Jason K. Allen's Blog, page 33

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Be Ye Separate” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Be Ye Separate” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, September 11, Morning)

“Be ye separate.” (2 Corinthians 6:17)

The Christian, while in the world, is not to be of the world. He should be distinguished from it in the great object of his life. To him, “to live,” should be “Christ.” Whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he should do all to God’s glory. You may lay up treasure; but lay it up in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where thieves break not through nor steal. You may strive to be rich; but be it your ambition to be “rich in faith,” and good works. You may have pleasure; but when you are merry, sing psalms and make melody in your hearts to the Lord. In your spirit, as well as in your aim, you should differ from the world. Waiting humbly before God, always conscious of his presence, delighting in communion with him, and seeking to know his will, you will prove that you are of heavenly race. And you should be separate from the world in your actions. If a thing be right, though you lose by it, it must be done; if it be wrong, though you would gain by it, you must scorn the sin for your Master’s sake. You must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Walk worthy of your high calling and dignity. Remember, O Christian, that thou art a son of the King of kings. Therefore, keep thyself unspotted from the world. Soil not the fingers which are soon to sweep celestial strings; let not these eyes become the windows of lust which are soon to see the King in his beauty–let not those feet be defiled in miry places, which are soon to walk the golden streets–let not those hearts be filled with pride and bitterness which are ere long to be filled with heaven, and to overflow with ecstatic joy.

Then rise my soul! and soar away,

Above the thoughtless crowd;

Above the pleasures of the gay,

And splendours of the proud;

Up where eternal beauties bloom,

And pleasures all divine;

Where wealth, that never can consume,

And endless glories shine.

 

What is a Faithful Preacher?

What does it mean for a preacher to be faithful? How does one even measure a preacher’s faithfulness? While I acknowledge that whole books can be written to address these questions alone, let me offer at least six marks of a faithful preacher.

A Faithful Preacher Knows His Audience

In order to be a faithful preacher, you must first know your audience. Different groups in different settings often require sermons that are different in style and depth. Thus, every sermon should be a customized sermon, crafted specifically for the recipients.

When I prepare sermons, I think through exactly who will be in the audience. I bombard myself with questions like:

How will this point strike the 80-year-old widow who lost her husband last year?
Will people be able to grasp this biblical concept as presented, or do I need to simplify my explanation?
What does this truth have to say to the young couple who is struggling with their marriage?
How might this concept be expressed in a way that is encouraging to the middle-aged woman recently diagnosed with cancer?”

Every sermon is delivered in a context, situated in a cultural moment with space and time realities. Preaching is not a sterile or clinical act. Therefore, in order to be faithful, familiarize yourself with your audience.

A Faithful Preacher Takes the Time to Interpret the Text

Faithful preaching requires being familiar, broadly speaking, with the text or book you are preaching. This familiarization takes place at both the macro and the micro level. At the macro level, it means having the big picture of the text clear in the mind. One way to accomplish this is by keeping track of context. For example, when preaching through a book of the Bible, I read through it at least twice in a row. Additionally, I peruse commentaries and other resources early on to help familiarize myself with the contours of the book.

Obviously, as my sermon preparation progresses, I will move from broad familiarization to a more technical analysis of the passage. Nonetheless, at this point, I am already trying to familiarize myself with the main idea of the text. Even though I may not reach a conclusion until after I have done more exegetical work, I am already asking myself, “What is the author saying in this passage?”

A Faithful Preacher Structures His Sermon Around the Theme of the Text

Faithful preaching involves structuring your sermon around the structure of the text. Not all sermons will, nor should, sound the same. The surest way you can confirm that your sermon structure is textually oriented is to preach expositionally. As you do, the theme and contours of the text will become apparent, and as a result, they will drive your outline.

A pertinent question along these lines is “Do my illustrations amplify or detract from the text?” To illustrate is to play with fire. When contained and rightly calibrated, good illustrations can add light and heat to the sermon. When uncontained and over torqued, they can consume and destroy the sermon. Balance here is key. Ponder this question carefully, “Will this illustration illuminate or overshadow what the text says?” Keep your illustrations tied closely to your structure, and you will likely avoid error. And whatever you do, never illustrate an illustration.

A Faithful Preacher Is Courageous

Preaching is God’s appointed means to strengthen the church and convert the lost. In every generation, the church needs pastors who preach with courage and fervency, who view preaching as the center of their ministry. Courage is essential to being a faithful preacher.

I love the way 2 Timothy 4:2 encapsulates this courage. Recall the backdrop of the book. Timothy, a young man who is probably in his early 30s, is clearly discouraged and second-guessing himself, so Paul is writing in a prophetic, apostolic way and in essence saying, “Buck up.” He is challenging him. He is exhorting him to do this. He is reminding him of his rootedness in Scripture, his call to stand on Scripture and preach it.

Then, he moves into how to preach the Scripture and bring it to bear on his hearers: “Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all patience and instruction” (4:2).

Notice the word preach. To preach means to herald or to proclaim, to speak intensely. It comes with a force that presupposes courage. It is not so much the modulation of one’s voice but the force of the words, weighted with conviction because you are proclaiming God’s very Word.

Preaching is more than a data dump. The central liability of many expositional sermons is just that. It is a rambling commentary that drops data on people, and preachers cannot figure out why people are getting bored. We are to present the text with force— probing, pushing, and prodding our listeners. It is more than transmitting what you read in the commentaries to your people that week. It is to take it and apply it with a “Thus sayeth the Lord” charge. Mark your life and set yourself to preach with courage.

A Faithful Preacher Connects the Text to the Gospel

As gospel preachers, every sermon should contain the gospel. Usually this happens quite naturally and organically within the text itself. You don’t have to be an archaeologist to find Christ in the text; you just have to open your eyes.

Paul’s ambition to preach Christ and him crucified should be ours as well, and we can best accomplish this by not just preaching “gospel” messages, or by tacking on the gospel at the end of our sermon. To rightly interpret any text is to draw lines from that text to the broader, biblical metanarrative of Christ and Him crucified. Therefore, to preach an Old Testament narrative or a New Testament epistle should not be a detour from the gospel. Rather, it should be an inroad to it. Every sermon based on Scripture is a sermon where Christ can be rightfully and prominently featured.

A Faithful Preacher Grows in His Craft

Biblical exposition isn’t easy. It takes time to interpret the passage in its context, build an exegetical outline, and fashion it all together in homiletical form. And then you have to deliver it—a craft in and of itself.

Year after year, the rigor of preparing sermons has deepened my Scriptural knowledge. The thousands of hours wrestling with texts have been incalculably sanctifying. Moreover, preaching verse-by-verse through books in the Bible forces me to confront difficult doctrines, grapple with knotty texts, and apply the full complement of Scripture to my own life. Plus, regularly delivering sermons has knit my heart to my community and allowed me to grow as a preacher.

All of this, and more, facilitates spiritual growth and maturation—not just for the preacher, but for his hearers. The more we develop in our craft, the more others are built up. Thus, a faithful preacher will not tire in refining his ability to divide and deliver the word of truth.

Pastor, you are called to be faithful above all else. Can you say these six marks reflect your pastorate?

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Hershael York and Bert Decker, Preaching with Bold Assurance: A Solid and Enduring Approach to Engaging Exposition (Nashville: B&H, 2003), 11.

*This article is an excerpt from Portraits of a Pastor, by Jason K. Allen. This book is available for purchase through Moody Publishers and Amazon.*

 

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Evening Wolves” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Evening Wolves” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, September 10, Evening)

“Evening wolves.” (Habakkuk 1:8)

While preparing the present volume, this particular expression recurred to me so frequently, that in order to be rid of its constant importunity I determined to give a page to it. The evening wolf, infuriated by a day of hunger, was fiercer and more ravenous than he would have been in the morning. May not the furious creature represent our doubts and fears after a day of distraction of mind, losses in business, and perhaps ungenerous tauntings from our fellow men? How our thoughts howl in our ears, “Where is now thy God?” How voracious and greedy they are, swallowing up all suggestions of comfort, and remaining as hungry as before. Great Shepherd, slay these evening wolves, and bid thy sheep lie down in green pastures, undisturbed by insatiable unbelief. How like are the fiends of hell to evening wolves, for when the flock of Christ are in a cloudy and dark day, and their sun seems going down, they hasten to tear and to devour. They will scarcely attack the Christian in the daylight of faith, but in the gloom of soul conflict they fall upon him. O thou who hast laid down thy life for the sheep, preserve them from the fangs of the wolf.

False teachers who craftily and industriously hunt for the precious life, devouring men by their false-hoods, are as dangerous and detestable as evening wolves. Darkness is their element, deceit is their character, destruction is their end. We are most in danger from them when they wear the sheep’s skin. Blessed is he who is kept from them, for thousands are made the prey of grievous wolves that enter within the fold of the church.

What a wonder of grace it is when fierce persecutors are converted, for then the wolf dwells with the lamb, and men of cruel ungovernable dispositions become gentle and teachable. O Lord, convert many such: for such we will pray tonight.

What is Preaching?

In He is Not Silent, Albert Mohler writes, “According to the Bible, exposition is preaching. And preaching is exposition.” I share his assessment, and yet I must acknowledge that a consensus definition for expository preaching proves stubbornly elusive. Consequentially, and regrettably, in recent years the phrase “expository preaching” has become quite elastic. Much preaching gets crammed under that heading, though it bears little resemblance to more classical practitioners of biblical exposition.

To focus our thoughts, let me suggest, minimally, four essential marks of biblical exposition: The necessity of accurately interpreting the text.

1. The necessity of accurately interpreting the text.

2. The necessity of the central point of the sermon and the sermon’s main points to be derived from the text.

3. The necessity of the sermon’s application to come from the text and for the text to be brought to bear on the congregation.Fourth, and more tenuously, the priority of

4. Fourth, and more tenuously, the priority of lectio continua, or sequential, verse-by-verse exposition.

For example, consider how three leading homileticians define expository preaching and listen for these common themes. Alistair Begg defines it as “unfolding the text of Scripture in such a way that makes contact with the listener’s world while exalting Christ and confronting them with the need for action.”

Haddon Robinson’s definition has been standard issue in seminary classrooms for several decades. He defines biblical exposition as “the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through him to the hearers.”

Bryan Chappell argues expository preaching has occurred when:

The main idea of the sermon (the topic), the divisions of that idea (the main points), and the development of those divisions (the subpoints) all come from truths the text itself contains.  No significant portion of the text is ignored. In other words, expositors willingly stay within the boundaries of a text (and its relevant context) and do not leave until they have surveyed its entirety with their listeners.

For our purposes, we might simply define biblical exposition as “accurately interpreting and explaining the text of Scripture and bringing it to bear on the lives of the hearers.” While expository preaching can be much more than this, it cannot be anything less.

Even this minimalistic definition of expository preaching necessitates the sermon’s application be subordinate to the sermon’s text. The preacher does not preach from the text or on the text, he preaches the text—thus limiting the sermon’s application to the point of the passage preached.

While a stand-alone sermon can be an expository one, if that particular passage is handled in the aforementioned way, sequential, verse-by-verse exposition is preferred. After all, the practical wager of lectio continua (sequential exposition) is that over time the accrued week-to-week benefits offset the weekly adaptability and flexibility offered by topical preaching.

In conclusion, though preaching can be defined in many different ways, the goal must be the same: to rightly divide the word of truth. I believe consecutive exposition is the most faithful way to accomplish that end.

____________________________________________________

Alistair Begg, Preaching for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999), 23.

Haddon W. Robinson, Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980), 21.

Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 131.

*This article is an excerpt from Portraits of a Pastor, by Jason K. Allen. This book is available for purchase through Moody Publishers and Amazon.*

Lord’s Day Meditation: “He Goeth up into a Mountain” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “He Goeth up into a Mountain” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, September 10, Morning)

“And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.” (Mark 3:13)

Here was sovereignty. Impatient spirits may fret and fume, because they are not called to the highest places in the ministry; but reader be it thine to rejoice that Jesus calleth whom he wills. If he shall leave me to be a doorkeeper in his house, I will cheerfully bless him for his grace in permitting me to do anything in his service. The call of Christ’s servants comes from above. Jesus stands on the mountain, evermore above the world in holiness, earnestness, love and power. Those whom he calls must go up the mountain to him, they must seek to rise to his level by living in constant communion with him. They may not be able to mount to classic honours, or attain scholastic eminence, but they must like Moses go up into the mount of God and have familiar intercourse with the unseen God, or they will never be fitted to proclaim the gospel of peace. Jesus went apart to hold high fellowship with the Father, and we must enter into the same divine companionship if we would bless our fellowmen. No wonder that the apostles were clothed with power when they came down fresh from the mountain where Jesus was. This morning we must endeavour to ascend the mount of communion, that there we may be ordained to the lifework for which we are set apart. Let us not see the face of man today till we have seen Jesus. Time spent with him is laid out at blessed interest. We too shall cast out devils and work wonders if we go down into the world girded with that divine energy which Christ alone can give. It is of no use going to the Lord’s battle till we are armed with heavenly weapons. We must see Jesus, this is essential. At the mercy-seat we will linger till he shall manifest himself unto us as he doth not unto the world, and until we can truthfully say, “We were with him in the Holy Mount.”

 

Why Preaching?

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the longtime pastor of Westminster Chapel in London, England, described preaching as, “The highest, the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called.” I share Lloyd-Jones’ lofty assessment of preaching. The call to preach is a sacred one, and the task of preaching should be undertaken with clarity, conviction, and passion.

It is easy to see that the modern pastor wears many hats. Yet, within the context of the local church, I believe preaching is the pastor’s preeminent responsibility. Preaching is his indispensable task, his most paramount duty, and his most consequential and urgent job assignment. For the pastor, preaching is priority #1.

What is more, it is not just that the pastor must preach, but that he must preach the Word. This is best accomplished through biblical exposition. But, before we get there, we must ask the important question of “why preaching?”

 The determination to preach the Word is first a theological commitment. We preach the Word because the Word is true, authoritative, and life-giving. Scripture is replete with this self-attestation. For instance, consider 1 Peter 1:23–25:

For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, {that is,} through the living and enduring word of God. For, all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which was preached to you.

Similarly, James testifies, “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures” (1:18).

These passages teach us that the Lord works sovereignly in the heart of the hearer by His Spirit and through His Word. Believing this Word-Spirit dynamic is a theological commitment, and thus pushes one toward biblical exposition. As Lloyd-Jones observed:

The ultimate justification for asserting the primacy of preaching is theological. In other words, I would argue that the whole message of the Bible asserts this and drives us to this conclusion. I mean that the moment you consider man’s real need, and also the nature of salvation announced and proclaimed in the Scriptures, you are driven to the conclusion that the primary task of the church is to preach and proclaim this, to show man’s real need, and to show the only remedy, the only cure for it.

Lloyd-Jones is right, and that is why preaching is a consistent theme throughout Scripture and a consistent practice throughout Protestant Christianity.

A Consistent Theme Throughout Scripture

God sent forth the prophets of old to preach. The Gospels tell us “John the Baptist preached repentance.” Jesus, too, “came preaching.”

At Pentecost, in Acts 2, the church was birthed through Peter’s preaching. Throughout the book of Acts, the Apostles preaching upended the world and fertilized the church. The office of deacon was formed to facilitate prayer and the ministry of the Word. Paul customarily went to the synagogue and reasoned from the Scriptures.

In I Timothy 3, the elder must be “able to teach.” In I Timothy 4, Paul tells Timothy, “Until I come give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to preaching.” And, of course, Paul’s final charge to Timothy is to “preach the Word.”

Most persuasively, Paul’s airtight logic in Romans 10 reminds us how high the stakes truly are—it is through preaching the lost are saved. The apostle writes,

For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then

will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” (Romans 10:13–15)

Therefore, it is clear from Scripture why we must preach, but this is also clearly displayed in church history.

A Consistent Theme Throughout Protestantism

The structures, functions, and history of the church—especially post-Reformation—reinforces preaching’s centrality. The men who have most mightily advanced the church and shaken the world have done so through the pulpit.

As Protestants, our churches remind us of this reality as well. Our architecture places the pulpit front and center in our houses of worship. Our liturgy features preaching as the climactic point in our order of worship. Our jargon even reinforces the centrality of preaching (or at least it used to). Pastor search committees were once called “Pulpit Committees.” A call to the ministry was a “call to preach,” and the pastor was often called simply “the preacher.”

The answer to “why preaching” is not a mystery, but one that is clearly attested in both Scripture and church history alike. Therefore, as we assess the pastorate, let it be said of our pastors that they are first and foremost preachers.

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 Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971, 9.

 Ibid., 26.

*This article is an excerpt from Portraits of a Pastor, by Jason K. Allen. This book is available for purchase through Moody Publishers and Amazon.*

 

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Round about the Throne” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Round about the Throne” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, September 9, Evening)

“And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment.” (Revelation 4:4)

These representatives of the saints in heaven are said to be around the throne. In the passage in Canticles, where Solomon sings of the King sitting at his table, some render it “a round table.” From this, some expositors, I think, without straining the text, have said, “There is an equality among the saints.” That idea is conveyed by the equal nearness of the four and twenty elders. The condition of glorified spirits in heaven is that of nearness to Christ, clear vision of his glory, constant access to his court, and familiar fellowship with his person: nor is there any difference in this respect between one saint and another, but all the people of God, apostles, martyrs, ministers, or private and obscure Christians, shall all be seated near the throne, where they shall forever gaze upon their exalted Lord, and be satisfied with his love. They shall all be near to Christ, all ravished with his love, all eating and drinking at the same table with him, all equally beloved as his favourites and friends even if not all equally rewarded as servants.

Let believers on earth imitate the saints in heaven in their nearness to Christ. Let us on earth be as the elders are in heaven, sitting around the throne. May Christ be the object of our thoughts, the centre of our lives. How can we endure to live at such a distance from our Beloved? Lord Jesus, draw us nearer to thyself. Say unto us, “Abide in me, and I in you”; and permit us to sing, “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.”

O lift me higher, nearer thee,

And as I rise more pure and meet,

O let my soul’s humility

Make me lie lower at thy feet;

Less trusting self, the more I prove

The blessed comfort of thy love.

 

6 Reasons Why Pastors Should Stay Faithful

Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, is considered one of the greatest elected officials in our nation’s history, and one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. He was a tsunami of energy—one who never saw a mountain too tall to scale or a battle too threatening to join. He shook the nation, invented the modern presidency, and left a changed country in his wake. There is a reason why his face, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln’s, is chiseled on Mount Rushmore.

Roosevelt, reflecting on the burden of leadership and the willingness to risk all and attempt great things, famously observed:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Every time I read Roosevelt’s quote, my mind darts to the pastorate and to the fine work that men of God do. The office of the pastorate is a high one, the work a noble one, and the men who faithfully undertake it are worthy of our admiration. Pastors are in the arena, putting their life on the line. My challenge to them is to stay faithful. My challenge to church members is to encourage your pastor to do the same.

So, pastor, I want to encourage you about who you are in Christ, the stewardship he has entrusted to you, and the uniqueness of your ministry.

First, you are called by God. Christ has given the church, in our age, “Evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” One does not stroll into the ministry; one surrenders to it, receiving it as a weighty gift and calling. Pastors are those who have been set apart by God, called by His Spirit, and who have submitted their lives to Him. This requires obedience not only to enter the ministry but to continue in it. So celebrate the calling, and in your submission to it, stay faithful.

Second, you are a minister of the Word. Your one irreducible responsibility is to feed the sheep the Word of God. Paul stipulates that the pastor “must be able to teach,” and he charged Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” and to “preach the Word.” The pastor who faithfully discharges this responsibility does more than explain the Bible, he feeds the church—eternal souls—the bread of the eternal Word. Every Christian needs a steady intake of God’s Word, and a faithful pastor, who rightly divides the Word weekly, is worthy of high praise. In your ability to handle the Word, stay faithful.

Third, you are held to a higher level of accountability. The task of preaching and the responsibility of spiritual leadership bring a higher level of accountability upon you. It begins with the qualifications of the office, as outlined in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9, but it extends to other passages as well, including “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgement,” and that congregations should, “Obey their leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.” This fact is all the more daunting when you realize that pastors face more intense temptation. Satan targets those whose fall will do the most damage to the church and most sully God’s glory. Live sober, Spirit-led lives. In your fitness for ministry, stay faithful.

Fourth, you confront more intense temptation. Peter tells us that Satan roams about as a roaring lion seeking those whom he may devour; and there is no one he enjoys devouring more than a Christian minister—especially an erstwhile faithful one. When he does, he not only ruins a pastor and his ministry, he also destroys a family, disrupts a church, and discredits God’s glory in that community. There simply is no sin like the sin of a clergyman, and there is no one Satan desires to bring down more than those whom God is using most fruitfully. Guard your heart. In your battle against temptation, stay faithful.

Fifth, you face unique pressures. There are days pastors carry the weight of the world, and for reasons of confidentiality, all they can do is bottle it up. Whether it is a piercing word of criticism, a church member’s scandalous sin, a draining counseling session, a rigorous day of sermon preparation, or just the operational challenges of most congregations, all of these burdens—and more—can mount up to make the strains of ministry seem at times nearly unbearable. In these times, stay firmly grounded in Christ and seek your strength in His faithfulness. In your dependence on God, stay faithful.

Sixth, you tend the flock of God. Pastors are more than a shoulder to cry on, and they offer more than consolation during life’s trials. They preach, lead, and fulfill a host of other responsibilities, but pastors are men who are willing to bear their congregants’ burdens of heart. When church members need prayer, counsel, or support, pastors stand in the gap for them. They bear these burdens with their flocks. Paul spoke of his affection and parental care of the believers in Thessalonica, and Peter exhorted the elders to shepherd the flock with eagerness, not lording it over them. Such is the heart of a pastor, one who loves his congregation. This is no easy task. Church members can be wayward, stubborn, and even rebellious. Thus, the pastor who loves and serves the flock is worthy of admiration. In your care for the sheep, stay faithful.

Pastor, this is you. This is your calling, your work, and your reward. As you honor God and strengthen his church, one day you will hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” So, stay faithful.

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Roosevelt, Theodore, and Brian M. Thomsen. The Man in the Arena: The Selected Writings of Theodore Roosevelt: a Reader. New York: Forge, 2003, 5.

Ephesians 4:11-12.

I Timothy 3:2, 4:13; II Timothy 4:2.

James 3:1, Hebrews 13:17.

I Peter 1:8.

 

*This article is an excerpt from Portraits of a Pastor, by Jason K. Allen. This book is available for purchase through Moody Publishers and Amazon.*

Lord’s Day Meditation: “I Will Answer Thee” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “I Will Answer Thee” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, September 9, Morning)

“I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

There are different translations of these words. One version renders it, “I will shew thee great and fortified things.” Another, “Great and reserved things.” Now, there are reserved and special things in Christian experience: all the developments of spiritual life are not alike easy of attainment. There are the common frames and feelings of repentance, and faith, and joy, and hope, which are enjoyed by the entire family; but there is an upper realm of rapture, of communion, and conscious union with Christ, which is far from being the common dwelling-place of believers. We have not all the high privilege of John, to lean upon Jesus’ bosom; nor of Paul, to be caught up into the third heaven. There are heights in experimental knowledge of the things of God which the eagle’s eye of acumen and philosophic thought hath never seen: God alone can bear us there; but the chariot in which he takes us up, and the fiery steeds with which that chariot is dragged, are prevailing prayers. Prevailing prayer is victorious over the God of mercy, “By his strength he had power with God: yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth-el, and there he spake with us.” Prevailing prayer takes the Christian to Carmel, and enables him to cover heaven with clouds of blessing, and earth with floods of mercy. Prevailing prayer bears the Christian aloft to Pisgah, and shows him the inheritance reserved; it elevates us to Tabor and transfigures us, till in the likeness of his Lord, as he is, so are we also in this world. If you would reach to something higher than ordinary grovelling experience, look to the Rock that is higher than you, and gaze with the eye of faith through the window of importunate prayer. When you open the window on your side, it will not be bolted on the other.

 

What is the Pastor to be?

Today’s pastor wears many hats. Some of these hats are appropriate, aligning with the New Testament’s expectations for the pastorate. Yet many are unhealthy, burdensome expectations imposed by the congregation—or even by the pastor himself.

In any case, the 21st century pastorate can be a daunting position to hold. The biblical expectations are high, and the nonbiblical ones held by many churches are higher still. No pastor is omni-competent, and none can be omnipresent. Yet today’s pastor is often expected to be both.

In fact, some church’s expectations are so high—and stories of notoriously demanding churches are in strong supply—that many pastors experience burnout. A cottage industry has sprung up around this phenomenon: conferences, workshops, counselors, books, and materials all to support the beleaguered minister. Spoofs caricaturizing the pastor’s dilemma have arisen as well. Here’s a common one that made its way to my inbox (source unknown):

After hundreds of fruitless years, a model minister has finally been found to suit everyone. It is completely guaranteed that he will please any church:

He preaches only 20 minutes but thoroughly expounds the Word.
He condemns sin but never hurts anyone’s feelings.
He works from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. doing every type of work, from preaching in the pulpit to janitorial work.
He makes $100 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books regularly, has a nice family, drives a nice car, and gives $50 a week to the church.
He stands ready to give to any good cause, also.
His family is completely model in deportment, dress, and attitude.
He is 26 years old and has been preaching for 30 years.
He is tall, short, thin, heavyset, handsome, has one brown eye and one blue eye, hair parted in the middle, left side dark and straight, right side blond and wavy.
He has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spend all of his time with the older people.
He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work.
He makes 15 calls a day on church members, spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched, and is never out of the office.

 

While this parody obviously overstates expectations, in some churches it may hit eerily close to home. During times of transition, churches often conduct congregational surveys to determine what the church should look for in their pastoral candidates. I’ve reviewed more than a few of these. The results are, much like this spoof, often somewhere between comical and maddening.

But, what is the pastor to be? What must the pastor do? For these answers, we must turn to the Scriptures. That is the primary aim of my new book, Portraits of a Pastor. Within these pages, you’ll find the pastorate presented in full color as we consider the pastor as: leader, missionary, evangelist, apologist, theologian, church historian, shepherd, father, and husband. The book is both biblical and practical, so that you might more faithfully, and more effectively, serve the local church.

Over the years, I have pastored several churches and served several others in various roles. Thankfully, my experiences have been good ones with supportive, loving congregations. Now I find myself one step removed, serving as a seminary president, where my responsibility and joy is to train ministers for church service. I consider my calling a high one, but only because I’m in the position of helping to prepare men for an even higher calling: pastoring a local church. It’s a calling one should seek to fulfill with maximum faithfulness. And to do that, you must look to one and only one place for guidance—the Word of God.

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*This article is an excerpt from Portraits of a Pastor, by Jason K. Allen. This book is available for purchase through Moody Publishers and Amazon.*