Preaching: It's Two-Fold Character

"From its origin preaching has a two-fold character - proclamation and teaching. It proclaims the gospel of Christ to men with a view to their acceptance of him as their Saviour and Lord; and it teaches to those who have so accepted him the lofty morality and the inspiring hopes and consolations which that gospel includes. It brings to men's minds the truth of God, to their wills his law, to their hearts his love. In the very beginning, and ever as time goes on, these two elements of proclamation and instruction are variously combined in the Christian sermon, which as a part of the congregational worship is occupied with the explanation and enforcement of the mind and will of God as revealed in Holy Scripture. From this origin the history of preaching proceeds through the centuries."

Edwin Charles Dargan, A History of Preaching: From the Apostolic Fathers to the Freat Reformers A.D. 70-1572 (London:Hodder and Stroughton, 1905), 553.

Ackbar Up North

Hey there y'all. I'm up north for the summer twenty minutes outside of huntsville at Camp Widjiitiwin . It's pretty stellar up here - mosquitos and hundred foot maple leaf trees. It's been great working here on staff and getting to connect with the guys staff. I'm developing camp feet here so there's a nice layer of dirt developing under my nailbeds. It's great working with staff who love Jesus Christ and want to see his gospel impact campers through teaching his Word, through positive relationships and creative interactions. Here's a snap of Banks, Mozi, Ackbar (yours truly) & 2am.

5 Mistakes Pastors Make

At a recent Southern promotional talk by Al Mohler at The Masters Seminary in Sun Valley California, I received a free Southern Seminary Magazine Vol 79, No 2 - entitled: Teaching About Jesus Through the Old Testament. This morning as I sprawled around in bed contemplating getting up, I decided to have a gander. I was surprised to see the amount of work they contribute herein. It's similar to SGF's Barnabas' magazine actually. It's got a compilation of contributors from Southern - in particular in this issue Schriener, Moore, and Mohler (of course) - some promotions for the seminary, current mission work, book reviews, yada yada yada. What really caught my eye was these 5 thoughts on page 20 by Professor H. W. York about common pastoral mistakes in teaching. Leading to potential divisive doctrines to their congregations he warns of:

1 - Uncontrolled emotion. A pastor cannot afford to let his congregation sense either fear or anger in him.

2 - Treating disagreement as unwelcome. If a pastor affirms loving and gracious disagreement, then he will seldom have to deal with the kind that is mean-spirited.

3 - Preaching a system rather than a text. When a pastor shows truth in the Scriptures, it's hard for people to disagree with it unless they are willing to deny the truth of the Bible itself.

4 - Avoidance of Biblical Tensions. Any pastor who presents only one side of an argument will never convince thinking people, to the contrary, will open himself to their equally simplistic rebuttals and denials.

5 - A failure to love. A pastor must never forget that God sent him to love the people, not merely to [inspire] them with Biblical facts.

Ask not...

My fellow Christians:

Ask not how your church can serve you, but how can you serve your church? 

Playing off of JFK's inaugural speech, it seems those who aren't serving must be thinking "Jesus served me, he died for me. Shouldn't everyone else in the church should do likewise?" Wrongo - it is the whole body working together - that means preachers and chair movers, that means evangelist and greeter, that means worship leader and cook. But are you just paying your offering as your only act of service? Are you just attending meetings as a wallflower? Some would even say - I don't have a gift. The Apostle Paul actually disagrees with you and, moreso, God disagrees with you.

Two weeks ago, I was at Grace Community Church - not a jumbo church by USA standards, but pretty close; about 8,000 members. Now they hold an annual conference specifically for men, so Tyler, Dan, Dilly and I were able to attend. And during the seminar and session breaks everyone piled into the outdoor walkways & parking lot where we were given meals and snacks; and directions for us Canadians. Some people actually took the week off work to come volunteer. It was ballparked that around 700 members were volunteering throughout that week for us four guys and the other 3300 guests. Every volunteer I talked to, as I got a churro or breakfast donut, happen to be a member of the church. And you wouldn't believe it, I saw 5 helpers there who are constrained to electric wheel chairs! People who can't move their own limbs, are still participating by giving directions and general help. 

That really impacted me. I've got all four working tip top shape - and what am I doing?

So service may be menial, it may be repetitive, it may even be agonizing or a messy one (i.e. nursery!) but when we serve we should be humbled. We should be thankful to serve, and we should be doing it. See a need? fill it! Don't see one? ask your pastor or elder - they'll be glad you asked! Likely, there will be a place and you will be able to start helping out. Join an evangelical church in your area and serve God by serving others. 

Finally, wherever you are, citizens of Christ and his church, commit yourself to the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which Christ has asked of us all. And with a good conscience our only sure reward with history as the final judge of our deeds let us go forth to lead the church we love asking his blessing and his help but knowing here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

What is my calling or my vocation?

This question has been on my mind for some time.
Perhaps it has been plaguing you as well. Or maybe you are sure, dead-set, knowing God's intention and plan for you. What does God want me to do with my life? Regardless if you are certain or wondering - this section from John Frame's Doctrine of the Christian Life gives a much needed light on the subject of calling/ vocation:

"Although the term 'vocation' suggests a divine revelation to each individual of God's assignment to him, the Reformers did not consider vocation to be a special revelation. Special revelation is limited to Scripture. But God gives each believer wisdom to discover how God has gifted him and how he can best use that gift in God's kingdom. That wisdom should of course be compared with the wisdom of other believers, who can help us to evaluate our gifts. It would not be wrong to describe this process as 'existential revelation'... In vocation, God enables us to apply the principles of Scripture to our own lives and to our circumstances. In this process, we come to see God's will for our lives and to gain assurance that we are in the place where God wants us to be.

Vocation comes to us, then, by way of
(1) God giving gifts to us,
(2) the [Holy] Spirit enabling us to discern those gifts through self-examination and through the confirmation of others in the church,
(3) God providing oppourtunities for us to develop and exercise those gifts,
(4) God providing wisdom so that we can use those gifts
[a] in ways that glorify him,
[b] extend his kingdom,
[c] fulfill his mandates,
[d] and in the end enjoy him forever."

- John Frame, A Theology of Lordship: The Doctrine of the Christian Life (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P & R Publishing, 2008), 312-313. 

Whether we are called for Christian ministry, or called to work an honest job -
one thing is for sure: that we be apart of the local church. There we serve God by serving others, consistently having Colossians 3:21 as our focus:
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, 
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him."