Suffering Shame and Hatred from the World for Christ

Yesterday we taught through Matthew 10:16-25 where Jesus speaks about the persecution that will come to his followers. The premise that we ultimately set forward was this: Followers of Jesus will be persecuted for their allegiance to him; therefore, if you do not experience persecution, you either 1. do not belong to him or 2. are living a sinfully quite life about your faith in Christ. There is really no in between. Jesus promises that suffering will come. 

We need to begin living much louder lives about our faith. The world will grow increasingly intolerant of followers of Jesus, but true believers will endure to the end (Matt. 10:22). Instead of dreading this persecution, why don't we consider it a privilege? It is a great privilege to suffer for the sake of Jesus' name and fame. Let these words from Peter resonate in your mind and heart today and throughout the week:

1 Peter 4:12-14 (ESV) - 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and God rests upon you.

Why do you believe we are so quick to run from persecution when Scripture calls us "blessed?"

Share this post with others by using the buttons below

Let This Define Our Church & Lives

Ray Ortlund, a pastor in Nashville, TN of a church named Immanuel Church, posted on his blog this morning about the five marks of revived churches. Ray blogs regularly at The Gospel Coalition. May this 5 marks go beyond defining our church, but also our lives! Enjoy.

1.  Awareness of God’s presence: “The first and fundamental feature in renewal is the sense that God has drawn awesomely near in his holiness, mercy and might.”

2.  Responsiveness to God’s Word: “The message of Scripture which previously was making only a superficial impact, if that, now searches its hearers and readers to the depth of their being.”

3.  Sensitiveness to sin: “Consciences become tender and a profound humbling takes place.”

4.  Liveliness in community: “Love and generosity, unity and joy, assurance and boldness, a spirit of praise and prayer, and a passion to reach out to win others, are recurring marks of renewed communities.”

5. Fruitfulness in testimony: “Christians proclaim by word and deed the power of the new life, souls are won, and a community conscience informed by Christian values emerges.”

My Growing Skepticism of the Modern-Day Role of the Pastor

Yesterday at church was a great day. We dedicated over 16 children. We baptized 6 people (almost 80 for the year) who were making public professions of faith in Christ. We had one service and the building was jammed packed! It was an incredible day. 

However, my day continued on into the afternoon. I had three meetings that afternoon with people from the church. One meeting was with a new couple who attends the church and the Lord is working on their hearts in phenomenal ways. They are wanting to honor the Lord with their relationship and were asking for accountability. The second meeting was with a man in his fifties who for the first time in his life, the gospel is making sense to him. He wanted to know how to draw closer to the Lord and truly give his life to Christ. We talked about seeking the Lord fervently and with desperation. The third meeting I had was with a lady who had tremendous trials and tribulations in her life over the last few years. She was inquiring as to how she could walk through those things in faith and know that the Lord is with her. We had such a good time of searching the truths of Scriptures and seeing how God can turn trials into blessings. I left these three meetings feeling truly used by God to help people apply the gospel to their lives.

Why do I mention these meetings? What is the point I am aiming for in this post? The answer is this: I see the meetings that I had in the afternoon equally as important as the services that happened in the morning. 

In the world of pastoral leadership and church discussions, one of the major questions asked and raised is whether the pastor can be hands on with the congregation he leads and the church still grow. In others words, can a church keep growing and reaching people if the pastor is still assessable to the congregants?   Most involved in this conversation say "no." Most do not think that a pastor can remain involved in the meetings about salvation, premarital counseling, and other type meetings and the church still grow to reach a lot of people. I am not saying that this is a false assertion, but I do have my doubts and points of skepticism. Where does my skepticism come from?

One of the things I enjoy doing is reading. I read a lot of books. Most of the books I read are theology books and things concerning the Christian life. My favorite books are the one's that have been written by dead people. I love old books, particularly the Puritans, and those who are Puritan-influenced. One of the things that I have noticed when I read these old pastors is that they frequently visited with and met with their congregants. They met with them over all sorts of issues. They met with them despite how big their congregation was. Richard Baxter visited every one of his thousand plus congregants in a year's time. Ichabod Spencer had Sunday night inquiry meetings where people would flood his home and he would meet with and answer questions for hours. In addition to Sunday night inquiry meetings, he made weekly house calls to congregants and those seeking the way of salvation. 

When I read things like, this and then I think about what popular wisdom and opinion in our church culture today has become, I question whether they were ignorant of the ways to really grow their church or whether we are ignorant of what it means to be pastors. 

I desire to be available to the congregation I lead. I know that it cannot be completely dependent upon me and that there will be limitations to my availability to every person. However, I wrestle over the popular opinion that pastors have to limit their involvement with only a select few in order for the church to grow. I cannot escape the thought that as a pastor, I am called to walk with anxious souls concerning the way of salvation, and that goes beyond preaching to them on Sunday mornings. 

These are just some things on my heart and mind right now. What are your thoughts on this? What do you make of the popular opinion today of the role of pastors? Do you believe the Puritan-model is more biblical? Do you believe there is a middle ground? 

Subscribe to this blog by using the links to the right. Share this post with others you believe it could help by using the buttons below.

Away with the Traditional "Sinner's Prayer"

How does someone come to faith in Christ? Is there a magic prayer which changes our status as hell-bound sinner to heaven-bound saint? Are our words alone enough to change our heart of stone to a heart of flesh that feels and beats for the Savior King?

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the "Sinner's Prayer" has gained mass popularity by television evangelist, revival preachers, and now, most mainstream churches. It typically goes something like this, "Just admit to God that you are a sinner, tell him that you believe in His Son Jesus, and commit your life tonight/this morning that you want to be a Christian. Friend, if you prayed that prayer then you are now saved. Your sins are forgiven and you will one day spend eternity with God when you die." Other things are often added or expounded upon, but for the most part, this is something we have grown accustomed to hearing from others. The question we should ask is: is this right?

Before this became the "popular" and "acceptable" way of leading someone to the Lord how did pastors, laypeople, and others instruct sinners on finding grace? This is a terribly important question! A friend of mine, pastor and blogger Tim Brister, recently posted a "Sinner's Prayer" on his blog from 19th century bishop J.C. Ryle (whom I thoroughly enjoy reading). I have posted this prayer below, see if you can notice the difference in how one should seek grace. See which of the prayers best models a biblical picture.

Ryle's Prayer:

When does the building of the Spirit really begin to appear in a man’s heart? It begins, so far as we can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer. 

If you desire salvation, and want to know what to do, I advise you to go this very day to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the first private place you can find, and earnestly and heartily entreat him in prayer to save your soul. 

Tell him that you have heard that he receives sinners, and has said, “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” Tell him that you are a poor vile sinner, and that you come to him on the faith of his own invitation. Tell him you put yourself wholly and entirely in his hands; that you feel vile and helpless, and hopeless in yourself: and that except he saves you, you have no hope of being saved at all. Beseech him to deliver you from the guilt, the power, and the consequences of sin. Beseech him to pardon you, and wash you in his own blood. Beseech him to give you a new heart, and plant the Holy Spirit in Your Soul. Beseech him to give you grace and faith and will and power to be his disciple and servant from this day forever. Oh, reader, go this very day, and tell these things to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you really are in earnest about your soul. 

Tell him in your own way, and your own words. If a doctor came to see you when sick you could tell him where you felt pain. If your soul feels its disease indeed, you can surely find something to tell Christ. 

Doubt not his willingness to save you, because you are a sinner. It is Christ’s office to save sinners. He says himself, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). 

Wait not because you feel unworthy. Wait for nothing. Wait for nobody. Waiting comes from the devil. just as you are, go to Christ. The worse you are, the more need you have to apply to him. You will never mend yourself by staying away. 

Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you. Just as a mother understands the first lispings of her infant, so does the blessed Saviour understand sinners. He can read a sigh, and see a meaning in a groan. 

Despair not because you do not get an answer immediately. While you are speaking, Jesus is listening. If he delays an answer, it is only for wise reasons, and to try if you are in earnest. The answer will surely come. Though it tarry, wait for it. It will surely come.
Oh, reader, if you have any desire to, be saved, remember the advice I have given you this day. Act upon it honestly and heartily, and you shall be saved.

If you desire to subscribe or follow this blog click on the links to the right. If you want to share this post with others, use the buttons below.

Exciting Days Ahead of Us

Yesterday's message at The Journey Church was an important one. It was a jolting reminder of the necessity of staying focused on the mission of the gospel. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. As we scan our cities and we behold the vast number of lost people who have not made Christ the treasure of their lives, we should be filled with compassion and determination to about our Father's business. We are also called to pray that God, the Lord of this great harvest, would send laborers to reach His people, chosen from the foundations of the earth.

There are exciting days ahead of us as a church. The excitement is centered on envisioning hundreds, if not thousands, of people coming to Christ, being baptized, and joining the mission of reaching the harvest. However, excitement around these things is not enough, we need commitment. We will need sacrifice. In the coming days these commitments and sacrifices will become more defined and more clear, but for now, the challenge is for us to pray and ask God to prepare our church for the task He is calling us to.

Please pray for me church, that I would lead as He has called me to. Pray that I would be submitted fully to Him to say, do, and act upon the things He is revealing to me. Pray for all of our elders (James Ulmer, Tim Davis, Kim Working, Kyle Heckman, Shawn Allen, me) as we huddle to pray, plan, and prepare our church for where God is leading us in the months ahead.

Greater things are yet to come!

I Love Pastoring

I had such an incredible experience this summer preaching to over 3000+ students and adults leaders. I have preached sermons which the Lord has used to bring conviction, salvation, restoration in relationships, and other types of visible fruit. These experiences have been great, and the people I have met and worked beside have been fantastic. But at the end of the day, while preaching to these large groups of people, my heart finds more joy in pastoring and shepherding the congregation in which God has made me an overseer.

I do not say this to minimize the opportunities to preach to others, but I say it to express how blessed I am that God has given me such a love for the people I pastor. I want to see them discover the riches of Christ more and more each day. The difference between being a pastor and an itinerant, is that I get to continue to walk with those and shepherd those I preach to. I enjoy this part of it more than the hour (sometimes more LOL) I am standing and exhorting them from God's Word.

We need itinerants, so this is not a knock against them, but we need more men who love their congregations, not use their congregations as stepping stones to something greater. I never want to prostitute the congregation I shepherd so that I can have more "opportunities" or a bigger platform to speak to others. I want to walk with a group of people who know me, warts in all, and still love me, and still love for me to use my gifts and calling to lead them.

I am first and foremost a pastor. I love shepherding people. I love discipling new Christians. I love sitting down with families who's marriages are struggling and pointing them to Christ and to the gospel. I love marrying people and doing their premarital counseling. As our church has grown, I have not been able to do these things for every single person, but these things still matter to me. This summer, and the opportunities I have experienced, have served to make me grateful for the Lord's favor and opening of doors to preach the gospel, but it has also served to show me that the Lord has called me to be, above any other ministry role or opportunity, a pastor. I never want to abandon the local church and her ministry for some larger platform. Regardless of what doors the Lord does or does not open for a larger platform to teach others, my heart is always to be a shepherd of a local church, who are learning together what it means to live out the gospel together.

I thank God for this. I love you Journey Church.

To subscribe to this blog click on the links to the right. To share this post with others use the buttons below.

Spurgeon's Heartfelt Cry & Our Evangelistic Zeal

"When I think of the thousands of souls in this great city that have never heard of Jesus, that have never listened to him; when I think of how much ignorance exists, and how little gospel preaching there is, how few souls are saved, I think - O God! what little grace I must have, that I do not strive more for souls." - Charles H. Spurgeon

The above statement, spoken by Charles Spurgeon in a sermon to his congregation in London on October 14, 1855, is still ringing with truth; it is dripping with humility and sincerity. He made the statement concerning his own heart. As he surveyed the condition of his city and the people inhabiting it, he wondered why his soul did not year more vehemently for those without Christ. This was a man who pastored what could be considered one of the first mega-churches in history (thousands of people). If you have ever read a Spurgeon sermon, you would quickly see that his zeal for the Lord and the lost is much greater than many of us would attribute to ourselves. Yet, he yearned that his soul would care more.

As we begin our week, where would we rate our zeal to see those who are lost find Christ? Do we truly see the spiritual implications of what it means for them to be ignorant of Christ? Do we truly understand the magnitude of why we were sent by Jesus to go (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)? Would we cry out and pray as Spurgeon did above?

This coming Sunday at The Journey Church, we are going to be studying Matthew 9:35-38. In this passage, Jesus states that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The land is ripe for a harvest of the gospel, but there are not many laborers willing to go. May we do as Jesus commands, "pray to the Lord of the harvest for laborers for the field," but may we also be willing to be the answer to that prayer.

Would love to hear your thoughts: Why do you think our hearts are so easily hardened and shut off from caring about the lost? What do you think needs to happen for this to change? 

To subscribe to the blog, click on the links to the right. To share this post with others, use the buttons below.