Archive for the 'Church' Category

Page 4 of 20

Thom Rainer: “You are My Pastor”

Published on May 21, 2011 in Church, Leadership and Pastoral Search Committees. 0 Comments

Thom Rainer:

You are my pastor. You are not perfect. You get frustrated like everyone else. You don’t always say exactly what you should say. You do indeed make some mistakes. On that reality you readily agree.

But your imperfections are often magnified in the light of your leadership role. When you please one congregant, you often displease another. You can’t make everyone happy, and you hear criticisms more times than most of us could endure.

You Are My Pastor Who Loves

Despite your imperfections and the critics who vocalize them, you still love the people in the church you serve. You sat by that man whose surgery was a matter of life and death. You gave him the assurance that God would be with him. Your presence gave him the calm and peace he needed to come through the procedure safely.

You also met with that homeless man who came to the church. You could have ignored him, but you saw him as one of “the least of these.” You ministered to him. You gave him food. You found a place for him to stay. And you shared the gospel of Christ with him.

You are my pastor who takes calls in the middle of the night. You were awakened abruptly by the teenager’s parents when he was in the terrible automobile accident. You arrived at the hospital in time for his mom and dad to fall on your shoulders . . .

Read the rest here (please!).

10 Simple Things Good Pastors Say

Published on May 19, 2011 in Church and Leadership. 0 Comments

Jared Wilson writes a thoughtful list of 10 things good pastors say.  Given my own shortcomings, I have ample opportunities for 1 and 2.

Click through to the list.

HT: JT

Fellowship is fundamentally a reality, not an experience

Published on May 6, 2011 in Church, Sacraments and The Principle of the Rope. 7 Comments

Most often , Christians speak of fellowship as an activity or subjective experience.  Yet, “fellowship” translates the Greek word “koinonia” and a better translation would be “invested partnership” or “a sharing together”: fellowship is an objective reality.

John Stott explains:

In common usage fellowship describes something subjective, the experience of warmth and security in each other’s presence, as in ‘We had a good fellowship together.’  But in biblical usage koinonia is not a subjective feeling at all, but an objective fact, expressing what we share in together.

So Paul could write ‘you share in God’s grace with me’ (Philippians 1:7); John could write ‘that you may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ’ (1 John 1:3); while Paul added ‘the fellowship of the Holy Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 13:14). Thus authentic fellowship is Trinitarian fellowship. It bears witness to our common share in the grace of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Is this not what makes us one?  We come from different countries, cultures, and churches. We have different temperaments, gifts, and interests. And yet we have this in common: the same God as our Heavenly Father; the same Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord; and the same Holy Spirit as our indwelling comforter.

It is our common participation (our koinonia) in God (Father, Son, and Spirit) which unites us. And this is most vividly expressed in the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist. For ‘is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is mot the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?’ (1 Corinthians 10:16).  John Stott, The Living Church, IVP, 2007, Downers Grove, 91.

Arousing ourselves to death

Published on May 4, 2011 in Church, Marriage, Pornography and Sanctification. 1 Comment

Kill this or it will kill you. Beat to death with a shovel if you have to as described here.  Kill it in any case.

Russell Moore writes about how churches should deal with the pornography epidemic:

The couple will typically tell me first about how stressful their lives are. Maybe he’s lost his job. Perhaps she’s working two. Maybe their children are rowdy or the house is chaotic. But usually, if we talk long enough about their fracturing marriage, there is a sense that something else is afoot. The couple will tell me about how their sex life is near extinction. The man, she’ll tell me, is an emotional wraith, dead to intimacy with his wife. The woman will be frustrated, with what seems to him to be a wild mixture of rage and humiliation. They just don’t know what’s wrong, but they know a Christian marriage isn’t supposed to feel like this.

It’s at this point that I interrupt the discussion, look at the man, and ask, “So how long has the porn been going on?” The couple will look at each other, and then look at me, with a kind of fearful incredulity that communicates the question, “How do you know?” For a few minutes, they seek to reorient themselves to this exposure, wondering, I suppose, if I’m an Old Testament prophet or a New Age psychic. But I’m not either. One doesn’t have to be to sense the spirit of this age. In our time, pornography is the destroying angel of (especially male) Eros, and it’s time the Church faced the horror of this truth.

A Perversion of the Good

In one sense, the issue of pornography is not new at all. . .

Read the whole thing here.

Ten Reasons Not to Be a “Brick” in the Valley

Published on April 26, 2011 in Church. 0 Comments

We often encourage our people that God makes bricks with a building in mind, or as Peter said, “You also like living stones are being built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5).”  (See Why this blog is called “A Brick in the Valley”)

Still – - that doesn’t mean everyone should be a “brick” in this spiritual building.  Today Justin Buzzard shared ten reasons he gave to not join their church plant.  Even though these reasons are regarding a brand new local church, they could also apply to our 153 year old church.

Justin Buzzard:

1. If you’re looking for the next cool thing in town (We want to grow by conversion growth, not church-goer transfer growth).

2. If you’re a Christian and you don’t like your current church (You will find reasons to not like this church).

3. If you have a bad track record at churches of being unteachable and causing problems (You won’t change here, you’ll repeat the pattern).

4. If you’re a consumer wanting to “go to church” 1x a week for a nice show (We are not a Sunday show, we are a community of disciples on a mission).

Read the rest here.

On the constructive uses of a bowl of urine (and one improper use)

Published on April 7, 2011 in Church and Prayer. 8 Comments

If I sound a little harsh, it’s because I’ve been to both the jail and the nursing home today and it has again helped me have a better perspective as a pastor.

This qualification in mind, let me suggest a couple of constructive uses of a bowl of urine.

Use #1 – When we pray for people in nursing homes it would be a good thing for us to get on our knees and pray next to a bowl of urine. A graphic reminder of the smells that many people live with might give a greater sense of urgency in our intercession.

Use #2 – Maybe if you’re considering skipping church in the near future, or if it has been some time since you invited someone into your home, then put a bowl of urine on your kitchen table for a little bit and consider the fact that there may be a time very, very soon when you would give everything in your possession to sing with God’s people, or hear the Word preached in person, or invite someone over for hot apple pie and ice cream.

Or, you could just skip the bowl of urine exercise and make an apple pie and invite someone over or go to church and soak in the sights and sounds of being with God’s people.

******

Today when I was at the nursing home, I mentioned in passing that I had called in my sermon title and text to our administrative assistant.  The lady I was visiting stopped me right there in the conversation.

“Pastor,” she asked, “What is your sermon title and text for this Sunday.”

I stopped, read the text to her, and talked about Philippians 4:10-20.

You or I can’t imagine how much this lady in the nursing home would like to be in church this Sunday.  Or, how much she would love to be able to invite someone over to her home.

***************

While I’m at it, I should mention, an improper use of a bowl of urine. Don’t live in fear of the future.

As a pastor, I read Psalm 23 to one elderly person in the nursing home.  She was too confused to even talk much.  But, I assured her as I prayed for her that the Lord is her shepherd.  And, God will give her the grace to walk this tough stretch of road.

And, if you have trusted Him as Lord and Savior, then He will give the strength to follow Him wherever He calls you in life.  When you consider the sights and smells that you may face in the future, don’t be afraid.  God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.

What We’ll Miss the Most

Published on April 2, 2011 in Church, Family and Uncategorized. 4 Comments

We need to savor ordinary family life at home and at church. It will quickly be over.

If you haven’t noticed the pastor’s family is growing up.  Our oldest, Allison, is wrapping up her junior year and Mary Beth, our youngest is polishing off second grade.  Mary Beth wasn’t even speaking in sentences when we signed on as “bricks in the valley.”

Jamie and I sometimes talk about what we’ll miss the most when our children are grown. We’ve been able to travel as a family, the highlight of which was our sabbatical in Switzerland. It was wonderful, but it isn’t what we’ll miss the most when the youngest is grown up.

Notice he isn't actually packing heat.I think what we’ll miss the most is the ordinary sound of family around the house.  We will miss having dinner together.  I’ll miss telling the children to quit eating like Assyrians or to pass the food before feeding their own faces. I already miss wondering why Christopher was dressed up like a cowboy to play a board game with Benjamin, as in the picture to the right.  (I will point out that he wasn’t actually “packing heat” since his holster is empty, though I’m sure his sidearm wasn’t far away).

I will really miss eavesdropping on a little girl while she lectures her dolls and when Allison would fall asleep playing with her dolls and Winnie the Pooh.

I think it’s the same deal at church.  What I’ll miss the most isn’t the major projects that we’ve done together, but rather the ordinary beauty of family life as a church.  I will miss standing around the corner while you are excited to see one another at church.

I will really miss doing benedictions.  So many times when I give the benediction, I sweep my eyes across the congregation – - picture what is going on in your worlds – - and pray.

Jamie and I will miss standing at the back door shaking hands and hugging people.

It may sound strange to say, but I will miss going to a funeral and seeing a buffet of excellent food prepared for a hurting family.  (Fortunately, most of you have better manners than our kids at home so I don’t have to rebuke you for eating like Caananites).

In church, we tend to sit in the same places and I will miss being able to go into the sanctuary, even when it’s empty, close my eyes, and picture what it would be like if you were all actually there.

I will miss studying the biblical text while I consider what is going on in your world.  I will miss getting down on my knees by the south window in my study while I pray for you all.

And I will miss a lot more.  But, thankfully, our children aren’t yet grown, and my time as a brick is not yet over, so we have the opportunity to more consciously savor the joy of ordinary life for another couple days, or for a week or so, or as many years as God gives us.

Consider China and Be Thankful for a Place to Worship This Sunday

Published on April 1, 2011 in Church and Missions. 0 Comments

Reading this story about the persecuted church in China may encourage you to pray for believers in China even as you’re thankful for a dry place to worship this Lord’s Day.

Christianity Today:

The global media spotlight has recently centered on the meeting place of Shouwang Church in Beijing. Since April 10, the unregistered congregation of 1,000 mostly young professionals has been forced to worship outdoors after the landlord of its rented conference hall gave in to mounting government pressure and terminated the church’s lease.

During the past three Sundays, numerous uniformed and plainclothes police officers were sent to a public square at Zhongguancun, known as “China’s Silicon Valley,” where Shouwang worshipers were supposed to gather. Hundreds of Shouwang members were detained, from a few hours to 48 hours. They worshiped—reading the Bible, singing hymns, and praying—after being loaded onto buses or held in police stations. Many others have been under house arrest. The church’s leaders, including four pastors and three elders, have been under house arrest for most of the past two weeks. Some church members have lost their jobs or rented homes—or both.

On Easter Sunday, more than 30 people were rounded up at Zhongguancun, while many Shouwang members were confined to their homes. A young couple asked the police to drive them to the Zhongguancun square. . .

Read the rest here.

Eat Together

Published on March 22, 2011 in Family and Sacraments. 0 Comments

Eugene Peterson explains that the dinner table provides soil in which seeds can germinate.

As we live and give witness to Jesus to our children and whoever else, we are handing out seeds, not pearls, and seeds need soil in which to germinate.  A meal is soil just like that.  It provides a daily relational context in which everything you say, and don’t say, feel or don’t feel, God’s Word and snatches of gossip, gets assimilated along with the food and becomes you, but not by yourself – - you and your words and acts embedded in acts of love and need, acceptance and doubt.  Nothing is abstract or in general when you are eating a meal together.  You realize, don’t you, that Jesus didn’t drop pearls around Galilee for people as clues to find their way to God or their neighbors. He ate meals with them. And you can do what Jesus did.  Every evening take and receive the life of Jesus around your table.  (The Pastor, page 195).

More on the connection between joy and “koinonia” / “fellowship”

Published on March 7, 2011 in Church and Philippians. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

If you are not actively investing in the lives of other believers within the Body of Christ, you will not have a full experience of joy.

Yesterday, I argued that Paul often speaks of joy in connection to relationships with other believers.  My learned friend Jerry Wall pointed out in a comment that this  is observed in Philemon 6 where Paul encourages Philemon, “I pray that you may be active in koinonia/invested partnerships /fellowship so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”

Notice how John connects joy and koinonia / fellowship in 1 John 1:3-4.  This is such a beautiful thought:

3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Invest in others this week – - by serving and loving them – - and you will take a step towards more joy.