6 Characteristics of a Successful Pastorate

James Petigru Boyce (1827–1888) is a name all Southern Baptists should be familiar with. Not only was he elected president of the SBC nine (yes, nine) times, he also almost single-handedly (in some regards) founded and helped keep the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary afloat during its early years.

Dr. Tom Nettles, in his biography of Boyce (James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman, pp. 360–361), lays out Boyce’s six characteristics of a successful pastorate. This is the subject of today’s blog.

The two chief duties of every pastor are the “preparation and delivery of sermons” and “the development and execution of a strategy by which the people might grow in holiness and in serious work for the cause of Christ.” These two chief duties should manifest themselves in six characteristics:

1. Soul winning. The offer of the gospel must be made clear by the pastor. Obviously, Boyce would be the first to say that “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (Jonah 2:9). But he would also be emphatic upon the means of calling sinners to repentance. The pastor should be a leader and model in this regard.

2. Instructing the flock in the “doctrine and duties of God’s word.” Boyce saw the importance of theological education. But learning theology isn’t just for pastors. Pastors need to be able to communicate sound theology to the church. Pastors must be able to teach sound doctrine and all that accords with it (Titus 2:1–10).

3. “Under God, [pastors are] responsible for the increase of holiness, Christlikeness, in the congregation.” Boyce said this aspect of ministry is “one of the most important tests” of a successful ministry. So what if our people know “sound doctrine” but don’t live holy lives?

4. Equipping saints for the work of ministry. “A successful pastor will aid each member in finding what work of the kingdom he is fit to do and exhort him to do it ‘faithfully and efficiently.'” Not all people are called to be pastors. But all Christians are part of the body of Christ. Their work for the kingdom may or may not be seemingly as glorious as other work. But the point remains: We are all called to work for the glory of God. A pastor must help the people of Christ find their work and then help them do it with joy.

5. Help church members give according to their means. Admittedly, this one probably arises from Boyce’s many years of endless fundraising for the Seminary. However, it is still a good point. Boyce wanted believers to understand “the great blessedness to be experienced in giving.” Boyce himself was a wealthy man who understood money. He was also very generous. “Boyce knew well that for work to be supported, pastors needed to encourage the giving and should instruct in biblical truth concerning issues of stewardship and the reality of storing up treasures in heaven.”

6. “Develop the power of prayer among his members.” “[Pastors] will instruct them in the duty and joy of private as well as family prayer while encouraging them to unite in the prayer meetings of the church.” Boyce, a staunch believer in God’s meticulous providence, was also a firm believer in the truth of God working through His people’s prayers. A pastor should exhort his people in this wonderful means of grace.

Is the above list perfect? I don’t necessarily think so. But I do think it’s helpful to consider Boyce’s perspective as a proven man of faith and legend in our own denomination. You may not fully agree with everything above, and perhaps there are elements you’d like to add. But let us take a moment and reflect on what this voice from the past has to say to us and let it motivate us to discharge our duties as pastors with more joy, faithfulness, and urgency.

To God be the glory.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on the author’s blog. It was republished at For the Church on October 10, 2018.



5 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor

Editor’s Note: To celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month this October, enter your pastor to win a $10,000 Pastor Appreciation Package dedicated to a need in your church and a vacation for him and his family. Everyone who enters will receive an exclusive eBook from Charles Spurgeon for FREE. You can also submit a note of encouragement about your pastor and we’ll share it with him directly! Learn more about how you can celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month here.


Very few people understand the weight of shepherding God’s people within the local church. It is a high calling of the Lord. To be sure, it is so difficult that, at times, the only thing that sustains a pastor is his calling from God. Even still, we live in a day in which faithful and true shepherds experience a high rate of burnout, depression, or leave the ministry altogether. We live in a fallen world where sin knows no boundaries, sheep within the church bite, wolves have crept into local churches, and life is just hard. All of these factors make the work of pastoring God’s flock an immensely difficult task.

As a pastor, I’m personally thankful for encouragers in the local church. These individuals are often the wind within my sails, much like Onesiphorus for the Apostle Paul (2 Tim. 1:16). So, with that in mind, here are five practical ways in which you can be an encouragement to your pastor. Know this: Whether he tells you or not, your pastor needs your encouragement!

1. Pray for Him

The work of pastoring is not only mentally, emotionally, and physically taxing, it is also spiritual work. Often the pastor is on the front lines of waging against spiritual warfare. He can often see how the Lord is working within the church and how the enemy is attempting to trip up, grab a foothold, or lure away disciples. We battle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12). On top of this, most pastors know they are not able enough or skilled enough to lead the church in their own power. The pastor needs the help of the Lord, but also the help of other godly men and women to help him as he leads. If he is serving in a church where he is the only pastor or elder, he likely feels alone and solely responsible for shepherding the church. If he is blessed to serve alongside other pastors, the weight is certainly dissipated but still felt.

The Apostle Paul also experienced the weight of pastoring (2 Cor. 11:28). It’s a heavy load, and we haven’t even begun to mention other important aspects of the pastor’s life and calling: his own personal holiness and walk with Christ, his family, and his personal struggles. One of the greatest gifts you can give to your pastor is a commitment to pray for him. Let me encourage you to go one step further. Let him know as often as you do pray for him. Let him know how you are praying for him. It will bless his heart and refresh his soul.

2. Get to Know Him

The pastorate can be a demanding and consuming vocation. You are always on call, and it can be challenging to get away. Yet behind every pulpit, suit, and tie, behind every manuscript or sermon outline, at every office desk of the pastor sits a man who in many ways is just like you. He has hobbies and interests. He has a family. There are things he likes and things he dislikes. He has quirks that can often be the fixation of his critics. He has a heart, he probably has needs, and he certainly has feelings. He hurts like you and is doing his best to live a life honoring to Christ. Believe it or not, he probably wants to laugh and, for once, be able to let his guard down and not be taken so seriously all the time.

Bottom line: He’s a person. Honestly, he is someone you would probably enjoy if you took the time to get to know him, without placing expectations or assumptions about who you think he may be or what you want him to be. Instead, simply let your pastor be himself and get to know him. Invite him to lunch. Have his family over for dinner. Ask if he and his family would like to join you in an evening of fun together. Find simple ways to get to know the person God has called to be your pastor. Even better, grow to love him, and don’t be afraid to tell him that. Every Sunday, as Ms. Wynell Pierce is leaving church, she greets me with a handshake or a warm hug, only to say, “I love you, pastor, and we love your family!” She means it, and I know she does. It means the world!

3. Know He Loves You and Is For You

God does something special in the heart of a true shepherd. He gives him a genuine love for the flock entrusted into his care. In the same way, we should love our pastor. It is important to know that your pastor loves you as well. He prays for you, and he desires for the Lord to bring about His purposes in your life. He wants you to grow and mature into Christ. He is thrilled in your excitement, and he hurts with you in moments of pain. He has a vested interest in your spiritual growth and maturity. For did you know that one day, your pastor will stand before the Lord and give an account for you? (Heb. 13:17)

Your pastor in every way is a “soul doctor.” He is to keep watch over your soul. He wants what is best for you. Yet, that doesn’t mean he will always prescribe to you what you believe is best for you. Sometimes the Lord may even use your pastor to speak a word of truth you do not want to hear in the moment. Sometimes his sermons may even “step on your toes.” I can promise you this, my aim in preaching is never to offend. I have no joy or desire to step on anyone’s toes or hurt anyone. Yet, I also pray the Lord will pierce hearts, and that, my friend, hurts worse than a stubbed toe. It may be tempting to become frustrated, angry, and recoil from your pastor in those moments. You may even think he is against you. Hopefully, that is not true. The Lord uses the preached word and your pastor as a strong voice for you to consider your ways before the Lord and to repent. That is likely the aim of your pastor, your sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3). This was the Apostle Paul’s aim and prayer as well.

One thing I can say without hesitation and with complete sincerity in my heart: I love the flock the Lord has entrusted to me. I love those who have left and have gone to other churches. I even love those who have hurt me.  Sheep bite from time to time. I love them because Christ has called me to love others, and as I pastor, He continually increases my ability to love the flock. For is this not how the world will know we belong to Christ, that we have love for one another? (John 13:35)

4. Extend Grace to Him

It may come as a surprise to you, but your pastor sins just like you. He has questions, doubts, and even fails in faithfully following the Lord. Just like you, the Lord is at work in your pastor, sanctifying and conforming him to the image of Christ. He has bad days, sometimes looks back in regret, and often wishes he would have responded differently to situations. Your pastor is not perfect.

Far too many pastors live under and within what is called a “glass house.” People often look on and wait for him to stumble. They hope to catch him in a moment of weakness or when his very real sin nature, which we all have, is finally exposed. Moreover, that same spirit is often impressed on to his family too. His wife and children better not miss a beat, always be on their “A-game,” and never let anyone down.

Know this, give him time, and I promise you your pastor will let you down. In time, he will do something that fails to meet the standard of your expectations. Give it enough time and I promise the opportunity will come in which you can write your pastor off as a disappointment. Because he’s not above sin, and he is also not above even sinning against you. What do we do in those moments? Sure, we could write him off, talk about him, leave the church, or call for his resignation. Though, I doubt we would want that for ourselves. May I lovingly suggest that you extend to him the same thing you desire when you fail? Grace! Just like you, he’ll never be beyond the need of grace in this life.

5. Support and Follow Him

Not only is the ministry challenging, but ministry can be lonely. Often, a pastor’s decisions are met with suspicion, questions, or outright resistance. Sometimes what is clearly the path ahead is charted with difficulty. Sometimes the change required to move forward is met with insistence to see that the needed change never comes, or certainly not without a fight. In moments like these we need others to stand with us! The truth is we need others to lock arms with us in both the good and bad moments of ministry.

I remember the words from one of my deacons like it was yesterday. It was during a particularly difficult season of ministry, and I’m sure he could sense or see the hardship of pastoring I was walking through. Over lunch, to the best of my recollection, he said these words to me: “Pastor, I want you to know that I am with you. I am behind you, and I’m standing with you. I agree with everything you are doing. It’s biblical and the right direction for our church. I also know it’s tough; these have been some difficult days, but don’t you quit! I support you, and I am with you, brother.” It’s difficult to adequately express all the ways the Lord used the words of this godly man to refresh my heart and spirit, but I can assure you it was timely and life-giving to my weary soul. In time, these were proven to be more than words.  He lived these words out before me, time and time again. It’s made all the difference!

Do you want your pastor to remain strong? Sometimes, it will be difficult for him to lift his arms in battle (Ex. 17:12). See to it that you come to his aid and help him in his weakness! Do you want your church to be a strong church? A healthy church? Sometimes, this requires going against the grain or what has been the norm for a long time. Let me encourage you to get behind the man whom God has sent to shepherd His local church. Support your pastor, build him up. Encourage him to stay the course, let him know you are with him, standing alongside him, and are following him as he follows Christ. When that happens, get ready and watch what the Lord will do in your church!

Conclusion

We have opportunity for a lot of things, beloved. When things don’t go our way, we may be tempted to become frustrated and voice our disappointment about our church or our pastor. In the flesh, you can use these moments as an opportunity to tear others down and build yourself up in return. Don’t be surprised when that feeling even feels justified. But remember this before you speak a word of criticism or when you are tempted to voice your discontentment about your pastor, or about the way you feel things are going: Know that your support and encouragement will go a lot farther in bringing honor to Christ, blessing your pastor, and edifying the church (Eph. 4:29-32). I think we can all agree that we’ve done enough tearing one another down. May this year be the year we seek to build one another up.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at For the Church on February 3, 2022.



Why I Admire Pastors and You Should Too

Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was one of the greatest elected officials in our nation’s history and one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. He was a tsunami of energy, one who never saw a mountain too tall to scale or a fight too threatening to join. He shook the nation, invented the modern presidency, and left a changed country in his wake. In other words, there is a reason why his face, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, is chiseled on Mount Rushmore.

Teddy Roosevelt, reflecting on the burden of leadership and the willingness to risk all and attempt great things, famously observed,

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”[1]

Every time I read Roosevelt’s quote, my mind darts to the pastorate, and the fine work that men of God do. The office of the pastorate is a high one, the work a noble one, and the men who faithfully undertake it are worthy of our admiration.

In our age of constant news, social media, and the world’s attentiveness to pastors who have stumbled, it is easy to forget all that pastors do for the Church. Sure, we have all heard of a pastor who has not acted admirably, but they are the exception, not the rule. Most of the pastors I know garner my trust and respect and deserve my prayers and support. That, and given my own years serving churches, makes me admire pastors. You should too. Here is why.

First, pastors are called by God. Christ has given the church in our age, “evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). One does not stroll into the ministry; one surrenders to it. Pastors are those who have been set apart by God, called by His Spirit, and who have submitted their lives to Him. This requires obedience not only to enter the ministry but to continue in it. Thus, I admire pastors for yielding their lives to God.

Second, pastors minister the Word. The pastor’s one, irreducible responsibility is to feed the sheep the Word of God. Paul stipulates the pastor “must be able to teach,” and he charged Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” and to “preach the Word” (I Timothy 3:2, 4:13II Timothy 4:2). The pastor who faithfully discharges this responsibility does more than feed the church the Word; he feeds me the Word. Every Christian needs a steady intake of God’s Word. And a faithful pastor, who rightly divides the Word weekly, is worthy of high praise.

Third, pastors are held to a higher level of accountability. In fact, both the task of preaching and the responsibility of spiritual accountability bring this higher level of accountability. It begins with the qualifications of the office, as outlined in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. But it extends to other passages as well, including, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgement,” and that congregations should “obey their leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account” (James 3:1Hebrews 13:17). This fact is all the more daunting when you realize that pastors face more intense temptation. Satan targets those whose fall will do most damage to the Church and most sully God’s glory. I admire pastors for putting themselves in the arena.

Fourth, pastors tend the flock. Pastors are more than a shoulder to cry on, and they offer more than consolation during life’s trials. They preach, lead, and fulfill a host of other responsibilities, but pastors are men who are willing to bear our burdens of heart. When we need prayer, counsel, or support, pastors stand in the gap for us. They bear our burden with us. Paul spoke of his affection and parental care of the believers in Thessalonica, and Peter exhorted the elders to shepherd the flock with eagerness, not lording over them. Such is the heart of a pastor, one who loves his congregation. This is no easy task. Church members can be wayward, stubborn, and even rebellious. Thus, the pastor who serves the flock is worthy of our admiration.

In Conclusion

Do you admire your pastor? Does he know it? The point is not to put him on a pedestal. The point is to rightly value, appreciate, and honor him. Do not wait until Pastor Appreciation Month. Why not thank him this week? Why not pray for him this week? Why not speak encouraging words about him and to him this week? As you do, he will be encouraged, your church will be strengthened, and you will no doubt be even better served by him.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at JasonKAllen.com.

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  1. ^ Roosevelt, Theodore, and Brian M. Thomsen. The man in the arena: the selected writings of Theodore Roosevelt: a reader. New York: Forge, 2003, 5.


What Preachers Can Learn from Spurgeon’s Sermons

Editor’s Note: This article is taken from the foreword to C. H. Spurgeon’s Sermons: Revival Years – New Park Street Pulpit 1855–1860. Used by permission of Reformation Heritage Books. This collection is now available for purchase.

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My hope is that every gospel minister will have in his personal library his own complete set of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons. Let me tell you why.

As a preacher, Charles Spurgeon must be counted among the greats of church history. When it comes to notoriety, Spurgeon was to the nineteenth century what George Whitefield was to the eighteenth and Billy Graham to the twentieth centuries. He was the best known and most influential minister of his era.

Spurgeon was born in 1834, and his life and ministry took place during the Victorian Era. The British Empire, with its global reach, proved a divine conduit for Spurgeon’s ministry, carrying his sermons, articles, and books around the world. He was a physical dynamo, doing the work of multiple men at once, a phenomenon he explained occurred by the Holy Spirit working through him.

Spurgeon launched and presided over sixty-six ministries, the most notable of which were orphanages for boys and girls and his Pastor’s College. Like the Metropolitan Tabernacle, these ministries exist today.

But Spurgeon’s influence, then and now, goes back to his preaching ministry. Throughout his ministry, stenographers recorded his sermons as he delivered them. During the week his sermons would be transcribed, set in galleys, quickly edited, and then printed for distribution. The “Penny Pulpit” was mailed all over the world, further amplifying his ministerial reach.

During his prime, Spurgeon often preached ten or more times per week. His powers of oratory, imagination, and recollection proved a fierce combination, holding his listeners’ rapt attention. No one could turn a phrase, deploy the full complement of the English language, or recall theological and historical facts like Spurgeon. It’s as though Spurgeon never uttered an inarticulate sentence or ever preached a boring sermon. That singular gifting, coupled with the evident power of Scripture and favor of the Holy Spirit, gave his sermons authority and brought his ministry unique results.

Spurgeon was not a classic expositor. Typically, he did not preach verse by verse through passages of Scripture. Rather, he customarily selected a verse and heralded all the theological and spiritual truth contained within it.

Just as Spurgeon’s preaching was unique, so was his preparation. The extraordinary demands on Spurgeon’s life and his singular gifting meant that his sermon preparation was unorthodox. Though all of life was sermon preparation for Spurgeon, he often prepared his Sunday sermons on Saturday evenings. As a young man, he took heavy notes into the pulpit. As he advanced in ministry, he typically entered the pulpit with a minimal outline, often jotted on a scrap of paper.

Though his sermon notes were as minimal as his sermon preparation, when Spurgeon entered the pulpit, the Lion roared. Throngs flocked to hear his sermons, just as multitudes were changed by them. Never in London, before or since, has someone so impacted that great metropolis for Christ. All this, and more, is why Spurgeon is universally acclaimed as a—if not the—Prince of Preachers.

Yet there’s more than Spurgeon’s enduring relevance that makes this project opportune. Indeed, the renewed publishing of Spurgeon’s sermons arrives at a time of great need for local churches. Evangelical preaching is at a low ebb. Shrinking attention spans and shallow sermons leave many churchgoers deprived of the pure milk of the Word. What is more, in many evangelical churches, the hour of worship more resembles a concert venue than a public worship service.

But Scripture indicates that true worship encompasses the public reading of Scripture; corporate prayer; the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16); and the preaching of the Word.

Historically, Protestants have viewed preaching as the central, anchoring component of the public worship service. Thus, the pulpit is the focal point of the place of worship and preaching the focal point of the service of worship.

And this is for good reason. Even in the midst of a darkening culture, a drifting church, and a vacillating heart, Paul charged Timothy—and through Timothy, us—to preach the Word, in season and out.

Thus, we should look to Spurgeon, including this sixty-three-volume collection of his sermons, to stir within ourselves and the twenty-first-century church a return to Christ-centered, biblically based sermons.

Just as preaching is indispensable to Christian worship, so preachers are indispensable to Christian ministry. In fact, the ability to teach the Word is the one requisite gift every biblically qualified pastor must possess. That’s because teaching is the one, nondelegable responsibility of every biblically qualified pastor.

In this regard, the apostle Paul’s logic was airtight. In Romans 10:14–15 he argued, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

Churches will be no stronger than the strength of the pulpit, and the pulpit will not be stronger than the calling and quality of the men who enter them. Indeed, much is at stake in the preaching of the Word.

All this is to say that preaching and preachers are indispensable to the church’s ministry. This was true in Spurgeon’s day, and it is true in ours as well.

And so, dear reader, may the spirit of Spurgeon be yours. And may your commitment to preach be stirred anew and your ability to preach strengthened as you read these sermons from the Prince of Preachers himself, the immortal Charles Haddon Spurgeon.



What the Christian Does

Editor’s Note: Excerpted with permission from The Great Commission: A Sermon Collection by Charles H. Spurgeon, edited by Jason K. Allen. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available now from B&H and wherever Christian books are sold.

What the Christian Does[1]

I will take it for granted that every believer here wants to be useful. If he does not, I take leave to question whether he can be a true believer in Christ. Well, then, if you want to be really useful, here is something for you to do to that end: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

What is the way to become an efficient preacher? “Young man,” says one, “go to college.” “Young man,” says Christ, “follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men.” How is a person to be useful? “Attend a training class,” says one. Quite right, but there is a surer answer than that—Follow Jesus, and he will make you fishers of men. The great training school for Christian workers has Christ at its head, and he is at its head not only as a tutor but as a leader. We are not only to learn of him in study but to follow him in action. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

The direction is very distinct and plain, and I believe that it is exclusive so that no man can become a fisherman by any other process. This process may appear to be very simple, but assuredly it is most efficient. The Lord Jesus Christ, who knew all about fishing for men, was himself the Dictator of the rule, “Follow me, if you want to be fishers of men. If you would be useful, keep in my track.”

I understand this, first, in this sense: he separates unto Christ. These men were to leave their pursuits. They were to leave their companions. They were, in fact, to quit the world, that their one business might be, in their Master’s name, to be fishers of men. We are not all called to leave our daily business or to quit our families. That might be rather running away from the fishery than working at it in God’s name. But we are called most distinctly to come out from among the ungodly, to be separate, and not to touch the unclean thing. We cannot be fishers of men if we remain among men in the same element with them. Fish will not be fishers. The sinner will not convert the sinner. The ungodly man will not convert the ungodly man, and what is more to the point, the worldly Christian will not convert the world. If you are of the world, no doubt the world will love its own, but you cannot save the world. If you are dark and belong to the kingdom of darkness, you cannot remove the darkness. If you march with the armies of the wicked one, you cannot defeat them.

I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church. Nowadays we hear Nonconformists pleading that they may do this and they may do that— things that their Puritan forefathers would rather have died at the stake than have tolerated. They plead that they may live like worldlings, and my sad answer to them, when they crave for this liberty, is, “Do it if you dare. It may not do you much hurt, for you are so bad already. Your cravings show how rotten your hearts are. If you have a hungering after such dog’s meat, go, dogs, and eat the garbage.

Worldly amusements are fit food for mere pretenders and hypocrites. If you were God’s children you would loathe the very thought of the world’s evil joys, and your question would not be, “How far may we be like the world?” but your one cry would be, “How far can we get away from the world? How much can we come out from it?” Your temptation would be rather to become sternly severe and ultra-puritanical in your separation from sin, in such a time as this, than to ask, “How can I make myself like other men, and act as they do?”

Brothers, the use of the church in the world is that it should be like salt in the midst of putrefaction, but if the salt has lost its savor, what is the good of it? If it were possible for salt itself to putrefy, it could but be an increase and a heightening of the general putridity. The worst day the world ever saw was when the sons of God were joined with the daughters of men. Then came the flood, for the only barrier against a flood of vengeance on this world is the separation of the saint from the sinner. Your duty as a Christian is to stand fast in your own place and stand out for God, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh, resolving like one of old that, let others do as they will, as for you and your house, you will serve the Lord.

Come, you children of God, you must stand out with your Lord outside the camp. Jesus calls to you today and says, “Follow me.” Was Jesus found at the theater? Did he frequent the sports of the racecourse? Was Jesus seen, think you, in any of the amusements of the Herodian court? Not he. He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” In one sense, no one mixed with sinners so completely as he did when, like a physician, he went among them healing his patients. But in another sense there was a gulf fixed between the men of the world and the Savior that he never assayed to cross and that they could not cross to defile him. The first lesson the church has to learn is this: Follow Jesus into the separated state, and he will make you fishers of men. Unless you take up your cross and protest against an ungodly world, you cannot hope that the holy Jesus will make you fishers of men.

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[1] Published in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 32 in 1886 by Charles Spurgeon. This is an excerpt from sermon 1906, delivered in 1886, exact date unknown.



Preach, Preach, Preach Everywhere

Editor’s Note: Excerpted with permission from Preaching: A Sermon Collection by Charles H. Spurgeon, edited by Jason K. Allen. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available now from B&H and wherever Christian books are sold.

Preach, Preach, Preach Everywhere[1]

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15–16)

Before our Lord gave his disciples this commission, he addressed them in tones of serious rebuke. You will observe that, appearing unto the eleven as they sat at dinner, “he upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because, they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” So honorable an estimation did he set upon testimony; so marked a censure did he pronounce upon those who neglected it. The reprimand they received on such an occasion may well serve as a caution to us, for unbelief unfits the Christian for service. It is in proportion to our personal faith in the gospel that we become competent witnesses for teaching it to others. Each one of us who would get credit for sincerity must say with David, “I believed, therefore have I spoken,” or else a want of faith of ourselves will effectually deprive our speech of all its power over our fellow men.

There can be little doubt that one reason why Christianity is not so aggressive now as it once was, and exerts not everywhere the influence it had in apostolic times, is the feebleness of our faith in Christ as compared with the full assurance of faith exercised by the men of those days. In vain you hide a timid heart behind a modest face when the attitude we should show and the living force that should constrain us is a bold reliance upon the power of the Holy Spirit and a deep conviction of the might of the truth which we are taught to deliver. Brothers, if there is to be a revival of religion, it must begin at home. Our own souls must first of all be filled with holy faith and burning enthusiasm, and then shall we be strong to do exploits and to win provinces for the scepter of King Jesus.

Having thus made a note upon the context, I want you to refer to a parallel passage in Matthew. There we learn that in delivering this commission our Lord assigned a remarkable reason for it, and one that intimately concerned himself. “All power,” he said, “is given unto me in heaven and in earth, go you therefore and teach all nations” These words were adapted to strengthen the faith of his disciples, of whom it had been just observed that “some doubted.” Do you not see the point of this announcement? Jesus of Nazareth, being raised from the dead, tells his apostles that he is now invested with universal supremacy as the Son of Man. Therefore he issues a decree of grace, calling on all people of every clime and kindred to believe the gospel with a promise of personal salvation to each and every one who believes. With such authority is this mandate clothed, and so imperative the duty of all men everywhere to repent, that they who do not believe are threatened with a certain penalty of damnation. This royal ordinance he will have published throughout the whole world, but he enjoins it on all the messengers that those who bear the tidings should be thoroughly impressed with the sovereignty of him who sends them. Let the words then ring in your ears, “Go ye therefore.” They sound like the music of that glad acclaim that hails the Redeemer installed with power, holding the insignia of power in his possession, exercising the full rights of legitimate power, and entrusting his disciples with a commission founded on that power, “Go ye into all the world.”

Yet another remark before we proceed to the text. The commission we are about to deal with was the last the Lord gave to his disciples before he was taken away from them. We prize greatly the last words of his departing servants, how shall we sufficiently value the parting words of our ascending Master? Injunctions left us by those who have gone to glory have great weight upon our spirits; let obedient lovers of Christ see to it that they act according to the last will and testament, the last desire expressed by their risen Lord.

I claim for my text peculiar attention from every disciple of Jesus, not indeed as if it were a mournful entreaty but rather as a solemn charge. You remember Christ’s own parable, “The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.”[2] Look at this as the last direction Jesus gives to his stewards before “he went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.” It seems to me that as when the mantle of Elijah fell upon Elisha, Elisha would have been much to blame if he had not caught it up, so when these words fell from our ascending Savior before the clouds concealed him from the disciples’ sight, we ought to take them up with holy reverence. Since he has left them as his parting mantle, they ought to be lovingly cherished and scrupulously obeyed.

Come we, then, to invite your earnest heed to the command the Savior here gives: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”[3] It was given to the apostles representatively. They represent the whole body of the faithful. To every converted man and woman this commission is given. I grant you there is a specialty to those gifted and called to surrender themselves wholly to the work of the ministry, but their office in the visible church offers no excuse for the discharge of those functions that pertain to every member of the body of Christ in particular. It is the universal command of Christ to every believer: “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

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[1] Published in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 15 in 1869 by Charles Spurgeon. This is an excerpt from sermon 900, delivered in 1869, exact date unknown.

[2] Matthew 25:14.

[3] Mark 16:15.



Prayer and Evangelism Reinforce One Another

Editor’s Note: The following excerpt is by Joe M. Allen III, published with permission from Before You Go: Wisdom From 10 Men on Serving Internationally, edited by Matthew Bennett and Joshua Bowman. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available now from B&H and wherever Christian books are sold.

Prayer and evangelism go together like chocolate and peanut butter. The two practices mutually reinforce one another and enhance the other spiritual disciplines. The dynamic happens like this: the more you pray, the more you attune your heart to God’s heart, and specifically, God’s heart for the lost. The more you seek to evangelize, the more you sense your need for the Holy Spirit’s divine enablement and long for his intervention. Prayer should lead to gospel proclamation, and gospel proclamation should intensify your prayers.

The irony is that prayer is often a solitary activity that appeals to introverts, while evangelism is a social activity that appeals to extroverts. Regardless of your personality, maintaining a close interrelationship between prayer and evangelism will push you out of your comfort zone and force you to grow. When you join prayer and evangelism, watch out! Something special is about to happen.

Jesus links prayer and evangelism in Luke 10:2 when he says, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” Jesus instructs his disciples to pray for harvesters and then, in a surprising twist, he sends them to be the answer to their own prayers! The same thing might happen to you, so when you pray, be ready to obey.

A verse that I find myself returning to time and again when I think about prayer and evangelism is Romans 10:1. Here, we get a glimpse of Paul’s heart, which proves instructive for us. He writes: “my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.” As we consider the importance of prayer and evangelism in the life of a missionary, let me make three observations about this verse.

First, Paul cared deeply. His desire was not a shallow, fleeting desire, but a core longing that sprang from the center of his being. If you do not feel deep compassion for the lost, go back and review the gospel. Consider afresh the glory of the One who calls you into fellowship with him. Meditate on the majesty of God as revealed in Scripture. Think about the sacrifice of Jesus and the depth of the love that bought your salvation. Contemplate the joys of heaven and the horrors of hell until your heart is stirred for others to know the gospel. Feed your godly desires so you can say with Paul, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.”

Second, Paul prayed fervently. The people of Israel had rejected Jesus as their Messiah, but Paul remained hopeful that they might be saved. Paul did not give up on them, and he did not leave his heart’s desire unexpressed; he acted. That action first took the form of prayer. We must do the same. Do not bottle up your desire; let it bubble up and overflow in prayer. Give expression to your desire through intercession.

Third, Paul prayed specifically. He did not pray ambiguous prayers for some amorphous spiritual blessing. Instead, he prayed for their salvation. Elsewhere, Paul prayed for boldness (Eph. 6:18–20), for opportunity (Col. 4:2–4), and that the Word of the Lord would spread rapidly and be glorified (2 Thess. 3:1). A couple of years ago, I realized that if I only make vague or general requests with lots of qualifications and caveats, then I would never be able to tell if God had answered. So let me encourage you to pray such focused prayers for the salvation of souls so that you can recognize God’s answers and rejoice.



The Indispensable Necessity of Doctrinally Rich Young Adult Ministry

I’ve worked within student ministry in some capacity for 12 years. If junior highers smell like body spray and if high schoolers can smell fear, then young adults (YAs) have a nose for inauthenticity. They see right through the smoke machine and lights. They quickly pick up on lack of depth. And they know on first whiff whether the “answer” you just gave to the question that’s plagued them or their friend’s faith (or is sitting at the bottom of their lack thereof) is worthy of consideration or if you’re just grasping at straws. They pull no punches, and they are awesome for it!

If I could encourage those attempting to reach or minister to college-age people toward one thing besides knowing their Bibles and enjoying God, it would be this: you and your ministry must be doctrinally robust. Your acquaintance with the issues YAs raise, and even more importantly, your familiarity with the answers from Scripture and Christian tradition, are indispensable in engaging GenZ 18- to 20-somethings. Whether it’s the unsaved skeptic, the new believer, or the mature believer, there will be no fruitful ministry among GenZ college students and young adults apart from deep, rich, and robust doctrine.

Evangelistic and Apologetic Need

As Derek Rishmawy, himself a campus minister, has said in regard to reaching GenZ college students, “Nerdy theology really does matter for evangelism. Doctrineless evangelism simply will not work.” Amen. The universities where YAs live lack no robust secular doctrine that refutes Christianity. Bart Erdman does not pull any punches, and neither should we. Young adults need to know the church has sufficient and coherent answers to their theological questions, and we who pastor them should be ready to offer those answers (1 Peter 3:15).

The Need for Adult Answers to Adult Lives

Young adults face new life stages and challenges. They have questions about dating, marriage, finance, politics, culture, and more. They often no longer rely on their parents or tradition for answers. They need deep, robust, and coherent doctrine that addresses the complexities and hardships of life. You might get away with shooting from the hip in youth group, but young adults will suss out a run-of-the-mill answer in a heartbeat. Not only this, but as a generation coming of age amid heightened turbulence (American political context, COVID) and lack of solidity (social media), they long for rootedness and concreteness. A concreteness only deep doctrine can provide. YAs need mature doctrine so they can mature into adulthood (Hebrews 5:11-14).

The Discipleship Need

Many, if not most, YAs have no clue robust theology even exists. They rarely read theological books and haven’t sat under good preaching and teaching. I pick up on this when some of the YAs in my church don’t understand the need for church membership, the significance of baptism, the habit of tithing, and so on. YAs, mature or immature, need good doctrine that will instruct them in how they ought to live and stir them up to taste the depths of the knowledge of God so that they might be further formed into his image (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Resources

So, if pastors or volunteers or parents want to effectively engage and disciple young adults, they must equip themselves in knowing, presenting, and defending “what accords with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1, Cf. Titus 1:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). And we will become so by not only going deep in our Bibles, but going wide in our familiarity with solid Christian theology and growing in our ability to wield it for the good of those young people we long to reach and disciple.

So, as one step toward this, what should one be reading/doing to prepare for ministering to college agers?

Historical Theology

YAs don’t need new answers. They need age-old answers applied to contemporary phrasing of age-old questions. And thankfully for us, the Christian tradition is in no small part the history of answering the most foundational questions humans have ever wondered about. Metaphysics, morality–these are the same questions GenZ has, though staged somewhat differently.

Pick a (preferably not from this century) systematic theology or theologian and dedicate yourself to ingesting it/them. Go slow and let the sound theology seep into your bones. Recognize how the answers given centuries ago are the answers needed today, just with your own presentation.

And let the 21-year-old know where you’re getting these answers from. This will not only give you the next most solid foundation outside of Scripture with which to grapple with the questions young adults have, but it will also provide a rootedness to the young adult asking as they see this isn’t something thought up last week.

You can’t go wrong with Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics. Or, if four volumes is understandably a bit much for a first bite, Louis Berkhof’s one-volume Systematic Theology is a great place to start. For a modern presentation, look at John Frame’s.

Biblical Anthropology

You knew you needed to read in this area. And you knew why. If YAs have questions about anything, it is about our bodies. What are they? Am I my body, or am I inside of it? Do bodies matter? How much do they matter? How do we know they matter more than what my mind says? Speaking of, what’s a mind? These are just the snowflakes of the iceberg.

But these questions aren’t theoretical. YAs have these questions because they have friends whose lives hang in the balance of these questions, or so it seems to them. These are live questions for YAs because they deal with lives. That is why they matter to YAs, and they should matter to you because those very lives might walk into your campus or church young adult group.

But you don’t just need to know what you think about LGBTQ+, the goodness of the material body, God’s design for marriage and family, abortion, assisted suicide, and the like. You need to know why you know. And you need to know and be able to explain why the Christian answer is not only true, but also the most beautiful and genuinely good option in the marketplace.

Here’s a starter pack:

  • The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory, Abigail Favale
  • Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues, Alistair MacIntyre
  • Begotten or Made?: Human Procreation and Medical Technique, Oliver O’Donovan
  • Whatever Happened to the Human Race?, Francis A. Schaeffer

 

Miscellaneous Apologetics

We must also be familiar with the various topics that YAs are likely to ask questions about. Especially for those YAs going to college, they are interacting with peers and professors who operate from a different worldview. This raises a range of questions for YAs, most of which can be categorized into a broader field that we would do well to engage. This will require us to know the best arguments of the other side. Doing so enables us to gather our own compelling and sound answers, while also being able to formulate our own questions for those worldviews to reveal their inadequacies. A few general areas in which to be well read are

  • Exclusivity of Christianity as the one true religion, and the claims of the main world religions
  • The authority and trustworthiness of the Bible and what makes it different from other religious texts
  • The relationship of Christianity to science
  • Epistemology (how do humans know what they know?)
  • Old Testament “problem passages” (God’s commanding violence, allowances for slavery, presence of polygamy, etc.).

 

Write

Finally, consider writing as you read. Writing solidifies ideas in your mind and heart. It helps you synthesize the large amounts of information you take in through books. There are countless ways of doing this. I (Dan) have a running doctrinal statement along with documents on theological topics that I add to and tweak as I read new theological material. I try to keep the writing short (100-200 words) but carefully written. Writing will make you more confident and clear when you are in an off-the-cuff conversation with a YA on a theologically dense or apologetically precarious topic.

Conclusion

Take heart, God is pursuing YAs in this generation as he has in every generation before. He formed them and knows the hurdles they have to faith in his gospel and greater growth in it. He has many people in this generation (Acts 18:10) and is more than capable of saving them. His arm is never too short. And be encouraged, while he is not dependent on you, he wants to use you to reach them. So pray for them, go on fast food runs or coffee shop meet-ups with them, hear them out for hours at a time if needed, and arm yourself with robust doctrine so that when they ask their questions or the questions of their friends, you are ready to give a sound response.



Spurgeon’s Love of Poetry: An Excerpt from Christ Our All

Editor’s Note: This article is taken from Christ Our All: Poems for the Christian Pilgrim and used by permission of B&H Academic. The book is now available everywhere Christian books are sold.

Spurgeon’s love of hymns began at a young age. Once, during a summer holiday, his grandmother offered him a penny for each Watts hymn he memorized. With his gifted mind, young Spurgeon memorized so many that his grandmother soon had to change her offer or risk financial ruin! The money earned was eventually spent, but his love of hymns remained with him for the rest of his life, becoming a part of his theological vocabulary. “No matter on what topic I am preaching,” he wrote, “I can even now, in the middle of any sermon, quote some verse of a hymn in harmony with the subject.”[1] As Spurgeon grew in his knowledge of hymns, his sermons would come to include not only Watts, but Toplady, Cowper, Wesley, and many other great hymn-writers of the Christian faith.

As the pastor of a church, Spurgeon sought to pass on his love of hymns to his congregants. In addition to preaching, he planned the liturgy for the gatherings of the church, including the selection of hymns. When he first arrived, there were two hymnbooks in the pews, one by Watts and the other by John Rippon. But watching people fumble with multiple books convinced Spurgeon that something had to change. So, in 1866, he compiled and published Our Own Hymn-Book, containing 1,130 psalms and hymns. As reflected in the title, Spurgeon’s concern was the church. This was not Spurgeon’s hymnbook; this was the church’s hymnbook. One of his top priorities was to pull together psalms and hymns that reflected the church’s doctrinal convictions. After all, Spurgeon understood that a church’s hymnbook was often the only book of theology most church members would ever read.

But even while Our Own Hymn-Book reflected Spurgeon’s Reformed and Baptist traditions, he also sought to introduce a wide variety of traditions, pulling together hymns from all of church history. He wrote:

The area of our researches has been as wide as the bounds of existing religious literature, American and British, Protestant and Romish; ancient and modern. Whatever may be thought of our taste we have used it without prejudice; and a good hymn has not been rejected because of the character of its author, or the heresies of the church in whose hymnal it first occurred; so long as the language and the spirit commended the hymn to our heart we included it, and believe that we have enriched our collection thereby.[2]

Thus, we see in Spurgeon’s collection of hymnbooks a wide variety of hymn writers: Scottish Presbyterians, English Baptists and Methodists, German Lutherans, Anglicans, medieval Catholics, and other nationalities and church traditions, ranging from the nineteenth century all the way back to the medieval and early church. From all these psalms and hymns, Spurgeon sought to bring out the ones that best reflected the historic faith of the apostles and the church’s doctrinal convictions. In his day, Our Own Hymn-Book was recognized as an achievement in Christian hymnody.[3]

But Spurgeon’s love of poetry extended beyond hymns. His library reveals that Spurgeon enjoyed just about every kind of poetry: ancient poetry, poems about nature, love poems, children’s rhymes, and many others. Most of all, however, Spurgeon loved poems about God and the Christian life. Preaching in 1855, Spurgeon declared, “Much as I respect the genius of Pope, or Dryden, or Burns, give me the simple lines of Cowper, that God has owned in bringing souls to Him.”[4] William Cowper was indeed one of Spurgeon’s favorite poets. He usually included Cowper’s famous hymn whenever he signed autograph albums, “E’er since by faith I saw the stream . . .”[5] Fittingly, these lines are etched on his tombstone.

Another poet he loved was John Bunyan. Throughout his life, he read, “at least a hundred times,” The Pilgrim’s Progress, “that sweetest of all prose poems,” which shaped his vision for the Christian life.[6] What he loved most about it was simply how much Bible was in it.[7] Bunyan brought together Spurgeon’s love of Scripture with his love of poetry.

Yet another of his favorite poets was George Herbert. Herbert was a source of refreshment for Spurgeon, especially after a long day of ministry.[8] His wife, Susannah, recounted:

It is the Sabbath, and the day’s work is done. The dear preacher has had a light repast, and now rests in his easy chair by a bright fire, while, on a low cushion at his feet, sits his wife, eager to minister in some way to her beloved’s comfort. “Shall I read to you to-night, dear?” she says; for the excitement and labor of the Sabbath services sorely try him, and his mind needs some calm and soothing influence to set it at rest. “Will you have a page or two of good George Herbert?” “Yes, that will be very refreshing, wifey; I shall like that.” So the book is procured, and he chooses a portion which I read slowly and with many pauses, that he may interpret to me the sweet mysteries hidden within the gracious words. Perhaps his enjoyment of the book is all the greater that he has thus to explain and open out to me the precious truths enwrapped in Herbert’s quaint verse;—anyhow, the time is delightfully spent. I read on and on for an hour or more, till the peace of Heaven flows into our souls, and the tired servant of the King of kings loses his sense of fatigue, and rejoices after his toil.[9]

For Spurgeon, poetry was about more than just entertainment. It gave him the perspective of a Christian pilgrim. It provided spiritual nourishment for his tired soul. And it strengthened him with a renewed joy in God for the week ahead.

Thou Art My All (by C. H. Spurgeon)

Dear Lord, in thee I view my all,
And lovely is thy name.
For though on earth I slip or fall,
Thy love remains the same.

Each day reminds me I am weak
To stand against my foes;
And, but that I thy help may seek,
I’d fall beneath my woes.

But thou hast said my strength shall be
According to my day.
Thy promise has been kept to me,
And still will be I pray.

For what are we if left to roam
In life’s deceitful way?
Yet farther off, not nearer home,
Our feet are prone to stray.

Then never have us Lord to tread
This world without a guide.
And never let the tempter lead
Thine erring sheep aside.

“I will not leave, nor yet forsake
My people here below;
Until in glory they shall wake
And purer regions know.”

For further reflection: Deuteronomy 33:25–27

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[1] Autobiography 1:43–44.

[2] OOH, vi–vii.

[3] For an appreciative nineteenth-century analysis of Spurgeon’s contribution to Christian hymnody, see Josiah Miller, Singers and Songs of the Church: Being Biographical Sketches of the Hymn-Writers in All the Principal Collections: with Notes on their Psalms and Hymns (London: Longmans, Green, 1869), 580–81.

[4] NPSP 1:344.

[5] Hayden, Highlights, 101.

[6] MTP 45:495.

[7] “Next to the Bible, the book I value most is John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress.’ I believe I have read it through at least a hundred times. It is a volume of which I never seem to tire; and the secret of its freshness is that it is so largely compiled from the Scriptures. It is really Biblical teaching put into the form of a simple yet very striking allegory.” C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim’s Progress: A Commentary on Portions of John Bunyan’s Immortal Allegory with Prefatory Notes by Thomas Spurgeon (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1992), 11.

[8] “Frequently, when I return home from chapel on the Sabbath evening, I get down George Herbert’s book of songs; and when I see how much he loved the Lord, it seems to me as if he had struck upon his harp the very notes that he had heard in Paradise, and sung them all again.” MTP 46:106.

[9] Autobiography 2:185–86.



Getting to the Glory: An Excerpt from The Storied Life

The sportswriter Red Smith was once asked if writing a daily column was difficult.

“Why, no,” Smith replied. “You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.”[1]

Admittedly, Smith’s observation is a little overwrought. But only a little.

There is a way to write that costs the writer very little. And then there are Writers. There is a contemplation of the art and an undertaking of the craft that engages all we are and all we have, as if the ink on our page is drawn from our very blood.

Maybe you’re not sure which one you are. Are you a writer or a Writer? It’s okay. You don’t have to know just yet. Both Writers and “people who write” can create work that impacts readers in profound ways.

Writers write. That is the bottom line. There is no getting around it. It is a nonnegotiable truth. You don’t need to be particularly good at writing to be a writer. You don’t have to be published to be a writer. You don’t even have to be read to be a writer. But you must write. By definition, writers write.

Wanting to write is not being a writer. Thinking about writing is an important part of being a writer, but it isn’t by itself being a writer. Fancying yourself a writer is not being one.

Writers often hear wannabe writers say, “I want to write someday,” but actual writers don’t say such things. They’ve been writing.

Writers don’t ask for permission. They don’t wait for the perfect moment. They feel the inexorable draw to create coming from the inside; it’s something they just do, something they are. Nobody has to assign them the task. They usually don’t need anyone to give them an idea.

Someone once said, “I don’t know what I think about a thing until I write about it.” That is the sort of thing only a writer would say. Writers cannot conceive of their place in this world apart from processing it through the written word. Putting the stuff on paper or a screen makes it more real. Modern society possesses a pronounced shortage of people who will admit to not knowing things, but among those whose pride will not forbid them this confession are the ones who make up their minds about a thing after reading about it. Writers do that too. But only writers understand the concept of writing to understand.

Writers understand writing as a way of being.

If you just consider yourself “someone who writes,” all this talk of costliness and bleeding onto the page might be making you a little queasy. I do apologize. And I promise there’s not a whole lot of gore in the rest of the book.

For all you Writers, though—this introduction is especially for you. It’s for those of you who make reading introductions a habit because you suspect every bit of a book matters. After all, it all matters when you write.

I bring to this project a spirit kindred with yours. I love the whole writing process out of all proportion. I love the finished project, of course. Everybody loves that. But I also love the first bit of noodling around on a page, typing and typing and backspacing and backspacing. I love the part when I’ve been writing for a while and suddenly something unlocks and, lo!, a rushing wind, a tongue of fire, unction!, and the words are now carrying me rather than the other way around. I love moving chunks around, scratching out lines, cutting, pasting, turning a series of disjointed what’s-its into a smooth pastiche without the seams. Finding le mot juste? I adore.

What I’m trying to say is that if you love to write, feel called to write, or cannot not write, this book is for you. If you wonder sometimes if any of it is worth it, if you wonder if there’s such a thing as a “call to write,” if you get frustrated that the work won’t flow like you want it to—this book is for you too.

I see writing as more than an opportunity to communicate creatively. Creative writing is in fact a reflection of the creative meaning of the universe, a direct derivation from the Creator himself. He has made everything with words and has given even of himself as the Word. This isn’t some piddling around kind of stuff.

I don’t care if you write novels or a recipe blog, theological essays or personal letters, book-length devotionals or thirty-minute sermons. Your writing is divinely gifted, eternally scaled, and gloriously weighted. I’m going to spend this book convincing you of that fact.

Together we’ll remind each other that God is telling an important story about himself in the world. To do that, he tells important stories with our own lives. And getting to the glory of the former means getting in touch with the glory of the latter. I’ll tell you a little bit about how my own journey has helped me see my ordinary life as a storied life, a succession of days (the number unknown to me) full of wonder and insight, despite the pain and ignorance, because of the way they are driven and shaped by the glorious gospel.

Oh, sure, to get to the glory, you have to go through the chaos. We’ll talk about that too. If you’re a writer, you already know you can’t write much of anything worth much of anything without getting a little banged up, maybe a little bloody.

But we know what our Lord does with blood.

 

[1] The line is often attributed to the likes of Ernest Hemingway or Thomas Wolfe—I’ve even seen it attributed to Ray Bradbury—and while its origin is in some dispute, it most likely derives from an anecdote related to Smith, whom, it so happens, Hemingway regularly read. See Garson O’Toole, “Writing Is Easy; You Just Open a Vein and Bleed,” Quote Investigator, September 14, 2011, https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/09/14/writing-bleed/.

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Editor’s Note: Taken from The Storied Life: Christian Writing as Art and Worship by Jared C. Wilson. Copyright © 2024 by Jared C. Wilson. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.harpercollinschristian.com

The Storied Life is now available wherever Christian books are sold.