Calls to Worship

Christian Focus has recently published an interesting little book titled, Calls to Worship: A Pocket Resource, by Robert Vasholz. I was interested in this book because I think we fail to think enough about how Scripture can function as a true call to worship.
Bryan Chappell in the foreword makes an excellent point:

“The call to worship is not simply a perfunctory greeting of human cordiality, but is at once a weighty responsibility and a joyful privilege.” (10)

“With a scriptural call to worship God invites us by his Word to join the worship of the ages and angels. God does not simply invite us to a party of friends, or a lecture on religion, or a concert of sacred music – he invites us into the presence of the King of the Universe before whom all creation will bow and for whom all heaven now sings. With the call to worship God’s people are invited to participate in the wondrous praise that already and eternally enraptures the hosts of heaven. This awesome news and great privilege should be reflected with appropriate enthusiasm and joy by the worship leader in the call to worship. Such a call will typically lead directly into a corporate or choral hymn of praise as God’s people respond to the blessings of worship into which they are called. A well-planned call to worship often reflects the theme of the service or the nature [of] the occasion so that the remaining elements of service are a natural outflow of, and response to, the content of the call.” (11)

The book then contains brief (typically two to three lines) calls to worship using biblical language and suited to various occasions in the church. These will no doubt be helpful to many. What I had hoped for, however, particularly after the comments quoted from the foreword, was suggestions about specific direct texts which could be used for calls to worship. I prefer to use full texts (complete Psalms, or discrete portions of scripture) as calls to worship.

In My Place Condemned He Stood

In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement
By J.I. Packer & Mark Dever
(Crossway, 2008), pb. 188 pp.

I received my copy of this book today and have just enjoyed looking through it. It is primarily a compilation of three classic Packer essays on the atonement. The T4G guys (Duncan, Mohler, Dever and Mahaney) decided to gather these into one volume after reflecting on how beneficial these essays had been to them. I can say that these three essays have also been beneficial to me along the way. The essays are:

“The Heart of the Gospel” from Knowing God- I still remember reading this for the first time and then the basic content of that chapter becoming the sermon I preached at every opportunity for months. It continues to be a key shaping element in my thought.

“The Logic of Penal Substitution”, first delivered as a Tyndale lecture

Packer’s introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ- I suspect I am like many others who have greatly benefitted form this introductory essay even though I never read (completely) Owen’s book itself! This essay is already legendary!

Added to these essays is Dever’s “Nothing But the Blood” which previously appeared in Christianity Today, some brief introductory and concluding essays and some very helpful bibliographic remarks from Ligon Duncan. The annotated bibliography on the atonement will be a very helpful resource.

This is a great book to have and to make availabel to others.

Pursuing Manhood

Several months ago I mentioned an address I had given to young men here at Union on manhood. That address has now appeared in essay form in the latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood under the title, “Pursuing Manhood.” The essay is available on their website as well.

This issue of JBMW is the first issue under their new editor, Denny Burk. Denny’s editorial is available online and he explains the new format of the journal.

Oversight and Preaching

In my pastoral ministry class we recently discussed John Angell James' book, An Earnest Ministry: The Want of the Times. I have previously commented on this excellent book several times. There is so much good in this book, and I heartily commend it (and, fwiw, I do prefer to edition linked here).

By ‘earnestness’ James means what today- due greatly to the influence of John Piper- would be dubbed ‘passion.’ He calls for a whole-hearted devotion to the labor of saving souls, which he is careful to define as including both seeing people come to faith and laboring for their sanctification so that they persevere (previous comment on this point).

Of such earnestness James also writes:

“Good preaching and good shepherding are quite compatible with each other, and he who is in earnest will combine both.” (149)

This is a needed point. If we are in earnest about the salvation of souls we must labor in the teaching of the Word and in the careful oversight of the souls of our flock. These two activities cannot rightly be divorced. Careful oversight may not make us famous since people cannot download our oversight onto their iPods, but our preaching cannot be what it ought to be without this oversight.

Kauflin on Worship Music

Bob Kauflin’s new book, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), is gaining a lot of attention and rightly so. Through his work at Sovereign Grace Ministries Kauflin is one of the leading voices on worship today.

I knew I would agree with Kauflin on the core issues of worship. I was also delighted to read the following quote about the type of music we use. This is a lengthy quote, so I will simply cite it and plan to follow up with observations in another post. There is much wisdom in this quote.

“As I understand it, the best music enables people to genuinely and consistently magnify the greatness of the Savior in their hearts, minds, and wills. That’s a standard that will never change from culture to culture, generation to generation, church to church.
To flesh out this standard of excellence in your church, you’ll probably have a
musical center that effectively communicates to most people in the congregation. The songs sung in churches in rural Idaho, downtown Manhattan, Nottingham, England, and Bharuch, India are going to sound different. They should.

When it comes to innovations, remember that Scripture doesn’t mandate that we push the envelope, artistically speaking, on Sunday mornings. Artists will always be searching for new and fresh ways to express their gifts, but congregations must be able to hear the message without being distracted by the medium. When we meet to worship God, we’re not aiming to glorify creativity but the Creator.

And as a practical matter, edifying the church means using songs that everyone
can sing. What’s on my iPod isn’t always the best place to start when I’m picking songs for congregational worship. I need to think through the musical level of the people I’m leading. I generally look for songs with melodies between a low A to a high D that are easy to learn and hard to forget. I also try to avoid complicated rhythms.” (p. 106)

Blessed Mediocrity

Here is a good quote from Kent and Barbara Hughes’ Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome:

We are aware that it is possible to suppose that by refusing to quantify success (as for example, by size of congregation and staff, or numbers of souls won, or books in print, or degrees, or breadth of influence and prestige) we are encouraging mediocrity.

Far from it! Instead, think of what it would mean if we were faithful, living in profound obedience to God’s Word and working long and hard at our tasks; serving with a foot-washing heart; loving God with all our heart, soul, and might; believing what we believe; praying with the dependence and passion of Christ; living pure holy lives in this sensual world; manifesting a positive, supportive attitude in the midst of difficulties! If that is mediocrity, then give us more of this blessed mediocrity – for it is success! (p. 111)

Student Responses to Baxter, 2

I am once more teaching my Pastoral Ministry class and having students read Baxter’s Reformed Pastor. Last time I posted some student responses to reading this book. Here are a few more from this years’ interaction.

“I have never understood, the way I do now, the weight and burden of taking on the responsibility of shepherding the blood bought people of God. This book has caused me to say, ‘Oh, so this is what I am supposed to do.’”

“A pastor is not someone who can just teach, but rather he is someone who has a deep care for his congregation and shows that care in the way he lives and interacts with others.”

“Nearly every sentence is directly applicable to the contemporary pastor.”

“I would have come out of this book with less had I been able to simply dash through it at a page per minute. … I was forced to work things out as I read them, forced to map out trains of thought as I went. It was very worthwhile, and I will relish reading more in the future that was written by dead holy men.”

Eagle Projects International

Let me take the opportunity to let you know about an excellent ministry known as Eagle Projects International. My good friend Phil Eyster is the founder and president, and I have had opportunity to travel with EPI to Ghana and Nepal. This is a thoughtful, intentional ministry which takes the gospel to difficult places seeing people converted, churches planted, pastors trained, and the kingdom advanced.

The latest two blog posts are a good introduction to the places they minister. I especially encourage you to read the entry titled “Because He Knows We Will Go.”

Success

There is a flood of things I want to comment on here, but I have not been able to give much time to it recently. I will begin briefly here by touching on one thing which ties together three recent things that have been on my mind:

· Kent and Barbara Hughes’ book, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome
· D. A. Carson’s book, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor
· And a visit from a pastor friend from Nepal

I have benefitted from each of these in numerous ways, but together they have served as a strong word to me concerning my own ambitions and my view of success. I hope to comment on each of these further, but here I will make some basic points.

The Hugheses and Carson directly challenge the common ideas of what constitutes pastoral success today and call us to faithfulness before God and among His people. Both point out how little God is impressed with our accolades and the difference between the praise of man and the favor of God. These are not new points, but important and helpful ones. I stress these points with my students but can so easily be drawn into pursuing success in worldly terms (praise of man, accumulation of accolades, notoriety and publications). This way of thinking leads us to pursuing our own glory under the guise of pursuing God’s glory- a despicable thing! This way of thinking weighs us down with demands and tasks that may not be God’s calling for us, leading to unnecessary exhaustion and weariness. This way of thinking sets us up to envy other believers when they are blessed rather than rejoicing- precisely because our true interest is the advancement of ourselves rather than the advancement of the Kingdom.

My friend from Nepal then served as an embodied example of this selfless, joyful service as he related quite matter-of-factly accounts of the suffering he and others endure, their deprivation all the while exhibiting a deep and winning thankfulness and contentment. He is not known here in the West. He has no books in the works. But he is pouring out his life in preaching the gospel, leading people to faith, discipling them, mentoring pastors, overseeing the establishment of churches and quite literally seeing the gospel impact his country. He would remind me that we each have our calling and that his work is no greater than mine. I find my self humbled and exposed.

Lord, let me daily live in such a way as to hear you on the last day say, “Well done.” And let that vision free me from the allure of the praise of man and self-glory. Then I will know the pleasure and freedom in walking in the calling you have given me.

2008 Founders Conference

The 2008 Founders Conference will meet this June in Owasso, OK focusing on church planting and revitalization. The title is Lengthening the Cords and Strengthening the Stakes: Renewing and Planting Local Churches and features Ed Stetzer, Voddie Baucham, Andy Davis, Tom Nettles, Don Whitney, Ted Christman, and Phil Newton.

The conference website talks about how gimmicks can mask the lack of health in a church and that we should instead seek the God-ordained means of church renewal. This echoes a key theme of mine- using God-given means rather than humanly devised gimmicks.

From the conference website:

The 2008 National Founders Conference will explore the place, necessity, and some of the God-ordained means for church renewal and church planting under the theme, “Lengthening the Cords and Strengthening the Stakes: Renewing and Planting Local Churches.” The conference theme has arisen out of the many questions conference organizers have fielded regarding local church reformation and planting new churches. These themes go hand-in-hand, revealing the desire for healthy, vibrant, and reproducing churches. Conference speakers bring a wealth of experience and expertise in both the strengthening and lengthening of the church.

I will not be able to attend myself, but I wanted to pass on word for any that might be able to go.

Scougal once more

Here is another powerful excerpt from Scougal’s sermon "The Importance and Difficulty of the Ministerial Function". There is a need to recapture this gravity today. Then, under this weight we must cling steadily to the cross which alone bears us up, empowers us and gives us grace to stand.

“But if the negligence and miscarriage of a minister hazards the souls of others, it certainly ruins his own; which made St. Chrysostom say (words so terrible that I tremble to put them into English), ‘If a man should speak fire, blood, and smoke; if flames could come out of his mouth instead of words; if he had a voice like thunder and an eye like lightning, he could not sufficiently represent the dreadful account that an unfaithful pastor shall make. What horror and confusion shall it cast them into at the last day to hear the blood of the Son of God plead against them, to hear our great Master say, ‘It was the purchase of My blood which ye did neglect! God died for these souls, of whom ye took so little pains!’ Think not, therefore, to be saved by that blood which ye have despised, or to escape the torments whereunto many others are plunged through your faults!’ By this time I hope it appears that the work of the
ministry is of great weight and importance; that much depends on the right discharging of it, and that miscarrying in it is the most dangerous thing in the world.” (p. 235)

Scougal, on the Gravity of Pastoral Ministry

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Horton on the Pastorate

The article by Michael Horton which I mentioned in the previous post is now available online. This is a helpful article critiquing many common assumptions about what pastors should be and do.

Maxwell on Pastoring

Barry Maxwell is a good friend and thoughtful pastor. I recommend his blog. His most recent post is excellent as he discusses his own struggle with the difference between what the Bible calls us to as pastors and what the current church culture expects of us. This is important, valuable stuff. He also interacts with a recent article by Michael Horton in Touchstone Magazine. I was going to recommend that article as well, but I’ll now just point you to Barry’s musings.
Here is part of my response to his post:

You are right Barry. Continue in that way and continuing helping all of us resist the siren song of the culture which seeks to seduce us to false views of ministry. It must have felt odd for the Reformers to shake off the ways that had become so familiar to their setting when they returned to a more biblical path. It will feel odd to us too,
and if we are in the least bit humble we will wonder, as you have done here, if we're on the right track or have simply lost our minds. We must be diligent to encourage one another in this path. And who knows, maybe for our children this biblical path will not seem so strange.