How Do We Stay Motivated?

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I’ve been involved in pastoral ministry since 1976, and in a full-time capacity since 1979. Recently, I’ve been thinking about pastoral motivation. What is it that keeps us pastors going?

By that I don’t mean, what keeps us going professionally, as though our motivation were derived from statistics, budgets, salary, and benefits.

What I do mean is what keeps us going … doing real ministry to real hearts in authentic ways?

2 Corinthians 4:1-2 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. {2} But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 

I/we wear many hats: we’re sons of God, disciples of Christ, husbands, fathers, grandfathers, pastors, teachers, examples, equippers, evangelists, visionaries, mentors, counselors, administrators, executives, sons, and for those who are bi-vocational, tentmakers.

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to a Bible study I taught sometime in late 1999. That time period was while I was still with Calvary Chapel Monterey Bay, prior to a string of painful events in my life that led to my resignation from that pastorate. While I was listening to the message, I was once again realizing the tremendous trust placed in me by so many. Again I felt a strong depth of sorrow for the people … again, I’m so sorry that those things had happened.

Not long after those thoughts came new ones; I began thinking about the great cloud of witnesses from Hebrews 11. While scripture doesn’t seem to be super clear about how much these witnesses are able to observe right now, it’s at least possible that they may indeed be watching us. (The angels are certainly looking into spiritual things, and are present at our gatherings.) At the very least, they will be welcoming us upon our entrance into eternity. Are they praying for us? Are they rooting for us? I suddenly had the very strong sense that the way I’m living my life right now has amazing implications and ramifications. I found myself, for a moment at least, in touch with eternity. I was being motivated!

So back to the main question: what keeps us pastors going?

Here are a few important truths for me. Maybe you can add your own as part of this discussion. Let’s encourage one another to love and good works.

…I’m motivated by my calling into ministry. (I love to remind myself often of the specifics.) For me, it was very supernatural.

…I’m motivated by the main thing, and the challenge of doing it. The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing. And the main thing of the Great Commission is discipleship. What a challenge to actually do it!

…I’m motivated by my peers in ministry. When I get close to other pastors and hear their stories, there are so many great things that I see that are encouraging.

…I’m motivated by the 2nd Coming of Jesus, and by the fear of the LORD.

…I’m motivated by the cloud of witnesses.

Etc. (here’s where you can add your own)

Thanks for reading.

Looking Back, Looking Up and Looking Forward

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I wrote this for the folks at Crossroads Community Church. Since this is the start of a new year, I thought it was apropos.

So in just a few days, we will be turning the page on the year 2011. It is amazing to think how quickly this year has flown by. When I was at Crossroads last week, I had the pleasure of sharing God’s word with the church at our Sunday morning gatherings. What an amazing time! But I was also overjoyed to share a short devotion with the Crossroads and Cornerstone staffs at our Christmas party. I shared about looking back (to 2011), looking up (in the present) and looking forward (to 2012). I thought that the main points would be worthy of consideration for all of us as we prepare for a new year.

God bless you all and we cannot wait to join you all in the Pacific Northwest in just a few days!

LOOKING BACK (the past)

1) Embrace the lessons/disappointments
2) Own your part (and don’t forget to give God His glory)
3) Repent for your failures and your successes
4) Cast it upon Jesus, trusting Him

LOOKING UP (the present)

1) It’s about God and you (mind your passion)
2) Take some time to rejoice, enjoy the step that you are on
3) Make a gracious but honest self-assessment of where you are presently
4) Acknowledge God’s prevenient grace – you are here now for His foreordained plans

LOOKING FORWARD (the future)

1) Tell God that you believe but to help your unbelief for 2012
2) Ask for a God sized vision for your life, your specific ministry, our shared work at Crossroads
3) Please make some action plans to change what needs to be changed
4) Let’s travel this path together with unity, love and joy with a lot of laughter

THE PERFECT BRIDE?

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“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Revelation 19:7-8

 

“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them [and be] their God. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:2-4

 

If there is a day on which a bride appears nearly in a state of perfection it is  her wedding day.  She isn’t wearing old and tattered clothing.  Whatever perceived flaws of skin and appearance are covered.  For many brides the joy of being united to their groom in marriage subdues even the most negative dispositions or would-be sources of discouragement on that day.  Little things that would seem monumental on any other day seem to fade away into insignificance at the joy of how she looks, feels, and what she is experiencing.

 

So it will be with the Bride of Jesus Christ (the church) in a similar way on her wedding day, yet her perfection will be entirely literal.  The scars she now bears will be utterly healed.  Her struggle with sin and unfaithfulness will be transformed and redeemed.  Her vulnerability to deception and discouragement will vanish.  God’s Word goes so far as to tell us that every tear will be wiped from her eyes.  Death will hold no threat in her life anymore.  And the greatest of all gifts is that she will never be separated by time, space, or sin from her glorious Groom, Jesus Christ!

 

The Bride

In the Bible the Bride is symbolic of the  church.  She represents all of Jesus’ people who are His through faith in the biblical gospel.  If you know that you’ve offended God in your behavior, thought-life, and attitude toward Him, there is good news! God came to earth as the Man Jesus Christ on a rescue mission of love for you.  Knowing you could never live a truly righteous life from the inside out, Jesus fulfilled that requirement for you.  He lived a perfect human life in your place never acting unrighteously at the level of thought, desire, emotion, or behavior for you.  He took the penalty you deserve to undergo because of sin.  The Bible tells us the wages of sin is death and Jesus died in your place for yours sins on a roman cross some two-thousand years ago.  Further, while on that cross He became a propitiation for you.  This means He soaked up the wrath of God the Father which was directed at your sin like a sponge soaks up water.  And victory of victories, He rose from the dead conquering satan, sin, demons, death, and hell on your behalf.  His offer of love is that if you understand your sin and trust in all He did for you to be a sufficient remedy to your sin and a bridge between you and the God from whom you are separated, He will forgive you.  He will clear your spiritual record forever.  He will consider you His perfect child, and part of His perfect Bride, in spite of your enduring imperfections in this life.

 

Already/Not Yet

Faith in this gospel brings the believing person into an already/not yet relationship to individual perfection.  Positionally, because of our faith in the gospel, we are already considered perfectly righteous because our proverbial spiritual bank account has been credited with the very righteousness of Jesus.  This is due to what Martin Luther called the Great Exchange.  At the cross Jesus took all of my sin. At the moment I trusted in the gospel Jesus credited me with all of His righteousness.  This Great Exchange makes us positionally perfect in this life.  And yet, practically and experientially we are not yet literally perfected until we as the Bride are united to Jesus our groom in the age to come.  Until that time we still sin, struggle, and wander at times.  But even in the hardest of times we have hope because we know that “He who began a good work in (us) will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6)

 

Application

What the already/not yet reality of the Bride of Christ means for us today can be looked at from at least two ways:

1. Pastors need to keep working toward a perfect church with perfect Christians, but stop looking for a perfect church with perfect Christians prior to the wedding day.  Lately I’ve found myself dealing with a lot of heart-breaking sin in the lives of God’s people.  Fornication, adultery, marital conflicts, sectarianism, and other things seem to abound.  At times I’ve found myself wanting to think that somehow our church is disturbingly special in our consistent experience of these things.  But when I surveyed the writings of the New Testament recently what I saw was that nearly every book contained words of necessary rebuke and exhortation to sinning Christians, and an imperfect Bride.  Pastor, the reason that letters containing rebuke about sexual sin, relational sin,and  rebellion are the letters God saw fit to govern His Bride for all time is that those problems would persist in ALL generations of her stay on earth, including ours.  If you really seek to be the church and lead the people to holiness we should expect dealing with an imperfect bride in our hearts and churches to be the norm.  The reason we as people need pastoring is that we are not yet a heavenly people, though we will be one day.  Keep working toward spiritual growth and maturity in yourself and the body, but don’t think you and your church are special because you don’t hit that mark before the wedding of the Lamb.

 

2. Christians need to keep working but stop looking for a perfect church with perfect Christians on earth as well.  One of the most common and saddening things I see in the church is people quickly leaving their local church when they’ve been offended by another sinner.  God’s call to us is to hold each other accountable and be willing to be held accountable.  If we continue to simply go find another group of Christians to hang out with at every little offense we face we will never learn how to pursue reconciliation with others through the gospel, our offenders will never grow because of a lack of loving but firm accountability in their lives, and we will continue to bounce from church to church as we are let down by the reality of offenders causing offenses in every house of prayer we enter.

 

Exhortation

The Bride of Christ is already perfect positionally, but we have a long way to go practically.  Let’s all look forward in eager anticipation of that day of perfection when we meet Jesus together face to face, and let us practice the grace of the gospel toward one another in the meantime as the Holy Spirit trains us together in this life for that final and only true utopia.

MULTIPLYING LEADERSHIP

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“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”[1] ­– Luke speaking of Jesus


“I also look at the men God gathered around me and I sort of chuckle as I see the ones that God has used…The whole purpose of God is to choose those who really aren’t qualified, but then to anoint them with His Spirit.  Then, when the results are forthcoming, it’s an amazement and wonder to the world.”[2] – Chuck Smith


One of the most interesting things about the ministry of Jesus is that He selected leaders to train who would one day lead His people before He began gathering followers.[3]  He called men to Himself.  He called them to spend long seasons with Him away from their families.  He called them to leave their former occupations and come after Him.  And as you read of the ministry of Jesus in the synoptic gospels you see that these men hardly left Jesus’ side for three years.

Jesus and Leadership Multiplication

What’s all of this about?  It was about training the future leaders of His people.  In addition to spending lots of time praying alone with the Father, preaching to large crowds, and being available to serve individuals He came across who were in need, Jesus spent a ton of His time training leaders.  The twelve apostles were constantly sitting at His feet learning.  Generally speaking, Jesus would spend time formally teaching them in a small group settings.  This would be followed by giving them opportunities to serve.  He would send them out to preach, baptize, and work miracles by the Holy Spirit.  After these field trips the apostles would then come back to Jesus and He would give them more instruction, and the whole thing would begin again.[4]

As the story of the New Testament unfolds, Jesus spent three years teaching these men, testing these men, and allowing them to watch Him work.  At the end of that time Jesus died for our sins, was buried three days, and rose from the dead.  He then spent forty more days giving the apostles the last bits of information and training they needed before ascending back into heaven from where He came and pouring out the Holy Spirit upon them at Pentecost.  From that moment when they received the power of the Holy Spirit those men began to lead Jesus’ people in His physical absence, under His leadership, in accordance with the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

The Apostles and Leadership Multiplication

Fast-forward in the book of Acts and you find the apostles training other men after the pattern of how Jesus trained them.  In the missionary journeys of Paul you often see him traveling with a group of companions who were assisting him and learning from him.[5]  After serving faithfully alongside Paul and being tested in regard to personal gifts and calling, young men like Timothy and Titus were placed as pastors over local churches they had assisted in planting.[6]  The Apostles practiced Jesus’ example of multiplying leaders for the people through apprentice and assistant style training, and placed new leaders over new church plants wherever they went.[7]

Early Church Pastors and Leadership Multiplication

The teaching of the New Testament is that this element of intentionally training leaders in an apprentice style system wasn’t to stop with the apostle’s individual ministries.  Paul wrote as much to his assistant Timothy when he was pastoring the church in Ephesus: “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”[8]  Timothy was to see carrying on this method of multiplying leaders, which began in Jesus’ training of the twelve and continued in the apostles’ training of early church pastors like him, as a major part of his duties as a pastor.

 

You, Me, and Leadership Multiplication

I would suggest that the mandate to multiply leaders after the example of Jesus and men like Paul and Timothy is as real for church planters and pastors today as it was in the first century.  In seeking to follow the example of the New Testament in this area I began to pray for a church planting team when I sensed Jesus was going to move us to Utah to start Refuge Church.  The Lord provided a great team for the task.  When we held our first service, though we only had about twelve people in attendance, we had a small worship team, Bible teacher, and Sunday school teacher prepared to serve.  All of these roles were filled by six adults Jesus put together for our church planting team.

In addition to prayerfully putting together a planting team when we started the church, we also started Refuge School of Ministry when the church began to grow and become more established.  The school of ministry is designed to be a church-based context in which men who sense a call to ministry and church planting can get theological instruction, character strengthening, and spiritual gift and calling discernment through practical service opportunities.  Usually our class times consist of our pastors teaching and praying with ten to twelve guys who sense a call to ministry.  The Lord has blessed this venture in faith in huge ways.

A Command to Leaders

We didn’t start the school of ministry to be cool, or because we saw a burning bush telling us to do so.  We did it in response to the example of Jesus, the apostles, and the command of 2 Timothy 2:2.  My challenge to you if you are a pastor is to ask yourself if you’ve taken the command to multiply leadership seriously enough.  If not, why not?  If you are an aspiring church planter, pray that God would give you the right team to assist you.  With a team you can not only do far more than you could on your own, but you will be able to begin training leaders from day one who will be able to assist you, and perhaps even plant more churches in the future.  Hopefully you don’t just want to plant a church, but a church-planting-church.  The fact is that if you don’t pray and work toward multiplying leaders you will never have a church-planting-church in the long-run.  The Lord wants to train others through you.  Let Him.

 

Sending New Leaders

The Lord is fulfilling the vision he gave to us at Refuge Church to be a church-planting-church.  He is training men in our midst.  He is giving clarity on place, timing, and methods for planting new churches.  We believe that as we train men and pray for the Lord’s leading He will continue to reveal specific the men He is calling and gifting to plant more churches from within our local body.  This conviction is born out of what we see in the book of Acts.

“Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.  As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’  Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands of them, they sent them away.  So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went…”[9]

Exhortation

 Is this dynamic happening in your leadership team?  If you’re looking to plant a church, is the training of new leaders something you’re already praying over as you prepare to step out in faith? Multiplying leadership is a New Testament church planting mandate.  Brothers, let’s do our job.

[1] Luke 9:1-2 NKJV

[2] Smith, Chuck. Calvary Chapel Distinctives. Pages 107 & 108

[3] See Matthew 4:18-25

[4] The Master’s Plan of Evangelism. Is a great resource that explains Jesus’ method of training and discipleship.

[5] Acts 20:1-6

[6] 1 Timothy 4:14; Titus 1:5

[7] Acts 14:23

[8] 2 Timothy 2:2 NKJV

[9] Acts 13:1-4a NKJV

Consider…

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Hebrews 10:24

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,”

 

And how is that done in us? It’s by that same kind of sacrificial, unconditional, and expecting nothing in return kind of love being exercised towards us personally.

CONSIDER, v.t. [L., to consider, to view attentively, to sit by; to sit. See Sit. The literal sense is, to sit by or close, or to set the mind or the eye to; hence, to view or examine with attention.]

1. To fix the mind on, with a view to a careful examination; to think on with care; to ponder; to study; to meditate on.

God has sovereignly placed us each in this body of His, and gifted each one of us, by His Spirit, with certain gifts, as He has seen fit, and one of the ways that God is to be glorified and extolled, one of the ways He is to be lifted up in this our generation is by taking heed and putting into practice the very word of God which we now hold in our hands and are considering…

“Let us consider one another…” 

In Fine Art galleries, in front of certain paintings and fine sculptures there will be a bench. Not in front of every single one, only in front of certain pieces. Why? It is placed there because someone thinks that it would be well worth your time to stop, sit down, and really look at this painting, look at the attention to detail, look at the overall canvas…and consider.

This is also a military term. We see the Lord use it in asking satan if he has “considered” His servant, Job.

When the author says, “Let us consider one another,” that consideration should ultimately play itself out in being considerate.

CONSIDERING, ppr. Fixing the mind on; meditating on; pondering; viewing with care and attention; deliberating on.

CONSIDERATE, a.

1. Given to consideration, or to sober reflection; thoughtful; hence, serious; circumspect; careful; discreet; prudent; not hasty or rash; not negligent.

Philippians 2:3-4

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

We are encouraged and exhorted in scripture, over and over, to be intentional in our considerations of others and that consideration should be lived out on purpose, for a purpose. And along the way I think you will find your joy increasing and God being glorified how we are demonstrating the manner of love the Father has given unto us so freely by His Spirit.

Calvary Chapel: D+

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I recognize that this title is a bit provactive. It is not written merely to be so. Perhaps I could have entitled it “Calvary Chapel D3,” but “D+” actually does a better job of presenting what I see as a problem.

I’ve been a part of the Calvary Chapel Movement since I was 11 years old. Almost my entire Christian experience has been within the Calvary style of ministry. I’ve served in full-time vocational ministry within Calvary Chapel for nearly 13 years in many different capacities. I’ve served as a youth pastor, assistant pastor and now senior pastor at Calvary Escondido. I’ve taught at Calvary Chapel Bible Colleges in Siegen, Germany; Murrieta, California and Costa Mesa. I assisted with Worship Generation at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa back in 2000 and 2001. I’ve been privileged to work alongside men who I consider to be giants in the faith. But my heart has been troubled over the last several years to see certain shifts within this great movement. Troubled as we, the Calvary Chapel Movement, have become detached, disengaged and defensive.

I am still in awe that I have been given the opportunity to teach at Calvary Chapel Bible College for the last 8 years. What began as a wishful desire has become a regular part of my routine. This semester I had the largest class I’ve had to date, nearly a 100 students. Most of those students are in their last semesters at the school. They are preparing to go into “the ministry.” In my interaction with them I am amazed how detached they are from the larger work of God through the [non-Calvary Chapel] church. I realize that this is likely a reality within many such institutions. Two examples of this immediately come to mind.

Early in this last semester I had made a passing comment about the work being done by Acts29 and Mark Driscoll. I was stopped by raised hand within 30 seconds, “What’s Acts29 and who is Mark Driscoll?” I asked my students, “How many of you know what Acts29 is and about Mark Driscoll?” I think 2 people, out of a hundred, raised their hands.

Just a couple of weeks ago, in talking about eschatology (I rotate between teaching Isaiah and Jeremiah at the college) I made reference to amillennial and preterist doctrine; again I was stopped, “What is that?” Again I asked, “How many of you know what these things are?” Blank stares abounded.

My point is not that everyone should know of Acts29 or Mark Driscoll, or that all Christians should have a good grasp of preterism and amillennial theology, but that we, the leadership and future leaders of the movement are a bit detached from the larger work of the church and what is happening in current ecclesiology in our own sphere. If 3rd and 4th semester Bible College students at our movement’s primary school have no clue about the opposing eschatological views within Christendom, in a movement which has, as one of it’s primary distinctives, a pre-millennial and pre-tribulational eschatology, there’s a problem.

One of the primary curricula at CCBC is listening to audio tracks of Pastor Chuck Smith’s through the bible series, recorded in the 1970’s & 1980’s. Please don’t misunderstand what I’m about to say. I love Pastor Chuck Smith and greatly appreciate his ministry. I don’t know that I’d be in the ministry today if it were not for his clear exhortation to serve and follow God given at a youth camp I attended as a sophomore in high school. Be that as it may, I do not believe this emphasis to be helpful, for several reasons.

  1. It breeds the kind of personality cult which Paul preaches against in 1 Corinthians
  2. It produces students with an incredibly limited scope of biblical understanding
  3. It produces teachers that tend to parrot what they’ve heard, rather than rightly dividing the word of truth.
  4. It creates (not at all intentionally) defensiveness toward anyone who disagrees with Pastor Chuck’s position
  5. It creates a cultural frame of reference that is about 30-40 years outdated

Given enough time I could probably come up with a dozen or more additional reasons. I realize that by writing such things I’m opening myself up to get slammed. I pray that that will not be the case. Speaking to students at the Bible College and pastors throughout our movement I find many times over that we’ve become detached from the the larger work of the church. This detachment is not at all intentional. A couple of months ago I had an opportunity to meet and interact with Ed Stetzer on the topic of Calvary Chapel, he observed very much the same detachment when told me, “Calvary Chapel has become insular.” His words were in no way antagonistic; rather he expressed them with a bit of sorrow. Unfortunately I believe his observation to be spot on. It is grieving when I meet pastors from outside Calvary who say to me, “What has happened to Calvary?” My answer to Ed Stetzer and many others who have expressed such concern has been, “We’ve begun to define ourselves by what we’re against on not by what we’re about.”

Our detachment has lead to a defensiveness toward other theological positions and a disengagement from our original mission. In seeking to clearly articulate what a Calvary Chapel is we’ve opted to tell everyone what we are not, instead of showing people who we are. “We are not Calvinists,” “we are not emergent,” “we are not seeker,” “We don’t like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, John MacArthur, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt, etc…” There was a time where defining exactly what a Calvary Chapel was wasn’t entirely easy, but those on the outside of the movement couldn’t argue against what they were witnessing. Sinners were being saved and transformed into saints who went on to plant churches, lots of them; and many of them became the largest in the nation. Yes, on some levels that is still happening, but it is much harder to be “Calvary” in 2011 than it was in 1991, or even 2001. In defining who we aren’t I believe we’ve lost sight of what we’re truly are all about.

Sure, there are things that are distinctively “Calvary Chapel,” but mostly we’ve been a non-denominational, bible believing/preaching movement that makes disciples and plants churches. The question is, can we move through this awkward grumpy old man stage and reengage on the offensive for the cause of the Kingdom, and not be distinctively detached, disengaged and defensive?

Alright give it to me… but remember I’m sleep deprived having just brought my wife and our 3rd baby home from the hospital within the last 48 hours 😉

Evangeline Grace DeBenedictis
December 6, 2011
7lbs 13oz

PASTOR, WHO HAVE YOU BEEN MEETING WITH!

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“Now John answered and said, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.’  But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.’”[1]

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”[2]

A hot topic in the body of Christ in North America these days is the issue of unity.  Simply, followers of Jesus are wondering about what kinds of churches and Christians they can affirm and hang out with.  Can a Calvary Chapel Christian hang out with a Reformed Christian?  Can a seeker sensitive church affirm a fundamentalist church?  Can a pastor who favors expository preaching go to lunch with the topic-driven preacher across town?  Can we develop meaningful relationships with anyone outside of our immediate denomination, movement, or dogmatic theological persuasion?  Let me share some things from a couple different meetings I’ve recently attended that have caused me to revisit the issue of unity in the body of Christ amongst pastors and congregations afresh.

A Tale of Two Meetings

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to gather at two different meetings with two different unity dynamics.  The first meeting was with four pastors including myself from different denominations, theological and educational backgrounds, and churches with different philosophies of ministry.  The second meeting was with most of the Calvary Chapel pastors of Northern Utah and their wives.

Meeting with the Calvary Chapel Camp

At the meeting with the Calvary Chapel pastors and wives there was lots of good fellowship, food, and encouragement.  It was a good chance to get to know each other better and pray for what God is doing, and just catch up.

The unity factor in this meeting was primarily founded on the Jesus of the Bible and the biblical gospel.  But there was more to our unity than Jesus and the simple gospel.  That particular group had what we could call wider doctrinal unity as well.  In addition to the essential doctrines of orthodox Christianity we shared similar perspectives on philosophy of ministry, theological issues like eschatology and soteriology, and the method of Bible teaching (expository preaching).

Points of Greatest Impact

Having unity in Jesus and His gospel was definitely the most important thing to this group.  But it is true that we also had a special connection over secondary issues like those named above.  We agree on many things that a person doesn’t need to affirm to be considered a born-again Christian with a genuine relationship with Jesus.  I enjoy having wider doctrinal unity with friends.  It’s fun to talk about and appreciate our unique role in the body of Christ locally and globally.  So, enough about that; let’s move on to the next meeting.

Meeting with the Multi-perspectival Camp

My other meeting was with some pastors from a multi-perspectival frame of mind.  In this group, instead of having wider doctrinal and methodological unity, we had what you could simply call gospel unity.  This is because, beyond the biblical gospel, we have differing perspectives and practices on a number of things.

One of the pastors is definitely the guy with the coolest church in town.  They’ve got an awesome building, awesome music, inspiring messages, lots of art and technology, and all that good stuff.  They do really well reaching the un-churched and younger generations in the Salt Lake Valley.

One of the other pastors at this meeting is a seasoned man with lots of wisdom and experience.  He is from a Dutch Reformed background, and serves in our area as a sort of pastor of pastors helping planters and their families stay healthy and network together.

Another pastor in the group has been a prominent leader regionally in the Evangelical Free Church, and is now one of a number of teaching pastors at one of the largest churches in Northern Utah.  The church at which he serves gets much love and criticism in our area because on the one hand they seem to be reaching lots of people. But on the other hand they are seen by some as a kind of Walmart style church because they’ve successfully worked through a few church mergers which resulted in one multiple campus church which used to consist of at least four independent churches.  No matter what your opinion is about the philosophy of ministry of this church, the truth is that Jesus is using them to save many people in Northern Utah.  They are being used greatly by the Lord to reach Mormons and former Mormons in our area, and I praise God for that.

Lastly, there was me!  I am the lead pastor of a Calvary Chapel affiliated church called Refuge Church in Riverdale, UT.  If you were to come to our church you’d typically find loud music, one hour expository sermons, and an atmosphere of love.  As of the time of this writing we are planning our sixty-sixth baptism in the past fourteen months which is to take place on Christmas day because Jesus has been graciously saving and changing lots of people through a less than two-year-old church-plant.  Most of the people whom Jesus has saved at Refuge are burnt out on religion because of the influence of the predominant religious institution in our state.  They are normal people, with human problems, looking for a God of grace and transformation.

Obviously, this group of pastors could come up with many things on which they have differences of perspective and practice.  Some of us prefer topical preaching while some of us prefer expository preaching.  Some of us have a more Arminian bent when it comes to salvation, and some of us are decidedly Calvinistic and Reformed.  Some of us preach for thirty minutes, and some of us preach for over an hour.  We could potentially go on for a while listing differences of perspectives, doctrinal positions, and methodology represented by each man at this meeting.

Points of Greatest Impact

In all of the differences one might be able to deduce from the men represented in this meeting, it wasn’t our differences, but the things in which we had unity that impacted me most.

Confession time: In the past I have definitely spent much of my time beating up the body of Christ with which I don’t have wider doctrinal unity.  I’ve been one of those guys content to read only books by guys I have full or at least buzz topic agreement (certain bents on the finer points of soteriology, etc.).  I have been content to mainly hang out with Christians and churches I have almost total agreement with, while criticizing any church or pastor that seemed seeker sensitive, topical, emergent, and on and on and on.

Time for more confession: I had even had some of the thoughts and emotions described above toward some of the ministries represented by the pastors who were with me in the second meeting.  About five years ago, the Holy Spirit worked me over in regard to my sectarian mentality, and I’m thankful for that.  Sometimes that residue of sectarianism still creeps up and I have to kill it, and the pride that spawns it in my heart.  This meeting helped me do that again.

I saw a number of things in this meeting that both challenged and encouraged me which spurred me on to write this post:

1. These guys showed love for our brothers in Christ that I wasn’t sure I possessed.

The entire point of this meeting from the perspective of these men was to figure out how they could bless Utah church-planters.  They didn’t care if the guy was Baptist, Calvary Chapel, Reformed, Arminian, or what, as long as they stood for the biblical Jesus and the biblical gospel.  I saw in the eyes, and heard in the voices of these guys a love for other brothers that was born simply out of the reality of being brothers in Christ with them!  I honestly didn’t know if that kind of heart was beating in my chest with the same genuineness and grace I sensed in these men, and I prayed for it silently right in the meeting as the Holy Spirit was challenging me through what I was seeing.

2. These guys showed incredible love for me which I knew I didn’t deserve.

Additionally, I was humbled by the love these guys had for me.  As I sat and listened to these guys I couldn’t help but wonder how I had ended up at a meeting with men Jesus was using so much.  And yet, it didn’t matter to them that I was younger, different in some ways, or whatever.  They believed we could work together for the good of the kingdom beyond our wider doctrinal and methodological issues, and they were glad I was there.  They even wanted to hear my ideas!

3. These guys really are on the same mission to which Jesus has called me and the church I lead.

No matter what differences the men in this meeting have, we have the more important things in common.  We worship the same Jesus, preach the same gospel, and advance the same kingdom.  Those common bonds are greater than any differences we possess, even important differences.

4. These guys really do have the same enemy that I do.

This last point was perhaps most impacting for me in regard to unity.  As each man shared about spiritual warfare in their life, it occurred to me that we were not only unified in our Savior and mission, but in our enemy.  Each man had dealt with spiritual warfare in the form of demonic dreams, depression, and sickness.  We’d dealt with all the same kinds of satanic opposition to the work Jesus had called us to complete.  As we talked about the struggles and challenges of serving Jesus in a demonically oppressed place like Utah, it suddenly became even clearer that we are certainly not fighting for different teams at the end of the day.  We go about the fight differently.  We emphasize different weapons at times.  But when it comes down to it, we’re fighting for the same kingdom, and we’re fighting against the same enemy.

Exhortation

If you struggle with sectarianism, repent and be blessed.  Whoever isn’t against you is for you.  I’d encourage you to meditate on Luke 9:49-50 and see what the Holy Spirit has to say to you.  Let’s enjoy the wider doctrinal unity we have with other believers, churches, and pastors in our unique theological and methodological camps.  But let’s also enjoy simply having gospel unity with those outside our specific camps.  Find and pray with pastors and Christians of other backgrounds.  Develop relationships of encouragement with them.  The very witness of the gospel depends upon it.  Let me leave you with a prayer of Jesus He offered to the Father on behalf of all of His people, world-wide, of all generations:

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”[3]  

 

[1] Luke 9:49-50 NKJV

[2] Psalm 133:1 NKJV

[3] John 17:20-21 NKJV

The Smell of Booze, Cigarettes, and Perfume…

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The best odors my sanctuary has ever had!  On January 2, 2011, I received a very hard call.  A 20 year old female had taken her life the day before.  The family was devastated and they wanted my help.  I assured them we, the church, would do whatever we could do to help them through this very difficult time.  Long story short, I officiated the funeral services at the church and the place was packed–literally standing room only.  As the service began, it was clear that this was not a Christian crowd.  The smells of booze, cigarettes, and perfume were strong and distinct.  The hopelessness was heavy in this room as Christ was not known by the majority in the crowd. This was a sweet opportunity share to the hope I have in Christ to this group desperate for any sort of hope.  It has been almost a year since this event, and we have seen much fruit from this horrible event.

I would like to share some things I have learned from this event.

1.  Pastor, be out in the community.  Good things happen when you are out.  Get involved in the community you live in.  When I was in seminary a missionary came and shared about their ministry.  She said something I found very profound, “We share Christ because we love the people; we don’t love the people in order to share Christ.”  You may have to ponder that one for a while before you get it.  Do you love and invest in the people in your community genuinely?  If you do they will know it.

2.  Fruit takes time.  Results never come as fast as we like.  As I enter my fifth year at Valley Baptist Church, I am continually amazed by a visit from a family, or see something happen in the life of an individual that I encountered years ago.  I am reminded that my responsibility is to be faithful and God will be the increase in His own timing!  I believe we have to take the long-term approach in reaching our community.  It is more about planting roots, serving, and plowing away in the short term…but then a day comes when fruit starts coming from years of labor.  Don’t loose heart!

Lessons From the Asphalt

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NOTE: I wrote this back in July, 2006 for “Bill’s Musings.” But every time I re-read it, I smile. Oftentimes, I draw on its lessons. So with that as a background, I share this with you today.

________________________

Tonight, I’m in pain. It’s 11:43 PM (7/11/06) as I type this. My left palm is aching, my right knee is dinged up, my right elbow and wrist are scraped raw, and my right big toe has a chunk missing out of it.

What happened?

Well, it all started late in the day when I realized that my high-energy dog (aka “Mercy”) had not had any real exercise all day long. I didn’t have much time before I had to get going. I didn’t want to miss that dinner engagement with a dear, dear couple I’ve known for years, but if I didn’t hurry I’d be late. So I did what I have lately been in the habit of doing. I hopped on my mountain bike, wearing only an Aloha shirt (what else?), my shorts and my flip flops. Then I leashed up my ever eager canine friend for a 1-mile quickie, just to get her tension out.

About 90% through our ride, as things were moving along just swimmingly, a car pulled up next to me. It was a doctor friend who’d stopped to chat. His first words were, “Why you’re bold to be out on your bike like that with your dog pulling alongside of you!”

Knowing what he meant (he was referring to how dangerous it could be), I confidently assured him that all was well. “After all,” I said, “we’ve done this many times before, and this dog knows what to do. It’s no problem.” Then we talked some, and had a real nice conversation.

Eventually, he pulled away headed toward his home, wife, and kids. As for me, I once again just got going with my patient dog alongside of me, who by that time was very eager to get rolling.

Not 20 seconds later it happened. The Unexpected. A neighbor’s Dalmatian came out of nowhere, itching to mix it up at worst, or just play at best, with my dog. Not good. One thing you need to know about Mercy, she is a big ole’ chicken when it comes to other dogs. When she sees one, she reacts. Biting, barking, threatening, and cowering, all at the same time.

Needless to say, this collision of canines messed up my bike ride real quick. The next thing I knew I was being hurled forward, out of control, hands outstretched, surrealistically waiting to hit the ground, which I eventually did. Ouch. Hence, the aching palm, dinged up knee, and scraped up appendages.

Is there a lesson in all of this? But of course! I have to laugh when I think about it.

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Boy, did I have everything under control! Wasn’t I the master of the situation? My dog and I, we’ve been doing this bike-ride-dog-run thing for a long time, you see. Both she and I know what we’re doing. No problema. Hah!

I thought I was “standing.” In reality, I was setting myself up for a fall. Literally. My pride, over confidence, and self sufficiency were once again the sources of my demise.

I do this same thing in my spiritual life as well. I become confident in an area in which I’ve experienced success. My strength then becomes my weakness. I go from “Apart from Me, you can do nothing” thinking to “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” thinking to “I can do all things” thinking.

Then my Father, because of His great love for me, lets me fall of my bike. Reality Check “101” for the 500th time. When will I ever learn? I’ve come to the conclusion that I suffer from spiritual Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, I will learn, but only one day at a time. Sometimes only one moment at a time. That’s not to say that I can’t benefit from long term memory of God’s past faithfulness, because I can. But it is to say that I need daily, fresh awareness of God and His ways, or I’ll be likely to fall down. It’s sort of like D.L. Moody’s answer to the question he was asked re: his habit of constantly praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit. “Why do you pray that prayer so often, Mr. Moody?” His response: “Because I leak.”

If Moody leaked, then I’m a sieve. I need the Lord. Thankfully, I have Him. Christ dwells within me, and is completely for me. He’s for you, too!

Fortunately for me, I got off lightly. It could’ve been a whole lot worse. Broken bones, perhaps a bashed skull, who knows how bad it could’ve been? (“Thanks, angel!”)

Lessons from the asphalt. In the last two Musings, we’ve had lessons from the Vineyard.

This evening, I experienced what Matt Redman calls “Face Down Worship.” Now I know what that means.

May God bless you and keep you powerfully. Oh, how He loves you and me!

In Christ,

Bill Holdridge

Making Missionary Christians

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“Do you love Me?…Feed my sheep.”[1] – Jesus

“…the church exists for the edifying or the building up of the saints; to bring the saints into full maturity so that they might engage in the work of the ministry.”[2] – Chuck Smith

“Preach and teach the Word—the very life of the church depends on it! It has the power to save lives, change lives, and give life.”[3] – Brian Brodersen

When men who are called by God and empowered by the Spirit of God preach the gospel, people become new creations.  They come to spiritual life for the first time.  This is what happened on the day of Pentecost.  The Apostle Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and preached the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are told that upon hearing the gospel from the lips of this imperfect but Spirit-filled man who was chosen by Jesus, over three-thousand people believed in Jesus and became born again.[4]  We may not see three-thousand people come to Jesus when we preach, or maybe we will.  What we can be sure of is that if we are called to plant churches someone is going to come to Jesus from time to time when we preach the gospel.

 

The Vision of Jesus for His Church

The truth is that Jesus doesn’t just want people to be saved; He wants people to be discipled.  I like to think of a disciple as a spiritual apprentice.  Before Jesus ascended back into heaven He told the twelve: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.”[5]

 

According to Jesus you need to do two things to become a disciple: First, you need to get baptized publically demonstrating that you have repented of your sin and trusted in His work on the cross for forgiveness and reconciliation with God.  Second, you need to begin learning to live by His commands as explained by the apostles and prophets to whom His commands were originally given.  The cool thing is that we have access to the commands of Jesus that were received by the apostles today in the pages of the Bible.  This means that people today can be born again through faith in the gospel message, and then become disciples by being baptized and beginning to learn to live by the teaching of Jesus that we find in the Bible.

 

Missionary Training Centers

Church planters need to see the local church communities that are gathered through their preaching as missionary training centers.  In fact, Jesus’ original intent for giving leaders to His church is that those leaders would teach His people, disciple His people, and train them in the Word that they might be able to serve Him effectively in their individual callings.  The Apostle Paul wrote of this in Ephesians four: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”[6]

 

Each type of Spirit-gifted man listed above has in common the fact that they are all communicators of God’s Word in one way or another.  Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers all have their own version of a Bible communicating ministry.  According to Paul, Jesus gave men with these gifts to the church specifically that through their teaching the rest of the church would be equipped to serve God in their respective callings.  This is discipleship!  Gifted Bible teachers teaching Christians to obey Jesus’ commands for their lives is the picture in Ephesians four, and it is Jesus’ plan for how His command to make disciples is to be accomplished.

 

This means that churches that are merely evangelistic are only doing half of their job at best.  Jesus style churches don’t just get people saved by giving them the gospel; they equip and disciple them through teaching them the Bible.  The other side is true as well.  If a church is only focused on deep teaching and doesn’t charge the people to take what they learn in the Bible and put it into practice on mission in their personal lives, they are merely encouraging spiritualized consumerism.

 

Getting Our Priorities Straight

If you want to be a church planter, you must have this straight.  If you don’t set up systems for discipling new converts and training Christians in the Word you will never have a missionary church that is going into the world to do the work of the ministry.  You will have a bunch of unhappy baby Christians who are so hungry because of a lack of being fed the Word that they will eat each other, and you.  If you feed them the Word you will see the love of God in your church.  You will see Christians mature in their relationship with Jesus and start living like Jesus.  You will see them begin to share the gospel in their lives.  You will see them take care of one another.  And yes, you will see those who merely want to consume and never contribute hit the road.  But the result will be that you will have a vibrant local church that really is a missionary training center that is being used by Jesus to advance His kingdom.

 

I want to leave you with a biblical picture of the first local church that was birthed by the gospel, nurtured in a community of discipleship, and used to bring many other souls into the kingdom as a result.  This can be your church if you do it God’s way.

 

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.  Then fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.  Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” [7]

 

Summary and Exhortation

That dynamic, Spirit-filled, loving, sharing, and kingdom spreading local church began as a group of newly saved Christians who, “continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine.”  Think about it.  Pray about it.  Do it.

[1] John 21:17a-c NKJV

[2] Smith, Chuck. The Philosophy of Ministry of Calvary Chapel. Page 3.

[3] Brodersen, Brian. Essentials in Ministry. Page 10.

[4] Acts 2:41

[5] Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV

[6] Ephesians 4:11-12 NKJV

[7] Acts 2:42-47 NKJV