Be a better pastor by attending School Career Day

I’ve just got back from a little presentation in my daughter’s primary school class on “People in our Community.” Several parents had come along to the class to tell the children what they did for a job and how they served the community in their job. It was tempting to feel a little sheepish about being a mere Pastor when compared to the Barrister, Doctor, Psychologist and Marine Rescue Officer, however, thankfully my identity does not revolve around my work but my relationship to Christ! As I was listening to each speaker and later spoke with some of them about their work it struck me that Career Day had a lot more to teach me than just what the other parents do for a living.

It is all to easy as a Pastor to become cloistered and cut off from the real world. Spending time in the study preparing for preaching is paramount but those to whom you preach do not have that liberty. When you preach or counsel you need to apply the gospel to where they live. If you know nothing of their world, how will you make that connection? As you invest much time preparing to preach, what good is it, if upon completion of your sermon, the Barrister, Retail Consultant, Stay at Home Mum, Plumber and Doctor shrug their shoulders and say, “So what?!“

Likewise if your ministry is addressed to others in ministry, if you can’t show them how to serve their people where they live, then what?

Now, I’m not arguing for a completely pragmatic approach that only responds or reacts to felt needs or anything like that. What I’m saying is that to be precise in your preaching and counselling you need to know something of what people are dealing with. The Foreign Exchange Dealer that is constantly on edge due to the volatility in fiscal markets; the Barrister that is upset at how people view their role as a defence lawyer in a negative light; the Doctor that is exhausted from working ridiculous hours trying to fit in as many patients as possible; the Plumber that hasn’t had a weekend off since starting his apprenticeship and so on. Bearing in mind also, that stress from struggles are not necessarily directly related to the field or industry where someone is working – I’m talking in generics for the sake of this blog post – but that’s something you need to avoid in your preaching and counsel!

How do you serve them? How does the gospel speak into their life and circumstances? Specifically? You won’t find out by playing around on Twitter as you finish reading yet another e-book on the theory of Pentateuch authorship. Things like Career Day give you a chance to learn about the people in your Church and what fills their week. It helps you understand why they do what they do and whether they enjoy it, find it challenging or stressful. How do they deal with some of the harsher elements of their job? e.g. People in medical and service industries are often faced with death and trauma – how do they deal with that?

I had originally gone along to Career Day as a favour to my daughter to make her feel important that Daddy had come to her class. And, I think that happened But, I think the other thing that happened was a great reality check for me in my ministry as a Pastor. I should quickly add, that this is the sort of thing you also find out by visiting the people in your congregation and getting to know them. This is just another way of doing that. What are some other ways you can get to know your congregation and serve them better as their Pastor?

 

Just passing by

John Wesley (1703-1791), founder of Methodism (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A stranger visiting a Methodist community in Britain asked an old Cornishman to explain the obvious morality and spirit of the villagers. He replied, “A man named Wesley passed this way.” And so must the church of Jesus Christ constantly remind the observing world that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. There is an irresistible contagion about the Christian. Above all others, the preacher—by word and ministry—must preach: Jesus is here! ~ Jones, G. C. 1986. 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (p. 303). Broadman Press: Nashville, TN

 

Smashed by Greatness

Greatness is not something to be rejected outright. It can be something to pursue to be the glory of God.

A couple of examples? The below video highlights a few. It’s an excerpt from a sermon preached by Mark Driscoll on Luke 9:46-50.

If you’re sick, how often are going to wish your doctor didn’t aspire to be a great Doctor? Do you really want one that is “humble” and doesn’t think much of their own abilities and has made no time whatever to develop themselves to be the greatest Doctor they possibly can be?

If we are going to be a good steward of our resources, talents, time, gifts, abilities, relationships, etc then we will pursue greatness – not for the sake of being a celebrity – but so that Jesus is imaged in our life to the greatest extent possible.

Some of us, me especially, need to be smashed by God’s greatness so that we stop accepting mediocrity in our lives, families and ministry and pursue greatness for God’s glory. Lets stop trying to please or pacify people and be great servants, preaching a great gospel about a great redemption as told in a great Bible all about and for a great God and great King – the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Visiting is BETTER than Preaching

“Making a hospital visit to a suffering family makes more of an impact than the three points you made in your message on Sunday.”

Trevin Wax explains why this view of pastoral leadership is inadequate and belies a lack of understanding of the sufficiency and authority of scripture in the life of a Christian and the Church.

He discusses the relationship between preaching and physical presence (visiting) by showing that preaching is not about being a clever orator that uses fancy alliteration so everyone can remember their sermons. Instead it is about exalting the Word of God and allowing the cumulative effect of that Word to transform and enliven people.

Preaching is formative in ways that go beyond mere information retention. Every time a pastor opens up the Word and preaches the gospel, he is showing his church how to approach the Bible. Pastors who elevate the Scriptures week after week, sermon after sermon, lead their people to approach the Bible in the same way.

Too often when a Pastor (Teaching Elder, etc) prioritizes sermon preparation, the congregation may be tempted to assume that he is neglecting visiting and relationship building just so he can be more eloquent. There might well be men like that in Church and gospel ministry, but most cases, eloquence has very little (if anything) to do with the Pastor’s preparation. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever come across an instance in my ministry or another’s where an important visit has been ignored in favour of “studying”.

Pastors, don’t underestimate the cumulative effect of your preaching. You are not dumping information into brains. You are forming the habits of your people, teaching them how to read and understand and apply the Bible for themselves. How you preach week after week matters just as much as what you preach.

Weekly confrontation with the Word of God slowly changes how we look at the world. We see God more clearly, our human state, and the future of the world within the Bible’s framework, even if we don’t remember all the information in an individual message. Sermons gradually change the way we think and feel and believe and hope.

It’s not a case of “Either OR” when talking about preaching and personal visiting. It is “Both AND” – But the priority is on preparation of the Word not “serving tables“.

Yes, your presence at the funeral home and the hospital bed is vital. It matters greatly. But there’s a reason why your presence during suffering is so powerful: The Word. A pastor’s visit is unique because the pastor is the one who speaks authoritatively from God’s Word week in and week out. That’s why Christians want their pastor to be by their side, and not just a fellow church member.

So let’s not pit pastoral presence against sermon preparation. Your preaching influences your presence, and vice versa. May the Lord open our eyes to see the quiet, subtle influence that 1000 sermons have on the people God has entrusted to our care.

 

Don’t change the channel

Martyn Lloyd-Jones comments on the benefits of attending Church to hear a real live preacher

“There is a unity between preacher and hearers and there is a transaction backwards and forwards. That, to me, is true preaching. And that is where you see the essential difference between listening to preaching in a church and listening to a sermon on the television or on the radio. You cannot listen to true preaching in detachment and you must never be in a position where you can turn it off.” (Banner of Truth Magazine, Feb 1990)

HT: Gregory Larson

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• 30 years later – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (apologies.wordpress.com)

 

30 years later – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

March 1 marks 30 years since the passing of Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ). MLJ has been one of the most influential Christian authors in my life. He is perhaps best known for the 29 years he spent as the Pastor of Westminster Chapel in London and the several preaching series he lead there on Romans, Ephesians, Acts and a topical study of Spiritual Depression.

I first encountered Lloyd-Jones when I was 16. I was reading a couple of small booklets by Peter Jeffery (Walk Worthy and Stand Firm) in which he quoted MLJ several times. In ‘Walk Worthy’ he quoted from MLJ’s series of 24 sermons on Romans 6. I was particularly struck by these quotes and asked one of the Elders at Church how I could read more. He bought me a copy of “Romans: The New Man : Exposition of Chapter 6“. I read the 300-odd pages immediately. Since then I’ve re-read it many times – most recently in October and November last year.

Justin Taylor has posted some details of MLJ’s biography along with a 10 minute video (included below).

To acquaint yourself with one of my pastoral and preaching heroes check out The Martyn Lloyd-Jones Recording Trust.