Should a Pastor be a Theologian?

Recently, I was recommended an article by my friend and missionary Mike Todd on the debate as to whether a Pastor should be a Theologian.   The editorial begins with a joke that I trust that you will find as amusing as I did... 

The story is told of two seminary professors who were walking in a cemetery when one said to the other, "Look, two men are buried in this grave." His colleague asked, "How do you know?"

"Because the tombstone says, 'Here lies a pastor and a theologian.'"

Is theology just for professors?  Do pastors have the responsibility to not only understand theology but to teach it to their congregation as well?  Those questions are clearly and biblically answered in this article that was written more than ten years ago.  http://www.founders.org/journal/fj43/editorial.html.  Let me encourage you to take the time to read it. 

Key Quote:  "Theology is best learned in the crucible of life and ministry, which means that a pastor must regard himself as a life-long learner and student. To aid in this process, a pastor should regard the study of theology and the discipline of thinking theologically ongoing responsibilities of his calling."

As the author Tom Ascol states, "Recovering the pastor-theologian model is not optional for a ministry which is committed to being biblical. God's Word requires pastors to see themselves in this light." May God help those of us who are honored to bear the title of "pastor" to be committed to a strong biblical theology.

Proud Parents!

Vickie and I are so proud of the way that God is using our two sons.  Both Justin and Mark love the Lord and are called into full-time ministry.  God has blessed them with a unique situation in that they are on the pastoral staff of the same church.  Justin has served as the Worship and Youth Pastor at Grace Pointe Church's Naperville Campus for the past four years.  Last year Grace Pointe hired Mark to be the Youth Pastor at their Plainfield Campus.  How cool is that?



This past Sunday they were eached asked to preach at their respective churches. Below you will find the links where you can find both of their messages.  Let me encourage you to take some time and listen to their sermons.  I am cofident that you will be encouraged and challenged in your walk with the Lord.

Justin's message - http://www.gracepointenaperville.us/media.php?pageID=15

Mark's message - http://www.gracepointeplainfield.us/media.php?pageID=29

Dare to be a Disciple!

Today at Hollywood Community Church we began a new series of messages from the Sermon on the Mount.  We have titled the series The Character of a Disciple.  The premise of the series is that the Lord, in this His signature message, outlines the characteristics of those that call themselves His disciples.  

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is not a responsibility that we should take lightly.  To the contrary. such a role should only be accepted with a sense of reverence and heartfelt obedience.  I am afraid that there are way too many "Christians" today that desire the advantages of salvation without the accountability. They long for God to bless them while they long for the world to accept them.  They seek the rewards of discipleship without fulfilling the responsibility of discipleship.  It is that precise point that the Lord addresses in Matthew 5-7.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his classic book The Cost of Discipleship addresses the reason why Jesus' disciples were called blessed.

Therefore Jesus calls his disciples blessed.  He spoke to men who had already responded o the power of his call, and it is that call which has made them poor, afflicted and hungry. He called them blessed, not because of their privation, or the renunciation they have made, for these are not blessed in themselves.  Only the call and the promise, for the sake of which they are ready to suffer poverty and renunciation, can justify the beatitudes (p. 106).

The fact is that the disciples realized that the characteristics of discipleship went hand-in-hand with the acceptance of the call.  In other words, their obedient response to the Lord's call to discipleship included a willingness to surrender themselves to him and to his will for their life.  They weren't looking for the easy path nor were they giving a half-hearted commitment.  They were all in.

How about you?  Have you realized that the call to discipleship is a call to commitment?  Are you all in?

Jesus said it this way...

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  Luke 14:27

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.  Luke 14:33

Let me encourage you to take the discipleship challenge.  Dare to be a disciple!

What are You Reading?

Back in January of this year my oldest son, Justin, challenged me to increase the amount of time that I dedicated to reading and to personal enrichment. He had made a personal commitment to read 35 books this year and dared me to do the same. Bravely, I accepted the challenge. Now, I must confess that I am behind the pace that I need to be on, but in the process I have read some tremendous books and some not-so-good ones. Below is a brief synopsis on some of the books that I have read this year.

Radical

David Platt challenges 21st century Christians to trade in the selfish and misguided goals that have been labeled "The American Dream" for the purpose of using their time, talents and possessions for a global purpose. This is an excellent book that I highly recommend for our church family.

The Reason for God

This is tremendous book on contemporary apologetics. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, answers many of the questions that are being asked by today's post-modern world: Why does God allow suffering? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isn't Christianity more inclusive? This book might take you some time to carefully read, but it is well worth the effort.

Deitrich Bonhoeffer

Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Deitrich Bonhoeffer was an emminent Pastor, theologian and author that lived in Germany during the 1930's and 40's.  He is best known for his classic book The Cost of Discipleship. In this book you will not only read about Bonhoeffer's ministry, but also his involvment in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler.  This is an extremely enjoyable book, especially for those that enjoy reading about WWII history.

Love Wins

Without a doubt this is one of the most controversial and debated books of 2011.  Rob Bell, who had previously written Velvet Elvis, takes a critical look at the beliefs of evangelical Christianity. He completly deconstructs everything that we believe the Bible teaches about Heaven, Hell, the death of Christ on the cross and our eternal future.  By no means do Bell's belief's fall within mainstream evangelicalism, and I would find them to be heretical.  As Pastor Kevin DeYoung declared in his critic of the book http://tinyurl.com/4mje4xd Bell is weak in his exegesis, history, eschatology, Christology and soteriology.  In other words, he is trying to reinvent what we believe as evangelical Christians.  

Other recommended books:

The Cost of Discipleship - Deitrich Bonhoeffer
Crazy Love - Francis Chan
Forgotten God - Francis Chan
A Hole in Our Gospel - Richard Stearns

Confessions of a New Pastor

In just a few weeks I will complete my first nine months as Pastor of Hollywood Community Church. Although I have been in ministry for almost thirty years, this is my first Senior Pastorate in the United States. It has been a remarkable experience. Below are some random and sometimes rambling observations of my first nine months as a pastor.

1. I love what I am doing! I can honestly say that I am having the time of my life. One pastor expressed such feelings this way, "A job may pay the bills, but a calling feeds the soul. I am so blessed that I get paid to exercise my obsession." That is certainly the way that I feel.

2. I am humbled by the love and the praise that my church family heaps on me. There is rarely a day that goes by that I am not showered by love and undeserved praise.

3. I am constantly reminded that I can only do my job and fulfill my calling by the power of the Holy Spirit. This reminder comes after regular failures of trying to do minstry by my own power.

4. I am called to model holiness. WOW! How hard is that? That just might be my most important calling and responsibility as a pastor.

5. Prayer is the most important thing that I do every day.

6. I do not pray enough! Why can't I begin every day remembering that prayer is the most important thing that I do every day? It's like I have to learn the lesson over and over again every day.

7. I need more faith!

8. There is not enough time in the day to get everything that I think that I need to get done.

9. My greatest weakness is my inability to realize that my identity is not found in my success as a pastor, but rather in my daily relationship with Jesus Christ.

10. I am continually learning the important role that the pastor's wife plays in her husband's ministry. Quite honestly, I could not do my job or fulfill my ministry without the support and the assistance of my wife, Vickie.

11. I must spend more of my time encouraging, mentoring and listening to our staff. They are an extremely talented team and they play a major role in the success of our minsitry.

12. The involvement of lay leaders and volunteers is one of the key ingredients in successful church ministry.

13. I am continually learning the importance of a long-term pastorate. I am praying that God will allow me to spend the rest of my ministry years at Hollywood Community Church.

Well, that is all for now. I am confident that I have much more to learn in the next nine months. Please pray with me and for me that God would enable me to be the servant leader and the loving pastor that God desires for me to be.

Don't Waste Your Life!

In this morning's message I challenged our congregation to use every moment of their lives, up to the last moment of their life for Jesus Christ. At the conclusion of the message I shared a letter written by Karen Watson before she left for Iraq as a missionary.

As a 38 year old Karen Watson felt God's call to go to Iraq and serve as a missionary. She sold her house. She sold her car. She sold nearly all of her wordly possessions. The rest she shoved into a single duffell bag and left for Iraq. Before she boarded the plane, she handed her pastor a letter that stated that it was only to be read in the event of her death.

Thirteen months after arriving in Iraq, she was killed in a drive-by shooting in the city of Mosul. Upon hearing of her death, her pastor opened her letter. This is what she had written.

Dear Pastor,

You should only be opening this in the case of death.

When God calls there are no regrets. To suffer was expected. His glory is my reward.

I wasn't called to a place. I was called to Him.

To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory was my reward, His glory was my reward.

THE MISSIONARY HEART

Cares more than some think is wise

Risks more than some think is safe

Dreams more than some think is practical

Expects more than some think is possible

I was called not to comfort, or to success, but to obedience.

There is no joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him.

I love you and my church family.

In His care,

Karen

What would your final letter say? You can read other letters and post your own on http://www.thelastletter.org/

Don't be too anxious!

Are you a nervous person? I mean, does the potential for a conflictive or difficult situation get you uptight? I have to admit that just the though of a pending and stressful event can put me on edge. I have always admired the non-sweaters, people who are cool under pressure, those who can face up to opposition and not blink and eye. That certainly is not be. I am the antithesis of James Bond. In a tense moment I am the guys with the anxious twitch, the nervous stutter, and the sweat-soaked shirt.

Yet, recently God has really been speaking to my heart about trusting Him more in those anxious moments of life. Notice a few verses that God has used to calm my nerves and rest my sweat glands.

Psalm 56:4 - I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?

Psalm 57:1 - Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I loot to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by.

Psalm 94:19 - When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

I Peter 5:7 - Give all of your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

Aren't those great verses? You see, I have learned that God intentionally puts me in moments of stress, anxiety, and perspiration so that I might run to Him. He actually wants me to forget my fears, nix my nervousness and pack away my preoccupations. So, as a recovering nail biter, my advice to you is "Don't sweat it!" Cast all of your problems on God. Realize that you have a Father in heaven that greatly desires for you to trust Him!

Let me encourage you, in the midst of the problems, trials and afflictions, allow the truth of God's Word to keep you calm, cool and collected.