University where he served as President of the student body.  Jeremy was born in Atlanta and raised in both Dallas and Virginia Beach.  His wife, the former Charity Hope Crisp, is a native of Knoxville, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Union University in Jackson, TN.  They have one daughter, Autumn Faith, born February 18, 2011.

You’ve recently become senior pastor of a historic, traditional Baptist Church. Do you feel pressure in that position–and how would you counsel a young pastor going into a similar situation? 

Yes, Highland Park Baptist Church (HPBC) is an historic downtown congregation.  I absolutely feel pressure serving as senior pastor of this flock. The church is one that is in the midst of transition demographically, methodologically, and pastorally.

The pressure I feel primarily stems from the fact that the church has seen better days and had one pastor, in particular, who was a giant in the history of Christendom.  His name was Dr. Lee Roberson.  Dr. Roberson led HPBC to grow from a few hundred in average attendance to a church with an average of 10,000+ in average weekly attendance, became the first American multisite church, began Tennessee Temple University, started a 100-acre youth camp (Camp Joy), and began a radio station.  All of his vision still looms over our campus although he retired before I was even born.  Unfortunately, our church is merely a shadow of what we once were (in terms of size), but we’re seeing a turnaround.

In addition to all of the importance of making sure one’s relationship with the Lord and their family is where it needs to be, I would counsel a young pastor going into a similar situation to do a number of things:

 A)   Read The First 90 Days by Harvard’s Michael Watkins.  In your first three months as pastor, go into it with a clear plan to begin your pastorate with intentionality.  You can read my 90-day-plan at HPBC here.

B)   Try to meet with every age group in the church fairly quickly.  Hear their thoughts.  Let them talk.

C)  Determine to plant your ministry there.  Fight through the issues.

D)  Begin the process to clarify the vision God will give you.  Tell the church you are seeking God’s vision, and ask them to pray for it.

E)   Stick with the basics of pastoring, especially at first.  Preach the Gospel. Build relationships.  Be patient.

F)   Lead with the 5 A’s: Assignment (give expectations), Authority (give people authority to accomplish their jobs), Accountable, Assess (make sure the right people are in the right positions), and Applaud (praise and reward people)

 You’ve pastored and served in an academic setting. Seems like there are differing callings and skill sets for both. Is that true? 

I have pastored full-time, taught full-time, and now pastor a church with a university.  So, now my ministry is a hybrid of both academia and pastoring, with a greater emphasis on pastoring.  Are there different callings for this?  I believe my calling is to preach.  I can preach if I’m pastoring or serving in academia.

Yes, there are definitely skill sets for both.  There are some professors I know who would serve as lousy pastors, and vice-versa.  The skill sets for academia involve more study and fundraising.  The skill sets for pastoring require more relational skills.  Both are political and require vision and administrative acumen.

I noticed that you’ve served under some well-known pastors, such as Dr. Jack Graham and Dr. Ronnie Floyd. What did you learn from those internships? 

Serving under Drs. Graham and Floyd were amazing opportunities.  The two men are very different types of leaders, but both are extremely effective.  I learned a lot about administration, preaching, leadership, time management, and multisite strategies.

You and I are considered “millennials.” Much has been written and said about our generation of believers. What would you say is different about millennials and their approach to faith? 

Thom Rainer could say a lot more about this than I since he wrote the book on it—literally.  Probably the biggest difference in their approach to faith hinges on a desire to see genuineness about life change over buildings, budgets, and bodies in the seats.

If you could give one piece of advice to a young pastor, what would that be? 

My one piece of advice is for any pastor of any age: stay close and clean. Johnny Hunt says this at all of his conferences, and it always hits home to me. If we stay close to the Lord and clean (pure), we will go a long way in being effective for God’s Kingdom.

Free First Chapter of Real

My publisher has graciously made available, for download, the first chapter of Real, Owning Your Christian Faith. You can download it here:

Here are a few of the nice things people have said about the book:

“Daniel Darling knows that faith cannot be inherited; it must be owned. In REAL, he shows us exactly how to develop an organic and authentic faith. This compact but powerful book will revitalize the spiritually bored and burned out by helping them glimpse Jesus in fresh ways.”

Jonathan Merritt is the author of A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars

“Second generation faith can be a little like next day pizza—cold, stale, and tough to swallow. Darling’s book is for those weary of subsisting on spiritual leftovers. He understands the sometimes stultifying effect of the evangelical subculture on spirituality and sees what it takes to thrive as a second generation Christian. The writing here is lively and the reflections—interspersed with interviews with top ministry thinkers—are fresh. The perfect read to send fresh wind through your spiritual life.”

Drew Dyck is the managing editor of Leadership Journal and author of Generation Ex-Christian: Why young adults are leaving the faith…and how to bring them back (Moody).

You can read more endorsements and reviews here:

And then, if you really like it, you can order the book (available in print, Kindle, Nook, and Stone Tablet (just kidding))

Max Lucado on the Presidential Election

I so enjoyed Max Lucado’s recent message on the election. To sum it up: don’t freak out, God is in charge. This is a biblical challenge to all of us. Take time to view it:

What Is Your Thing?

As a pastor I meet a lot of interesting Christians. I have people who attend my church, people who call or stop by to promote their ministry in our church, and/or people who send me information via email or mail. The common theme is that every Christian seems to have a “thing.” That is to say the one theme of their life and their advocacy.

For instance, there are those whose specialty is defending Genesis. For others it’s Christian political activism. There are outreaches and emphases on Jewish ministry, men’s ministry, Christian education, eschatology, and a host of other specific niches. Pastors get hit with appeals for these on an almost weekly basis.

In one sense, I love this because it demonstrates how God has uniquely gifted and called individual Christians and ministries. Their laser-like focus helps educate and edify God’s people. For the busy pastor, who sees the whole church, having speakers or curriculum or small group studies can help sharpen the faith of this people.

And yet sometimes I see an unhealthy imbalance where your emphasis becomes your “thing.” Let me explain. I’ve had conversations with people passionate about science around Genesis. I find this compelling and I’m in agreement with the view that Genesis describes a literal six-day creation. I enjoy hearing from smart scientists who defend this view. But an emphasis or a calling to this field can easily become a “thing” that seems to drive everything about a person’s life. And rather than Jesus becoming their animating theme, defending against evolutionists is their animating theme. Every conversation, every concern in the church, every social ill must become a debate about origins. I think this is unhealthy.

I”m not just picking on creationists here. I’m just using this as an example. I see this in every other specialty. And this can happen with any particular focus of Christian ministry. Where what we are most passionate about becomes less the gospel and more our pet “thing.”

It’s unhealthy on a number of levels. First, what was a good interest and a worthy calling can become a source of conflict with other believers. When the gospel animates us, then we are humbled enough to work toward unity in our local body of believers and in the body worldwide. But when our pet “thing” animates us, we become argumentative, looking always for opportunities to prove how right we are. Secondly, I think the enemy is okay with us focusing on a “thing” rather than focusing on Jesus and using our gifts and talents, ultimately, to build God’s church through evangelism. Third, an unhealthy imbalance divides people into categories and suddenly we don’t see the unchurched as objects of God’s love in need of the gospel, but people on the wrong side of an issue. And we don’t see brothers and sisters who disagree with us people we should love, but people who we must win over to our view of things.

Unhealthy imbalance can also create a culture, in the home or the church, where the gospel is actually not the main thing we’re concerned with passing to the next generation. Teens sniff this out right away. They quickly get what we are most passionate about. If this is not the gospel, the “faith” once delivered to all saints” (Jude 1:3), they may reject our faith. Because our faith in Jesus is the only thing contagious enough to be “caught” by the next generation.

I guess what I’m saying is this: everyone has a “thing”, a special calling or emphasis they feel is important to ministry. But this must always be surrendered to the larger “thing” which is the call to live and share the gospel with those who are far from Jesus.

At the end of my life, I don’t want it said that what drove me most was that I believed in a six-day creation or that was a dispensationalist or that I was a political conservative. I want it said that I loved Jesus, that I faithfully taught His Word, and that I loved those God has called me to love. That’s what I want most to drive me.

Friday Five: Charles Drew

Charles D. Drew, M.Div. has pastored for thirty years in Virginia, Long Island, and New York, all in university settings. He presently serves as the senior minister of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, which he founded in 2000 near Columbia University. He speaks frequently to university and churches and is the author of An Ancient Love Song and A Journey Worth Taking. He and his wife Jean have two married children and two grandchildren.

It is his most recent book, however, that arrested my attention.  Body Broken discusses the impact of political partisanship on the Church. Charles was kind enough to stop by today, for The Friday Five:



 How can Christians be actively involved in shaping the culture (especially their representative government) without falling prey to the hyper-partisanship that shapes our discourse? 

A number of things help here.  The first is to define ‘public life’ more broadly than ‘political life.’ As long as we think that the only way to be a public Christian is to do battle in the political sphere, we will for the most part be frustrated and angry—for few of us ever acquire much political power, and, what is more, power politics is much less powerful than we think.  But the moment we broaden our definition, the anger and hyper-partisanship drop a notch or two, for we begin to discover that there is always something that we can do to make the world a better place.  It might be through political praying, through journalism, through the arts, through making public virtue attractive by our own example.  The list goes on.

The second thing that helps is to make some distinctions, namely, (1) between theocracy and influence, (2) between moral principle and political strategy, and (3) between the calling of the individual and the calling of the church.

Take the first distinction, a distincti0n that hyper-partisanship often blurs.  Theocracies identify a particular political group (a nation, a party) with the will of God and seek to advance God’s will by force.  Ancient Israel was a theocracy in this sense.  But theocracy in this sense is behind us, for Jesus reigns over all nations and groups.  What is more, he aims to rule the heart, calling for a level of voluntary allegiance that a theocracy in the older sense could never pull off.  Sadly, Christians still often tend to think about America theocratically—and this is a mistake.  It feeds hyper-partisanship—the tendencies to demonize those who oppose us and to use underhanded or ungracious means to put things right (since, after all, we are fighting for God).  Christians should, rather, think in terms of influence, not theocracy.  Influence is harder to identify, and it calls for patience not only with ‘the opposition’ but with each other.  Influence does not necessarily pay obvious dividends.   But that is OK, since Christians do not enter public life to win (Christ is in charge of winning).  They enter public life to serve, come what may.  We can live with ambiguity and small returns since Christ and Christ alone will make all things right in the end.

Take now the second distinction—between moral principle and political strategy.  Hyper partisans tend to blur this distinction as well, giving a political strategy the same value as a moral principle.  Moral principles are grand behavioral truths that the church must teach and model.  The Ten Commandments give us a great summary: We may not, for example, kill, or bear false witness, or steal, or covet, or take God’s name in vain.  These all have bearing upon public behavior and they must be proclaimed as such. But the moment the church moves from saying, “Do not kill (unborn children)” and “do not steal” to advocating particular strategies for reducing/ending abortions and particular strategies for reducing theft, the church enters the area of fallible human solutions involving human consciences.  Hyper-partisanship elevates such human solutions to the level of divine law—and this must not happen in the church, for such an elevation binds consciences where the Bible does not bind them.  To put the matter another way, the church has a dual obligation in these important matters: (1) to declare God’s law and (2) to guard the consciences of all its members so that no member feels like a second class citizen because he chooses to advance God’s moral law in one way but not in another.

The third distinction is between the calling of the Christian and the calling of the church.  Hyper-partisans often confuse these two callings—assuming that their burden is God’s burden (which is why they become ‘hyper’) and therefore rightly the burden of the church.  But God makes a distinction here.  He calls individual Christians to many types of public involvement depending on training, gifts, and opportunity.  But he calls the church more narrowly—namely to pray for his kingdom to come and to make disciples of the nations (which includes caring for the weak in the name of Jesus).   When a hyper-partisan spirit invades the church, it not only divides her, but it also distracts her from the business God has given her to do.  There is a great irony here.  Hyper partisans get hyper because they deeply want to change things for the better.  But when they draw the church away from prayer and disciple-making (things that the church alone is equipped to do), they deprive the world of the two things that change it most profoundly

  It seems many conflate civility with compromise. But they’re not the same, are they? 

Civility could be a mask for compromise.  But this is not at all necessarily so.

 Properly motivated civility is an expression of a number of things that the Bible teaches and values.  (1) First, there is Jesus’ command to treat others as we would want to be treated—with respect.  Jesus disagreed profoundly with the Pharisees, but when Nicodemus came to see him (John 3), Jesus received him with courtesy.  (2) Civility expresses humility—an acknowledgement that I might not be right, or completely right, about whatever is at issue.  And who among us can ever be sure that he is completely right?  We all ‘see through a glass darkly’, we all have ‘logs in our own eyes.’  The people who agree with us politically are likely to share our blindness and so we are less likely to learn from them than we are to learn from those who come at things from a different angle.   But we will not learn from those who think differently if we are rude and refuse to listen courteously to what they have to say.

Theologians teach “common grace”—the notion that truth ‘pops up’ in unexpected places.  They also teach ‘total depravity’—which means that sin and lies ‘pop up’ everywhere as well—even among the ‘good guys’ (the group we like to see ourselves belonging to).   We would all do well to learn from James 3:13-18

13  Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

 Some believe pastors need to “stand up” more, but don’t they mean to simply echo partisan talking points? 

 Of course pastors need to ‘stand up’ for the truth.  They are ordained to preach the Word and if they do not do this they should leave the ministry.  But what, more precisely, is the word that they are to preach?  It is the gospel of Christ, the great fact that God has fulfilled every promise and every command in his Son, that he has given his Son in substitutionary atonement so that we may be reconciled to him and to one another and, by the power of his Spirit, set on a new trajectory by which the law is fulfilled in us by faith.  Any “standing up” that obscures this message by ordering the life of the church around partisan issues is a failure of NT pastoral calling.  As Paul put it, “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel.”

 This does not mean that a pastor may not speak out on the pressing moral issues of our time—marriage, abortion, violence, greed, war, to name a few.  But it does mean that he   must take care not to speak out on them in such a way as to mandate a particular strategy for nudging the culture into greater conformity to the standards of God in those areas.  When, for example, he mandates for his flock one particular strategy for improving the state of marriage in America, he endorses not God’s law on marriage but man’s law.  And man’s laws are always imperfect.

The pastor as individual citizen can think and act in whatever ways his conscience dictates.  But the pastor as preacher—as prophet speaking from the pulpit—has the dual obligation of (1) declaring God’s law (as fulfilled in Christ) and (2) protecting his people from their consciences being made prisoner to human laws.

 How does a Christian model Christ-like temperament in a world of talk radio, cable news, social networking, blogs? 

Christians will hold firmly but with humility to their convictions, knowing that they may be wrong, and thankful that they themselves do not have to win for good to triumph.

They will listen carefully, they will be unafraid and therefore patient, and they will moderate their language, refusing to pigeonhole people or positions, refusing to demonize the opposition, admitting with humility that the truth pops up everywhere.  They will be on the lookout for common ground, seeing themselves as servants of the common good not only with regard to the issue at hand but with respect to the relationships between the people who disagree.  They will position themselves as servants, not winners.

Back of all this behavior will be faith, hope, and love:  (1) faith that God loves them and will take care of them no matter what happens to them or to America, (2) hope that God will one day vindicate the rule of Jesus and along with that, all that is good and beautiful and true (we represent Christ, but we do not have accomplish what he alone will one day accomplish), and (3) the love that chooses, like Christ, to serve and care without strings attached, and without the need ourselves to win or be vindicated.

At heart, Christians will follow in Jesus’ footsteps by heeding Jesus’ command to “deny themselves and take up their cross.”  They will, like Jesus, fully enter the world as its friend, letting go of their need to win, seeking instead to serve.  If they suffer for doing so, then so be it.  If Christ suffered and ‘failed’, then why shouldn’t we?

If you could give one piece of advice to a Christian in this political season, what would it be? 

I have two pieces of advice.

First, identify and repent of political idols in yourself.  An idol is a God substitute—anything that we find it hard to live without.  In political life we easily fall prey to idolatry—whether it is a vision for America of which we have become too fond, or a particular candidate or party or piece of legislation upon which we have become too dependent, or a freedom that has become too precious to us (many of us just want to be left alone—whether it is regarding taxes or gun possession or our sex lives).  Political anger is often evidence of idols being threatened—and we would do well to search our hearts, for God hates idols.

Second, get together for a serious conversation with a Christian who disagrees with you politically.  Talk through your differences in an unhurried setting, aiming as you do so to listen carefully to him and to look for common ground.  As you interact distinguish between moral principles and political strategies in your own mind and help him to make that distinction in his.  If you can find common ground make a plan to take some action together.  In any event end by praying for each other and for the advancement of what is good and right in our country.