What Must A Pastor Be?

What must a pastor be?

He must be a man of faith, but how is his faith defined?
He must be a man of joy, but how is his joy defined?
He must be a man of convictions, but how are his convictions defined?
He must be a man of humility, but how is his humility defined?
He must be a man of gentle care, but how is his gentleness defined?
He must be a man who loves God,  but how is his God defined?
He must be a man of the gospel, but where is his gospel defined?

A pastor must be a man who knows, loves, and obeys the Bible.

Apart from the Bible, his "faith" may be fantasy.
Apart from the Bible, his "joy" may be amusement.
Apart from the Bible, his "convictions" may be idolatry.
Apart from the Bible, his "humility" may be fear.
Apart from the Bible, his "gentle care" may be foolish neglect.
Apart from the Bible, his "love of God" may be a whitewashed tomb.
Apart from the Bible, his "gospel" may be accursed.


Lord, make me a pastor of your Word, who defines all that I am and believe and do by the Scriptures, given to us from above. Apart from this, I am worse than nothing. With this, we speak as those entrusted with the oracles of God.

Learning to Trust

We cannot learn to trust God unless we are willing to experience our own weakness.   We might like to think that we can feel strong and trust God at the same time.  But this would be like the Pharisee who "praised God" he was "not like other men."  He credits God, after all, but he is not willing to admit his need for God.  God is the source of his "strength", but he does not know of his own desperate need, a failure that leads to Jesus' condemning words that he did not walk away from that prayer justified.

This same truth is experienced in the midst of our ongoing pilgrimage as well.   We might like to reach a plateau of maturity, a level place where godly habits formed in the past guard us from future temptations.  In this season, trust becomes an occasional prayer offered out of duty, rather than a plea offered out of need. Our sense of deliverance is rare and rarely acknowledged.  We see the further heights of holy risk and godly ambition ahead of us, but the current place of ease is enticing and easy.  We would learn greater trust in God, if only it didn't require us to feel weak again.

But we cannot grow in trusting God unless we are willing to experience our own weakness.  So we climb upward, we press forward, we move on from the plateau of current ease and into the delightful incline of desperate need.  And we learn to trust, again.

Guarding Against Division

How is a church guarded against splits, schism, and division? How does the church remain united over decades?  In planting a new church I believe that much, if not most, of the pastoral work against division must happen before a crisis of division faces the church. The following pastoral priorities come to mind.


1.     Prioritize exegetical preaching and proclaim the authority of God’s Word. Unless a church is grounded in Biblical authority, divisive voices can claim a temporary authority based on experience, pain, magnetic personality, or natural gifting.

2.     Emphasize the work and glory of Christ as the central passion and identity of the church.  Secondary church values, as well as personal ambition, will always press for primacy and will tempt division unless they are put in their place by the first things of Christ and Him crucified.

3.     Teach and model encouragement, gratitude, compassion, patience, longsuffering,  humility, and forgiveness.  Where these are assumed and discernment and correction are emphasized, the groundwork for judgmental catastrophe is laid.

4.     Teach and model discernment, the doctrine of sin, Biblical warnings, God's holy hatred for divisive speech, and Biblical church discipline. Where these are assumed and compassion and encouragement are emphasized, the church is made vulnerable to immorality and divisive wolves who devour and divide unsuspecting sheep.

5.     Teach Christ’s love for his imperfect bride.  If God’s extravagant, unrelenting covenantal love for his church is emphasized, Christians will find it more difficult to divide and foment contention for purely personal, secondary, or unproven issues.

6.    Teach and model pastoral authority, integrity, plurality, humility, and hospitality. Each category, if neglected, can become a breach into which the flood of division can flow.

7.     Teach the church to respect Godly pastors outside of their own congregation and welcome congregational input. When the day of trial comes, objective sources of counsel, as well as a pattern of pastoral receptivity,  may be the difference between division and preservation.

8.     Persevere.  No amount of previous teaching removes the need for fresh teaching against division.  The temptation of division is always around the corner.

9.     Pray.  Nothing ultimately guards the church from division but God.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. (Ps. 127).   

10. Trust.  Because God’s goodness is not limited to our understanding, he may allow and use the pain of division in the short run to accomplish the magnificent wisdom of his broader purpose.  If he does, take up the cross of painful division and follow him in meekness and courage and faith.

The Danger of Mission Statements

I just finished a number of posts about the mission of our new church, starting next year in Round Rock, Texas, north of Austin.  Having done that, now I want to say why I believe mission statements are dangerous.

1.  Mission statements are dangerous because they try to communicate succinctly the entirety of the Biblical commands for the church.  However helpful it is to have a few memorable, overarching categories, every single word of Scripture is our authority, every sentence communicates something about our mission.   Mission statements are dangerous if they lead us away from searching every Scripture for God's Word to us, to be loved and obeyed.

2. Mission statements are dangerous because they often focus on what we are called to do, rather than on what God has already done.  The most important work, and the most important truth for our church is not our future mission, but the past work of God to redeem and save us.  It is Him, and not our mission, that should be our chief identity.

3. Mission statements are dangerous because they seem to always attempt uniqueness.  But we are not particularly unique as a church, at least in the essentials of the faith. Neither in our own age nor in church history are we attempting something novel. We're not trying to be different than all of our brothers and sisters but rather faithful to the historic witness of the church to the truth.

4. Missions statements are dangerous because they try to envision by soundbite what can only be sustained by endurance.  Only ongoing, persistent, desperate relationship with God can sustain a church on mission.  Soundbites are only effective for eternity if they reflect convictions grounded in eternal principles built on relationship with the eternal God.

Mission  statements are great--they envision, clarify, prioritize. But mission statements are also dangerous.  I pray any mission statements we use now or in the future fulfill their primary function of directing us toward God, His Word, His gospel.

The Mission: Proclaim the Gospel

 What kind of church will we be?

Under the Authority of God’s Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be a gospel-centered church that worships God, loves one another, and proclaims the gospel to the world.

 A Church that… Proclaims the Gospel to the World. (Matthew 28:16-20,  Acts 1:8, Romans 1:8, Romans 10:14-15, 1 Timothy 2:4, John 3:16)

“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8) Our calling as individuals and as a church is to bear witness to the salvation of Jesus Christ and to the certainty of his return in judgment at the end of the age. We represent a kingdom that is not of this world, calling people to turn away from the idolatries of this age to the eternal life offered in Christ. We do not exist only to worship God in private or to love our fellow church members—we are called to the mission of sharing the gospel with our neighbors, our co-workers, our family, our friends, the city of Greater Austin, the region of Central Texas, and the ultimately to the nations. Practically, this means that we will pursue consistent relationships with unbelievers for the purpose of loving them and sharing the gospel with them.  We will seek to encourage and equip one another through regular reminders and teaching about our evangelistic task. Our church meetings will regularly include invitations to unbelievers to repent and believe in the gospel of Christ.  And because we want to invest ourselves in a mission that goes beyond our immediate locale, we will seek to partner with our sister churches in Texas and around the world, investing ourselves in new church plants and encouraging fellow believes and churches in our shared mission around the world.  I pray that the history of our church will include countless conversions, numerous church plants, and regular highlights of sacrificial service to fellow churches as we fulfill our calling as witness of Jesus.

Love One Another...as Mission

What is the theological vision for our new church?

 

Under the authority of God's Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be a gospel centered church that worship God, loves one another, and proclaims the gospel to the world. 

 

A Church that…Loves One Another.  (John 13:1-35, Acts 2:42-47, Romans 12:3-10, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Ephesians 4:1-16Colossians 3:5-17)

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)  The church is not a building but a body of people, gathered together by Jesus to care for one another and to partner together in worshiping God and sharing the gospel with the world.  Our community life is not an optional extra but a fundamental part of our mission together.  We are called, first to God, and then, to one another.  To be a member of our church is to commit to integrating one’s life with the other members, encouraging one another by the Word, serving one another practically, giving generously to one another, showing hospitality to one another, confessing our sin to one another, exhorting one another toward godliness, guarding the integrity of the church’s witness, and most importantly, celebrating the grace of God at work in our lives.  A primary vehicle for this loving community involvement will be our small group structure, designed to focus our efforts of care and fellowship on a particular group of people in the church.  These small groups will seek to create a vibrant, genuine, hospitable atmosphere of care and affection in which we have no anonymous members and every member feels the responsibility to care for and serve others.  We also want to be a church that guards our speech in love for one another, that commits to reconciling and forgiving each other when we sin and fail one another, and that expresses patience and kindness in the face of our weakness.  In short, we want to reflect the love that Jesus has shown us toward one another.

 

God's People

How are we doing loving God’s people?

Many people of the rising generation have been told that loving Jesus and hating religion is the only way to truly please God. Of course that’s true if “religion” means false-teachings, legalistic structures, and creedal conformity without conversions. But what if “religion” also includes the idea of church—of those gatherings of Christians, committed to God and to one another. Can we really love God and not also love God’s people? Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder or debate, because the answer is provided for us.

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20)
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

According to God, if we don’t love those whom God has made our brothers, we do not actually love God. According to God, His people are His project on earth, and will be the visible expression of the power of His gospel. According to God, if we are passionate about God, we must also be passionate about His church. If we want to encounter God and be a part of His mission, loving His glory, proclaiming His gospel, living under His Word, we must draw near to His people.

• Where is the kingdom of God on earth? His kingdom is seen in local churches that proclaim His authority and His redemption and live delighting in His law.
• Where is the character of God on earth? His character is seen in local church bodies that love one another with mercy, forgiveness, and endurance despite their frequent failures and offenses.  
• Where is the glory of God on earth? His glory is most clearly seen as his people proclaim the message of a crucified and risen Messiah. 
• Where is God on earth? God is present everywhere, but He is especially present within and among His chosen people, enlivening their praises and strengthening their souls and preserving their faith.  

We cannot transfer a love for God’s glory, God’s Word, God’s gospel, or anything of God, unless we also transfer a passion for God’s people. God’s people are His treasured possession, His blood-bought children, His standard-bearers in the spiritual battle, His ambassadors to the world of darkness, His ministers of redemption, His priests, His salt and light to a dying a decaying world, His messengers of hope for eternity.
How are we doing loving God’s people?


*Originally posted at www.thetransfer.org

This Time Next Year

Next year at this time, Lord willing, I'll be living in Round Rock, Texas, north of Austin.  Next year at this time, we will be gathering every Sunday as a body of believers, singing together of our love for God. We'll be hearing God's Word preached section by section, receiving the transforming grace of his breathed-out Scriptures.  We'll be reaching out to our neighbors, co-workers, and new friends, looking for ways to share the good news of Jesus Christ.  This year, next time,  we'll be seeing the preserving and sustaining and miraculous power of God at work to build his church, using the our week vessels to display his power and the treasure of his gospel. 

This time next year.  I can't wait.