Know Jesus Like the Disciples Did

By / Apr 23

How can you love Jesus when you don’t see Him? How can you have a “personal relationship” with someone who is not physically present?

When I was younger, I would pray that God would give me a dream where I was a disciple with Jesus. I wanted, just for a night, to be able to walk with Him, talk with Him, and experience what it would have been like. I think this is part of why shows like The Chosen (despite their flaws) are so popular. They give people a vision of what friendship and fellowship with Jesus could have been like.

But I never got the answer to my prayer, and we don’t live in a TV series.

Jesus is not physically here anymore.

On Easter, we celebrate the good news that Jesus is alive. But He is not physically present. Are we missing out, or can we still know Jesus like the disciples did?

What Was It Like to Fellowship with Jesus?

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1–4 CSB)

John says that during Jesus’s time on earth the disciples experienced direct fellowship with Him.

Imagine how awesome that would be! You would never have to pray for wisdom when facing a difficult decision; you just walk up to Jesus and ask Him your question. You wouldn’t have to ask for God’s comfort; you just go on a walk with Jesus, eat a meal with Him, and receive His hug. You wouldn’t have to ask for His peace; He may literally calm the storm. You wouldn’t have to pray for God to help you; you could just ask Jesus to come over to your house and physically help you with your kids, or guest preach at your church, or join the prayer team. You would never have to wonder why God is silent or feel that He’s distant. You would have living fellowship with Him. You would listen, talk, and enjoy.

John says this fellowship was complete joy. All other joys are incomplete shadows of this joy. They have shape and form but miss the color, detail, and fullness of what they point to.

The death of Jesus could have crushed His disciples for many reasons. But one easily forgotten aspect is they lost their friend. They enjoyed being with Him. However great your best friend is, he or she is not perfect. No matter how kind or wise the most mature saints in your church may be, they don’t compare with Jesus. Whatever qualities you enjoy in your close circle of friends that make you eager to spend time with them are but degrees and reflections of the fulfillment found in Jesus.

Jesus is called the word of life, the source of all goodness, fulfillment, and satisfaction. To know Him is to know true life. This must have been one reason the resurrection was such good news. The disciples’ joyful fellowship was restored!

This is what they had. But what about us?

Can We Have This Joyful Fellowship?

John is not trying to make us jealous. He invites us, saying, “What we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us.” The resurrection means Jesus is still alive; He still offers this fellowship.

This is one aspect that sets Christianity apart from all the other major world religions. They don’t claim that after the death of their leader you can still have fellowship with them. No one says they have a personal relationship with Buddha or Mohammad or Moses. Those were teachers who brought a message. But after their death, they were gone.

But the resurrection means Jesus brought more than a message. He brought even more than forgiveness. He brought fellowship with Himself. And John, writing to believers like us, who never met Jesus in the flesh, says we can still have this.

How Do We Experience This Fellowship?

John says, “What we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

This means the purpose of his letter (and by extension, what we know to be true of all God’s Word) is that we would have fellowship with Jesus, which fulfills and completes our joy.

The word of life came to the disciples in the incarnation, and it comes to us through declaration. We are able to experience the joy of fellowship that they had as we read and interact with the living Word of God.

Sometimes when we read a good book or watch a movie, we begin to feel like we know the characters, like we are a part of the story. We may cry at the death of Dumbledore, be inspired by the speeches on horseback, or clap at the victory shot in Hoosiers. Though our emotion is real, our presence with the characters is not. But the Bible is more.

The Bible isn’t just a book to be studied and applied. It’s the voice of the living God. We don’t just read; we relate. God speaks to us, actively, today. We listen as God speaks (His promises, correction, revealing His character and work), and we respond back in prayer (worship, thanksgiving, confession, supplication).

Jesus is not physically present, but by His Spirit, He leads us into real fellowship with Him through His Word.

One day we will see Him face to face; we will experience the fullness of uninhibited communion. But right now, we are not settling for second best. The resurrection means the best person to ever live, the only God-man to ever live, is still alive, and we can enjoy fellowship with Him today. Don’t settle for watching on TV or dreaming about what is available to you today.



The Sea and the Hills Sing His Praise

By / Apr 17

Why Israel’s Coastal Plain and Galilean Hills Matter for Bible Study

In the summer of 2023, a group of faculty and leaders from Midwestern Seminary had the opportunity to take a tour of Israel. Having arrived in the Holy Land, our first day of touring was a stunning experience. Each of the tour stops provided a window into history and Christian theology. Our time in Caesarea Maritima, Mount Carmel, and Nazareth allowed us to reflect on Gentile inclusion, God’s glory, and the gospel.

Caesarea Maritima & Gentile Inclusion

Caesarea Maritima was built by Herod the Great as a harbor city that could expand the economic horizons of the Jezreel Valley and his status in the eyes of Caesar Augustus. The robust port provided easy shipping access and trade in the Mediterranean Sea. A city name that reminded everyone of the Roman emperor solidified Herod’s favor with Augustus. Herod, ever concerned for his safety and the power of Rome’s army, also built barracks in Caesarea.

One of the many military commanders who served there, Cornelius, is named in Scripture. This centurion was the first Gentile convert of Peter’s ministry, and in Acts 10, Luke records the account of his conversion. Cornelius feared God and acted kindly toward the Jewish people. One night, he had a vision telling him to send for Peter, who was staying 20 miles south in Joppa, and ask him to come to Caesarea. Meanwhile, in Joppa, Peter had his vision that declared all foods clean. When the delegation from Cornelius arrived, the Spirit told Peter to go with them to visit Cornelius in Caesarea. The rest is salvation history.

Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius there, and the Spirit came upon him and his household. When Peter saw the evidence of the Spirit, he understood that the coming of the Spirit and the removal of food distinctions were two sides of the same coin. God had sent His Spirit upon the Gentiles, bringing salvation to all peoples. And Cornelius in Caesarea was the first of Peter’s Gentile converts.

But Caesarea has further significance for Gentile inclusion. After Paul was arrested in Jerusalem for supposedly bringing Gentiles into the Jewish temple, he was sent to Caesarea to be kept safe from the Jewish mob in Jerusalem. Luke devoted a large section of Acts (23:23–26:32) to recounting Paul’s stay there. In Caesarea, Paul defended himself by stating that he had welcomed Gentiles into the faith—but not into the temple as he had been accused. It was in Caesarea that Paul finally appealed to Caesar in Rome. After he arrived there, his mission to the Gentiles was confirmed (Acts 28:23–29).

Standing on the very stones where Paul would have walked and given his defense is an experience that words cannot describe.

Mount Carmel & God’s Glory

From Caesarea Maritima, we traveled up to Mount Carmel, where Elijah demonstrated God’s glory. In 1 Kings 17:1, the prophet Elijah told Israel’s idolatrous King Ahab that no rain would fall on the fertile Jezreel Valley except at Elijah’s command. A drought ensued, and Ahab chased Elijah down to intercede for the land. For Elijah, this was all about God’s glory. Elijah told Ahab to summon the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel. Elijah also prayed and asked God to show that He alone is the Lord.

Atop Mount Carmel, Elijah set up an altar and drenched it in water. It was struck with fire and consumed, while the altar of the prophets of Baal was touched only by human hands. Then, after executing the 450 false prophets in the Jezreel Valley, Elijah climbed Mount Carmel again and prayed for rain. Our tour group stood on Mount Carmel and looked to the west, as Elijah’s servant did, waiting on a cloud as the sign of rain.

Nazareth & The Gospel

Our third stop in the region was Nazareth. Jesus was raised in Nazareth, a small village in the valley of several mountains. It was a no-name kind of town. Nathanael questioned Philip whether anything good could come out of Nazareth (John 1:46). In Luke 4:16–23, Luke records that in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus began His public ministry by reading from Isaiah 61:1–2 and proclaiming Himself as the Lord’s anointed prophet of the good news. The people of the town rejected Jesus and drove Him to a cliff on the eastern edge of the city. Standing upon the edge of that cliff reminds one that the good news is not always welcome.

Conclusion

All of these scenes in the region of Galilee anticipate Jesus’s ministry in Jerusalem on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Luke records that once Jesus had completed His ministry in the regions around Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee, He set His face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). It was in Jerusalem, via the cross and resurrection, that Jesus would glorify God in a way that Elijah could not. As very God and very man, Jesus took the punishment for human sin and displayed God’s power for the world to see by rising from the dead. It was in Jerusalem that the temple curtain would be torn on that Friday afternoon, removing the wall separating Gentiles from Jews so all peoples could have access to God together (Eph. 2:11–22; Heb. 10:19–22).



The Problem of Good

By / Apr 9

“I feel drawn to the idea of God, but I don’t think I can get over the reality of things like childhood cancer, spousal abuse, and sexual assault. If God is out there, why is He letting these things happen? If I were driving down the road and saw someone attacking someone, I’d be morally obligated to intervene. Yet this God who we’re supposed to worship is passive? If He is real, is He even worthy of our love or glory?”

A new person to our church asked me this question a few weeks ago. She wasn’t being a smug skeptic; she was genuinely wrestling with the nature of a personal deity who tolerates such decay.

The problem of evil isn’t merely a topic to be discussed in Philosophy 101 courses; it’s a wound that exists in the heart of every person who loves suffering persons and is simultaneously trying to hold onto the twin doctrines of God’s providence and God’s goodness. Like a mother trying to attend to three crying kids all at once, the problem of evil harasses the soul, pulling it in three directions.

“Tread lightly,” I warned. “Do you know what you’re starting to sound like?”

“I know, I know,” she responded, “I’m not smarter than God, blah blah blah. I sound like a Reddit atheist who’s socially awkward, who only knows how to connect with people by antagonizing them.”

“No, that’s not what I was getting at. You’re starting to sound like a biblical author.”

She stared back at me, surprised. “What? I’m telling you about obstacles to my faith, just to be clear.”

“Yes, I hear that. And your obstacles to faith sound like faith. The questions you are raising sound like what we read about in Job, Psalms, Lamentations, and even what we hear from Jesus when He’s suffering. ‘How long, oh Lord? Why have You forsaken me? Why do You stand by idly in the face of evil? You said You hate evil, yet the evil ones flourish.’ What you’re describing as doubts are actually the seeds of faith. About a third of the prayers in the Psalms and a few of the whole books in the Bible sound like this.”

“I didn’t know about that. I thought that was ‘unbeliever’ language,” she said.

“Oh, quite the opposite,” I continued. “In order to be angry at evil, you have to have a concrete belief in the existence of not-evil, or goodness. This shouldn’t be assumed.”

Where Does Good Come From?

“Okay, tell me more.” She leaned in. “Part of what brought me here today is a sense that there has to be a design to all of this; like, for my kids to be objectively and not just subjectively meaningful, there has to be some moral structure to the world.”

“Yes! Exactly!” I said. “That belief in order, meaning, goodness, and beauty—where can it come from? For childhood cancer to be not good, it must be violating some standard of goodness that exists not just in your mind, but above your mind. The same with spousal abuse. If you want to be able to say that these things are objectively bad, there must be an objective good, a standard that is over-and-above subjective preferences or cultural sensibilities.”

“Okay, but how does that connect to faith in God or Jesus?” she asked.

“Here’s how. If everything came from nothing, on accident, then, so the story goes, all that exists is physics and chemistry. Protons and electrons. Atoms. Chemicals and chemical reactions. Your consciousness is just an illusion, a fizzing bag of the periodic table colliding together. Science and scientific inquiry cannot give you an ‘ought,’ but only an ‘is.’ They can’t say what should be. They can only describe what has been. There is no moral or immoral. No good or not good. No beautiful. No ugly. Just a view on reality.

“But,” I continued, “if we aren’t inhabiting mere ‘nature’ but instead a ‘creation,’ then there is a ‘should’—a ‘how things are supposed to be.’ There, evil can be truly evil, not just ‘against my preferences.’”

“I see,” she replied. “I think I’ve been sensing that, and that’s why my family is here today.”

“I can see that. And what a step you’ve taken. The problem of evil is difficult, but the problem of goodness is more difficult. It is certainly part of why I am a Christian today. I have an answer to the problem of goodness, but I’m rarely satisfied by my answer to the problem of evil.”

Trust in the Ultimate Good

“How?” she asked. “How can you not have an answer?”

“Oh, I have an answer,” I said. “But it is only sometimes emotionally satisfying. Often it isn’t. Then I start to pray like the biblical authors. ‘How long, oh Lord? Why do You do what You do? I don’t like what You’re up to!’ The genre is called lament. In Hebrew, Lama means ‘why?’ Many of the laments offered up in the Scriptures are not answered. It is frustrating. When Jesus laments on the cross, He still dies. God in the flesh took His own medicine. So I can at least trust that He gets my emotional state.”

I went on. “But He rose from the dead three days later. So we see that God can use evil for good. Rarely do we get such a clean demonstration of goodness like we do in the good news of Jesus. So we can choose to trust. We inhabit the tension. A preacher named Charles Spurgeon once said, ‘The Christian trusts Him where he cannot trace Him.’”[1]

“Well, I don’t love that, but I guess it makes sense.”

“Yes, but do you see how the problem of goodness has to come before the problem of evil? How beauty must precede ugliness? The chaos of naturalistic evolution cannot deliver on the problem of goodness.”

“Yes. Absolutely,” she said.

“The life God is inviting you into does require trust that grows over time. You have faith in the existence of a creation; next comes faith in the Creator. However, no matter how much you trust Him, you’ll never outgrow the prayers of lament until He returns and makes all things new. And even then, I’m not convinced I will understand all that He’s done in this life; He’ll always be infinite, and we’ll remain finite even into eternity. To trust the infinite One will require discomfort. You are already stepping into that by coming here today and speaking with me. It seems like the Lord has a hook in your mouth, but you’re not quite yet in the book. He will continue what He’s started.”

She teared up, thanked me for talking, and said she’d better go get her kids from the kids’ ministry.

Here’s the reality: No slick answer will solve the relational and emotional difficulty of the problem of evil. A cute answer may even unintentionally cheapen the suffering. Validating the inquirer’s concerns while simultaneously inviting them to consider an additional problem, the problem of goodness, can validate a small spark of faith while inviting the person into an honest life with God. In seeing the person behind the philosophical questions, we can faithfully represent the One who will hear them when they learn to call on His name.

__________

[1] Charles H. Spurgeon, “A Happy Christian,” from Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 13, The Spurgeon Center, https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/a-happy-christian/#flipbook/.



Harnessing the Winds of Revival

By / Apr 7

Editor’s note: This article is taken from the introduction to C. H. Spurgeon’s Sermons (Expanding Ministry—Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit: 1861 to 1876, Volumes 7–22) in vol. 7, pp. v–vii and pp. xiv–xv. Used by permission of Reformation Heritage Books. This collection is now available for purchase.

The first seven years (1854–1861) of C. H. Spurgeon’s ministry in London were accompanied by a surprising revival. No one could have expected it. Through a nineteen-year-old country preacher, a dying congregation was revitalized, and hundreds—perhaps thousands—were converted under his ministry during those early years. Though only a few dozen were in attendance when Spurgeon first arrived at New Park Street in 1853, by 1861 membership was at 1,473, with thousands more regularly attending.

But revival also brought its challenges. During those years Spurgeon warned his congregation, “If the Lord sends his Spirit like a hurricane, it is ours to deal with skill with the sails lest the hurricane should wreck us by driving us upon some fell rock that may do us serious injury.”[1] Spurgeon had seen churches shipwrecked in the winds of revival.[2] One church boasted of taking in a hundred or so new members in a year, only to excommunicate eighty of them the following year for “disorderly conduct and forsaking the truth.”[3] Other churches were happy to swell their ranks but gave no thought as to how to disciple or engage their people in ministry.[4] Some self-proclaimed revivalists had begun resorting to new tactics and emotionalism, hoping to fabricate the work of the Spirit.[5] Even as Spurgeon experienced a revival in his church, he refused to compromise his theological and ecclesiological convictions. “Take care, ye that are officers in the church, when ye see the people stirred up, that ye exercise still a holy caution, lest the church become lowered in its standard of piety by the admission of persons not truly saved.”[6]

At the same time, Spurgeon did not want to let the winds of revival simply pass by. There was such a response to his preaching that he contemplated at one point becoming a traveling evangelist. But in his experience of itinerant preaching, it was hard to know what the long-term effect was. While preaching in an open field in Wales, Spurgeon describes how “the Spirit of God was poured upon us, and men and women were swayed to and fro under the Heavenly message.” Still, once the meeting ended, the people went their separate ways, and he would never see them again.[7]

While one must be careful not to let the winds destroy the ship, the skillful sailor will look for ways to harness that wind. But how does one harness the hurricane winds of revival? Spurgeon believed it was through the church. As converts gave credible professions of faith, they were brought into the membership of the church, where they could be cared for by the elders and discipled under the ministry of the word. Not only that, but these church members were then engaged in the work of ministry, in both caring for one another and bringing the gospel to the lost around them. Spurgeon’s effort to harness the winds of revival was represented by the building and opening of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1861. This magnificent new building that seated six thousand would become the base of operations for Spurgeon’s ministry for the next thirty years.

If the New Park Street Pulpit tells the story of a revival in London, then the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit tells the story of the harnessing of that revival through an established and expanding church ministry. Like the previous volumes, they are a collection of the published Sunday morning sermons that were being preached week by week at the Metropolitan Tabernacle and then collected into a single volume at the end of each year. But just as God uses the preaching of the word to revive His people, He also uses it to sustain them and send them out. These sermons were the lifeblood of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, establishing that congregation in the word and providing the spiritual vitality needed for all the endeavors that would flow out of it.

~

The stories from Spurgeon’s ministry are remarkable: the vast audiences, the sermons published, the pastors trained, the churches planted, the orphans fed, the missionaries sent out, and the battles fought, all on a vast scale that is hard to imagine. Truly, it was a surprising work of God. It must be remembered, however, that Spurgeon did not do all that alone. He was surrounded in this work by his congregation. These sermons are a reminder that what motivated and sustained these congregational efforts was not human creativity or industry but God working powerfully through the preaching of the gospel. Through these gospel-rich sermons, God brought many to repentance and faith, uniting them to the church and motivating their service.

Church growth experts today will have thousands of new ideas on how to grow a church and keep people engaged. Some of those ideas may be useful. But not if they come at the expense of this one central call of the minister: preach Christ. Spurgeon’s fruitful ministry stands as a stirring commendation to the power of faithful gospel preaching. That’s not to say we can ever presume a particular kind of result. Spurgeon’s story was a surprising and unique work of God in a particular historical context.

Still, those who preach the gospel faithfully can pray and expect that God’s word will not return void. In his one thousandth published sermon, from the parable of the prodigal son, Spurgeon stated the aim of his sermon, once again echoing his words at the opening of the Tabernacle and continuing in the themes that he had already preached thousands of times before:

My desire this morning shall be to put plainly before every sinner here the exceeding abundance of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, hoping that the Lord will find out those who are his sons, and that they may catch at these words, and as they hear of the abundance of the bread in the Father’s house, may say, “I will arise and go to my Father.”[8]

__________

[1] C. H. Spurgeon, New Park Street Pulpit (1855–1916; repr., Grand Rapids: Refor- mation Heritage Books, 2024), 4:167.

[2] Though in some of these cases, Spurgeon would have questioned whether a real, Spirit-wrought revival took place at all.

[3] Spurgeon, New Park Street Pulpit, 2:76.

[4] Spurgeon states, “Alas! there is such a thing as having a large addition to the church of men that are of no use whatever. Many an army has swelled its ranks with recruits, who have in no way whatever contributed to its might.” New Park Street Pulpit, 2:76.

[5] Spurgeon recounts, “I have heard of the people crowding in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening, to hear some noted revivalist, and under his preach- ing some have screamed, have shrieked, have fallen down on the floor, have rolled themselves in convulsions, and afterwards, when he has set a form for penitents, employing one or two decoy ducks to run out from the rest and make a confession of sin, hundreds have come forward, impressed by that one sermon, and declared that they were, there and then, turned from the error of their ways.” New Park Street Pulpit, 4:162.

[6] Spurgeon, New Park Street Pulpit, 4:167.

[7] C. H. Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography: Compiled from His Diary, Letters, and Records, by His Wife and His Private Secretary (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1897–1900), 2:93–94.

[8] Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 17:386–87.



What Does Jesus Want Me to Do?

By / Mar 26

“I don’t know what God’s doing, but I feel like He’s calling me to do something. What does Jesus want me to do?”

Whether you’re a ministry resident weighing the future or a mid-career professional thinking about seminary, the question “Am I called?” can be overwhelming. For many, it represents a major life change, like moving or switching careers. Calling is important, and we’re right to take it seriously. But sometimes we overthink it. Discerning God’s will may not be as complicated as you think.

Before you rush into seminary or take a church job, here are some questions to consider.

“Am I Called?”

The question is broad, but if you believe in Jesus, the answer is simple: “Yes!”

Peter says you are “a royal priest” who is called to proclaim the excellencies of God (1 Peter 2:9). This calling is not vocational but ontological, meaning that it’s more about who we are than what we do. We are all royal priests who proclaim Christ, regardless of whether we work in ministry, or as a CEO, an accountant, or a teacher. So, are you called? Yes, you are called by God to proclaim God—no matter your job.

The Tension: Leave the Boat or Stay?

Peter has settled the big question. You’re called. However, even with 1 Peter 2:9, the feeling that God wants you to do more doesn’t go away so easily. How do we know what Jesus wants us individually to do?

The reality is that Jesus calls some to leave their boats and others to stay. Peter and Andrew were called to follow Jesus and become “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:18–20). But, in other cases, Jesus told people to stay. For example, after Jesus freed the Gerasene demoniac, the man begged to follow Him. Instead of letting him join the disciples, Jesus sent him home to tell others what God had done (Luke 8:38). For Peter, the calling meant to leave his boat, but for the former demoniac, it meant staying home. The calling was different for each, but their mission was the same: Tell people about Jesus.

Not all calls to ministry mean leaving your current career. So, how do you know if you’re called to leave the boat or stay? The answer starts with a little honest self-reflection.

Step One: Question

Start by questioning your internal stirrings. Sometimes, what feels like a calling may simply be discontentment. Some of the same rumblings that make people feel they’re being called into the ministry make some ministers believe they’re supposed to leave the ministry.

“I feel like my job is futile. It never ends and doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere.” “I want to do something meaningful.” “I want freedom! Think of what I could do if I could just read my Bible and disciple people all day.” These are the sentiments I’ve heard from accountants, teachers, and even police officers who are thinking about selling everything to join a ministry. But I’ve also heard them from pastors as they leave the ministry!

Ministry, like any vocation, carries futility. God cursed human work, so all jobs have their “thorns and thistles” (Gen. 3:18). No job, including ministry, escapes this. Discontentment is discontentment, regardless of the field. Before jumping into something new, ask yourself: Am I really feeling the stirrings of a calling, or is it discontentment that Jesus alone can fix?

Step Two: Discover

The next step is accepting that discerning God’s call involves discovery, which takes time. It involves personal reflection and community input. Calling isn’t something you create; it’s something you receive. I’ve found that discovery comes easier when I ask three questions: What are the needs? What are my gifts and passions? What are the opportunities?

Your calling will be the intersection of those three things.

1. What Are the Needs?

Calling begins with seeing the needs around you. God does not call us to dream jobs but to service. Whatever your calling is, it was given to you so that you can serve the needs of God’s people. Paul was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles because they needed the gospel (Eph. 3:1–7). Similarly, Titus stayed in Crete to appoint elders the church needed (Titus 1:5). As you consider what ministry God is calling you to do, ask: What needs do I see in my church or community? In what way does the body of Christ need to be built up?

I remember a church planter who said he felt called to a certain community because “There are thousands of people and hardly any gospel-proclaiming steeples.” God calls us to meet needs, to fill gaps, and to strengthen weaknesses. So, what need is He placing in front of you?

2. What Are My Gifts and Passions?

When God calls you, He equips you. Your gifts are given by the Spirit “for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). Because they’re from the Spirit, our gifts are not given for comparison but for service. Some may wish they could preach, but every gift, from teaching to hospitality, has equal value in God’s Kingdom.

Alongside gifts, consider your passions. Passion isn’t just about loving something; it’s about loving something so much you’re willing to suffer for it. If you’re passionate about preaching or counseling, you will face challenges in growing that craft. Ministry, like all vocations, requires suffering. What hardships are you willing to endure for the calling God has placed on you?

3. What Opportunities Are in Front of Me?

There’s no ideal ministry; there are just opportunities to serve. Some may seem small or beneath you, but they are often the first steps. Oftentimes, discerning calling doesn’t mean discovering your destination but rather your next step. What does God want you to do next? When assessing your calling, be cautious about dismissing smaller opportunities. Those small opportunities may be big moments through which the Lord develops us into the people He wants us to become.

Kevin DeYoung offers valuable advice: “If God opens the door for you to do something good or necessary, be thankful for the opportunity. But don’t assume that ease or difficulty is a sign of God’s will. God’s will for you is sanctification, and He uses discomfort to make us holy.”

Step Three: Grow

Once you’ve reflected on your calling and the opportunities in front of you, the next step is growth. Ministry is a craft, and like any craft, growth comes through experience. Training may teach you the theory, but only experience will shape you into a craftsman.

Growth in ministry comes as you serve. If you want to preach, teach small groups first or faithfully teach in the children’s ministry (if you can teach kids, you can teach anyone). If you aspire to lead larger ministries, begin by learning to lead smaller volunteer teams. Growth is a process of developing character and skill as you go. The key is to embrace that process and gain experience from whatever opportunities are available, no matter how small.

Confirmation from the Community

In all these steps, involving your church in the discernment process is crucial. Calling is never a solo endeavor; it’s a community one. The church plays a key role in helping us identify our gifts, testing them, and assessing what opportunities are best for us to pursue.

In an article I wrote years ago, I encouraged readers to think of the church as your spiritual gifts test. It is the best place to receive honest feedback on your abilities, your readiness, and even your motives. True calling is affirmed by the community, not just by individual reflection. As we see in Acts 13, even though Paul and Barnabas were called by the Holy Spirit, it was the church who affirmed that calling. Timothy’s calling was affirmed by elders (1 Tim. 4:14). By God’s design, the church is an indispensable piece of discerning our callings.

Fulfill Your Calling

Finally, once you’ve wrestled with these questions and gained clarity, do what Paul told Timothy: “Fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). There comes a point when analysis must give way to action. Faithfulness means getting to work. The opportunities God provides will use your gifts to meet the needs around you—this is your calling.

Don’t overthink it. Take the next step, and trust that as you serve faithfully, God will guide you to fulfill your calling.



Surrender to Ministry

By / Mar 19

When I was a kid growing up in church, it was common to hear someone say, “I surrendered to ministry in 1968,” or, “It was on a Sunday night that I surrendered to ministry.” You don’t hear that kind of language much anymore—the word surrender. But it’s actually an incredibly powerful idea.

It doesn’t mean ministry is so bad, so hard, so awful that you finally give in to it. Rather, it means that God has placed a burden on your heart—so deep, so unavoidable—that you can’t give your vocational life to anything else but serving His church.

That word—burden—feels a little old-fashioned too, but it’s essential for understanding a pastor’s calling and staying in the race. Every pastor, at some point, receives a burden from God—a weight that pulls him toward vocational ministry. It’s not just a decision. It’s not just an opportunity. It’s a conviction, a compulsion, a sense that nothing else would be as faithful or as obedient to what God has put in his heart.

Most pastors I know could make more money doing something else. They could work fewer hours, have less stress, and deal with fewer challenges. And yet, they stay the course. Why? Because their heart aches for the church. Because they long to see it thrive. Because they want to be part of God’s work in a deep, meaningful way.

There’s been a lot written recently about why so many are leaving pastoral ministry. And yes, it is hard. But it’s always been hard. No one steps into this work because it’s an easy, stress-free job. We step in because we have a burden. Because God has placed in us an unshakable desire to see His church strong and healthy. Because we want to see the church reach its full potential for the glory of God.

If you want an easy job, go do something else. If you want to make money off churches without carrying their heaviest burdens, go be a church consultant or start a podcast. But brother, if God has given you a burden for His Church—if you long to see His people flourish no matter the cost—become a pastor, and stay a pastor. Even when it’s hard. Even when it’s exhausting. Even when you wonder if it’s worth it. Surrender to the burden of Christ’s bride and be faithful to that calling.

And if you do, one day, in the presence of the Lord, you’ll see the fullness of her beauty. You’ll share in the joy of Jesus as He looks upon the people you had the privilege to care for, disciple, teach, and shepherd. You’ll see how God used your faithfulness—how He took your prayers, your sermons, your tears, and your struggles, and He built something eternal.

Pastoral ministry is a heavy burden, but it is a beautiful burden. And I pray that God would lead many of His best to surrender to it—until we hear His words, “Well done.”



The Agents of Mission

By / Mar 12

From the beginning of history, God has worked through agents to carry out His mission. Patrick Schreiner, Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Seminary, writes, “[God] enacts His mission and furthers His mission specifically through His people.”[1]

First, God created Adam and Eve as His image bearers on earth. God blessed them and commissioned them “to reflect, resemble, and represent his greatness and glory on a global scale.”[2] Later, God chose Abraham, sent him from his own country, and promised to bless the nations through him (Gen. 12:1–3; 17:4–5; 22:18). The Old Testament records how God deputized and sent many other emissaries on His behalf, people like Moses, David, and Elijah. In fact, God sent the entire people of Israel to fulfill His plan.

Israel’s God-given mission was to be a kingdom of priests and a light to the nations (Ex. 19:6; Isa. 49:6). Their mission was to display the joy and peace of living in obedience to God, and in the process, to draw the nations to worship the true and living God. Jason DeRouchie, Research Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Seminary, writes that Israel’s mission “to the nations was centripetal,” which involved “calling others to ‘come and see.’”[3]

While Israel did not have a commission to “go” to the nations in the same way that the Church has the Great Commission, the most fervent lovers of God in the Old Testament repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with provincially limited praise and, therefore, longed for all nations to glorify God. For example, Psalm 67:3–4 says, “Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” God affirms that He will fulfill their longing. In Psalm 46:10, God promises, “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” And yet, for generations, the people of Israel turned away from God and failed to fulfill their intended mission.[4]

When the fullness of time came, God sent His Son and Spirit as the ultimate agents of mission. Andreas Köstenberger writes, “The Lord of the Scriptures is a missionary God who not only reached out and gathers the lost but also sends His servants, and particularly His beloved Son, to achieve His gracious saving purposes.”[5] The incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of Jesus and the arrival of the Spirit form the centerpiece of history and mark the climactic events in God’s mission.

The Son’s Mission

Where other agents failed to perfectly reflect, resemble, and represent God, Jesus succeeded. Jesus fulfilled His mission by perfectly glorifying His heavenly Father through His words and works (John 17:4–5). In the greatest display of love in history, Jesus voluntarily sacrificed His life on the cross, securing redemption for all who trust in Him. Then God raised Him up from the dead and exalted Him (Acts 2:32–33; Rom. 1:4).

After His resurrection and before His ascension, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). Jesus commissioned His disciples to be agents of His mission. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18–20).[6]

Yet Jesus instructed His disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit. He said, “I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes, “He will glorify Me” (John 16:14). Just as Jesus’s mission was to exalt the Father, the Holy Spirit’s mission is to exalt Jesus.

The Spirit’s Mission

Ten days after Christ’s ascension, God sent the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–4). Immediately, the Spirit went to work. He empowered the small band of believers in Jerusalem to testify to the death and resurrection of Jesus to people from all over the world (Acts 2:5–36).[7] As this band of believers quickly grew in number, they faced persecution. The believers started to spread out from Jerusalem as agents of mission, filled with the Spirit of mission, and began to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6 KJV).[8]

The Spirit first saves people, then gathers His people, and then sends His people.[9] To this day, the Spirit is choosing a people for His own possession and empowering them to proclaim the excellencies of Christ (1 Pet. 2:9). Those whom the Spirit unites to the eternal Son through faith, the Father adopts as His children.[10] The three Persons of the Godhead are involved in salvation because it is a Trinitarian phenomenon. God fills His children with the Holy Spirit of Jesus, who empowers them to cry out, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). The Spirit unites the children of God to one another as brothers and sisters. The family of God, the Church, is a new community in the Spirit.

The Church’s Mission

The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 provides a definition for church. Section IV says, “A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.”[11] It is significant that this definition includes extending the gospel to the ends of the earth as one of the church’s primary duties.[12]

Today, the Church is God’s agent of mission in the world.[13] The Spirit leads the Church to continue His mission of exalting Christ.[14] According to the pattern in Acts 13:2–4, the Holy Spirit, in response to the prayers of the Church, sets apart and sends out missionaries. The Church prays for them, ordains them, and dispatches them. Missionaries remain connected to their sending church, but they serve as envoys where no church exists.[15]

Missionaries are not merely concerned with evangelizing lost people, but also with bringing the gospel to and discipling unreached and unengaged people groups.[16]  The difference between “lost” and “unreached” is a matter of access to the gospel. Paul embodies the heart of a missionary when he says, “My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named” (Rom. 15:20). The core missionary task is to enter new contexts, preach the gospel, make disciples, establish churches, train leaders, and entrust the church to the local believers. In this way, God blesses the nations with the gospel through the Church.

__________

[1] Patrick Schreiner, The Mission of the Triune God (Wheaton: Crossway, 2022), 154.

[2] Jason DeRouchie, “By the Waters of Babylon: Global Missions from Genesis to Revelation,” Midwestern Journal of Theology 20, no. 2 (Fall 2021): 7.

[3] DeRouchie, “By the Waters of Babylon,” 12.

[4] Israel came the closest to fulfilling their mission of being a “come and see” people during the prosperous reign of Solomon. First Kings 10:24 says, “All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon.” Yet even Solomon turned away from the LORD, failed in his mission, and left a glaring hole that only the true Messiah could fill.

[5] Andreas Köstenberger, Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission, New Studies in Biblical Theology 53 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020), 261.

[6] The old canard that claims that the word ‘go’ (poreuthentes) is a participle that should be translated “as you are going” is wrong. This oft-repeated falsehood undercuts the imperatival force for Christians to move across boundaries. Making disciples of all nations simply is not possible unless some people “go” to the nations. Additionally, most Greek and New Testament scholars maintain that the word “go” is a command. For example, Daniel Wallace, Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, identifies poreuthentes in this context as a particle of “attendant circumstance,” which means that the participle takes on the mood of the verb. In this case, the word “make disciples” (matheteusate) is a command, which means the participle should also be translated as a command. Daniel Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 640–45.

[7] Patrick Schreiner writes, “The Spirit compels boldness in speaking of Jesus. The Spirit is also always pointing back to the work of Jesus. [His] mission is always to exalt Christ.” Schreiner, The Mission of the Triune God, 152.

[8] “The Spirit is about mission, [and] the mission is to save, recreate, and reconcile a new people.” Schreiner, The Mission of the Triune God, 67.

[9] Schreiner argues that the book of Acts presents the Spirit from three perspectives, soteriological, ecclesiological, and missiological. Schreiner, The Mission of the Triune God, 67.

[10] Adoption as a motif for entrance into God’s family is unique to Paul in the NT (Rom. 8:15; 8:23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:4). John emphasizes new birth to describe a believer’s entrance into the family of God (John 1:12; 3:16; 1 John 3:1–4). John marvels at God’s work, saying, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are” (1 John 3:1).

[11] The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, section IV. Available at https://bfm.sbc.net/ bfm2000/#vi.

[12] The Foundations document of the IMB elaborates on the BF&M 2000 by providing guidelines for church planting, leadership training, and statistical reporting. It also discusses 12 characteristics of a healthy church. Foundations, v. 4, IMB, 78–83. Accessed December 1, 2022.

[13] For a fuller discussion of the church and mission, see Robin Dale Hadaway, A Survey of World Missions (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2020) 53–54.

[14] “We believe God uses the local church to disciple believers, to discern their giftings and callings, to train potential cross-cultural workers in the basics of Christian evangelism and discipleship, to assess their readiness for service, and to send them out to the nations (Ephesians 3:10).” Foundations, 19.

[15] The missionary task is a group assignment. The picture of a lone missionary heroically pioneering new regions is unbiblical. Except in rare cases, Paul, the prototypical missionary, did not work alone. In his letters, Paul identifies well over 70 men and women as his ministry associates, and specifically calls many of them “coworkers.”

[16] The Foundations document clarifies the concept of unreached. It says, “Unreached peoples and places are those among whom Christ is largely unknown and the church is relatively insufficient to make Christ known in its broader population without outside help.” Foundations, 88.



Pastoral Ministry and Christian Progress

By / Mar 5

Our Struggle with Progress

I’m coming up on two years in pastoral ministry. Although I’ve not spent much time in pastoral ministry, I’ve come to realize something—there is importance in progress. Waiting patiently for God to do His work in His people is more important than seeing someone change overnight. Looking for a quick fix will not produce the obedience we desire in our sheep. Rather, we must trust the Lord’s plan of lifelong discipleship, knowing that He will produce obedience in the lives of our sheep.

Let me give some examples of situations we may encounter in our churches. You meet with a few men each week to discuss Scripture. Every week, the men seem to get off track as they love to tell stories about their life that have nothing to do with this passage, or they riff off one word they read. They just can’t seem to come to focus on the passage and attempt to understand what the passage means to the original audience, how Christ is connected to the passage, and what we must do in light of these things.

Perhaps week by week you meet with the same guy struggling to let go of his sin. You’re unsure if he even comprehends the severity of his sin. After months, there seems to be some progress, but you wish he’d just be done with that sin by now. If only he could defeat it.

Someone riddled with anxiety comes to your office every few months to talk. Last month they were looking for counsel because some conspiracy theory post on social media got them going. This time they are looking for counsel because they fear a fellow church member is avoiding them even though there is no evidence for this. There’s just always something wrong for this one.

These situations can cause some doubts within the pastor. Doubts come about whether your people are listening to you or not. Sometimes, you may even begin to doubt a church member’s salvation. It feels like they just don’t understand the hope we have in Christ. Maybe you begin to doubt your ability to teach or to counsel. In the end, it just doesn’t feel like these people are making any progress in the faith.

Scriptural Progress

If you’re feeling like Moses leading the Israelites in the desert, then you probably know what I’m talking about. It’s here that I’d like to remind you that a pastor practices patience because a pastor recognizes that progress is the goal of ministry. Hear these words from Paul: “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). Paul understood that the gospel work in our hearts is completed at Christ’s return. We too should expect that our people’s progress will not be complete until His return.

The book of 1 John is helpful for us to understand how God is working in us. 1 John 1:5–6 can be summed up by saying that God is pure light and no darkness dwells in Him; therefore, anyone who claims they have fellowship with God but walks in darkness does not walk with God. We are to understand that sin is darkness and that by participating in sin we walk in darkness. Our problem of sin causes us to remain in darkness; however, God has provided a way. Through Jesus, we are taken from the realm of darkness and into God’s glorious light. Living in the light, then, is exposing ourselves to God’s light, His purity, and His holiness. That is why 1 John 1:9 gives us the hope that by the confession of our sin—that is, the exposure of our sin—we are forgiven by the faithful and righteous God.

We can say this then, that progress in our spiritual lives is exposing ourselves to God’s light which reveals our darkness. This is our main concern when seeking the progress of the saints. Are they being made more like Christ over time? Some days will be better than others, but do they look more like Christ this year over last year? By God’s grace and work, they should. Our exposure to the knowledge of the beauty and radiance of God will produce changes in our minds that extend to changes in our hearts and work their way out through our hands. The exposure of our sin to the glory of God fuels us to grow and be more like Christ in our knowledge, affections, and actions.

Making Progress with Progress

Okay, so the goal is making progress by being more like Christ. Got it. But what does that have to do with people who are missing the point in Bible study, or that guy still struggling with that one sin, or that person who seems led by fear more than faith? Well, change takes a while. The very fact that we won’t be complete until we are in the presence of the come-again Christ is evidence that we will be consistently changing throughout our life. Change takes time.

Pastors, practice patience with your flock. You didn’t come to the place you are quickly, but the Lord had to mold you and make you into a qualified man over time. Patiently shepherd the flock for their long-term growth, not short-term. For the men that don’t get the main point of the text, be patient with them and help them see how to find it. Show them how to faithfully apply Christ to those texts. Expose them to the glory of God’s inexhaustible light in Christ through the study of Scripture. For the guy still struggling with that one sin, teach him of the delight and satisfaction found in Christ alone. Help him get his eyes focused on Christ and prepare for when distractions would call his attention away from Christ. For the person led by fear, call them to trust the Lord in a way that recognizes their fear but doesn’t allow them to continue living in it. And when a new fear arises, do the same thing again.

Eventually, those in Christ will produce fruit. Fruit production isn’t quick. The seed takes time to take root, sprout, and then grow into a fruit-bearing tree. Then we must wait for the fruit to be ready to eat. In a similar way, when we push for progress instead of complete change in a person, we are allowing the fruit to grow with best results. If we demand someone to produce fruit upon our first talking to them, then the truth we speak may not take root in them. Plant the truth that needs to be said, and let it take root in their mind, sprout in their heart, and then produce fruit from their hands. Gospel change looks to the process of being conformed to the truth, not forced into a mold. Let us be patient and witness the life-changing work of God. Let us watch as God does His work and brings His people to completion.



The Shadow of the Son

By / Mar 3

Life begins with light.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day” (Gen. 1:1–5).

Scripture’s central message is God’s salvation of humankind through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. Scripture unveils this dazzling mystery by its unfolding proclamation of who God is and what He does. And the first of His works that it records is this: He created light.

If God gave us His Word to reveal Himself and to guide us to Him for eternal life, then what does He show us about Himself by starting off the story telling us that He created light?

He Is Supremely Powerful.

Light is the first created thing, and it obeys God immediately. In fact, its obedience is inseparable from its coming into existence. When God commands light to be, it does.

Existence follows His command. His words give reality and being, bringing to life what did not previously exist. No one else has this power.

Light’s obedience to God’s command reveals the magnitude of His authority. His command brings effect. At His command, light comes to be at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. In the first instant of history, God creates, and what He creates obeys Him, magnificently displaying His power, deity, and indisputable worthiness of all the obedience and honor in the universe.

He Marks the Bounds of History.

It’s been said that the first three days of God’s creative work could be broadly described as His creating spaces, while the last few days could be broadly described as His filling those spaces.[1]

In His first act of creation, God creates the space for time by creating light. By light’s presence and absence—day and night—He separates time from time and marks the space which history has filled, and will fill, from the first day to the last. Such governance reveals that He is eternal. Light and dark, the rising and setting of the sun, the changing of days, the passage of time—all depend on His existence before them.

He Intends to Be Known by His Creatures.

Light reveals. By it, we see everything else that God made. Moreover, many of the things that God made depend on light for their life: “plants yielding seed” and “trees bearing fruit” and the array of living creatures who depend on these for food.[2]

God’s Word says, “His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:20).

It is impossible for the human eye to see without light. The fact that light existed before any human eye shows God’s desire to be known. He wanted to be perceived by His image-bearers in the things that He would make. From the instant God breathed life into Adam and the man’s eyes opened upon the trees of the garden and the livestock of the fields, he was perceiving the eternal power of the One who made them all.

He Is the True Light.

As a created thing, light reveals God’s attributes. Opening the story of history as the first of God’s creations, it shines a spotlight on the One whom the whole story is about.

Jesus.

The One who brought all creation into existence and “upholds the universe by the word of His power.”[3]

The One who existed before all time.[4]

The One who reveals every one of God’s attributes, for He is God Himself, “the image of the invisible God” and “the exact imprint of His nature.”[5]

In becoming man, this Light obeyed God, His Father, perfectly.

This Light is the first and last, the center and border of history, who reigned before the beginning and whose glory will replace lamp and sun on the final Day, dissolving night and dark.[6]

This Light revealed the fullness of God’s eternal power and divine attributes in His sinless life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection for the salvation of sinners.

If you see Him, you see God.[7]

Created light—in all it reveals—is but a shadow of the Son.

Grace Upon Grace

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God….from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:9–12, 16). 

By creating light on the first day, God revealed His glory in multi-faceted brilliance to every atom of creation. His intention to be seen is good news. For, as the other five days of creation display in full color, every good thing comes from Him. If anything in creation is good, how much better must its source be? How much more sublime to know Him?

Because He is so good, He cannot accept our sin. Because He is so good, He gave His Son to atone for our sin. Though we rebelled against Him, He shone in our darkness, and into our very hearts gives “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”[8]

May we open our eyes to this Light and live.

Author’s note: I am thankful for the women of Liberty Baptist Church with whom I first enjoyed these reflections during our spring 2024 discipleship group.

__________

[1] See Jen Wilkin, “Week Three: Six Days and a Rest,” God of Creation: A Study of Genesis 1–11 (Brentwood, TN: Lifeway Press, 2017). Wilkin addresses this point in the week 3 teaching video (www.lifeway.com/godofcreation). I also heard this observation from others before I encountered it in Wilkin’s study.

[2] Gen. 1:11–12, 24–30.

[3] Heb. 1:3; cf. Col. 1:16.

[4] Jude 25.

[5] Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3.

[6] Rev. 22:5, 13.

[7] John 14:9.

[8] 2 Cor. 4:6.



Leading a Church Without Losing Your Soul

By / Feb 27

A few years into ministry, I read these words from a famous pastor: “I had become a full-time minister and a part-time Christian.”

Even as a twenty-something still fresh with the excitement of my first pastoral assignment, I could relate.

Prior to ministry, you imagine that the inertia of pastoral life will drive you joyfully into deep communion with Jesus. But it doesn’t take long to realize how wrong that idealism is. 

Hebrews 2:1 tells us, “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” Every Christian faces the temptation and inclination to drift.

Even—or perhaps, especially—pastors. 

Do you mainly use Scripture for preparing studies or providing answers for other people? Is prayer a routine way to open or close meetings? Are memories of passionate pursuit of Christ in the distant past? Is the sin of others more disappointing than your own sin? Do you feel like a full-time pastor but a part-time Christian? 

Questions like these can help diagnose whether your soul is adrift. 

The good news is that it’s possible to plant a church or lead a dynamic ministry without losing your soul. But it will take intentional focus and good habits. 

Now, more than 20 years into pastoral leadership, I’m more committed than ever to not losing my soul. Below are some strategies to help any pastor who wants to keep his soul.

  1. Connect Regularly with God | Before you were a pastor, you were a Christian. Something about Jesus electrified you. You’d joyfully linger in His presence, amazed by His grace. This relationship you had with God made you want to serve Him even more. So keep cultivating your relationship with God—not only to be a good pastor, but to be a joyful Christian.
  2. Prioritize Solitude | My favorite definition of solitude is from Cal Newport: “time spent free from the input of other minds.” In other words, if you’re alone but listening to a podcast, it’s not solitude. Solitude gives you space to relax in God’s presence and tune your heart to His grace.
  3. Rigorously Practice Weekly Sabbath | The seasons where I’ve sensed the beginning of burnout or cynicism have one thing in common: a failure of practicing sabbath. Take one day a week where you rest to pray, play, and intentionally lay down any striving or performance.
  4. Spend Time with Friends | In ministry, all your circles overlap. Your workplace, faith community, and friends frequently end up involving the same people. Do what you can to cultivate friendships with people who don’t need you as their pastor. It will be freeing to your soul.
  5. Identify Your Personal Warning Signs and Invite Input | When the dashboard warning lights of life ding, what shows up? Though each of us is different, those who are close to us can see our warning signs. So be on the lookout for these signs of danger, and give trusted people permission to point out areas of concern.
  6. Invest in Counseling | Life and leadership are filled with limits, losses, and emotional wear-and-tear. Having an experienced counselor with some distance from your ministry can help you process these challenges in a healthy way.
  7. Use Every Minute of Vacation | Just like you need a weekly sabbath from ministry, you need some annual breaks and vacation. It’s not lazy to use the time you are given to rest and recalibrate.
  8. Develop Healthy Pressure Release Valves | The pressure of life will come out one way or another, so intentionally decide for it to come out in good ways. Hobbies, time with friends, and exercise are healthy examples of release valves.
  9. Create Sweet Personal and Family Practices for Christmas and Easter | Every Good Friday, I go with my family to a specific park to read the passion story and pray together. On a weekend of intense public ministry, it reminds me that I’m a Christian first.
  10. Don’t Let Other People Decide What Is an “Emergency” | Many pastors exhaust themselves allowing everyone else to control their time and energy. But just because it’s an emergency to somebody else doesn’t mean it should be to you.
  11. Regularly Practice Retreat Days | Every few months, set aside a day or half-day to zoom out, take inventory on your life and ministry, and invest in your soul. These days provide an opportunity to break the cycle of reacting and, instead, lead yourself intentionally.
  12. Create a Folder of Ministry Implosion Stories | Sadly, many pastors fall. Stories of sin and scandal abound. When these stories happen, take note. When the fallen pastor writes a letter of resignation or an elder board issues a statement, copy and paste it into a file on your computer. Read these every year as a way to warn yourself of the dangers of losing your soul.
  13. Develop a Plan for Intentional Sabbaticals | Sabbaticals are a long-held best-practice for long-term sustainable ministry. Done well, sabbaticals cultivate health for you, your family, and your church.
  14. Structure Your Week with Margin | You can’t keep your soul if you constantly drive your engine at the red-line limit. Healthy pastors must build weekly rhythms and schedule that contain margin so that when inevitable surprises and crises come, they can handle them.
  15. Put “Developing Leaders” on Your Job Description | To build a church ministry that isn’t resting on your shoulders alone, you must develop and empower other leaders. As Jethro rebuked Moses, “You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone” (Exod. 18:18). Pouring into leaders is essential for sustainable ministry.

You don’t have to lose your soul. Fight to keep it. It will be worth it.