Centrality of Preaching

Having just commented on people yearning for substantive preaching, I came back across this quote from Al Mohler which I read a few years back. He says it well- as usual. :)

When you hear people speak about how to grow a church, how to build a church, and how to build a great congregation, few and far between are those who say it comes essentially by the preaching of the Word. And we know why, because it comes by the preaching of the Word slowly; slowly, immeasurably, sometimes even invisibly, and hence we are back to our problem. If you want to see quick results, the preaching of the Word just might not be the way to go. If you are going to find results in terms of statistics, numbers, and visible response, it just might be that there are other mechanisms, other programs, and other means that will produce that faster. The question is whether it produces Christians.
Indeed, such techniques will not produce maturing and faithful believers in the Lord Jesus Christ because that is going to come only by the preaching of the Word.
- “The Primacy of Preaching,” in Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching, ed. Don Kistler, p. 17-18

Voice from the Pew

Preachers are often told that people really are not interested in substantive content in sermons. I know of pastors who have been severely criticized for dealing with texts that people did not find easily digestible, or useful enough in drawing crowds. Shallow, generic “life-thoughts” will appeal to some, but there is an increasing number of people who are crying out for substantive teaching as they yearn to know God and to have something weighty enough to serve as an anchor for their souls.

Below is a response from a survey student after listening to a sermon I assigned. For the record, this was not one of my sermons. :)

"I love sermons like this because it isn't 3rd grade Sunday school like …. I want to hear intellectual study. When preachers give a lesson like this it keeps me interested"

Let us give them real substance, explained and applied of course, but not diluted and dumbed down.

Mourning Over Lost Souls

People often think that a firm belief in the sovereignty of God in all things including the salvation of souls will undercut evangelistic zeal. History is full of examples to the contrary, and the Puritans are key examples. I previously mentioned Richard Alleine’s book Instructions About Heartwork . In this book Alleine has an entire chapter entitled, “Why Should We Mourn Over Lost Souls?” Here is an excerpt. Could you expect anything more passionate?

“Oh, pity these lost souls! Do you have any compassion? Parents, have you any compassion for your sinning children? Friends, have you any compassion for your sinning friends? Draw forth your compassion in sighs and lamentations; pour forth your hearts through your eyes; weep over them; look upon the ignorant and sottish ones; look upon the profane ones, the lying children, the swearers and cursers and drinkers, the unruly children among you, and let your eye affect your heart” (67).

Oh, as pastors we especially must have this heart toward the lost. In the busyness of life it is so easy to allow the reality of their eternal fate to slip from our view, to fail to live each day in full view of eternity. Let us pause long enough for these realities to move our souls once more that we might be reminded of the earnestness of evangelism. Then we will be able to speak with people as Alleine did. Here are just a few excerpts from his address directly to the unconverted:

Sinners, will you yet go away thinking that it is well with you? … Do the pleasures of sin make your chains pleasant to you? … Have you no pity on that poor soul of yours, but you will give it up to be racked, torn, and burned forever rather than for its sake deny your will, your lust, or your appetite?” (68-69)

Loving and Living the Scriptures

One of our Wednesday night classes at church is studying J. I. Packer’s A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. I am enjoying going back through the book because it is so good. Here is a quote from Packer about how the Puritans viewed the Bible. I have elsewhere, in a different context, written about the propriety of talking about loving the Bible in spite of what some may say. May this approach to the Bible mark us and our people.

“For Puritanism was, above all else, a Bible movement. To the Puritan the Bible was in truth the most precious possession that this world affords. His deepest conviction was that reverence for God means reverence for Scripture, and serving God means obeying Scripture. To his mind, therefore, no greater insult could be offered to the Creator than to neglect his written word; and, conversely, there could be no truer act of homage to him than to prize it and pore over it, and then to live out and give out its teaching. Intense veneration for Scripture, as the living word of the living God, and a devoted concern to know and do all that it prescribes, was Puritanism’s hallmark.” (98)

More on Great Hymns from a Children’s Book

At my blog on children’s literature, The Children’s Hour, I have recently posted a review of Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers, by Douglas Bond. It is a great book with insights useful for adults as well as children. Here are some particularly good quotes that speak to our role in directing the worship of the church.

“Many hymns are prayers that express our desire after God better than we can ourselves. It is a glorious thing to worship God, and hymns will give you words with which to worship Him”

“Precisely,” said Mr. Pipes. “You see, Drew, when singing a hymn we join our voices in worship with Christians throughout the ages. Singing great hymns can help Christians avoid the foolish notion that our spiritual moment in history is better than other times.”

“. . .nothing we do in worship more unites our hearts and lifts us above ourselves than singing hymns set to grand music that reflects the beauty and order of our Creator.”

“Mr. Williams wrote hymns worthy of God in all His majesty and splendor, solid and deep hymns that first humble us with God’s holiness and then lift us above our sinful selves, overwhelming us with the splendor of God’s love and grace, freeing us to worship Him as He deserves.”

“He likes the word ‘grace,’” said Annie.
“That is because Newton understood the word ‘sin,’” said Mr. Pipes.

“Their first few visits to church with neighbors at home now seemed more like a trip to the circus compared with this [worship at Mr. Pipes’ church in Olney].”

“I want you both to be lovers of Christ’s church—yes, with all her warts—for she ever shall prevail, and those in her true communion on high will dwell with our blessed Redeemer Who bought His bride, the church, with His precious blood.”

The Church, the Safe Place to Become

Over the next few weeks at Union we are honored to have Nigel Goodwin as our Scholar-in-Residence. Nigel is founder and director of Genesis Arts Trust based on the Isle of Wight in the UK. Nigel was mentored by Francis Schaeffer, and he is passionate about the place of the arts in the faith.

In his opening lecture today Nigel stated that the ultimate questions people have today are two:
1. Does anyone love me?
2. Is it safe? (meaning is it safe here to show my fears, troubles, etc.)
Then he said, “Everyone is looking for a safe place where they can be and become whom they were created to be and become.” I immediately thought, “This is what the church is supposed to be.” The gospel, and the church birthed by that gospel, are the answer to these key questions people are asking. Only too often the church fails to be this. We miss this important aspect in our programmatic machines. This can also be lost even when profound truths are emphasized but there is no intentional effort made to connect us as people. We as pastors must lead our churches to becoming real communities of faith, where truth is both proclaimed and lived, where we know the Word and we know each other.

There are various ways we can move toward building real community where people can feel safe to admit their failings and seek help. At our church one main thing we have done is to set up our Sunday evening prayer meeting as a time for people to share. We gather in chairs turned to face one another with no other agenda than to hear from one another and to pray for one another. This is risky in a number of ways, not least in our typical church culture, the risk that it might be a bit mundane. But then life is mundane at times. Sometimes the meeting is fairly simple- no huge requests, etc. Some may consider it dull. At other times great suffering is made known, sin is confessed, joy is shared, etc. The feel of the meeting varies as does life, but over time a culture has developed so that people are often willing to share their needs and struggles. In this way we come to really know one another and are enabled to pray for and minister to one another.

This maybe done in various ways, but it must be done. I offer our practice not as the ultimate answer but the reflections of a fellow laborer.

John Piper on the Cure of Souls in Despair

When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God--and Joy , John Piper
(Crossway, 2006), pb., 79 pp.

I read this little book this weekend and was really helped by it. Piper deals well with the difficult issue of depression. This would be a helpful book to give to someone going through such a dark period. It is also a really helpful book for pastors, helping us to think through how to aid people in such situations. Piper draws deeply from Puritan authors who dealt with this topic. Too often today pastors are thought of as CEO’s, speakers, managers, etc., though in previous days we were thought of as “physicians of the soul.” I intentionally chose the title of this post to highlight the “cure of souls” which used to be the typical understanding of the work of the pastor.

The introduction and first chapter lay out the basic issues with helpful discussions of the place and value of medicine. Piper notes that medicine has a place and that there is nothing inherently wrong with its use. He does also note, though, that this does not negate the need for spiritual help. A chemical imbalance may trigger despair and medicine can help this. However, the doubt, etc. which may arise from this also needs to be addressed by the gospel.

Chapter 2 is an excellent discussion of the fact that the “dark night” comes to all at some point. Piper writes:

“It will be of great advantage to the struggling Christian to remember that seasons of darkness are normal in the Christian life. I don’t mean that we should not try to live above them. I mean that if we do not succeed, we are not lost, and we are not alone, as the fragment of our faith clings to Christ” (33-34)

There is much helpful guidance here about navigating and helping others navigate these dark times which come to almost all of us. Simply acknowledging that this is fairly common is a great help in contrast to those who seem to suggest that the typical path is one that grows brighter each day.

Chapter 3 counsels that one key way through the valley is to keep doing what you know you ought to do. Piper writes:

“Waiting for the Lord in a season of darkness should not be a time of inactivity. We should do what we can do. And doing is often God’s appointed remedy for despair” (45).

He quotes George MacDonald:

“bethink thee of something that thou oughtest to do, and go to do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room, or the preparing of a meal, or a visit to a friend. Heed not thy feelings: Do thy work” (46).

Again Piper writes:

“If your feelings are telling you that staying in bed is the best thing today, preach to your feelings and tell them how foolish they are.” (47)

In touching this chapter just briefly, it may seem that Piper’s advice here is cold. That is not the case. It is refreshing and helpful; but you must read the chapter to get the full context. The counsel given here is very similar to the poem “Do the Next Thing.”

Chapter 4 examines the issue of unconfessed sin as the possible cause of the darkness. He is careful to say this is not always the case, but it can be. We fear confession because we struggle to believe the gospel- that God will forgive. Piper puts it well:

“The almost incredible of confessing and renouncing sin is that the Lord does not then rub it in our face but cancels it” (55).

Of course confessing to God may be easier than confessing to other people. This is dealt with as well, with Piper stating:

“The tender words, ‘I’m sorry, will you forgive me?’ are one of the surest paths to joy” (56).

Chapter 5 argues that the way out of darkness is looking away from ourselves. Self-absorption will only lead to more darkness. Chapter 6 then takes up John Newton and his relationship with William Cowper as an example of loving those in the dark of despair.

I encourage all pastors to take the time to read this book as a part of training ourselves in the cure of souls. This is our work. Piper helps us grow in this are and in his footnotes points us to a wealth of Puritan literature on the topic.

Richard Alleine on the Oversight of Souls

Alleine (1611-1691), like his other Puritan counterparts, understood the importance of oversight. Addressing his hearers on the importance of guarding their hearts (Prov 4:23-27), he mentioned others whom God has ordained to watch over us. He quoted Hebrews 13:17 and then wrote:

“We deal so plainly and so closely with you, we are so instant in exhorting, reproving, warning, and watching over you, because we must give an account of how we discharge our duty towards you”
(Instructions About Heartwork , 7)

May our ministries also be shaped by this crucial truth.

Bunyan on the Privilege of Church Membership

“Church fellowship, rightly managed, is the glory of all the world. No place, no community, no fellowship, is adorned and bespangled with those beauties as is the church rightly knit together to their head, and lovingly serving one another … Hence the church is called the place of God’s desire on earth (Ps. 132:13-16).”
(The Desire of the Righteous Granted)

Baptist Identity Conference & Humility

The Baptist Identity Conference held here at Union last week has been the topic of much blogging, for which I am glad. If you have not seen the links elsewhere, you can look here to download audios of all the sessions.

These presentations are useful for pastors. If you are a Southern Baptist pastor, these are significant discussions about the future of the denomination with which you affiliate. If you are not a Southern Baptist, there are some helpful deliberations in general about how we interact with fellow believers, cooperating, etc.

The thing that was most encouraging to me, however, was the tangible sense of humility present in most of the sessions I was able to attend. Humility was even specifically addressed by many of the participants. Regardless of your denominational affiliation (or lack of), humility is something which desperately needs cultivating in American Christianity. When too many pastoral bio’s describe ourselves in embarrassingly glowing terms, when the culture around us sees “arrogance” and “pastor” as practical synonyms, we need a fresh baptism of humility- and in this case I think my paedo-baptist friends will agree with me in desiring a full immersion rather than just a sprinkling. :)

To this end, let me again recommend C. J. Mahaney’s book, Humility: True Greatness (previously commented on here).

While reading another book (Kim Riddlebarger’s The Man of Sin) I was struck by how often pride/arrogance is the mark of those who rise up against God. The building of the Tower of Babel is an effort in self-exaltation:

"Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." (Gen 11:4, ESV)

Any time our efforts in building any institution (denomination, school, programs, etc.) has as its goal making a name for ourselves, we will deserve the same condemnation as those in Babel. In this situation, we cannot expect God’s blessing and must expect to find him destroying our works.

Or note Nebuchadnezzar who when he expresses his pride in building his own kingdom is humiliated by God being turned into a beast for a time (Daniel 4). Could it be that some “Christian” beastliness which occurs is the result of our proud, self-centered efforts to wrest praise for ourselves?

Note also Daniel’s prophecies of key anti-God leaders. While Christians differ on the referent of these prophecies, the mark of arrogance is unavoidable.
Daniel 7:8, 11- This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully… Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
Daniel 8:25- By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great.
These words describe arch-enemies of Christ. Woe to us when they too easily describe us.

We claim to follow the one who said:
“How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44, NIV).
We cannot truly pursue the glory of God and our own glory at the same time.

Rather than new initiatives or campaigns we need a serious and sober call to humility. I see it being modeled by some leaders. We pastors must lead the way in our example. Truly the way forward is down. May with the hymn writer be:

Content to fill a little space,
If Thou be glorified

Example of Pastoral Preaching

This is not a great title, but I did not have a better one. I want to point you to the sermon preached at our church yesterday by Lee Tankersley on Luke 6:17-49. Lee always does a good job with the text, but this Sunday, due to the nature of the text, the pastoral struggle was particularly evident. I am not sure if it shows up in the manuscript as much as it does in the audio, but Lee stressed his concern on the one hand not to interpret the text so as to open his people to being taken advantage of and on the other hand not wanting to insulate us from the piercing of the text. This is the heart of a pastor and not merely a preacher. This is evidence of one who realizes his task is not merely to craft an interesting oration but to teach people how to live, indeed to mold lives according to the Word of God. The struggle under the weight of this task is apparent in the sermon.

While people’s styles are different, this is the manner in which preaching must be approached. We are to preach to the people right there in front of us, really expecting that they will take seriously what we say and act on it. And we are responsible then for how we teach them to live. I encourage you to take some time to listen to this example of one brother doing just this.

A Layman’s Advice to Preachers

Tim Ellsworth has written a great piece by this title. He provides a list of sound requests from the pew for those of us who preach. Check out the list. It is a good advice. It is reminiscent of Wylie Johnson’s "The Preacher from the Layman's Viewpoint" written back in 1954.
Check out Tim’s comments and pass them along to others.

Love Your People By Giving them Good Hymns

For some time I have been contemplating posting something on this topic. I am regularly reminded of the great value of good, rich songs in corporate worship. We have such a treasure of them. I admit I have a bias for grand, old hymns, but there are also some new ones I really like. The point though is to give our people songs that nourish their souls. The songs we sing shape our thoughts and lives perhaps even more than sermons, because we sing them regularly. Let us then give them really good ones that capture and explain the message we are preaching. Great hymns are gospel songs which deal explicitly with sin, the cross & resurrection and the hope of heaven. They move us away from the glib assertions that all is well right now to the reality of our struggle with sin and death, all the while anchoring us in the hope of the gospel. This is real world stuff, and I know how much I need it, how much it ministers to my soul. I am so blessed to be in a church which uses them.

So, love your people, aid them, teach them, cherish them, protect them, encourage them, support them, fight for their souls by giving them good, gospel-centered songs.

I will list here just one example (of hundreds). I mention this one because we sang it again yesterday and it always means so much to me.

“Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken”
Jesus, I my cross have taken,
all to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
all I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still mine own.

Let the world despise and leave me,
they have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
And while Thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
show Thy face and all is bright.

Go, then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come, disaster, scorn and pain!
In Thy service, pain is pleasure;
with Thy favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee, “Abba, Father”;
I have set my heart on Thee:
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather,
all must work for good to me.

Man may trouble and distress me,
’twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me;
heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me
while Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me,
were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Take, my soul, thy full salvation;
rise o’er sin, and fear, and care;
Joy to find in every station
something still to do or bear:
Think what Spirit dwells within thee;
what a Father’s smile is thine;
What a Savior died to win thee,
child of heaven, shouldst thou repine?

Haste then on from grace to glory,
armed by faith, and winged by prayer,
Heaven’s eternal day’s before thee,
God’s own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;
Hope soon change to glad fruition,
faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

- Henry F. Lyte, 1824, revised 1833
(and, yes, we sing all the verses!)

Pilgrim's Progress

I am finally catching up with the rest of Christendom in reading Bunyan’s classic. I have read various children’s editions and felt I knew the story from the abundant allusions one comes across. Nevertheless, I had never read it and finally have begun to do so. I am approaching the conclusion now and have really enjoyed this edition. Of course you can find various renditions, but this one has been very helpful. The language has been slightly updated to ease reading, but it is not a heavy handed revision. You can still sense the 17th century language, with many archaic words and phrases retained with bracketed explanations. Bunyan’s marginal notes have been moved to footnotes and the editor has added a few more explanatory notes. I do wish the editor had made clear which notes were original to Bunyan and which had been added, though of course one can readily compare another edition.

This edition would be great for a group study or for a gift. I hope to post soon some reflections on church and pastoral ministry from the reading.