Pastor, Your Body Keeps the Score

By / Oct 25

And after you have suffered a little while . . . — 1 Peter 5:10a

I finally went to the doctor. Here’s the deal: I’ve been suffering from a sporadic driving anxiety for about eight years now. For a long time, it was just an every now and again thing. I could go months without any trouble. For some stretches of time, however, I will experience it nearly every time I drive — especially on highways (high rates of speed), in heavy traffic, over bridges, at night, or in bad weather. It doesn’t always happen, and I could often take the same route in the same conditions with no issues one time, only to experience overpowering flashes of panic another.

I remember the first time it happened. I was driving back to our home in Vermont with my family from a ministry trip in Boston. On the interstate in our final leg of the journey, I began to have this overwhelming sensation of losing control, like my body was going to fly out of the car. I had to pull over and let my wife drive. Since that time, I’ve had this recurring issue.

In the last year or so, it’s struck me so often, I’ve started taking back roads everywhere. It takes me longer to get where I need to go, but I don’t seem to have any issues when I do. But that’s no way to live, right? So I finally went to the doctor. In a way, it was a follow-up, because I’d had my one and only non-driving panic attack January 2020. That was so bad, I didn’t realize that’s what it was at the time and thought I was having a heart attack. I started eating better, working out more, and — thanks to Covid — slowed my ministry pace considerably. But the driving junk persisted and actually seemed to get worse.

She asked me if I’d been any traumatic events related to driving in the past, any car accidents. I had, but a long, long time ago, and neither of them anything serious. Just regular fender-bender type stuff. I drove for nearly twenty years after the last accident with no problems at all. “I don’t think so,” I said.

“Well,” she said, “what was happening when the incidents started?”

“I was coming home from Boston–” I started.

“No,” she interrupted. “What was going on in your life?”

I thought for a second. And then I said, “Ohhhh.”

I don’t know if she was on to something or not. I’m not a psychologist, and neither is she. But when these incidents started, I was neck deep in a very long period of suffering in our church. Lots of death, including the death of friends. Lots of sitting by bed sides in hospitals and hospice rooms. Lots of grief and grief counseling. Funeral after funeral.

On top of all that, I realized, right when I was on the verge of burnout (for which I never had a substantive break), I was on the receiving end of multiple angles of conflict in the church. I was carrying a heavy weight and giving my blood, sweat, and tears to the ministry, and it didn’t seem to matter with some people. The criticism, anonymous and otherwise, was demoralizing.

When my wife and I came out of that situation six years ago, we both felt very beaten up. I would attend members’ meetings at our new church in Kansas City and feel jumpy, waiting for someone to come after our pastors. It never happened, but it was still difficult to go without feeling anxious. My body may be telling me, “You’ve never healed from this, bucko.”

You might say that being so far removed from that time, I shouldn’t have any “issues” today. But we know that incredible stress takes an incredible toll. Those who suffer far worse — abuse, the horrors of war, front-line first responder work — can tell you about the long-residual effects of past trauma that lingers in your mind, your nerves, overtaking you in sudden moments for years after the fact. It would seem that, as Bessel van der Kolk has said, the body keeps the score.

I don’t at all wish to put pastoral ministry on par with those experiences, but the impact is similar, I think. And others have said the same.

Every day it seems I read about or even hear from pastors who are struggling with anxiety, depression, or other severe effects of hard ministries. The burnout rate for ministers is too high, and things have only gotten worse over the last year and a half.

I take a weird comfort, I admit, when I read the apostle Peter characterizing the ministry of the elder as one of suffering. “And after you have suffered a little while,” he says (1 Peter 5:10). He makes no bones about it. Good pastoring means hardship. The emotional and spiritual weight of normal ministry is very heavy by itself. Good pastors take seriously the reality that they are responsible for the souls of their flocks, that they will give an account for all the precious people stewarded to them. The apostle Paul calls this just the “daily pressure of anxiety for the church” (2 Cor. 11:28). Add to that conflict, other harsh treatment, gossip, false accusations, weaponized disappointments, the frequent loneliness of leadership, financial stressors, and the like, and — well — the pastor’s body will keep the score.

If you’re not a pastor and you’re reading this, you may think it’s all overblown. You may think your pastor has it great and is doing fine. And he might be. (I pray he is!) But far too many are suffering in silence. This isn’t a call to throw pity parties. Pastoring is a great privilege and an incredible joy. But it can also take a serious toll.

If you’re a pastor reading this and nodding your head, you know it’s not overblown. I could probably say a lot more. But you may somehow already suspect that the irregular heart rate, sleeplessness, inability to relax, recurring feelings of depression, or even anxiety or depression may be your body telling you it’s getting frayed around the edges. You are physically dealing with something very spiritual. Your body has kept the score.

If that’s you, I want you to remind you of God’s affectionate grace. Yes, ministry is “suffering for a little while.” But this suffering is sanctifying. It is making something great of you, even as it makes you small. God’s strength, remember, is perfected in our weakness. Don’t be afraid (or too stubborn) to get help, to speak up, to do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself.

If you’re a pastor struggling with what my friend Jeff Medders calls “pastoral PTSD,” you should also know that you are not alone. There may not be many people around you, but the Lord is right beside you. He is facing down all the things you struggle to pick your head up and look at. He bears the scorn with you. And he is keeping track of all your hurts, all your godly anxieties. He will trade your ashes for beauty. He is storing all your tears in a jar (Psalm 56:8).

And when all is said and done, what feels like drowning now will strangely feel like victory. The greater your pain — and I really believe this — the greater your reward. That’s not a call to be a martyr; it’s simply a call to look to him. He will not forget you in this age or in the age to come. He remembers, and he will more than compensate you.

Yes, yes, pastor, the body keeps the score. But, then, so does Jesus.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. — 1 Peter 5:10



3 Ways to Turn Against Your Pastor

By / Oct 20

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
— Galatians 5:15

Most people don’t set out to dislike their pastors. Something just happens. Oh sure, there are generally disagreeable folks who seem to possess the spiritual gift of discouragement and are always looking to find faults, but most pastors I know who have congregants (or congregations) turn on them felt utterly ambushed. It takes time to trace the outworking of anger and even sometimes ousting to the root causes, and very often these causes are things that could’ve been headed off at the pass given communication, clarity, and charity.

Sometimes pastors preach heresy, engage in unrepentant sin, or unnecessarily stir up hostility or division, but a great number of pastors who’ve seen their share of congregational betrayal were, despite their flaws and failings, simply going about their ministry business when it blew up in their face.

So how does it happen? How do otherwise good Christians turn against otherwise good pastors? Here are three very common ways it happens.

1. Disappointment Turns into Disgruntlement

I have seen firsthand the weaponizing of disappointment in a congregation. Bonhoeffer was right that pastors must beware of the “wish-dream” when it comes to their congregations, but the danger works both ways — congregants often have wish-dream pastors. That is, they have an idealized version of what or who their pastor should be. They wish he was more academic or less so. They wish he was a better communicator, more like the guys they listen to on the Internet. They wish he was more extroverted or more studious or more something than he actually is.

The truth is that pastors will fail us, and this is not because they are necessarily bad pastors, but because they are human. They do not have infinite physical or emotional resources. They mess up. They make mistakes.

But when consider our pastors’ failures to live up to our idealizations of them, we must be careful we do not engage in idolatry — that we want from our pastor what we can only get from Jesus. I can think of a couple of significant disappointments I gave to church members once — both stemming from my apparent inability to “solve” counseling issues. It wasn’t my lack of availability or my lack of concern. I was engaged, I was gentle, I was pastoral. But I didn’t have a silver bullet and thus “failed.” These disappointments turned into severe critcism of me, became exaggerated into a wholesale attack on my qualifications and heart.

Remember that it’s not a sin to disappoint you. Sometimes pastors have to do that. Sometimes they don’t mean to do it, are just as disappointed as you are to be a disappointment to you. Don’t let your disappointments fester into disgruntlement. Consider Christ who never fails and let your pastor off the hook for not being him.

2. Disagreements Turn into Division

Maybe you disagree with a particular interpretation or application your pastor has made in his sermons. Maybe you disagree with a particular leadership decision that was made. Maybe you wouldn’t do things the way he does them or say things the way he says them. Barring actual sin — he’s preaching something theologically heterodox, etc. — it’s okay to disagree with your pastor on all kinds of things.

What it is not okay is turning your disagreement into a campaign of division against him. Sometimes congregants are so driven by their disagreements, they rehearse them in front of others. This is usually gossip. Sometimes these rehearsals become recruitment parties for commiseration and cooperation in the disagreeements. This is divisiveness.

When we take our disagreements on a grievance tour of other church members, trying to enlist others in our contrariness — martialing troops, in other words — to march against the pastor, we have swerved into the kind of division the Bible warns us against. “Some people are saying . . .” becomes a passive aggressive way of scaring a pastor into agreement with you or submission to your emotional blackmail.

Remember that very often wise Christians have significant disagreements about secondary or tertiary matters of doctrine. We can hold these disagreements in tension with each other while maintaining charity and unity as brothers and sisters. Remember, too, that leaders often have to make decisions with the best information they have at the time, and with the best intentions, and when those decisions are not matters of theology but simply matters of preference, the best routes forward involve assuming the best, seeking clarity if needed, and ultimately submitting to those responsible for your care (Heb. 13:17). Disagree in love and humility.

3. Confusion Turns into Accusations

“Pastors only work one day a week,” the joke goes. But some congregants are routinely suspicious of their pastors’ schedules. Or motives. I recall once being accused of slacking off because I was not in my office on successive days during the week. The reason was that I was engaged in a series of fairly intense counseling situations that required my presence in homes. That is not something I obviously felt the need to broadcast on social media or post on a sign on my door. It was nobody’s business but the elders’. And yet my mere absence was turned into an accusation of laziness or other dereliction of duty.

The truth is, most church members who have never been on the pastoral side of the congregation have no clue how much time and energy ministry actually takes. It’s not a grounds for a pastor’s martyrdom complex or self-pity. Good pastors aren’t always airing everyone’s dirty laundry or telling you all the weight they’re enduring. So it’s largely unknown to large swaths of the congregation.

Similarly, sometimes pastors have to make difficult decisions that are the result of much prayer and study. But in the moment of reception, those who have no clue how much “pastoral anxiety” was put into a decision immediately think the pastor is acting rashly or stupidly or just wrongly.

Good pastors will work towards appropriate transparency and clarity of communication with their churches, not leaving them in the dark about their care for the flock. There is such a thing as a lazy pastor and a detached pastor and an unproductive pastor. But just because you don’t know the situation doesn’t mean any of those latter things are true.

I always appreciated it when church members asked how I was doing, when they inquired as to my emotional state in ministry. Many times I suffered in silence, and so do many other pastors. It is doubly hurtful, then, to not just have to keep one’s burdens to one’s self, but then to have others make ignorant accusations on top of that suffering.

These dangers are possible in every church, because every church is made up of sinners — pastors and laypeople alike. Let’s remember to assume the best about each other until it’s proven otherwise. Hoping all things, believing all things — this is the stuff of love (1 Cor. 13:7), and thus the stuff of God (1 John 4:8). The rest — as logical or natural as it may seem to us in the moment — is from the lair of the devil, the great Accuser of the brethren.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
— Ephesians 4:1-3



How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Step 12––Practical Theology

By / Oct 20

To summarize How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament, this blog journey has supplied twelve steps from exegesis to theology. I categorized each of the twelve under the acronym TOCMA, which stands for Text > Observation > Context > Meaning > Application.

  • Text: “What is the makeup of the passage?”

(1) Genre; (2) Literary Units and Text Hierarchy; (3) Text Criticism; (4) Translation

  • Observation: “How is the passage communicated?”

(5) Clause and Text Grammar; (6) Argument-Tracing; (7) Word and Concept Studies

  • Context: “Where does the passage fit?”

(8) Historical Context; (9) Literary Context

  • Meaning: “What does the passage mean?”

(10) Biblical Theology; (11) Systematic Theology

  • Application: “Why does the passage matter?”

(12) Practical Theology

This is our final installment in this series, and it addresses step 12. Having exegeted the text and grasped God’s intended meaning, you as the interpreter now need to apply it to yourself, the church, and the world, stressing the centrality of Christ and the hope of the gospel. Such is the task of practical theology, by which we seek to live according to the biblical author’s intended effect.

God Gave the Old Testament to Instruct Christians

To apply the OT faithfully, one must have the conviction that God intends us to do so. That is, preachers and teachers must recognize that the OT is Christian Scripture, which God gave long ago to serve saints today.

1. Old Testament Reflections on the Main Audience of Old Testament Instruction

The OT authors consciously wrote their documents for new covenant members. For example, Isaiah noted how his audience was spiritually disabled, unable to grasp the words he proclaimed (Isa 29:9–11; cf. Rom 11:8). Nevertheless, he also envisioned a day when “the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see” (Isa 29:18). Thus, Yahweh told Isaiah, “Inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever” (30:8). In that day, he says, “Your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’” (30:20–21).

Similarly, Yahweh told Jeremiah to write for God’s restored community. “Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it” (Jer 30:2–3). Jeremiah needed to write his words in a book because the new covenant members would need them, and it was they that would understand them (cf. 30:24–31:1; cf. 31:33–34).

2. New Testament Reflections on the Main Audience of the Old Testament Instruction

Paul, too, stressed that God gave the OT for new covenant believers. Referring to the statement in Genesis 15:6 that Abram’s faith was “counted to him as righteousness,” Paul asserted that “the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also” (Rom 4:23). Indeed, “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction” (15:4; cf. 1 Cor 10:11). “All Scripture is … profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Peter even explicitly states that God revealed to the OT prophets that their words were principally for us, not them (1 Pet 1:10–12). Therefore, far from being not applicable for believers, the OT is more relevant for Christians today than for most in the old covenant.

General Guidelines for Applying the Old Testament

In his book Old Testament Exegesis, Douglas Stuart offers helpful guidelines for applying biblical texts.[1] Here I develop them, using Exodus 19:4–6 to illustrate the process.

1. The Passage’s Original Revealed Application

a. Identify the application’s audience.

Does the passage target individuals, groups, or institutions? If one can’t differentiate in this way, why not? If the object is individuals, what kind (e.g., believing remnant or faithless rebel, parents or children)? If the object is a group, what kind (e.g., the community of faith, a nation, clergy)?

The second masculine plural “you” throughout Exodus 19:4–6 suggests that the target is every individual within the entire community. God redeemed the nation as a whole, and he called this nation his “son” (Exod 4:22–23).

b. List the application’s external life issues.

Here we consider: With what aspects of life is the passage most concerned? What do we encounter that is similar or related to what the passage addresses? Is the application directed toward matters that are more interpersonal in nature? Is the concern social, economic, spiritual, familial, etc.? Does the passage relate directly to the people’s relationship with God?

In Exodus 19:4–6, we see the personal experience of communal deliverance (v. 4). This deliverance should produce a daily pursuit of God among a geopolitical nation that is distinct from the surrounding nations (v. 5). This pursuit of God should give everyone a sense of life’s purpose (v. 6).

c. Clarify the application’s nature.

Some passages inform the mind, supplying information, whereas others direct the will, giving instruction. Some focus on the root of faith; others address the fruit of action. One passage describes some aspect of God’s love (i.e., inform), while another commands the reader to love God wholeheartedly (i.e., direct). One may clarify the nature of trust (i.e., faith), while another illuminates the nature of deeds. Often these two pairs come in packages so that informing leads to directing and believing leads to obeying. Ask, “Does this passage supply an indicative or an imperative? Does it address more the heart and head or the hands?”

On the surface, Exodus 19:4–6 recalls God’s gracious past redemption and informs Israel of their future responsibility and calling. Implicitly, the text calls the people to godward allegiance for the sake of mediating and displaying God’s glory to the nations. In addition, Exodus 19:4–6 explicitly addresses action and state of being, calling Israel to “hear” and “keep” and “be” (v. 5). Only to the level at which the people desire the promise of being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation and believe the promise-maker can act will they be motivated to heed his voice, keep his covenant, and intentionally seek to live as his treasured possession.

d. Determine the application’s time focus.

Does the passage call for present faith or action? Does it look back to something in the past or ahead to something in the future?

Exodus 19:4–6 called Israel to make an immediate response. And for every future generation in the old covenant, God’s revelation will remain the same. He had set Israel apart to express his worth in the world. Through this single nation, the world would be blessed, and Israel’s lives of surrender would parade God’s upright character until the time when the promised deliverer would overcome the world’s curse with a blessing.

e. Fix the application’s limits.

Does the passage function more as background or support? Is it part of a larger passage that suggests a clearer application than your passage does? Is it one of several passages that all function together to suggest a given application that none of them individually would quite have? Does the passage call for a response that could be misunderstood or taken too far? In what ways does the passage not apply?

Exodus 19:4–6 is perhaps the most foundational synthesis of the revealed purpose of the old covenant within Scripture. It looks back to the Abrahamic covenant promises and anticipates God’s revelation of his person and word at Sinai. It expresses God’s revealed will for Israel, but it does not address the implications of failure.

f. Summary

Exodus 19:4–6 synthesizes the old covenant by addressing the nation of Israel’s redemption and life-calling in relation to the world. It explicitly informs but also implicitly directs, calling for action and motivating this call by the promise of global impact. The words target every community member and address a surrender to Yahweh that impacts every facet of life in every present and future generation.

2. The Passage’s Theological Significance[2]

a. Clarify what the passage tells us about God and his ways.

Theology matters. When applying the OT, it is important to recall what we have learned about Yahweh’s unchanging character, desires, values, concerns, and standards, and what our passage says about his purposes in redemption.

Exodus 19:4–6 portrays Yahweh as one who delivers in order to create people who can in turn display his excellencies. With respect to his character and actions, he is an able warrior God who redeemed Israel from Egypt (v. 4). He is a God who commands, establishes covenants, and treasures some more than others (v. 5). Finally, he is a God who motivates through promises and desires his people to mediate and display his greatness to the world (v. 6). One could make appropriate application from these features, for his work in the new covenant is very analogous (see 1 Pet 2:9).

b. Assess how Christ’s fulfillment of the OT impacts applying the passage.

Some of the questions we can ask here are as follows: Does the passage speak directly to old covenant structures that God transformed in the new? How has the progress of salvation-history influenced how we hear and apply this text? How does the passage anticipate Jesus’s life and work, the church age, or the consummation? Does the text express time-bound or culturally bound elements that no longer relate to us this side of the cross? Does the NT cite or allude to the particular text in a way that clarifies its lasting value for Christians?

Christ’s work fulfills Exodus 19:4–6 in at least three ways: First, the initial exodus typologically anticipated a greater, second exodus that Jesus himself embodies. In Exodus 19:4, Yahweh highlights his defeat of Egypt and his deliverance of Israel from the bonds of slavery. Christ’s death and resurrection initiates for all believers the antitypical exodus, the ultimate redemption to which Israel’s liberation from Egypt only pointed (Luke 9:31; cf. Jer 23:5–8).

Second, Christ fulfilled the charge of this text as the perfect king-priest. Israel’s fleshly, rebellious hearts were hostile to God, making it impossible for them to submit to God’s law or to please him (Deut 9:5–6; 29:4). But where God’s corporate “son” failed to be the kingdom of priests and the holy nation for which Exodus 19:4–6 called, his individual Son Jesus, as Israel’s royal and priestly representative, succeeded. Christ’s perfect life embodied the ideals of righteousness the law requires (Rom 5:18–19; 8:4). Thus, based on Christ’s fulfilling the law, God now charges and empowers the new covenant community to fulfill Christ’s law (Rom 2:26, 29; 13:8–10; 1 Cor 9:21; Gal 6:2). This includes applying OT laws in view of how Christ fulfills them (Matt 5:17–19).

Third, Christ perfectly represented the nation of Israel as a holy king-priest, succeeding where they failed and by this magnifying God’s holiness to the world (see esp. Isa 49:1–6). And now, for those of us in him, God has made us “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9).

3. The Passage’s Lasting Significance for Today

Consider one chief application that is most central to and flows naturally from the passage. Keeping in mind God’s unchanging nature and his progressive purposes, and reading the passage in the light of Jesus’s new covenant work, what is God calling for in this passage?

With respect to Exodus 19:4–6, perhaps the simplest synthesis of what this passage calls for through Jesus is that the church is to live as a royal priesthood and holy people, proclaiming through our life-witness the worth and majesty of God (1 Pet 2:9). Our unchanging Lord is consistent in what he requires, in what he intends, and in the way he uses promises to motivate obedience. Like the nation of Israel, the church is called to follow the instruction of our chief, new covenant mediator: “Make disciples of all nations, … teaching them to obey all that I have commanded” (Matt 28:20). And as we do, we will display God’s great worth and power.

[1] Douglas Stuart does not include this element, but it is essential for applying the OT faithfully.

[2] Douglas Stuart, Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors, 4th ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009), 25–29.

 

To read the rest of the series here. 



Your Weird Church is “Plan A” and There is No “Plan B”

By / Oct 18

I’m not an old man, but I’ve been in churches for going on 45 years now, and I think this is the weirdest time to be a churchman in my lifetime. I’ve been in plenty of weird churches too. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a church that wasn’t weird in some way. I bet the same is true for you.

If we had our druthers, our churches would be more of something and less of some other things. We’d change the music, the architecture maybe, the sermon run-time, maybe even the deliverer of the sermon. And there’s the weirdoes seated around us. Who on earth thought of bringing these people together? As the old King James Version put it, we are a “peculiar people” (1 Peter 2:9), aren’t we?

Well, it was Jesus who thought of that. And even during His earthly ministry, it sure doesn’t seem like He was assembling some kind of spiritual A-Team, does it?

It’s almost like He prefers losers, cast-offs, and ne’er-do-wells. Like He’s recruiting sinners, in fact. God is prioritizing broken people from broken situations to be His chosen emissaries to a broken world. Which means that as weird and messy as your church may be, you are exactly suited to this weird and messy time. There is no other church than your church to be the church to the people in your community. There is no other people than the church to be an outpost of heaven in your city, in your nation, in this world.

Once upon a time, I planted a church the same year as an older friend of mine. My church was predominantly young. We had a cool name (or at least, we thought it was cool). We had newer music. We had a cool space and did cool things. My friend’s church began with just a handful of old people. They were in a traditional space and did, well, “old people” stuff. I remember visiting in those early days and thinking, “How in the world is this going to work?”

A few years later, my church didn’t exist. I attended an anniversary service of my friend’s church, which had grown to several hundred. I remember my friend remarking, as part of their commemoration of the milestone, this way: “When we started this church, we didn’t have anything to offer but our brokenness. We were broken people gathering together and offering up ourselves to God. And when broken people offer their brokenness up to God, He does miraculous things.”

This is good news. As weird and messy as your church is, there is only a miracle to be gained by offering up your very selves to the Lord who made you and loves you. It’s no guarantee your church will grow numerically, of course. But it is a guarantee that the Spirit’s strength is perfected in weakness.

I think of that staggering exchange in Matthew 16:15-19:

“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”

This is Peter that Jesus is talking to. The Peter who, doubting, sunk into the sea. The Peter who chops off ears. The Peter, by the way, that Jesus knows is going to deny Him three times. And it’s to this Peter that Jesus says, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” There must be something optimal about being sub-optimal in submission to Christ.

And this is why, by the way, I don’t think the most reasonable interpretation of Matthew 16:18 is that the “rock” immediately being referenced is Jesus Himself but rather the Peter who is confessing Jesus. I was always taught in my churches that the rock Jesus is referring to is Himself—and in a very vital way this is true—but that is not the plainest reading of the text. Jesus is saying, “I call you rock. And on this rock I will build my church.”

Now, Roman Catholicism of course base their system of the papacy in part upon this reading of the text and say Jesus is establishing Peter as the first pope. You have to piggy-back a whole lot of assumptions and a whole lot of extrabiblical theology into this verse to make it mean that. But I think evangelicals have often overcompensated trying to avoid that interpretation by saying the rock in question isn’t Peter at all. But if we understand the theology behind what Jesus is doing here, we shouldn’t have a problem with it.

In a way, this is a parallel to what Paul develops further in Ephesians 2:22, that “In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.” So is the church being built upon sinners? Sinners who confess Christ as Lord and their only hope for escaping hell and conquering death? Yes. With Christ as our chief cornerstone, the church is being made up of all kinds of sinners all over the world, Jew, Greek, slave, free—anyone and everyone who is able to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He builds His church up out of the redeemed.

This is simply another way of saying that you and I are part of the body of Christ.

So how can He say this? How can He say that He is building His church on “rocks” like Peter—and like you and me? Because anyone who confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead is an unconquerable, unstoppable person.

Brothers and sisters, we are a part of a kingdom that will demolish all pretenders and will fulfill in furious fashion the promise of redemption already sealed for us through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Not because we are strong, but because He is. Not because we’ve got it all figured out, but because He is “sustaining all things by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3b).

Isn’t that weird? You don’t have to be cool, big, strong, technologically savvy, politically fashionable, or culturally relevant. You just have to repent of your sin and commit your weird, broken church to its King. It’s the sinners He wants. It’s the losers He’s choosing. Your weird, messy church—in a pandemic or out of it—is God’s Plan A for your world. And there is no Plan B.



Designed for Community

By / Oct 14

Several Sundays ago our church celebrated parent/child dedication. It is a ceremony where as parents you commit to raise your child in the ways of the Lord and in His truth. But there is another part- the community aspect. This is where the church body is charged with coming alongside and helping to support that parental endeavor. The community of believers makes a commitment to support the family as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to point their child towards God and to walk in righteousness. Often our focus is on the family and the child being dedicated- as it should be- but as a church we cannot lose sight of our responsibility as a member of the body of Christ to one another.

I jokingly say the Christian life is not an island. Think about what an island is by definition. It is defined as an isolated piece of habitat surrounded entirely by water. The key word being isolated. Islands are isolated, cut off from being connected to something else. The Christian community is the exact opposite of that. There is not only connection with people within your direct vicinity but there is connection with people half a world away. Once you are a believer you become part of a larger family and you have brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. We see this language used through the New Testament. (Romans 12:10, Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 2:19, 1 Timothy 5:1-2) For times of celebration, for life changes, the ups and downs, and the ugly of life. Christian community weeps with those who weep and rejoices with those who rejoice. (Romans 12:15)

From the beginning of time, God intended community to be a part of human existence.

  • God is community. We see that in the Trinity- Father, Son, and Spirit and we are created in His image. (Genesis 1:26-27)
  • In the context of Genesis, He created a wife for Adam so they could be in relationship with one another and in fellowship with God. (Genesis 2:18)
  • Paul ‘s letters often refer to “you” in giving admonitions but the majority of the “‘you” in Paul’s letters are referring to “you all” (or y’all as we say in the South). It is a community admonition and a community endeavor to walk the Christian life.
  • Romans 8 powerfully describes the groaning that takes place as we wait for eternity (Romans 8:22). The word Paul uses implies a community groaning. Even in our hope, in our wait on the Lord, we wait together, we groan together for the day of redemption.

Our design for community means we are wired to need others, to be in relationship, and most importantly to be in relationship with God. As the creator of human life, He designed us for human connection and relationships.

So what are some ways you can fill that need for community? There are three things that I have learned and tried to implement when finding community.

  1. Get involved! I can’t stress this enough. Make the choice to be intentional about your involvement in Christian community. I know from experience it is hard looking for a new church home or joining a new community but it is vital to your relationship with Jesus to make this a priority. Join a Bible study, start a discipleship group, and attend events at your church. These are fertile ground for friendships to grow and authentic community to happen. Sunday mornings are wonderful times of worship and fellowship but it is hard to make connections with others while listening to a sermon!
  2. Pray about it! It seems obvious that prayer would be a part of it but pray for Godly friends. Pray for people who are in your season of life that can understand where you are right now. Pray for a mentor who has been there and done that who can speak truth into those hard moments because he or she has walked a mile in your shoes. Pray for someone to disciple. You have a lot to offer and your gifts can be used by God to plant seeds of truth in someone else’s life.
  3. Understand theology matters- The theology of your community matters. The community of believers you become a part of needs to be grounded and pointing towards the One True God and recognize the Bible as the inspired Word of God. The wisdom behind their decisions and their guidance to you matters. Does it come from God (James 3:17)? Is their goal and pursuit to honor Him and to walk with you along the way in your journey to honor Him? Those are the people you want in your community.

Community is defined as a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. Christian community goes beyond that definition to entail worship, service, iron sharpening iron, and a true focus on honoring God.



A Prayer for the Pastor’s Wife

By / Oct 11

I am devoting much of my prayer time these days to wives of pastors. Those I’ve met very recently as well as those I’ve known for many years. Those who with their husbands have very large and/or very successful ministries as well as those whose ministries are struggling. Those who are happy and satisfied in their role as well as those who are feeling defeated, disillusioned and unqualified. And all of those somewhere in between. The pastor’s wife is such a challenging and such an important role to fill, and I’m praying with all of my heart for refreshment and joy and fulfillment within this role.

A Prayer for Pastors’ Wives

. . . I pray for authentic, loving, non-judgmental, supportive friendships

. . . I pray for grace beyond understanding when she must share her husband with those who are unkind to him

. . . I pray for freedom from guilt when she is unable to do ALL that is expected of her from dozens and dozens (or maybe even hundreds or thousands) of people

. . . I pray for happy surprises and unexpected blessings on a regular basis

. . . I pray for strength when her husband walks away again to care for someone other than her

. . . I pray for understanding when her husband speaks gently and patiently to those he counsels but becomes frustrated with her for needing similar counsel

. . . I pray for creativity and energy in loving her husband well in order to minimize his stress and make him happy

. . . I pray for tender moments with her Savior that remind her that her ministry is for His sake

. . . I pray that she will represent Christ well even when she just doesn’t feel like it

. . . I pray against doubt when her ministry is difficult and Satan tries to convince her this means she is making a mistake (as though God never calls his people into difficult situations)

. . . I pray for supernatural amounts of energy at times when she needs it most but has nothing within her human strength to draw from

. . . I pray for a husband who understands that he shouldn’t sacrifice his family on the altar of ministry

. . . I pray for Scripture to come alive inside her heart during moments of temptation

. . . I pray against bitterness and resentment

. . . I pray against laziness and selfishness

. . . I pray that the sanctification she recognizes in her own heart will bring incredible encouragement

. . . I pray for rest

. . . I pray for a faith that is far greater than her limited human imagination

. . . I pray for forgiveness–that she will ask for it willingly, give it freely, and receive it graciously

. . . I pray that she will get to witness miracles and recognize them as such

. . . I pray that she will always believe herself beautiful no matter what her physical condition because she is created in the image of God

. . . I pray for a common primary vision with her husband so that they are consistently working toward the same goal

. . . I pray against gossip, whether it be from her lips or against her or her husband

. . . I pray that her husband will treasure Christ and only Christ more greatly than her so that he can treasure her well

. . . I pray for relationships that sharpen and support simultaneously

. . . I pray for fun

. . . I pray for biblically grounded mentors and Christ-centered, wise counsel

. . . I pray for quality time with her husband and children when quantity isn’t possible

. . . I pray that every day will bring a deeper understanding of God’s unfathomable, unconditional, unchanging love for her, and that she will not just know about it but truly believe it

. . . I pray that the approval she has in Christ will be enough when her work tends to go unnoticed or unappreciated by those around her

. . . I pray for abundant happy days, but I pray for all-surpassing joy even on the not so happy days

. . . I pray that she will be respected but not elevated

. . . I pray that she will be proud of her husband but not idolize him

. . . I pray that Hebrews 1:3-4 will overflow her heart with hope

. . . I pray for freedom in Christ

. . . I pray against guilty feelings when she does get to relax from time to time

. . . I pray that her memory will trap moments of love and laughter like a vice grip and release moments of worry and distress like water through a sieve

. . . I pray that the ultimate cry of her heart will always be to honor Christ and that she will remain on the path to a long obedience in that direction even though she will fail and take a few steps backward at times

. . . I pray for rich community and fellowship among solid believers firmly rooted in Christ

. . . I pray that the words Abba Father will mean more to her heart than to her head

. . . I pray that she will always know that Jesus Christ is under her as her foundation, in front of her as her shepherd, and within her as her righteousness

. . . I pray that she will be eternally fascinated and astonished by the Gospel and that it will transform every aspect of her life.



How to Encourage Your Pastor

By / Oct 6

Pastoring a church is not an easy job.

Here are 10 ways you can encourage your pastor (or pastors).

1. Thank him (or them).

It’s not easy to preach every week. It’s not easy to carry the burden of ministry every day. A pastor rarely hears “thank you.” A good pastor isn’t in the ministry for a thank you from the congregation. They are not after man’s approval but work for God’s approval (Galatians 1:10). They shepherd as one who will give account to God (Hebrews 13:17). But a thank you can go a long way. Pastors, like nearly everyone, are severely under-encouraged. My guess is you appreciate the work he does. Tell him so.

One practical way to do this: write him a letter. Emails usually include a criticism. Hand-written letters nearly always include encouragement. It shows you thought more than the 30 seconds it takes to send an email. Letters also have a way of sticking around for a while. Emails get buried quickly. Letters are sweet reminders on the desktop after a long, hard day of ministry.

2. Be specific in your thanks.

A general “thank you” is more than what many pastors hear week after week, but a specific thank you is life-giving. Find one phrase or thought or action and thank him. Specificity implies gratefulness. If a phrase from his sermon last week stuck with you, let him know. Lots of pastors hear very little specific feedback on their sermon. Imagine spending hours each week to prepare something and never know how it lands on the people you’re speaking to.

One practical way to do this: immediately after the service, walk up with a smile and repeat to him one phrase from the sermon that you found life-giving. Every pastor wants to help people see God. Tell him specifically how God used him that day.

3. Submit to their leadership.

If God has placed you in a church he requires for you to submit to her leaders (Hebrew 13:17). Most of the time, that’s an easy call. If you stick around long enough and invest deep enough, something will arise that requires submission. Do it joyfully, understanding that God is leading this church. If the gospel isn’t being thrown out and sin isn’t being glorified, submit.

One practical way to do this: when he says something that you aren’t fully on board with initially, pray in the moment for a spirit of submission. Unless it is a gospel issue, sinful, or illegal, submit to the leadership. I guarantee your pastor has thought more and prayed harder about the vision they are presenting than your 30 seconds of evaluation.

4. Make their job easy. 

That is not to say don’t have problems, but don’t create problems. Be a life giver and not a life sucker. It’s no surprise to anyone who’s lived with other humans that we tend to make life harder to live. Pastors often see the worst parts. They are called when the crisis has reached breaking-point. They sit with grieving parents and children during deaths of loved ones. They have difficult conversations for the glory of God and the good of the church. Do all you can to make their job easy. Make it so your pastor is happy to see you.

One practical way to do this: when you send an email with a question or a desire to get together, be specific. It’s really difficult to receive an email from someone in the congregation requesting to “talk about something,” or “run something by you,” or “some feedback on your sermon.” Include specifics as to exactly what you want to talk about, even if it is negative. Like anyone else, pastors appreciate the time to prepare for a conversation. Make their job easier, not harder.

5. Honor him (or them).

Pay them well, if you are in a position to make such a call. Speak well of them to outsiders and insiders. Tell them how you see God at work in their life. Use your words to build up, not tear down.

One practical way to do this: speak well of him in public and private. Your pastor may annoy you. He might not be the best preacher. He may have a quirk or two. Don’t talk to others about that–those are personal preferences. If he’s preaching the gospel and walking in the light, don’t beat him up for being who God made him. Instead, speak well of him at all times, just as you hope others would do for you.

6. Squash gossip.

Leaders take a lot of heat. Let only their actual words and actions be discussed, not feelings about such words or actions, especially if you disagree. Be slow to speak. Remember, don’t cause problems. Don’t let your prayer requests for others be a shrouded attempt to spread the news that isn’t yours to spread. Don’t be the wind on the flame of gossip. Be the water.

One practical way to do this: when someone shares something you know is gossip, end the conversation immediately. You may be able to do this subtly. You may have to confront publically. Be wise in how you do it, but do not let a gossip speak long. Nothing can ruin a church as quickly as a bit of juicy information. The tongue is like fire (James 3:5-6).

7. Come to church.

Pastors love the people of their church and not members who don’t attend is troublesome. It causes much worry. Come and be present. When you are absent, you pastor(s) notice. They have committed to God to care for your soul. When you aren’t there, and they don’t know why, they wonder how you are. Be tied into the church. Pretend like it’s a family because it is.

One practical way to do this: decide right now you’ll go to church every week. Don’t allow any room for excuses. Even if you’re sick, come and sit in the back. Let people know you’re not feeling well so you won’t shake their hand and spread the illness. I make it a rule that unless I’m too sick to get out of bed I’m at church. It’s not only encouraging to the pastor, it’s good for your soul (Hebrews 10:25).

8. Engage in the life of the church in the way God has gifted you.

Don’t wait for him to ask for your help. Offer it, and be satisfied with the answer of yes or no to follow. What do you have that you didn’t receive? Worship God through the use of your gifts. Even if you don’t love the job, do it joyfully. Most likely, you won’t do it forever. If you can help, help!

One practical way to do this: learn your gifting. There are all kinds of spiritual gift tests you can take. Some of those are fine. But you know what you can and can’t do. If you don’t, others around you can see your strengths and weaknesses. Ask them. The point is, be ready to serve where and when you can. Open yourself up. Take a risk. Be dependable. After all, you’re not serving your pastor. You’re serving the Lord. You can never serve God too much.

9. Trust him (or them).

He’s leading you the best he can as he follows Jesus. Trust his instincts. Give the benefit of the doubt.

One practical way to do this: tell him you trust his leadership and are thankful for him. Be explicit in this, especially if you have a disagreeable personality. It’s hard enough to preach each week. It’s even harder when you wonder if certain people out there trust what you’re saying. Following the Lord is a crazy journey. He asks us to do risky things from time to time. Trust that your pastor is following Jesus closely enough that you can trust him. Trust him until he proves he’s untrustworthy.

10. Pray for him (or them).

Nothing means more than this. Every day is a spiritual battle. Satan hates what pastors do. He wishes for nothing more than a great fall into sin. Every moment, the battle is waged. How often do you include your pastors into your prayers? What if, instead of complaining that the sermon was too long, or that he forgot your birthday, you instead bowed your head in thanksgiving?

One practical way to do this: every Sunday morning on the way to church, pray for your pastor. He’s about to preach. That’s a hard job! He’s about to lead the church in beholding the glory of Christ. He needs your prayers. Oh, and when you get there, tell him you prayed for him on the way. Let him know he’s not the only one trusting God to provide today.

Editor’s Note: This originally published at Things of the Sort.



Pastors Are Special

By / Oct 4

4 Reasons Pastoral Work is Different (and What You and I Should Do About It)

I’ve been a pastor and I’ve not been a pastor, and I have to tell you, pastors are special. There is nothing quite like pastoral work, and I’ve discovered it is sometimes difficult to communicate that effectively to congregations. If you’ve never been a pastor, you may even suspect all the anxious, recent talk about pastoral stress and burnout and the like is overblown. We’ve all heard the jokes about how pastors only work one day a week.

There are also plenty of us who have served under or otherwise been led by manipulative, lazy, or even abusive pastors, giving us even more cause to raise an eyebrow about any posture toward ministers other than “keeping them honest.” There are certainly too many unqualified men in the pastoral ranks. But I’m convinced the vast majority of pastors are good and faithful men doing their imperfect best to serve the Lord and feed their flocks. And I’m equally convinced that too few church members often think about the burdens and responsibilities that really do make ministry special.

Too few pastors feel secure or free enough to speak this way in public. They fear being judged or dismissed. From my time “on the other side,” I can say that I — and almost every ministerial comrade I opened up to — felt constantly misunderstood and constantly restrained from confessing it.

Now that I’m not a pastor, I have taken seriously one of my ministerial goals in serving pastors and advocating for pastors. To that end, if you’re one of those who thinks pastors whine too much and work too little, I want to share with you some reasons you may not have considered that pastoral work really is different.

1. The qualifications are greater.

Every Christian is called to pursue holiness with the same vigor. No one is exempted from cooperating with the Spirit’s work in sanctification. But 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, and 1 Peter 5 all set the bar for pastors higher. They must not only be gifted to teach but be of exceptional and reputable character. This is not so for “regular” church members. The Lord himself has set the bar higher for elders.

2. The accountability is heightened.

As it should be. We should, in the biblical sense, expect more from our shepherds than the sheep. James 3:1 tells us that teachers will be judged with greater strictness. 1 Peter 4:17 says judgment begins at the house of God, and if it begins there, it certainly begins with the leaders of that house. So we know that the Lord himself holds his undershepherds to greater accountability. Pastors are to “be examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3).

But “we the people” hold our pastors to greater accountability than we often do ourselves, don’t we? In some respects, this is a good thing, as the qualifications for ministry are greater than the qualifications for membership. Yet when a member is in sin that must be disciplined, and the impact to the church is great, the impact is far greater if that member happens to be a pastor. Not to mention, not many members are at serious risk of losing their means of providing for their families due to their sin. But pastors are.

Still further, I can think of almost no situation where a church member would lose his job over another member’s disappointment with them or disagreement with them — unless that other member happened to be their employer, I suppose — but many pastors are at constant risk of this, constantly feeling the tug between convictional leadership and congregational approval. Every pastor knows at least one pastor who has been fired or convinced to resign for unbiblical reasons — if he hasn’t been subject to that situation himself. Because, in a church environment, where even minor disagreements or frustrations have the potential for becoming spiritualized, the pastor’s job is never “just a job.”

3. Pastoral work takes an enormous emotional toll.

This is the part I think most church members don’t quite get. Until you’ve experienced it, you can’t quite understand it. If you trust your pastor(s), you believe them when (if!) they talk about it, but until you’ve been in the role, you really can’t understand the emotional toll taken on good pastors. Closely analogous roles would be those who do emergency work, police officers, or even some social workers, where one constantly feels “on,” there are frequent crises that keep the worker’s adrenaline going long after the crisis is over, and there are experiences and challenges that become difficult to discuss with others who do not share the same work.

Some studies have shown that the occupations at highest risk of burnout include what are called “helping professions,” of which pastoral ministry is one. The numbers change depending on which study you’re looking at, but the burnout and dropout rates for pastors aren’t encouraging.

In 2 Corinthians 11, after Paul has listed a series of hardships severely affecting his body and soul — including shipwrecks, imprisonments, attempts on his life — he includes “the anxiety he feels for all the churches” (v.28). Just this admission from Paul helped me enormously in ministry as I wondered from time to time, a) am I a weak weirdo to feel this way?, and b) does anyone care? Paul citing the anxiety he feels from his church work is just one indicator that there is a “good” kind of anxiety shepherds feel for their flocks. It is the rare (and valuable) church member who constantly carries the weight of his or her whole church in their heart, but most pastors do this all the time. They aren’t simply thinking about the joys and sorrows in their own lives and families — they are constantly thinking about the joys and sorrows in yours. That’s different.

4. You can’t turn it off.

Though I’m still in vocational ministry, I can tell you that the difference between the end of my work day now and the end of my work day when I was a pastor is significant. While I still carry too many of tomorrow’s sorrows into today, and while there are always projects and endeavors occupying my mind outside of official “office hours,” for the most part I am able to “turn off” my job when it’s time to stop working. When I was a pastor I could not do that. Here’s what it typically looked like:

– You are “on call” 24/7 for emergencies (and situations people considered emergencies, even if they really weren’t).

– I lost lots of sleep over hurts people carried, sins people were committing, resentments people were harboring, and circumstances that seemed too spiritually daunting.

– When going on vacation, it typically took me a few days just to start relaxing. In my first few years, this would be immediately undone if I made the bonehead move of checking email or voicemail.

– It was hard to be present with my wife and kids because of frequent, intense relational work necessary during ministry engagements. They needed my best when I was at my most fatigued relationally.

– People’s spiritual needs do not tend to stay confined within a neat 40-hour work week.

Again, none of this is grounds for pastoral self-pity. And of course there are other professions where these sorts of dynamics are also in play. Overbounding stress is prevalent in way too many of us. But there’s a reason most pastors won’t talk about it. Partly because they mean to just “suck it up.” Partly because they don’t want to appear weak. And partly because they know some church members will think they’re complaining about nothing. There are very few things worse than a wimpy preacher, am I right?

But the truth is that good pastors are not able to take the pastor hat off at the end of the day or leave their heart for their flocks in the office when they clock out. It’s just not something you can turn off.

For all these reasons and more, it is fine and proper for us “regular” church members to acknowledge that our pastors are special. They aren’t better Christians because of their ministry. They aren’t more justified. They don’t have a special connection to God that we don’t have. And yet their office is unique and brings with it unique challenges and burdens that most of us do not share.

So how could we share these burdens with them to a greater extent? Here are 3 big tips, from one sheep to another:

1. Pray for your pastors.

They need it. And praying for them helps shape your heart in gracious ways toward them. When I’m praying for my pastors, I am loving them. And it is hard to have a loving disposition toward someone and scrutinize or otherwise be suspicious of them at the same time. (This is why Paul lists those things as evidence of a lack of love in 1 Corinthians 13.)

2. Take seriously not just the biblical admonitions to pastoral accountability but also to pastoral honor (1 Tim. 5:17).

This can look like anything from staying vigilant about making sure pastoral pay is commensurate with experience and tenure but also in line with cost of living considerations. It can also look like installing a sabbatical schedule for full-time pastors or just ensuring adequate vacation time and weekly days off are enjoyed by pastors and respected by the church.

3. Be a low-maintenance church member.

As a church member, I want to take Hebrews 13:17 seriously: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” This means living my life in such a way that it is as much a joy and as little a challenge to be my pastor as possible.



The Local Church Is Your Spiritual Gifts Test

By / Sep 29

It is a good and noble pursuit to ask how God has gifted us to serve his church. We find a call for such assessment in Romans 12. Paul writes that believers are to “think with sober judgment” (v. 3) as they consider how to use their gifts in the body of Christ. However, the question remains how exactly we should assess spiritual gifting. How do we bring sober discernment to our modern membership classes and discipleship programs? Far too often, our answer is to hand out a survey or a spiritual gifts test and tally up the results. If you have ever taken one of these tests, you know the kinds of questions asked. “When you walk into a room, do you feel more compelled to pray with someone, stack chairs, write a check, or tell everyone else what they should do?” The test’s results might suggest that you have either the gift of encouragement, service, giving, or leadership based on how you answer. I certainly do not intend to mock these tests. I’ve taken them in the past, and they have been somewhat helpful in matching gifts with specific needs in the church.

However, the longer I’ve been in ministry, the more I’ve found how ineffective these tests are in actually discerning what a person’s spiritual gifts may be. In some ways, these tests have caused more harm than good. In this post, I want to question our use of spiritual gifts tests and suggest that we retire them altogether. However, whether you use them or not in the future, my primary goal is to highlight the place of the local church in assessing spiritual gifts accurately.

Three Reasons Spiritual Gifts Tests Do Not Work

First, the reality is that we are not sober-minded enough to spiritually assess ourselves. A person may think of themselves as a giving person. And yet, what they call “giving” may be a veiled cop-out from doing the more difficult labors in the church—such as greeting others, hosting a small group, mentoring youth, or teaching in the children’s ministry. The gift of giving requires more than a few PayPal transactions made on the first of the month. Instead, it is the evident commitment to give not just one’s money but his or her very life (time, energy, etc.) that proves the presence of the “giving” gift. I’m sure if we’d given them a spiritual gift exam, Ananias and Sapphira might have shown they had the spiritual gift of giving (Acts 5:1). Yet, the testing of their hearts revealed a very different reality. What at an initial glance might seem to be “sacrificial giving” was actually a blasphemous and prideful attempt to become self-important. It’s worth remembering that even our best actions may not be all that they seem. Therefore, we should never trust ourselves to assess ourselves.

Second, traditional spiritual gifts tests might foster complacency and, sometimes, pride. If I tested “positive” for one set of gifts, it might lead me to overlook or avoid other giftings. The idea begins to creep in that our hands are tied. “I’d help with A, B, and C, but unfortunately, God has gifted me for X, Y, and Z.” This is why Jim does not serve in the kindergarten class. Having taking a test, he seeks out more important roles because God has gifted him with the spiritual gifts of leadership and wisdom. Similarly, everyone knows that we shouldn’t ask Angelica to go on the mission trip. She’ll tell you directly that she’s not gifted with evangelism. If we’re honest, many of the traditional spiritual gifts tests reveal more about what we want to do rather than what we are gifted to do. However, true spiritual gifting sometimes means seeking out things we would not naturally want to do.

Finally, traditional spiritual gifts assessments have sometimes inadvertently provided believers justification for sin. Spiritual gifts tests tend to focus more on labeling a person’s actions rather than assessing their spiritual health. What I do and why I am doing it are both critical. For example, suppose in filling out a typical spiritual gifts inventory, I answer that I enjoy organizing things, leading events, or managing people. In that case, the test is sure to suggest that I might have the spiritual gift of leadership. However, it does not help me discern whether my desire to lead is healthy or truly deriving from the Spirit’s leadership. Maybe, I want to lead because I struggle with domineering over people. Why I want to lead is just as important as my propensity to lead.

However, a spiritual gifts test typically does not provide such nuances. It only affirms or suggests whether I “have” the leadership gift. The result is that I now have a verbal defense to explain why I might tend to boss other people around. “My spiritual gifts test said I have the gift of leadership.” Ultimately, a propensity to dominate over others is easily shrouded in the rhetoric of leadership gifting. This lack of motivational discernment happens in the other gifts as well. How many times have suspicion and gossip been cloaked as “discernment”? Mercy can become an excuse to avoid biblical conflict. Exhortation may become a rationale for angry tirades and accusations, and the gift of knowledge may be offered as a “justification” for a person speaking as an arrogant know-it-all.

While I readily admit that none of us employ our spiritual gifts perfectly, I think we are too quick in justifying specific sins as a misadministration of spiritual gifting. Sin is deceptive and always looks for a disguise, even if it must wear the guise of a spiritual gift. However, sin is still sin and should not be mislabeled as the inevitable downside to a few specific Spirit-borne gifts. Suspicion may cloak itself as discernment, but pull back the hood, and you’ll only find the ugly face of divisiveness. A propensity to domineer may wear the mask of leadership. Still, when the mask falls off, we do not find a true Spirit-led leader but a sinful autocrat. When it comes to true spiritual gifts (i.e., Spirit-given gifts), the Holy Spirit superintends and governs the gift. Any sin we bring to the table comes from the residual sin in our hearts, not from God’s gifts. Spiritual gifts assessments have at times been used to justify “quirkiness” that comes from various gifts instead of commending sanctification and repentance.

A Better Assessment

What if I were to tell you that there is a tried and proven spiritual gifts assessment, and it is not found on any written survey or exam? For generations, the only effective means of assessing one’s spiritual gifts has been the local church. If you want to know your gifts, then commit to serving alongside other Spirit-led Christians on a consistent basis. Proximity and exposure to ministry inevitably reveal how the Lord has uniquely equipped you to serve his people. It’s in the trenches of missional life that one’s spiritual gifts are accurately tested. An accurate assessment comes with extended time spent in the ministry, as well as a substantial number of difficulties and challenges that demonstrate the existence of a specific gift. For example, it is impossible to tell who has the gift of mercy until a person has demonstrated a consistent concern to show mercy even when helping people means sacrificing convenience. “Testing” requires challenges, and to be challenged you first have to get involved. In facing the challenges of day-to-day church life, we begin to see who we are and how God has gifted us.

In addition to engaging in ministry, we must also open ourselves up to the loving and honest evaluation of others. God’s gifts can and should be affirmed by those around us. It is by undergoing the risk of honest assessment from those who love us that we can accurately determine how God has equipped us for specific spiritual work. Is my aptitude to teach a genuine gift or is it a cloaked means to build a platform? Do I truly have the gift of giving, or am I using it as a smokescreen to fund my laziness? Has God truly gifted me with exhortation, or am I just using that term “gift” as a license to berate others? The only way of knowing is by committing ourselves to the risky and, oftentimes, painful business of gospel-centered community. When we allow ourselves to be surrounded by people who are not all that impressed by what we do or easily duped by our façade, we can finally differentiate the dross of sin from the true spiritual gift. That said, the local church is your spiritual gifts test. It is only by being members of the body that we find out what specific function—whether it be an eye, a hand, or a foot—we play in the body (1 Corinthians 12:12-10).

Take all the paper exams you want; but until you finally commit yourself to a body of believers, you will never know how God has gifted you to serve them.



Zion’s Cultural Heritage

By / Sep 28

During my college years I traveled extensively, as a result I experienced a variety of cultures. The hospitality of Egypt, with cups full of Maghrebi, mint tea heavily laden with sugar; or the extended Italian meals that feature aperitivo, first and second Piatti, followed by a strong digestivo. I danced with Malawians at the celebration of a wedding, listening to the steady rhythm of a musical heritage built on drumbeat. I was captivated by history and fables woven seamlessly together in the dim lighting of an Irish pub. I have celebrated my own inherited culture over meals of the strange fish and potato heavy food of Norway, and listened to my grandmother reciting nursery rhymes in German. Though varied, these cultures are all cultivated by the same basic elements: food, music, and story.

In these cross-cultural experiences I also had the delight of worshiping alongside brothers and sisters in Christ. It was there I saw the thread of a common culture that superseded any national boundaries. I listened to Arabic hymns, shared the Lord’s supper alongside my Malawian brothers and sisters, and heard the word of God preached in Italian. I found more in common with brothers and sisters across the world than with those who do not know Christ within my own neighborhood.

Why is this? How could I stand in a church in Cairo, without a word spoken in English, and feel just as at home as when I stand in my church in North Carolina? How could I listen to hymns sung in a tongue I did not comprehend and yet understand the tone of worship beneath them? It is because we in the church have a shared cultural identity. We too have all three elements of culture: food, music, and story. Our food is the blood and body of Christ. Our music is the psalms, as well as hymns, new and old. Our story is the unfolding plan of redemptive history, culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ, our Savior. We are truly a city set on a hill (Matthew 5:14). We are a new people. We are a new nation with its own unique culture. We are Zion. This new national heritage supersedes the disparate backgrounds of its multicultural members. In Christ we are truly citizens of a different kingdom. This new culture in Christ ties us to centuries of Christians before us and is indifferent to borders or ethnicities, and it will exist into eternity. We ought to treasure it above all else, and joyfully cultivate it and pass it on with more zeal than our genetic heritage.

Does this mean that our past cultures disappear? Is my individual cultural heritage absorbed and eradicated as I put on the new cultural identity of the church? Certainly not. But it ought to be rightly ordered, well beneath my new citizenship in Zion. This is the beautiful truth that Peter helps us understand:


    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

Often when we think of the church’s culture, we think of our more recent history in the west. Western civilization owes much to the extension of the church’s cultural heritage; our hospitals, schools, concern for the disenfranchised, and ethical foundation exist because of the church’s obedience to Christ and resulting influence. Yet, while the western world has produced a powerful expression of church culture, the essential components have existed long before. Our church culture predates western civilization. We hail back to ancestry from the beginning of time. We are Adam’s descendants, the man who walked with God. We tell the story of his fall, and the subsequent epic of God’s rescue. We are the offspring of Eve, the mother of all living, and like our mother we know enmity with the wicked one. We have Abraham as our father, and are his heirs by faith (Romans 4:16). We are of the line of the noble and courageous midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who feared God and so defied Pharaoh, refusing to murder babies at their birth. We sing Moses’ song, and Mary’s Magnificat. We pray King David’s prayers through the Psalms as we too toil and struggle in our walk with God. We call the martyr Stephen our brother–marveling at his steadfastness and love for his enemies as they stoned him to death. We sympathize with Peter’s rashness and failures, yet aim to follow his lead in repentance and fearlessly following Christ. We share kinship with Titus’ mother and grandmother, women, who through their faith and mothering care, helped prepare him for the pastorate.

Perpetua is our sister and we seek to emulate her courage in facing the Roman arena where she was torn apart by wild beasts for her refusal to denounce Christ. We stand in the tradition of Augustine, intellectually brightening our faith and countering the claims of culture; and Marguerite de Navarre who leveraged her position to protect persecuted Christians and paved the way for religious liberty in France. Ours is a legacy that follows the Englishman, Hudson Taylor, in his faithful founding of the China Inland Mission; and Pandita Ramabai, our sister in Christ who sought to share the gospel in her home country, India, and abolish the dehumanizing caste system. We recite creeds and confessions written by brothers long dead (but now alive again with Christ). We sing songs written centuries before us, and we add to our musical legacy with hymns and songs of our own. Our cultural food is the Bread of Life himself, the meal we share in remembrance of him.

We, as God’s people, have a fully developed, time-honored culture that exists in our food, music and story. And we are known by this cultural identity. As we cultivate and impart this culture to the next generation it ought to do what every living and thriving culture does: spread and extend into all facets of life.

Our culture ought to invoke work that is centered in humble service, that has its eyes set on the kingdom to come. It ought to expose a love that is rooted in the One who loved us first, compelling a deep love for one another that extends beyond ethnic or familial bonds, recognizing the brothers and sisters of the faith as our eternal family. It ought to lead to a death that is resolved in its submission to the authority of God, following a life lived in service to others, and at peace with any circumstance, including profound suffering or persecution. As Christ said, we will be known for our love for one another (John 13:35). Our heritage, our loyalty, our love must be for Christ’s church before all else.

This is our culture. It is the culture of every individual who makes up the community of the church, whether Cree or Malawian, Palestinian or Norwegian, Chinese or Mexican, British or Russian, Indonesian or Brazilian. The church’s ability to retain her distinctive culture, otherworldly in its single-minded kingdom aims, and united across national and ethnic lines in its devotion to the King of kings, will breathe life into the world around us simply by doing what the church is called to do: obeying and worshiping our God. As we sing songs new and old, continually tell the story of our redemption, and regularly remember Christ in the bread and cup, we will flourish and grow. We will be a city set on a hill, a light that cannot be extinguished.