faithful pastors

by

Sermon of the Week: “The Calling of a Preacher” by Albert Mohler.

Albert Mohler was one the key-note speakers at the 2012 Shepherd’s Conference. While there were several excellent speakers throughout the event, this message from Mohler was timely and relevant to me personally – and seemed to resonate with the two or three thousand others gathered there as well. Here is an excerpt from his introduction, full message in video below, mp3 download here (right click and save or click to listen).

Let’s admit it. There’s a lot of mysteries in the christian life, but one of the greatest mysteries is why God would in His sovereign, omnipotent and omniscient, and wisdom and righteousness, and mercy choose the likes of folks as we… to do this. You might think that if we were orchestrating this, we might have angels doing the preaching. Everybody would listen to an angel, wouldn’t they? Of course,  not American angels. We domesticate little angels, we paint little pictures of cherubs and hang them in the bathroom. It’s a completely different reality. Just remember in the Gospel of Luke, the angelic hosts showed up to the shepherds and the first think they had to say is, “First of all, don’t die” – “Fear not, we bring you tidings of great joy”. Meanwhile, most Americans, in our weirdo, fake, postmodern spirituality think they’re channeling with little cherubs in the bathroom.

But God doesn’t assign angels to do the preaching. He assigned human preachers, men whom He has called because when an angel shows up to preach you don’t ask, “How did God do that?”. But, when we show up to preach you’re looking at me going (saying), “He’s just flesh and blood. He’s nearsighted. He only speaks one language. He’s gonna be hungry soon. He fell asleep during a Greek lecture, thirty something years ago and you’re letting him preach?” Well, it’s as the apostle Paul says, “It’s so that the glory would be all of God’s and not ours. So that the excellence would be His excellence that’s demonstrated and not ours.”

Admit it: you’d love to be doing this, and then admit it: That’s a good thing. And then let’s just admit it together, it’s just a priceless thing that we get to be together for these days and these hours, to preach and to hear preaching and to be encouraged, not only by each other, but by the Holy Spirit of God in this calling that has come to us.

by

The 4 Pastors

The following fictional scenarios depict four types of today’s pastors. But the question is, how much is fiction, how much is fact?

The emerging pastor

The emerging pastor felt a little insulted that only 4 people showed up for the Saturday night coffee and conversation church service. Because of the small turn out they went to Starbucks and discussed suffering while listening to U2. They hung out on couches and read a popular new coffee table book, and talked about how Jesus identified with our pain as He hung on the cross, feeling what we feel, the god who screamed with us, so we could have solidarity in suffering. Some expressed their doubts about hell and heaven, and the sacrificial atonement. They went home without answers, empty, but having engaged the culture.

The market driven pastor

The market driven pastor was disappointed that only 4 people showed up for the highly promoted Recover Up 101 and dessert night. The church was dying, and he had hoped the sign on the road would bring in more people from the community. Because of the small turnout he decided to skip the worship time. While they ate dessert they read through steps 1 -12 in the manual, and talked about how a #1 best selling book had changed their lives. Then they were led in a discussion about finding their purpose, sharing their hurts and hangups, and joining God’s family for community and happiness. Some quietly wondered why they didn’t feel happy, but went home feeling glad about having found a positive church with a smoking area and a coffee bar.

The contemplative pastor

The contemplative pastor was pleased that 4 people showed up for Lectio Divina night. She started by slowly leading them in a sacred reading of Psalm 23 in the candle lit room. They were encouraged to find a quiet place at different tables to concentrate on being still. After practicing their breathing exercise as instructed, they repeated the passage slowly until one word popped out at them. Then they were to quietly repeat this over again until an inner silence was reached. They waited to hear God speaking to them like this for a few minutes before regrouping to share what they thought they heard. They went home euphoric about their experiences, with various handouts of Thomas Merton and St. Teresa of Avila quotes to read over until next week.

The faithful pastor

The faithful pastor didn’t take note that only 4 people showed up for Bible study and communion on the night of November 11th. In spite of the small turnout he played all ten songs on the music sheet with his guitar, and led the small group in worship in remembrance of what the Lord had done to save them. They sat in a circle and read through the whole chapter of John 19, every verse, and prayed and thanked the Lord for His substitutionary sacrifice for their sins, and that while they were sinners, Christ had died for them in their place. Some quietly wept in between prayers of thanksgiving and partaking of the bread and the cup. They went home spiritually nourished and refreshed, having fixed their eyes on Jesus that evening.

HT: More Books and Things