Archive for the 'preaching' Category

 The Christian blogosphere is abuzz with reaction to Willow Creek’s revelation that spiritual growth in their church has been less than satisfactory.  Village Missionary Steve Hall originally directed my attention to a blog at “Out of Ur.”  Attendance at programs in the church did not translate into changed lives.

Much of the reaction falls in the category of “Gotcha!”  These writers knew all along that Willow Creek was like the Platte River-a mile wide and an inch deep.  For example, Bob Burney writes:

Just as Spock’s “mistake” was no minor error, so the error of the seeker sensitive movement is monumental in its scope. The foundation of thousands of American churches is now discovered to be mere sand. The one individual who has had perhaps the greatest influence on the American church in our generation has now admitted his philosophy of ministry, in large part, was a “mistake.” The extent of this error defies measurement.

Much gentler, H.B. London writes in the Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, Nov. 9:

As I read various reports, I could not help but think of the thousands of pastors who did not buy into the “seeker sensitive” strategy who lost members and even their own ministry because they were out of touch. Teaching the fundamentals of faith was not enough.

You can find just about every blog article you wish about the controversy and then some at BILLYCHIA.COM.

Personally, I commend Willow Creek for their courage in asking hard questions about their spiritual effectiveness.  They could have easily coasted along surviving and thriving on their numbers.  They surveyed their attendees because they were interested in much more than numbers.

Not that I didn’t have problems with the Willow Creek approach, at least as I perceived it.  I never felt that the worship of the body of Christ was to be directed toward “unchurched Harry.”  I have this old-fashioned idea that we should worship God.  The idea of selective preaching to gain a crowd rather than preaching the whole counsel of God is abhorrent to me if that is indeed what was done.

I also had problems with the performance mentality in which everything done had to have the quality of a Broadway production.  Bill Hybels once spoke to a class I attended.  I asked him about Virginia.  Virginia definitely stood out in a crowd.  She was a large, over weight woman who was mentally handicapped.  She cut her own hair or, I should say, she chopped her own hair.  She had black, high-topped sneakers and always wore a ragged dress.  She sang in our choir, always wanting to stand in front.  Virginia didn’t know any better.  So, I asked Bill what he would do with Virginia.  He told the class that he would try to find a place for Virginia out of the limelight.

Of course, I was being smug and setting Bill up for an unspiritual answer.  I too was playing “Gotcha!”  He was exposed as not valuing the “least of these” and not being Christ-like.  In actuality, however, Virginia often embarrassed me.  I often wished she would quit the choir, especially when we had a visitor who did not know the story behind her.  I didn’t want her up front either!

I think a country church has the wonderful potential to produce growing Christians.  A pastor in a country church can model what it means to follow Christ and he knows the spiritual level of his people.  He has a unique opportunity to mentor them.  I experienced this myself as Village Missionary Ray Bell mentored me.

But we shouldn’t be too smug as we learn of Willow Creek.  Would our people be any better off spiritually if we surveyed them?  Would we have the courage to ask them about the effectiveness of our preaching or our programs?

Big or small, rural, suburban, or urban any of us can fall into the trap of ministering to succeed.  I did at times.  If we minister out of faithfulness to God and His Word perhaps He will be pleased to produce true spiritual fruit.  Perhaps then, according to Hebrews, we will be able to give adequate account for the souls under our charge.  Even such souls as Virginia!

 As word of my cancer has spread, many people have come up to me and expressed their loving concern.  Several have told me that they are praying for me and asked me how I was doing and how I was feeling.  This has been especially true at Stonecroft Ministries where the staff takes very seriously the ministry of prayer.  I am extremely thankful for your concern and the tremendous missionary family I have the privilege of serving.

Physically, I am feeling better than I have felt in a long time because I have lost some weight.  My prostate cancer was not diagnosed because of the presence of symptoms.  Instead, my annual blood work indicated an increasing P.S.A. level that led to a biopsy.  Actually, it is very serious if you have symptoms with prostate cancer, as symptoms are an indication that it hasn’t been detected early enough.  Men, please have your annual blood work done!

As I write this, it is exactly one month until my surgery on Dec. 3.  I am doing well emotionally and spiritually now but it is conceivable that as surgery draws near I won’t be doing as well.  I can imagine that the closer the day is, the higher my anxiety will be.  Could it be that the day of the surgery, as I pull into a parking space at the hospital, my hands will freeze fast to the steering wheel?  Will they drag me kicking and screaming into surgery with me only becoming calm when they give me the “La-La” juice?

The possibility of my becoming a basket case brings me to another way that God is strengthening me.  God has strengthened me through the knowledge that no matter how weak I become God will not forsake me.  His staying with me through any trial has nothing to do with my strength but everything to do with His strength and the completeness of what He has done for me in Christ.  Are not the fantastic (virtually unbelievable, but completely believable because they are from God) promises of Romans 8:31-39 perfectly appropriate for minor trials such as mine as well as the severest trial?

I can be weak, fearful, full of anxiety about the surgery or its outcome without ever worrying that my weakness will separate me from God.  He has promised me it will not!

Of course, it would not be good public relations for the Executive Director of Village Missions to be screaming as he enters the hospital!  Neither is it good for a Village Missionary to scream in panic when encountering a trial!  Unfortunately, many of us maintain the appearance of strength on the outside while inwardly we are screaming.  After all, we have to maintain the image of the pastor or the director who is in control!  That is nothing but hypocrisy and such false spirituality does no one any good.  Yet total weakness in the face of adversity would undercut everything we have ever preached about the sufficiency of Christ!  It would certainly undercut everything I have written in this blog thus far about my cancer.

What is the answer?  In my weakness, knowing that God has not forsaken me, I must cling to God’s strength.  It is good to come to the end of our resources and it is even necessary to come to the end of our resources so that we turn to the strength of God.  We must turn to God in the midst of our anxiety and panic.

Paul identifies and illustrates what we must do in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.  He came to God in his weakness caused by the “thorn in the flesh.”  God kept reminding Paul of the sufficiency of His grace.  He informed Paul of a spiritual growth process in which power was “perfected in weakness.”  I think the process was a weaning away in Paul his reliance on his own strength in favor of a developing reliance on God’s strength.  He came to the place where he even relished weakness because of the opportunity for the display of God’s power in him.

I have entered the school of weakness.  It has a curriculum that can be learned in no other way.  I am strengthened in this trial by knowing of an unending love that does its greatest work of grace in the times I am the weakest.  How am I doing?  I am actually doing better by having this opportunity for the display of God’s power than I was doing before I had cancer.

May we embrace every trial we encounter as part of the rich and thoughtful design of God to display His power in our life!

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 2 Tim 4:1-3 NASU
 

Preaching is our most important responsibility as shepherds of the flock of God.  God has tasked the pastor with the faithful, accurate proclamation of His Word and I believe He will hold us accountable for the unfaithful discharge of our chief responsibility.  We are not responsible for what our flock does with the Word of God—the Spirit of God and they are responsible for that—but we are responsible to announce its truth plainly and boldly.
 

I intend this article as a bridge from the series I was doing on creating opposition in the church through our own fault and the opposition that comes when we take a Biblical stand.  On the positive side, if we focus on “Preaching the Word and loving the people” we can avoid much opposition.  In this article I want to explore “Preaching the Word.”
 

Let me add that I in no way want to add further burdens or false expectations to anyone.  I know that many in ministry feel as if one more straw would break their camel’s back.  I firmly believe, however, that proper attention to our preaching ministry will lighten our load and not add to it.  A pastor who is deepening his preaching ministry will often be deepening the spiritual depth of his flock and will certainly be deepening his own walk with the Lord.  We do much to help ourselves when we pay attention to our preaching.
 

By emphasizing preaching I do not deemphasize “loving the people.”  Lack of sacrificial, Christ-like love will undermine everything you say.  You will model for your people a person who says one thing and does something quite different.  They will be quite complacent in remaining in their spiritual hypocrisy as they observe yours.  Ideally, “loving the people” should be the outflow of a deepening personal application of Scripture in which we are becoming more Christ-like.  Paul wrote the Galatians, “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you” (Gal 4:19-20 NASU).  Certainly Christ must be formed in us as we expect His formation in God’s flock through our preaching.
 

Our preaching ministry will in most cases make or break our ministry.  Generally speaking, well fed sheep are happy sheep.  They are much less likely to be breaking down fences in search of food, pushing and biting each other, and going off in wild directions when they have plenty of good, green grass.
 

What are some common pitfalls we face in our preaching ministry?
 

Lack of adequate preparation is certainly one.  It is hard work to prepare a sermon!  For one thing, how can we grapple with our personal application of the text if we are throwing together a sermon at the last minute?  Village Missionaries perhaps struggle with this more so than other pastors.  We stress a relational ministry in which we are with our people.  That takes time—sometimes a lot of time.  Yet with discipline we can carve out adequate preparation time as well.
 

Some of us may need to get up early.  We might have to schedule our study time, allowing the possibility for major interruptions.  Often, we waste the time we have looking at e-mails, doing this and that—everything but the deep digging into the text that we need.  Certainly, the most critical and important thing we do deserves the priority of our attention.
 

Another pitfall involves inattention to communication.  I recently learned of a Village Missionary who is preaching 45 minutes or longer to his congregation.  He is sharing all the deep truth he learns in his study of the Word but his congregation is dismayed because they don’t understand much of what he says!  If he continues on his present path, he won’t last long, no matter what we try to do to help him.
 

We need to understand that it is our responsibility as a communicator of God’s truth to communicate.  Communication, especially in today’s world, involves sensitivity to the needs of the listener.  You remember the basics of your preaching class.  We have to begin by giving people a reason to listen.  Our message should center on one idea, the homiletical idea that gives unity and clarity to the message.  We have to help people transition through our message, making sure that main points are highlighted as main points and each is logically related to the other and certainly tied to the text.  Extraneous material needs to be avoided as it only confuses the listener.  We conclude our message with something that cements the truth and gives a call to action.
 

It is hard work to study a text of Scripture.  It is even harder work to communicate it clearly.  I don’t recall ever preaching a message where I was fully satisfied that it was the best it could be.  Someone who feels that he should preach at least 45 minute messages on a Sunday morning should start by preaching 20 or at the most 30 minute messages.  Only the very best preachers can hold a congregation’s attention beyond that.  When your congregation starts begging you to go longer and expresses disappointment at the shortness of the message, then you will have the freedom to lengthen your messages.
 

Another pitfall is preaching hobby horses or minor points of doctrine.  Old timers in Village Missions may remember that Rev. Duff discouraged missionaries from using the word “predestination.”  I imagine as a former Presbyterian minister Rev. Duff believed in predestination (maybe he did not) but he knew that this doctrine was beyond the scope of our statement of faith and tended to divide believers.
 

Rev. Duff launched this mission with a non-denominational approach that majors on the majors and works quite well, especially in rural communities.  He recognized that a strong stand for major gospel truth will bring people to faith and growth in Christ, while inevitably alienating some.  He also recognized that a strong stand for every detailed minor position will inevitably alienate many, including other believers.  In such a case, the work of the Gospel is not furthered but hindered.
 

We have not changed our approach!  For one thing, imagine how difficult it will be for the Village Missionary following you if he has a different doctrinal perspective!  The one who takes a strong stand on all the five points of Calvinism will make it extremely difficult on a following missionary with a less reformed perspective.  The one who believes in the free will of the sinner will make it difficult on the one with a reformed perspective if “free will” is taught and promoted.  The one who teaches a post-trib rapture will make it difficult for the pre-trib guy.  Major on the majors and use sensitivity and wisdom in dealing with the minors!  If you must discuss doctrines other than the statement of faith do so by surveying the various perspectives.  Much better yet, preach through books of the Bible and faithfully teach your passage.  Be able to defend what you say from that passage and the context of the book. 
 

I realize I will be ruffling some feathers by writing this.  Some feel they must campaign for their particular flavor of theology and feel it would be compromising to not lead their congregation to a “liberating” knowledge of the truth.  Yet, how wonderful if our flock would simply grasp and live the truths reflected in our statement of faith!  Given our world’s ignorance of Scripture, it will take many years of ministry before they will understand the simple but major doctrine reflected in our statement of faith.
 

Another pitfall is to not work at improving your preaching.  There are many resources out there to help us, whether they are books, tapes, or preaching seminars.  Especially if we are getting complaints about our messages, we should be striving to improve.  Your D.R. can be a great resource.  Why not record your message, send it to your D.R., and ask him to suggest ways to improve your preaching?  It is much better that this happen then a church member sending a tape to establish his complaint about your preaching ministry.
 

Finally, perhaps the most serious pitfall of all is to not apply personally what you preach.  Your congregation will constantly be watching you to see if you believe the truths of the gospel enough to apply them.  How can we preach on the Great Commission, for example, if we don’t try to lead someone to Christ ourselves?  How can we preach on humility if we react with anger to criticism from a member of our church?  I know how hard it is under the pressure of ministry to do the hard work of personal application and I’m not saying I did a very good job.  Yet I do remember wonderful, devotional times of study as the great truths of Scripture penetrated my soul.  It is one of the areas I miss most about the pastorate.
 

Applying your own sermons will sustain and even bless you in ministry.  If they don’t, do you think your messages will sustain and bless your flock?  My challenges in applying messages reminded me of how challenging it was for the congregation to do so.  Perhaps avoiding this pitfall of not applying your messages will do the most to avoid the others.  As a vibrant, real experience of Jesus Christ shines through your message and your life, perhaps they will not even mind if you go a little longer.  But please, not an hour!

1 Peter 2:19-21 (NASB): 19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.I mentioned in my blog last month that I had presented a seminar at the Moody Missions Conference about the opposition pastors face in this country. The title of the seminar was “Do Pastors in North America Experience Persecution?” As you notice from the passage above, Peter recognizes the fact that believers can foster self-induced difficulty. We can sin and because of that sin, others will treat us harshly. Alternatively, we can suffer for doing what is right. In my seminar, I considered both causes of “harsh treatment”—our own sin or mistakes and the doing of “right” that causes opposition. In this blog, I want to consider the various ways that we can cause problems for ourselves. These are sure-fire ways to develop opposition to our ministry.

In the future, we are going to have to pay even closer attention to avoiding self-inflicted wounds. Like it or not, we probably lost some or much of our credibility as pastors with the revelations about Ted Haggard. Here was a pastor who built an extremely “successful” church and was one of the leading representatives of the evangelical movement. It doesn’t matter that we had no say in his selection as our leader or that we disagreed with his charismatic theology; he represented us to the outside world. He has given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme and occasion to distrust every pastor who claims that he walks with the Lord. Ted Haggard and others like him have weakened our credibility even in the small communities where many of us serve.

So then, what are some of the ways we can “sin” as pastors, thereby creating deserved opposition to our ministry? In my seminar, I mentioned twelve general areas where we can create problems for ourselves. In this blog, I will consider seven of those areas.

Of course, immorality will bring us harsh treatment and deservedly so. A pastor today needs to be especially on guard against immorality. The number of pastors involved in internet pornography or some type of immoral behavior is staggering. Paul had only the highest standards of personal conduct and called the Thessalonians as witnesses to that conduct. He reminded them of his high standards, writing, “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers” (1 Thessalonians 2:10).

Ted Haggard ought to be a reminder to us that God will expose our sin, no matter how much it reflects badly on His Name. We need to enact safeguards around us that guard us from falling into immorality. Do you have safeguards on your computer? Is your computer screen accessible to others and can others view your files? If not, why not? Do you think that you are stronger and more able to resist temptation than other pastors who have fallen? Do you have someone that holds you accountable? Do you have a policy against counseling a woman alone? Are you seeking to cultivate your relationship with your wife? Does she know where you are at all times? The examples of fallen pastors ought to make us fearful of allowing ourselves any leeway in this area.

Another way we can create opposition against our ministry is laziness. Some pastors are simply lazy, sleeping in, goofing off, and playing when they should be praying. Paul described his hard-working approach to ministry, “For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:9). A congregation, especially in the country, quickly discovers whether a pastor believes in what he is doing enough to work hard at it. They soon detect lack of preparation in messages and lack of dedication in visiting. A poorly fed and cared for flock quickly becomes a restless flock that scatters and creates problems for its shepherd.

Leading a congregation before we earn the right to lead, often a pitfall of new pastors, will stir opposition to our ministry. Paul spoke of how he had earned the trust of the Thessalonians, “But we proved (italics mine) to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7). Have you proved to be gentle among your congregation? Then they might be willing to follow you. Depending on the previous circumstances in a congregation’s history, it might take you years before you earn enough credibility to lead. Are you willing to invest the time necessary demonstrating character and commitment to Christ and demonstrating that they can trust you?

Unfortunately, many rural churches have had pastors who claim to love them but really don’t. Dr. Glenn Daman, director of the Village Missions Center for Leadership Development comments in his new book “Leading the Small Church” about the disturbing tendency to use rural churches as steppingstones to career enhancement. He writes:

Too often, freshly minted pastors view small churches as steppingstones to bigger and better things. They approach ministry as a profession to pursue rather than a calling to develop. They treat the church as a business to expand rather than a living organism to nurture. Although they may enjoy a season of ministry in a particular congregation, they often leave to pursue a more dynamic and growing ministry. They preach faithfulness in marriage and ministry but model adultery in their commitment to the congregation—too often leaving to pursue a more alluring and attractive suitor. Daman, Glenn, Leading the Small Church, (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006), 61-62

No wonder congregations, especially rural congregations, distrust their pastor!Not understanding the culture will often create undue opposition for our ministry. For example, many small churches have a family, relational, culture. This is wonderful in terms of care for one another but can be frustrating in terms of speedy decisions. The patriarch will have to come on board and a decision will have to go through a time of percolation. It is an interesting passage to use but evidently, Paul wanted Titus to know something about the culture of his church people. He wrote in Titus 1:12-13:

12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this cause reprove them severely that they may be sound in the faith.

I think Titus knew a thing or two about serving in a difficult culture! I have heard some Village Missions’ fields described in a negative way but none quite like Crete!Trying to be the dictator will most certainly create opposition for us. Some pastors will “Lord” it over the flock, making sure they control every decision. I knew of one pastor who even refused to let anyone else make the coffee or choose the color of the carpet. Others control board meetings, making sure that they get what they want. Asserted authority in the church never holds as much sway as earned authority. Paul leaves us the right example when he writes, “nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority” (1 Thessalonians 2:6). If the Apostle Paul did not assert his authority as an apostle, why should we assert our authority as a pastor?

Another sure fire way to stir opposition is using people to achieve success. People will quickly sense whether you genuinely care for them or whether you are using then to achieve your personal goals. What a contrast Paul presents to a pastor driven to succeed and willing to step over people to do so! Again reminding the Thessalonians of his ministry, he writes, “Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8). Ministry must be about a pouring out of our lives to people. Their good, their benefit, their walk with the Lord must be always placed above our gain.

We need to be careful here. We will never be so crass as to say, “I want to achieve success.” We will speak of building God’s kingdom and advancing the church, but deep down our motive may be building our own kingdom. We must cultivate a spirit of servanthood where the spiritual benefit of others is our chief concern.

Similar to using people to achieve success is a programmatic approach to rural ministry. In today’s church culture, programs are king. Pastors are often in a vain search for the magic program that will draw people to their church. Yet often because the rural or small church is so relationally driven, programs, unless they are carefully adapted, will not work in a rural setting. In 2 Corinthians 11:19-20 Paul writes of how readily the church accepted manipulation:

19 For you, being so wise, bear with the foolish gladly. 20 For you bear with anyone if he enslaves you, if he devours you, if he takes advantage of you, if he exalts himself, if he hits you in the face.

A glitzy advertisement arrives in the mail promising to double our attendance in one year if we implement, at an affordable cost given its proven worth, their sure-fire program. We try to get all our people on board, devote all our energy to adopting something that does not fit our culture and then wonder why the results are much less than we were promised! We blame the people for not getting behind our program and they rightly blame their shepherd because he does not understand his sheep!Next month’s blog will continue this subject as we look at five more ways we can create opposition to our ministry.

I am starting to write this article on the plane for Chicago to attend the Moody Missions Conference.  Prior to this, I attended part of the STEER Conference.  We have such an amazing affinity with STEER.  Many of the STEER Board members or representatives attend churches we serve.  They too are burdened for country churches and many express to me how much they would like to see the money increase given through STEER to Village Missions.  Soon I am going to make the STEER DVD available to all our missionaries and encourage you to show it to any farmers or ranchers in your congregation.  STEER has money available for what they call “units” but they need farmers and ranchers to take those units.  It is up to the farmer where the money for missions goes as long as it is a STEER approved mission.  They may want to provide you with support or may want to provide support to Village Missions.  It is a fantastic way to provide funding for missions from farmers and ranchers who often don’t have much of a cash flow.

I left the STEER conference early to travel with Tim and Fern Wyrick to Ridgeway, MT to speak at their Fifth Anniversary of being served by Village Missions.  Ridgway would be right up there in qualifying for our most remote field.  There are no paved roads in any direction for at least twenty miles.  All of the roads are on“gumbo” clay that becomes virtually impassable with any kind of rain.  Started by a group of ranchers in 1977, the congregation has faithfully persevered through the years.  Village Missions turned down their requests for leadership twice in the past but when I became Executive Director and they requested leadership a third time, I felt burdened to provide leadership to them if we could find the right couple.  We have!  Tim and Fern love it there although they have to travel over 100 miles for groceries.  They have done an incredibly good job of building relationships.  The church will probably never be able to pay the full salary of their Village Missionary.  Nevertheless, the people there are the kind of people that produce missionaries that change the world.  I am thrilled that we are a mission that is willing to invest in a small church in a small place like Ridgeway.  I am also thrilled that we have young couples like Tim and Fern and many others that are willing to go to the “out-of-the-way” places like Ridgway to “Preach the Word and love the people.”

Well, back to the Moody Missions Conference.  The theme of the conference is “Standing for the Truth-Suffering for His Name” and has to do with the persecuted church.  For the past few years, the themes have not had much to do with our ministry.  Two years ago, I believe the theme was ministry to Muslims and last year the theme was reaching youth across the world.  I met with the head of the Missions Department and asked him to include Village Missions, although the theme this year again didn’t really have much to do with our ministry.  He very graciously agreed to do so and so, here I am on my way to Chicago.

Yet, in spite of the theme stretch, preparing for the seminars I will teach has been a rewarding experience.  I especially appreciated hearing from Village Missionaries on ways in which some were opposed for the stands they took.  Some accounts have been actually funny, although they probably weren’t funny at the time.  Below is Duane Waite’s account of his arrival at a church:

As we drove into the driveway of parsonage – a neighbor who had been given the key to let us in greeted me. (He didn’t attend church – but he did everything he could to help and encourage us while we were there.) He called a deacon, who was also the treasurer to come and help us move in. When he arrived, he approached me with these greeting words, “We move ‘em in – and we move ‘em out.” I could see quite plainly that I would have a challenge before me.  The real crises came when I started preaching on the letters to the churches in Rev. 2-3. At the monthly “Standing Committee Meeting” (which included all the officers of the church), I was asked not to preach any more from the Book of Revelation – there had been lots of revelation since that book was written. The spokesman was the deacon/treasurer. Then he added, “Preach from the Reader’s Digest – or we will write your sermons for you.” At first, I thought he was just “kidding” – but when I looked into his eyes, there was no doubt that he was serious. I didn’t have words to properly respond to this challenge. Right then, the fire whistle blew at the fire station – all the men were “automatically on the fire department” – so we all left abruptly to attend to a fire which consumed a complete set of farm buildings. What a price that farmer had to pay to get me “off the hook.” As I could not comply to their demands, I gave my resignation with full backing from Mr. Duff.

I’m sure glad we didn’t have a missionary that was willing to preach from the Reader’s Digest!  I wonder whatever happened to that church.  I laughed at the story but it is also tragic as well knowing that a church presumably naming the name of Jesus Christ did not want to hear from Him in the preaching of His Word.

Other stories were much more current and disturbing.  One new and young missionary couple graciously but firmly did not allow a couple who was living together to take part in the worship team.  They took their stance with full consultation of their District Representative.  Unfortunately, this generated a campaign by other family members, creating uproar in the church.  We have left that church and reassigned the couple.  Interestingly, the church we reassigned the couple to appreciated their courage in taking the stand.  I certainly do!  I rejoice also that we as a Mission can provide counsel in such a situation and can support the couple if the church turns against them.  An independent pastor in a rural church or any church for that matter would be without a job and in immediate need of another position.

I am out of space and the plane is about to land, so I will continue this subject in next month’s article.  My seminar will cover two major areas: the opposition we sometimes deserve and the opposition we don’t deserve.  I will write about the opposition we sometimes deserve in next month’s article.  I Peter 2:19-20 speaks of those who suffer because of their sin and those who suffer because of their godliness.  Any discussion of opposition, I believe, must include awareness that we can create problems for ourselves.  We must have an awareness of our behavior and motives and ask ourselves if we have contributed unnecessarily to the opposition we face.  In a subsequent article, I will consider various examples of how we may experience opposition when we take a godly stance.  By the way, I hope I don’t scare any students away from ministry with some of Village Missionary stories!

I have never been preoccupied with Biblical prophecy, as some Christians have been. I don’t look for sinister combinations of European countries nor do I assess each famous political person as to whether he might be the anti-Christ. I do not recall ever preaching a series on prophecy or the end times since I usually preached through books. Even when I preached through Revelation, I shied away from timetables and confident predictions of actual events, and instead focused on what this great letter revealed about God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Although I live with the expectancy that the Lord might return at any time, as all Christians should, I have never sat on top of a hill to wait.Yet, with the events taking place in the Middle East, I cannot help but believe that our time is short. Pain, power, and perplexity in the Middle East swell like a rapidly rising tide and seem to be greater than any other time in history. Fulfillments of prophecy cluster in the shadows, waiting only for the coming of Christ for His bride, the church.

Most troubling of all, prophecies about the apostasy of the church appear to be close to realization. Paul warns Timothy that the last days will bring perilous times with them. The chronicle of symptoms he shares sounds like an accurate diagnosis of our age. In 2 Tim 3:2-4 (NASB) we read,

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God . . .

Paul could not give Timothy a more accurate description of today’s world.After charging Timothy to “Preach the Word,” he warns him that hearers will not receive his message warmly. Paul tells him in 2 Tim 4:3-5:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

Again, it almost seems as if doctrine is a dirty word in the church today. According to 2 Peter 3:3-5 (NASB),

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.

These are enough passages to remind us that our world mirrors the troubling passages in the Bible concerning apostasy.Will we be prepared to handle apostasy when it comes? Some of our own evangelical leaders seem perilously close to drifting away. I make no judgment about him, but the hermeneutics George Barna uses in his latest book, Revolution, astounds me. He actually holds that the Bible does not teach the importance of the local church but only teaches about the universal church.1 Groups of committed Christians do not need the local church and he very favorably commends the trend he has detected. Andy Stanley believes, as reflected in a recent interview in Leadership Journal, that we should stop thinking of pastors as shepherds. He has never seen a shepherd and has no clue what they do. He would much prefer to think of a pastor as an executive.2 So much for the Lord being our good Shepherd!3

And so it goes. Pastors today experience a subtle version of Chinese water torture. There is the drip-drip-drip of the washing away and diluting of Biblical teaching until nothing is left. We wonder who holds to Biblical teaching. Certainly many of the Christian celebrities seem to be leading us in the wrong direction. Some of our people, fortunately few in churches served by Village Missions, prefer to be entertained rather than instructed from God’s Word.

I would suggest two responses. First, we simply need to persevere, despite the frustration and discouragement. Would we want our hands to be off the plow if our Lord returns? Do we have the right to give up because most only want their ears tickled? The Lord told Jeremiah his listeners would fight against him. The Lord promises Jeremiah that they will not overcome him. Isn’t that a promise for us as well? If we are in the end times, is it reasonable to expect great popularity and success? Why give up when the Lord might be just around the corner? Shouldn’t the fulfillment of prophecies about apostasy steel us and not weaken us?

Second, we need to deepen our commitment to ministry that reaches the lost and builds disciples. Some of what we do in the church seems to be wasted effort or trivial, especially if we are in the last days. We should be especially devoted to clear expositional preaching that calls for a response. We must respond as well, for we will need a strong, steady walk with the Lord if all around us are falling off the path. Using wise leadership, we must evaluate what we are doing in terms of eternal results. We should be even more earnest about our church becoming a Biblically effective congregation.

If we respond in these two ways, we will be as ready as we can be for the end times. Moreover, if the end times are not around the corner, we still will glorify the Lord by persevering and deepening our commitment to ministry.

1 George Barna, Revolution, (Wheaton, IL, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2005) Some quotes: “The key to understanding Revolutionaries is not what church they attend, or even if they attend (italics mine). Instead, its their complete dedication to being thoroughly Christian by viewing every moment of life through a spiritual lens and making every decision in the light of biblical principles.” (p. “Being in a right relationship with God and His people is what matters. Scripture teaches us that devoting your life to loving God with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul is what honors Him. Being a part of a local church may facilitate that. Or it might not.” (p. 37) “Again, one artifact of the mini-movement phenomenon has been that millions of people who are growing as Christians and passionate about their faith have come to recognize that the local church is not—and need not be—the epicenter of their spiritual adventure.” (p. 58) “So if you are a Revolutionary, it is because you have sensed and responded to God’s calling to be such an imitator of Christ. It is not the church’s responsibility to make you into this mold.” (p. 70) “If you mention that millions of deeply devout Christians whose lives are centered on knowing, loving, and serving God live independently of a local church, you can count on criticism from the church establishment.” (p. 112) “The Bible does not tell us that worship must happen in a church sanctuary and therefore we must be actively associated with a local church.” (p.114) “True Revolutionaries agree that being isolated from other believers—i.e., the Church (note the capital C)—is unbiblical. However, while they may not be integrated into a formal church congregation, they are not isolated from the Church. They may not belong to a specific collection of saints that engages in routines and customs at a particular location and under the leadership of a specific individual or group. However, neither are they spiritual untouchables who have no connection to the global Church.” (p. 116) “In the great awakenings of America’s history, the pattern was always the same: draw people into the local church for teaching and other experiences. In this new movement of God, the approach is the opposite: it entails drawing people away from reliance upon a local church into a deeper connection with and reliance upon God.” (p. 127) My response: As I said, his hermeneutics takes my breath away. He ignores the fact that almost every NT letter was written to a local church. How could church discipline be conducted in these loose affiliations? Would elders and deacons be selected? How about the preaching of the Word? Barna makes some good points about the church not producing committed Christians, but, mercy, how can he say that the NT does not teach the importance of the local church?

2 Leadership Spring 2006 Vol. XXVII Number 2 Interviewed by Marshall Shelley and Eric Reed, Stanley was asked, “Should we stop talking about pastors as ‘shepherds?’” Stanley replied, “Absolutely. That word needs to go away. Jesus talked about shepherds because there was one over there in a pasture he could point to. But to bring in that imagery today and say, ‘Pastor, you’re the shepherd of the flock,’ no. I never seen sic a flock. I’ve never spent five minutes with a shepherd. It was culturally relevant in the time of Jesus, but it’s not culturally relevant any more. Nothing works in our culture with that model except this sense of the gentle, pastoral care. Obviously that is a facet of church ministry, but that’s not leadership.” Stanley was then asked, “Isn’t shepherd the biblical word for pastor?” He replied, “It’s the first-century word. If Jesus were here today, would he talk about shepherds? No. He would point to something that we all know, and we’d say, ‘Oh yeah, I know what that is.” Jesus told Peter, the fisherman, to ‘feed my sheep,’ but he didn’t say to the rest of them, ‘Go ye therefore into all the world and be shepherds and feed my sheep.’ By the time of the Book of Acts, the shepherd model is gone. It’s about establishing elders and deacons and their qualifications. Shepherding doesn’t seem to be the emphasis. Even when it was, it was cultural, an illustration of something. What we have to do is identify the principle, which is that the leader is responsible for the care of the people he’s been given. That I am to care for and equip the people in the organization to follow Jesus. But when we take the literal illustration and bring it into our culture, then people can make it anything they want because nobody knows much about it.” My response: Stanley criticizes “shepherd” as being culturally outmoded, but then he uses two terms, “elder” and “deacon” that are equally outmoded. What kind of view of the inerrancy of Scripture is this? When God directed the writing of His Word and the use of figures of speech such as “shepherd” did He not anticipate our culture? Isn’t it our duty as a faithful student of His Word to understand the term “shepherd?”

3 Nathan and Molly Sahlberg, Village Missionaries, sent me an adaptation of Psalm 23 in light of our current difficulty in understanding the term “shepherd.” I love it! After reading Brian’s letter in the recent VM mailing, we were saddened that Andy Stanley thinks that pastor’s should be thought of as “executives” instead of shepherds. After thinking about this awhile, Nathan and I took this “executive model” of leadership a bit further and thought we’d see how well it worked if it was applied to the 23rd Psalm. Hmmmm, just doesn’t seem QUITE as comforting as “The Lord is My Shepherd.” But, all in fun. . .we had fun being creative.

Nathan and Molly Sahlberg

An Adaptation of the 23rd Psalm for the 21st Century American Ecclesiastic Executive (Formerly Pastor)

The Lord is my CEO, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in greenbacks.

He leads me beside Starbucks

He restores my 401k.

He guides me in the paths of power management practices for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of corporate tax law and shareholder meetings, I fear not declining stock values for thou art with me;

Thy cell phone and Thy Blackberry they comfort me.

Thou dost prepare a buyout before me in the presence of my competitors.

Thou hast anointed my head with monopolies

My stock options overflow.

Surely wealth and prosperity will follow me all the days of my life

And I will dwell in a mansion in Palm Springs when I retire.

I have been both strongly encouraged and somewhat discouraged in recent months.  Our candidate school in Spring 06 provided a great deal of encouragement!  We had nine couples in attendance and accepted eight couples.  One couple will serve as an Associate couple and one couple is from Canada.  In addition, Pastor Nelson Betoney attended so that he would become familiar with VM.  He will be our advisor as we move forward with ministry to the Navajo nation.

All were extremely sharp couples but particularly gratifying to me was the fact that four of the couples came from fields served by Village Missions.  At least two of the four and perhaps more came to Christ and were discipled by Village Missionaries.  I am extremely grateful that we are being used by God to develop our own missionaries!  Please pray for all these couples as they raise prayer and financial support and as we pray about their first assignment.

I have, however, been discouraged by some recent resignations.  Generally, it appears to require at least ten new Village Missionaries each year just to keep pace with resignations and retirements.  The spiritual need is so great and without missionaries, many churches will permanently close.  We could be so much more proactive in finding fields if we just had the missionaries to send!  Please pray that missionaries will stay the course in their calling by God and that we will grow in our recruitment of new missionaries.

Here are some of my humble suggestions for staying the course in ministry:

1. Cultivate your relationship with your spouse.  Make sure that your spouse is your best friend and that you have enjoyable times together in ministry.  Constantly work at a team approach to ministry.  Carole so often provides the lift and support I need in ministry.
2. Give all your expectations over to God.  You cannot produce spiritual growth in your people.  Your job is to be faithful in the ministry, growing on your own, and letting God direct His harvest.  Otherwise, you will become angry and bitterly disappointed with your people.
3. Make sure that God truly comes first in your life.  Ours truly is the life of the cross in which we forsake all to follow Christ.  We must never allow family, location, circumstances, possessions, or any other person or thing to interfere with our following Christ.  If you are leaving ministry or even changing ministry, make sure that you are still carrying your cross and following the path of Christ.
4. Remind yourself of your call.  I assume that you once became convinced that God called you into this ministry.  He did not call you conditioned upon results or even your enjoyment of the ministry.  We serve at the pleasure of the Master and only for His good purposes and not our own.  I am completely puzzled as to why God would call me, of all people, to do anything for Him.  As the decision to obey God’s call was an extremely important decision, so the decision to abandon God’s call, with the possibility that you might be disobeying Him, is extremely important.  Leaving pastoral ministry is not like changing jobs!
5. Develop, by God’s grace, godly leaders around you and be patient as they develop.  A group of godly men shared with me and were partners with me in my most difficult time of ministry—the church fire.  Other situations arose during those times that were even more difficult.  But we prayed and worked together.  Even having one godly man helps.
6. Laugh at yourself and refuse to take yourself too seriously.  Life is a mere vapor and we are but blades of grass!  God Himself holds all the issues of enormity and eternity in His hand, not our hand.  Therefore, we can laugh and poke fun at ourselves and just plain lighten up.
7. Talk to your District Representative.  We want you to do well and for you to stay the course.  He and his wife have many resources available to help you.  The greatest resource, their listening ear, is instantly available.  They will not think less of you if you tell them you are discouraged or thinking of quitting.  They might have some counsel that will prove to be extremely helpful.  Most of all, they can begin praying for you specifically.  Don’t you realize that Satan will gain a great victory if you quit?  Have others join you in the spiritual battle.
8. Study and apply Hebrews 12:1-3.  This passage speaks of our life as an agony race that we must keep running.  We are to run the race that God has set before us.  Running this race requires memory—remembering those (the cloud of witnesses) who stood firm by faith.  It requires discipline as we get rid of things that weigh us down and trip us up.  Most of all it requires focus, as we look away to Jesus.  We remember what He endured on our behalf.  His great joy was redeeming you and I.  What a joy it is as a Village Missionary pastor to share His joy of announcing the Gospel!

I pray for the day when we advance the cause of the Gospel in rural North America by finding the churches about to close and having the missionaries to send them, so that we have hundreds of spiritually vital churches.  Stay the course and develop some missionaries!

I am writing this Family Newsletter article from Pendleton, Oregon.  I am the main speaker at a Missions Conference at Grace Baptist Church in Pendleton.  This church is the home church of Village Missionary Greg McCallum.  It is a small church (not necessarily by our standards) of only about 80-90 in attendance.

It is interesting to me that many people have expressed surprise about me being here.  They are surprised that a director of a fairly large mission organization would speak at such a small church.

Such reactions have again reminded me how pervasive is the thinking that bigger is better and that small churches should only expect the leftovers.  The idea of hierarchy and status appear to be firmly entrenched in our church thinking.  It reminds me of the attitude James deals with when he writes about giving special attention to the rich person and showing disregard and even disrespect to the poor person (James 2:1-6).

Now, I understand that my being here may not be the best use of my time.  However, the pastor invited me to be the speaker several months ago and at that time, I was available.  I wanted to be open to any opportunity to speak about Village Missions and to proclaim the Word of God, so I agreed.

I have no idea what God will bring out of this conference.  I doubt that there will be much in the way of increased giving to our Mission.  Perhaps God will be pleased to call someone from this church into our ministry, as He called Greg.  The point is that God doesn’t need small or big to accomplish His purpose.  He may intend to do big things in this little place.  Certainly, we who are in Village Missions should embrace that and reflect that in the choices we make.  Undue reverence for the “big” and important or even undue reverence for the “small” and unimportant should be replaced by “faith in our glorious Jesus Christ.”  He alone is glorious.

While here in Pendleton, I visited some communities that might need our ministry.  We had conducted a pilot survey in Oregon in an effort to find potential fields.  We found the names of 132 churches that might need leadership and mailed them a brief survey.  Unfortunately, address lists for churches, especially small churches, are unreliable.  Several cards came back because of a bad address.  I believe we received about ten requests for more information.

Doing my own internet search, I located the Helix Community Baptist Church in Helix, OR.  I traveled to the town and discovered a beautiful church building and parsonage.  The parsonage was being repaired and was for rent—a sure sign!  It took some asking to find someone connected with the church but finally I located Phyllis, the church treasurer.  She was excited about our ministry but wasn’t sure if the church would be willing to sever ties with the American Baptist denomination.  They had recently hired a part-time pastor who preaches Sunday but does not live in town.  Helix is a community of close to 200 people that needs the Gospel.  Please pray for Helix and other towns like it.

I also visited Ukiah, OR and met with the pastor of a small Baptist church, loosely affiliated with Conservative Baptists.  Pastor Ray was a missionary in Ireland who had to come home after his wife became ill.  His supporters have maintained their support and he is ministering full time in that church.  He is 67 years old and wants to retire by 70.  Ukiah is a great missionary opportunity.  As he explained to me, the town is fifty miles away from any law enforcement and attracts quite a group of characters.  The local school has several foreign exchange students in an effort to remain open, but because the Christian presence is limited and no one is working with them, they take over things at the school.  Ray was aware of Village Missions but felt that their church would not be able to afford us.  I explained our new Sliding Scale to him and he seemed interested.  Please pray for Ukiah, OR!

I also called a pastor in Warm Springs, OR.  His church is a Southern Baptist church located on an Indian reservation.  He and his wife are close to leaving because of the finances.  He told me that they would like to be able to see a dentist, but cannot afford to do so.  The church was doing well numerically, especially for being on a reservation, but not doing well financially because of the local economy.  I admired this pastor’s willingness to go there without any outside financial support.

We will need to develop our survey methodology before we can use it in other places.  But in short order, three potential places were identified that need a full-time, resident missionary pastor.  The need is so great!  Please pray that churches would become aware of us, that we would have the workers to send, and that we would have the finances to send them.

I am writing this article two days before the anniversary of 911 and while the United States is experiencing the cataclysmic devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  I believe that God calls His shepherds to represent Him clearly, courageously, and wisely in such times.
Many will misrepresent Him.  They will say that such a hurricane proves that God does not exist.  They will ask, “How could a good God or any God allow such terrible suffering?”  Others will offer up an emasculated God.  They will confidently proclaim that some things are beyond God’s control.  Still others will offer up a half God—a God of love but not a God of holiness and righteousness.  At a time when many are shocked out of complacency and many are asking why, Satan will do his utmost to promote blindness.  You as the shepherd of God and missionary to your community must proclaim the true and living God.
I would recommend Lamentations as a starting place.  Jeremiah wrote this small portion of Scripture in the worst imaginable times for the city of Jerusalem.  He watched as mothers ate their children for food (2:20).  The blood of priests and prophets flowed from within the sanctuary (2:20).  The bodies of the young and old, women and men, lay decaying in the street (2:21).  In graphic language, Jeremiah bemoans that he has been invited to a feast of terrors (2:22).  Meanwhile, false teachers bewitched the people with “false and deceptive visions” (2:14).
What lessons can we learn from Jeremiah about shepherding our people through a calamity?  It seems to me that there are two lessons.  The first lesson is that we must identify personally with those who suffer.  The second lesson is that we must proclaim faithfully the truth about God.  We must hold to both or we will not be representing our God accurately.
Jeremiah completely identified with the people of his city, Jerusalem.  Early in his book he asks, “Is there any sorrow like my sorrow” (1:12)?  Read these words of compassion for his neighbors and friends:

Lamentations 1:16 (NKJV) “For these things I weep; my eye, my eye overflows with water; because the comforter, who should restore my life, is far from me.  My children are desolate because the enemy prevailed.”

Or these words:

Lamentations 2:11 (NKJV) My eyes fail with tears, my heart is troubled; my bile is poured on the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the infants faint in the streets of the city.

We will forever know Jeremiah as the “weeping prophet” because of his complete identification with the people of Jerusalem.
Nothing is more repugnant, especially in times of catastrophe, than self-righteousness and smug indifference to incredible suffering.  Every shepherd must imagine what it is like to lose a home, to have a wife swept out of your arms by a flood of water, to have no prospect of livelihood before he dare speak to this event.  Perhaps we could even say that if we have not shed tears we should keep quiet.
Yet, we must not allow our compassion and hurt for the people suffering to prevent us from faithfully proclaiming the truth about God.  Jeremiah proclaimed the true and living God and gave his people accurate understanding of the terrible events of the day.
Jeremiah proclaimed a sovereign God Who controlled all events.  The Lord had “covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in His anger” (2:1).  Although an enemy army invaded and ransacked Jerusalem, Jeremiah made clear that they acted at the command of God.

Lamentations 2:17 (NKJV) The Lord has done what He purposed; He has fulfilled His word which He commanded in days of old. He has thrown down and has not pitied, and He has caused an enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.

Jeremiah accurately proclaims that God, in His rule over the affairs of Israel, has brought this about for His purpose.
Jeremiah proclaimed a holy God who punished sin.  He announces, “Jerusalem has sinned gravely” (1:8).  “We have transgressed and rebelled,” says Jeremiah (3:42).  Notice that Jeremiah uses “we” and not “you” or “they.”  God has finally visited, to the surprise of the kings of the earth, His wrath upon the city.  Why?

Lamentations 4:13 (NKJV) Because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in her midst the blood of the just.

God’s day of reckoning, after much patience, has come.
A word of caution here.  As His prophet, God clearly told Jeremiah the reasons behind the destruction of Jerusalem.  God has not told us anything about His reasons for allowing the hurricane to strike.  We only know that the wrath of God is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.  I believe that it is not profitable to wonder about the specific reasons why God allowed these horrible events to occur. More profitable is to have a proper view of ourselves in which we wonder why we are not all consumed because of the manifold wickedness that exists in humankind.  In the recent words of John Piper:
Rather let us put our hands on our mouths and weep both for the perishing and for ourselves who will soon follow.  Whatever judgment has fallen, it is we who deserve it—all of us.  And whatever mercy is mingled with judgment in New Orleans neither we nor they deserve.  God sent Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners.  He did not suffer massive shame and pain because Americans are pretty good people.  The magnitude of Christ’s suffering is owing to how deeply we deserve Katrina—all of us.
In perhaps one the best known and beloved passages of Scripture, Jeremiah also proclaimed a God of mercy, compassion, and faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22 – 23 (NKJV) 22Through the Lord’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  23They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
God does not willingly afflict nor grieve the children of men (3:33).  Nor will He cast off Israel forever (3:31).  Jeremiah lovingly calls on his people to “hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (3:26).
What a salvation we have the privilege of announcing to people!  Jesus Christ experienced the wrath for sin we deserved to experience.  His substitutionary death secures our salvation.  All who trust Him alone receive the gift of eternal life.  We may experience the loss of all material goods, the loss of our family, and even the loss of our physical lives but we never can lose the eternal life Jesus gives us!  Further, we can announce the change that Jesus makes in our life, especially as we learn of story after story of Christians ministering to the victims.
I will be praying that the Spirit of God will use the terrible events to open the hearts of people in your community to the Gospel.  Go forward as the prophet Jeremiah, weeping with compassion and faithfully proclaiming the truth of God!

This spring I visited a seminary, and while there visited with a former Village Missionary who attends this seminary. At one point, he asked me, “Do you know what the major objection that students here at seminary have to Village Missions?” Of course, I am so pro Village Missions, I can’t imagine anyone having any objection to our Mission. Seriously, I thought of a few possible objections. Raising support first came to my mind. Then, I thought that some would object to going to rural churches. I thought perhaps some students would object to our missionary approach and want a more “pastoral” approach. I wondered if students would object to a dual accountability to the church and to the Mission. Finally, I wondered if our low salary might lower the appeal of some. I answered him, “Raising support.” “No,” he said and then he told me what he felt was the major objection of many of the students. “Village Missions’ system of appointing missionaries to churches rather than candidating at a church is the major problem.” He added, “There are some professors that strongly believe in the candidating process and they have communicated that to the students.” I had no idea that this might be a problem for many prospective missionaries. If this school has a problem with appointment, probably other schools have a problem with it as well. Being assigned to a church never was problematic for me. When I attended and served on the board at the church in Fernwood, ID, I saw the process work quite well. We would not have had a clue as to how to go about a process of selecting a pastor, nor probably would many be interested in coming to Fernwood. Village Missions assigned Terry and Martha Major and it was a good fit. The Majors were exactly what our church needed after a long and substantial ministry by Ray and Martha Bell. The Mission, of course, assigned us to a church after we joined. We were thoroughly disappointed when the office told us that they were assigning us to Finchford, Iowa. All we knew of Iowa was Interstate 80 and cornfields. We hated the humidity of the Midwest and wanted to be back in the mountains after three years of living in Chicago. Yet, once we arrived, we fell in love with the people and the area. Although we probably never would have chosen this area on our own or even entertained a thought of going there, it was exactly the right place for us (and we hope we were the right couple for the church). The Lord further confirmed this by allowing us to adopt both our children while we were there. This former Village Missionary suggested that I or someone else write a paper in support of the appointment process that could be distributed to students. I thought that he had an excellent idea and that the paper might have further value in ministering to some of our churches who, usually as they grow, begin to warm to the candidating process. In an effort to solicit some feedback for a future position paper (and to have something to write for this issue), I decided to write a defense of our process of appointment missionaries to churches. I did not find anything on the Internet describing the pros and cons of candidating or appointment as I began to do research on this topic. I found many suggestions for those embarking upon the process, either from the candidate’s perspective or from the church perspective. Pastors in most denominations find their positions through the candidate process. A few denominations, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Methodist, and possibly Lutheran appoint ministers to positions. I am unaware of how the process of candidating came into being or if there have been debates about one or the other. A survey of Biblical passages does not indicate strong support for either position but does lean toward appointing pastors. It appears that initially pastors and elders were appointed in the churches. This practice was described in the NT but nowhere do I find it proscribed as a rule to follow. According to Mark 3:14, Jesus “appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach.” In a mix of selection and appointment, the Apostles instructed the church to select “seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” whom they would “put in charge” (same word kathistemi translated elsewhere as “appoint”) (Acts 6:3). Acts 14:21-23 records a return visit of Paul and Barnabas in which they appointed elders for the churches they were visiting:

21After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” 23When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (NASB)

It certainly could be argued that Paul initially appointed elders and from there the church, as it progressed toward maturity, appointed or selected its own, but nowhere does the Bible record that. Of course, Paul appointed Timothy and Titus to serve as pastors of the churches at Ephesus and Crete respectively. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, Paul chose Timothy to go to Ephesus and Titus as pastor of Crete. Perhaps Paul felt that Titus could better handle the rough and tumble of that wild island. Further, Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders in each of the cities of Crete. Titus 1:5-7 is especially relevant:

5For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. 7For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain,

Titus was to appoint elders (presbuterous) in every city. He refers to them as an “overseer” (episkopos) (translated Bishop in the NKJV) in verse seven. A strong argument (too lengthy for here) can be made that the overseer would be the leader or pastor of the local church and thus Titus was to appoint pastors for each of the churches. Again, although Paul commanded Titus to appoint elders, we find no command to the church to do so as a rule of practice. It simply appears that it was done this way during the early church. Such a practice of appointment appeared to continue beyond the New Testament period. Clement, probably near the close of his life in AD 100, writes this to the Corinthians:

Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and there would be strife on account of the office103 of the episcopate. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, 104 that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them,105 or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of the whole Church, and who have blamelessly served the flock of Christ in a humble, peaceable, and disinterested spirit, and have for a long time possessed the good opinion of all, cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry. (First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians: Chap. XLIV)

This is also a descriptive statement rather than a proscriptive statement. In the absence of any commands in the Bible as to the selection of a pastor of the church (the commands have to do with the character qualities of the pastor or elder), what way of selection should be used, appointment or candidating? For the church as a whole, I think the answer is either. We recognize that either process can be flawed. A candidate process, for example, can be a process of the flesh in which a pastoral candidate “sells” himself to the church while the church “sells” herself to the candidate (it happens all too often). An assignment can be made in the appointment process because of popularity or with incomplete information. Sometimes few churches are available or perhaps few pastors are available. In whatever process used, the leading of the Holy Spirit should be sought. According to Acts 20:28, the Holy Spirit selected the elders. In Acts 14:23 (quoted above), Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted before they selected the leadership. We can do no less in whatever way a pastor is united with a congregation. I do believe, however, that there are reasons that favor the appointment process, especially for our ministry. Here are a few: 1. We appoint Village Missionaries based in part on the needs of the church. To a greater or lesser degree, depending upon the length of time with us, we know the maturity of the church and the further progress that needs to be made. Ideally, we appoint someone who will help that church develop spiritually. In contrast, the leadership of a church may select a pastor based on their personal preferences. They may not want to make progress in certain areas or are unaware of the need to do so. 2. In some cases, we appoint Village Missionaries based in part on their needs to develop and to grow. When I entered Village Missions, I thought I needed a certain geographical setting. The Mission leadership wisely knew that I needed a church that would help me to grow and mature in my leadership. I am so glad they appointed me to Finchford, a place I can’t imagine myself choosing on my own. I wonder how many pastors choose churches based on locale, housing, or familiarity and miss exciting opportunities? 3. Village Missionaries have freedom in preaching the Gospel without fear of being fired. Now, yes, we have accountability and if a missionary creates the problem, he may be fired by us. However, a missionary, if he faithfully discharges his duties, will have another place to go if the church refuses to respond to the Gospel. 4. Although still painful, a church will not have to undergo a “fight” in order to remove a pastor. An objective assessment can be made about the need for new leadership and the church, by vote of its members, can ask us for new leadership. 5. The Mission leadership has a greater opportunity to know both church and pastor. In a candidate type setting, both parties tend to put their best foot forward. Rare is the situation, I believe, where both parties reveal all their warts and wrinkles. The Mission leadership, especially after time, knows those warts and wrinkles and can make matches accordingly. 6. Having talked about the importance of a match, I would also say that appointing, if properly done, communicates a better perspective on matching. Most churches will want the Apostle Paul, without his criminal record. Most pastors will want the church of Philadelphia. Realistically, few such pastors and churches exist today. The church is increasingly a mission field as well as the community. I commend the attitude in a pastor that says, “I will go where I am assigned and do the work God intends me to do, no matter what the cost.” I commend the attitude in a church that says, “This is the pastor that has been assigned to us. We will follow his leadership.” Neither approach (candidating or appointment) is guaranteed to be infallible. Both have their strong points and weak points. The Bible prescribes neither approach. Yet, for the individual that is willing to trust those in authority and is willing to go to places of need, the appointment process is preferable. The church as well will advance through the assignment of a missionary based on her actual needs. Over the years, the vast majority of the appointments made by Village Missions have been good ones that have benefited both the church and the Village Missionary.