David Murray - Leadership for Servants
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What to look for in a pastor

Feb 4, 2013 • By David Murray • 0 Comments

Book Review: What to look for in a Pastor by Brian Biedebach

A book designed to help pastoral search committees ask and answer six fundamental questions:

  1. Can the man preach effectively?
  2. What else should he do as pastor?
  3. Is he qualified?
  4. Is he theologically sound
  5. Does his practical theology match his written theology?
  6. How can a church find this man?

Quite a bit of the material is fairly standard fayre on pastoral character and responsibilities. However, Brian does make four valuable contributions.

1. A brief survey of what expository preaching actually means, considering three main views, and concluding with a balanced and comprehensive definition (chapter 1).

2. The much-needed biblical emphasis that the preacher must also be a pastor, a shepherd with seven responsibilities (chapter 2).

3. A history of the evangelical and fundamentalist movements over the last 100+ years, together with helpful graphics explaining the six different groups that now exist (three evangelical and three fundamentalist groups). Very helpful in identifying both where your church is and where potential candidates are in the theological spectrum (chapter 4).

4. How to find out if a man’s theology is merely theoretical or if it is also worked out consistently in his life (chapter 5). This is the best chapter in the book and helps pastoral search committees to get beyond a man’s verbal or written confession of faith to what he actually practices. He suggests six areas to discuss with a candidate: the authority of scripture, creation, the sovereignty of God, sin, music in the church, and spiritual gifts.

Pastoral search committees will find some helpful practical material in chapter 6 and in also the appendices, which contain questions to ask a prospective senior pastor and a checklist for clarity in a call.

Although this book will be especially useful to independent Baptist churches, all pastoral search committees would find this a useful book to study early in the search process.

Buy What to Look for in a Pastor by Brian Biedebach. Brian teaches at African Bible College and is helping to establish an international church in Lilongwe, Malawi. He blogs at By the Brook.

Ministry Miseries or Pastoral Pleasures

Dec 6, 2012 • By David Murray • 5 Comments

Have you noticed the Ministry Misery writing genre that’s proving strangely popular in some circles?

Pastors try to outdo one another in painting ministry in general, and themselves in particular, in as dismal and depressing a light as they possibly can.

There are usually two recurring memes:

(1) Ministers are more evil than you can possibly imagine. I’m more hypocritical, more devious, and more selfish than Hitler, Saddam, and Osama put together. To prove it let me tell you about how bad a father, a husband, and a pastor I am. Again and again and again.

(2) The ministry is more evil than you can possibly imagine. You’ve no idea how hard it is to be a pastor. So much suffering, so much persecution, so much giving, and all for so little return.

Misery, misery, misery. Sometimes it appears that the worse they describe themselves and their work, the more popular the articles seem to be. Lots of other pastors chime in with “I’m even worse than that…and so’s my congregation.”

Is this some kind of perverse Reformed monkishness that enjoys very public and painful self-flaggelation? Is there something especially holy and admirable about this activity?

I know there’s a danger of pride in ministers, and we need to strip away the illusions of pastoral glamor lest naive young men are attracted to it for the wrong reasons, but come on guys, we’re not totally evil and neither is our work. People are not lying when they say, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace” (Rom. 10:15)?

We are ambassadors for Christ with a high and noble calling. While every job has its thorns and thistles, there’s huge satisfaction and pleasure too. Usually there are far more positives than negatives. Can there be anything more enjoyable than preaching the Gospel, evangelizing the lost, pastoring needy sinners, equipping saints for works of service, and helping saints on their way to glory?

Let’s get a better balance in our view of God’s work in us, through us, and around us. And let’s have more articles and books on Pastoral Pleasures and less on Ministry Miseries.

It’s a few years old now, but here’s a starter on the joys I’ve experienced in my own ministry.

Faithful Sermon Preparation in a Busy Ministry (3)

Nov 19, 2012 • By David Murray • 1 Comment

Last week we proposed four ways to continue faithful sermon preparation in a busy ministry (Part One and Part Two). Today we’ll look at how regular routine and a pragmatic use of biblical languages will help us achieve what seems to be impossible at times.

Faithful sermon preparation in a busy ministry…

5. Follows a regular PATTERN

How Sermons Work is not the most devotional or heart-warming book on preaching – there are lots of those around; it’s more like a mechanical instruction manual that guides the reader through the sermon preparation process step by step, taking nothing for granted. There are lots of checklists and practical guides.

My aim is that as the preacher gets used to the exegetical pattern I set out, he will no longer need the book. It will become second nature to him, part of his mindset, a way of thinking that is automatic and instinctive.

Each time I went up a level at Tae Kwon Do, I used to think, my legs or arms will never manage that. It felt so awkward and unnatural even when done at 1 mph. However, after we repeated the movement a thousand times – and believe me it was at least a thousand times – it felt so normal and even boringly easy. The brain and muscle tissue had learned the pathways and patterns and it became second nature, even instinctive.

Similarly when we get into a sermon preparation pattern, the moment we settle into our office chair, the brain knows it’s time to start whirring, and knows what to whir and when.

The more routine we build into our sermon preparation, the more routine it will become. There is a supernatural element to it, of course, but there’s a lot of routine as well, basic mechanics, which if we learn and practice, the brain gets into the usual groove, allowing more space and opportunity for the supernatural as well.

I’m not saying that the How Sermons Work routine is the best for everyone, but I do believe everyone should have a basic pattern of reading text, translating, word studies, structure/outline, exegesis, commentaries, illustration, application, into, outro, etc.

6. Is PRAGMATIC in the use of biblical languages

I teach Hebrew exegesis. I want preachers to use Hebrew in their sermon preparation. However, I also want to be realistic.

When I started in the ministry I used to spend hours parsing verbs, looking up lexicons, etc., for 10 or more verses. I ended up with lots of lovely pages of Hebrew study, but not a sermon.

I’ve therefore adopted a method which I believe still places great importance on the study of God’s Word in the original languages, while at the same time increasing my time-efficiency.

So, I am very much against abandoning Greek and Hebrew. However, I am for re-positioning them, especially in the early days of our ministries, as we grow in knowledge and ability. I would not want any of us to kill our ministries or ourselves by trying to be a Lambdin or a Wenham while trying to preach three sermons to lost souls every week. If we try to persist in this we will soon give up on the original languages altogether – as many, sadly, have done.

My more realistic approach to the original languages has five components:

  • I read the text in various English versions first of all, to familiarize myself with the various translation options and differences.
  • I limit my original languages study to the 2-3 main verses. If I’m preaching OT narrative or a NT parable, I try to identify the few key verses and focus my study on them.
  • I study the Greek or Hebrew text, parsing and translating, with a particular focus on what my study of the text in the English versions highlighted. For example, if 4-5 mainstream translations agree on 90% of the text but differ on 10%, then I focus on the 10%. I don’t see the point in reinventing the wheel.
  • I make use of the many electronic helps to parse and translate my text. My preference is for Logos Bible Software.
  • I try to get time throughout the sermon preparation process to meditate on the text in the Greek or Hebrew. Apart from the subconscious and spiritual effects, such meditation will often yield thoughts and ideas which may not have been suggested by studying only English translations. God honors and rewards study of His Word as He originally gave it.

This is not the ideal, but almost everyone I know who has tried to reach for the ideal has fallen far short, got discouraged, and has given up all language study.

I prefer a more realistic approach that will maintain contact with the original languages, and will, over time, actually increase skill in them in a way that the “ideal” approach rarely will.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the last two strategies for faithful preparation of sermons in a busy ministry.

Faithful Sermon Preparation in Busy Ministry (2)

Nov 16, 2012 • By David Murray • 4 Comments

Yesterday we proposed two ways of combining faithful sermon preparation with a busy ministry. Today we’ll look at how prioritizing sermon preparation and planning ahead also help that happy union. 

Faithful sermon preparation in a busy ministry…

3. PRIORITIZES sermon preparation

An old minister who was also a shepherd told me when I entered the ministry, “Feed the sheep and you won’t hear them bleating.” So true! I’ve seen extremely promising ministries ruined because the pastor did everything but feed the sheep. It doesn’t matter how many people you visit, how much you evangelize, how popular you are with the young folks, if you don’t feed the sheep, they are going to start bleating.

The opposite is true too; a church can get through many problems and troubles if the sheep are kept full and satisfied.

We must prioritize sermon preparation. If we do nothing else well, we have to do this well. If we do nothing else in a week, we must do this. Nothing must get in the way of sermon prep time. OK, we won’t have the ideal schedules we all thought we would have in Seminary, but we must still schedule our week to make sure that we have our sermons ready for our sheep.

  • They should be scheduled times. As fixed as a doctor’s appointment. Everything else is worked around sermon prep.
  • They should be regular times – in the same place in our calendars each week – so that our brain is in the groove and knows what to expect when the starting blocks appear.
  • They should be large sections of time – a minimum of 3 hours at a time.
  • They should be the best times in our week – our high performance times.
  • They should be uninterrupted times – we tell our families and our elders, maybe even our congregation, that these times are virtually sacrosanct. We get our phone on voicemail and shut off all digital distractions.

Faithful sermon preparation will never happen without faithful time management. It will amaze you how much you can get done in regular, concentrated times of study.

4. PLANS ahead

I rarely preached series of consecutive expository sermons. Maybe two in my whole ministry. I much preferred to preach texts that caught my attention or that met a particular pressing need at the time. However, that didn’t mean that I sat down on Friday or Saturday and started looking for a text. No, I was looking all through the week, looking for a text that struck me in my own reading, family worship, in visiting a home, in my reading of Christian books, or something that spoke to a local or national issue. Sometimes I would gather 10 or more texts like that in the course of the week and I’d only need three. Some of the others would be used in later weeks and some never became sermons at all.

My point is, I was planning ahead and not just waiting until the moment I needed to start writing a sermon. I wouldn’t just write down a text though; I would often write down my initial thoughts or even a skeleton outline. Often I came to prepare a sermon and nothing had really impacted me that week. But I had dozens and dozens of previous texts, thoughts, and outlines stored up that I often plundered.

You probably are not quite so free-spirited as I was and am. Most American pastors are preaching at least one series of consecutive expository sermons. In some cases two or three at the same time. I’m sure many of you plan ahead your series, even months in advance. That will certainly help you save time with weekly text selection. But you can also be planning a bit more by reading ahead, studying difficult passages before they drown you the week you have to preach them.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever had was from an older pastor who told me to preserve the fruits of your study. I’ve used various systems to build up a database of information on various theological issues and subjects so that when I come to preach on a text that touches on say fellowship, or adoption, or the atonement, I already have a list of articles, quotations, etc., that I can quickly access without searching theological tomes for them. Although the cataloguing takes time, it saves so much time in sermon prep.

As much of my reading is done online now, I use Diigo.com to bookmark Internet articles with keywords and highlighted phrases.

Next time we’ll look at establishing exegetical routines and at a pragmatic use of biblical languages.

Faithful Sermon Preparation in a Busy Ministry

Nov 15, 2012 • By David Murray • 11 Comments

“Faithful sermon preparation” and “busy ministry” do not easily fit together. Often one has to be sacrificed – either I give up faithful sermon preparation or I give up busy ministry – and it’s usually “faithful sermon preparation” that gets the bullet.

So how do we try to hold these two opposing forces together? Faithful sermon preparation in a busy ministry…

1. Is PAINFULLY realistic

I well remember my first idyllic week or two of pastoral ministry. I had my color coded timetable, with 2-3 hours every day devoted to general theological  study, daily time in Greek and Hebrew, and a reading scheme encompassing eading a wide range of old and modern theological books. Then there were these beautiful long red sections called “sermon preparation” totaling maybe 15 hours per sermon.

Then ministry started happening. The phone calls began, the visits that took twice as long as expected, the inconvenient deaths, the visits to the local hospital (90 mins away in my part of the Scottish Highlands), Presbyteries, committees, problems in neighboring churches, and then wider denominational issues that would eventually result in our church being split after years of acrimonious controversy. Add on two children in 2 years, a new church building project, etc., and my beautifully crafted schedule was quickly forgotten. I think I observed it for about two weeks.

One of the most amusing exercises that I have my students do is draft a weekly schedule of what they think their week will look like in the ministry. They usually look very like my own ideal. Sometimes 30 hours of sermon prep, nil family time, and no day off. They look at me with incredulity when I start dismantling their beautiful plans with some good old-fashioned Scottish realism.

I once heard a famous American author and preacher say that no sermon should be preached that had less than 35 hours invested in it and it should be practiced 6-8 times before preaching! Multiple pastors’ heads slumped as he floated high above us in his own celebrity unreality.

Back in the real world, if we get to spend 10 hours on each sermon we are doing well. It’s probably going to be nearer 7-8 hours and in some cases 4-5 hours, especially if we have to prepare 3 sermons or more a week (as it was in my first pastorate, with four every second week). Remember not all sermons are equal. Doctrinal sermons or difficult passages will require much more preparation than a more devotional treatment of a Psalm. We need to be realistic.

It’s painful to accept this and work within these limitations. But if we don’t, we will eventually suffer pain in other ways.

I know of one pastor who only survived a few years in the ministry because he was trying to prepare every single sermon exactly as he had been taught in Seminary – following every single exegetical and homiletical step every single time. Eventually, the pressure he put himself under was so great that he dreaded sermon preparation, and found it impossible to preach any sermon that was less than perfectly prepared. Within a couple of years he was off work with stress and depression, and within another year he had left the ministry.

2. Requires PERSONAL preparation

Having said all that, I do want to encourage you to think of preparing sermons in a much broader way than the specific hours spent with the text and the commentaries. If that is the only sermon preparation we do, then our sermons will suffer, and so will our hearers.

We should regard our whole week as sermon preparation, because a large part of sermon preparation is personal preparation, preparing ourselves as well as preparing our sermons.

Our personal and family devotions are part of sermon preparation. They bring us into contact with God, His Word and His Spirit. They are not way over here on left field with sermon prep being over there on right field. No, they are on the same team, interplaying with one another.

Cultivate a meditative spirit as part of sermon preparation. Take your text with you as you drive; think on it as you go to sleep, as you shower. It’s amazing how much light we can get on our text away from the computer.

A holy life is also part of sermon preparation. Holiness is the greatest key to understanding the Bible. There is only so much that academic study can give us. Jesus said, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (Jn. 7:17). “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (Jn. 14:21). God hides truth from the wise and prudent and reveals it to babes (Matt. 11:25). If we live a holy life, God will open up His Word to us in a way that no amount of hours ever will. There are computer sermons and there are communion sermons.

Tomorrow we will continue this series on Faithful Sermon Preparation in a Busy Ministry by looking at (3) Prioritizing sermon preparation and (4) Planning ahead.

Words of Comfort for Bereaved Parents

Oct 23, 2012 • By David Murray • 1 Comment

Upon the sudden death of his little five-year-old girl, Sophia, William Logan received numerous letters of sympathy from friends that he had met as a Town and Country Missionary in the UK in the 1800′s.

After carefully reading each one and enjoying the soothing words, he carefully set them aside. As the pile grew, however, he realized that there were many similarly bereaved parents that could benefit from such letters but were not likely to receive anything like the quantity or quality.

He extracted a few passages and had them published anonymously in a public journal and then in a four-page tract. When these extracts had such a beneficial effect, Logan began to collect similar literature and eventually published a 400-page book entitled Words of Comfort for Parents Bereaved of Little Children, including extracts from Hugh Miller, Ebenezer Erskine, Thomas Guthrie, etc. Many pastors welcomed the brief letters and extracts as much better suited to mourners than a long and continuous treatment.

As John Ker’s Introduction explains, “The origin of the book is noteworthy as an instance of the manner in which God often makes a personal sorrow the means of benefit, not merely to the sufferer but to others. It came from the heart of one who had found consolation for his heart in sympathy, and who thought of guiding fellow mourners to the same comforts with which he himself had been comforted of God.”

You can access the full text of Words of Comfort on Google books, but here are some noteworthy extracts. (UPDATE: The John Ker introduction is not in the Google books version, and the page numbers in the e-version are sometimes different to my book).

Sustaining then delivering
[His manner is to] show His power in sustaining before He shows it in delivering. This is the order of the old promise, “I will be with thee, in trouble I will deliver thee.” It is the rule of the furnace to walk with His friends in it before He brings them forth; and it is His course with His disciples in the storm: He did not calm the tempest when He was outside the ship, but came into it to tranquillize their hearts, and then He rebuked the waves and brought them to their desired haven (John Ker, xxiv)

Two ways of relieving pain
1. The one is to send our thoughts within the veil to dwell upon  the exceeding joy of that world into which our Christian friends have entered; its freedom from care and sorrow and sin, its nearness to the open face of Christ, and its fellowship with the blessed God. As our souls are elevated by this companionship, we become more unselfish, and are glad for our friends’ sakes that they are there.

2. The other is to be striving for ourselves to live closer to Christ, as the Lord both of the living and the dead. Every step nearer Him, every new attainment in His knowledge and grace, is a step nearer to our departed friends – a feather in the wing that bears us to them.

We can go to the other world and find our Christian friends with Him, and we can bring Him to this world and surround ourselves with the thoughts and hopes of them in our daily walk (John Ker, xxvi).

Less merciful? Never!
We shall never believe that heaven has made him less merciful than when he took the children in his arms and blessed them (John Ker, xxix).

A safely folded lamb
It is well with Sophia! She has gone to glory; and is now a safely folded lamb. The good Shepherd has taken her to Himself. You will greatly miss her, but your treasure is in heaven; and God has counted you worthy to have treasure there. You will find not the lost, but the living and redeemed one again: she is in good keeping.

Yes, your dear child is better occupied now than ever she could have been here. You closed her eyes upon all this world’s miseries and deep heart-sorrows; and she has already acquired more knowledge than she could have done in this world, though she had lived to close your eyes in death. She is crowned – she is folded – safely gathered and housed; and could you hear her speak, she would say to mother and yourself, “Weep not!” and that voice would have all the sweetness of an angel’s, and all the tenderness of your own Sophia, now glorified, redeemed, happy – infinitely happy. In taking your dear child, God has honoured you – blessed her beyond what we can express – glorified Himself – and added another gem to the Saviour’s crown, another lamb to His flock in glory, another lily to His paradise above, another happy spirit to the redeemed throng – and in doing so He has been but fulfilling His own promise: “With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the King’s palace” (A. W., Glasgow, 47-48).

Wide awake
She is not lost, but gone before. The child is not dead, but sleepeth: or, rather, is wide awake to the blessed reality of glory, honour, and immortality. She is now rejoicing in the smile of Him who said to you, as you clung to the departing object of your affections, as truly as He said to the disciples of old: “Suffer the little one to come unto me.” It is His prerogative – and oh, what a comfort to the Christian parent to realize this clearly! – to “gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom.” He has use for them in heaven. If aged saints there are stars in His diadem, young spirits, gathered thither in the bud, by virtue of His atoning merits, cluster like a garland of beauty around Him. We speak of getting our children settled in life; but how poor at the best is the meaning of this phrase compared with the plenitude of glorious significance it has in reference to the present circumstances of our beloved children, now settled in life in the loftiest sense – exempted henceforth from all evil of every kind, and of all liability thereto, and confirmed in holiness and in happiness throughout eternal ages! It only remains for you to say with David, “We shall go to her, but she shall not return to us” and by faith, patience, resignation, and prayer for fresh supplies of that Spirit whose name is “the Comforter” to bow to “the mighty hand of God, and He will exalt you in due time” (J. G., Glasgow, 48).

Meeting on the golden streets
I also have two daughters in heaven. Both died only four months old! They are now pure and perfect – and blessed spirits before the throne. It is very likely they have met your child upon the golden streets of the celestial city (A.F., Finsbury Chapel, London, 52).

Loaned
She was but a loan – her work was finished. You are not called to sorrow as those who have no hope. Her death has made a deep impression on my own mind. It is only four months since my daughter Mary died – Sophia’s nurse. Their hearts were warmly united together: they were “lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death they were not (long) divided” (J. R., Dumfriesshire, 52).

Heaven beautified
If the child’s absence makes your home look more desolate than it used to be, heaven has been rendered more than correspondingly rich and attractive. And what untold influence is brought to bear upon you to seek a better country, when to the voice of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, there is added that of your completely holy and happy child, saying, “Be ye followers of them who, through faith and patience, now inherit the promises!” ­(W. W., Langholm, Dumfriesshire, 53).

Powerful fullness
I never saw such a fulness, nor felt such a power in the following text, as when called to part with a lovely daughter of five years of age, viz. “All things work together for good to them that love God” (W. R., Bury, Lancashire, 54).

Tied to the world of spirits
I trust that you will find the consolations that are in Christ Jesus abounding to you, and that you will learn to say, “It is well.” You have one tie more to the world of spirits, and one tie less to the world of bodies (J. M., Glasgow, 42).

Absent from the body
The widowed mother had the little body bestrewed with beautiful flowers, and, being of intense sensibility, could not reconcile her feelings to part with the remains, until I brought, as vividly as I could before her mind, that it was not her son whom we were about to bury. Her son was ABSENT from the body and PRESENT with the Lord. It was but the dust which we were about to commit reverently and lovingly to the kindred dust. She grasped afresh the glorious reality, and was stayed! (G.G., Dundee, 54).

Scythe and dew
This week last year, my heart was first called to bleed under a stroke similar to your own. It is when the land is most weary, that “the shadow of the great Rock” is broadest, coolest, sweetest! And it is where the scythe of death has been, that the dews of the Comforter come most copiously down. With so many ties less to earth, and so many treasures more in heaven, let us live devoted to Him who died devoted for us! (J. R., Newington, Edinburgh, 55).

They love us still
Forget not that heaven is not a place where hearts grow cold. The departed ones love us still. They have lost nothing but the sorrows and infirmities which excited our compassion whilst they were with us. They form part of the “great cloud of witnesses.” Jesus is the connecting link between them and us (J. D. B., Bradford, 44).

Consummated happiness
Their education is completed: they know as they are known. Their holiness is perfected: they are holy as God is holy. Their happiness is consummate (John Macfarlane, London, 96).

Busy angels
How shall the mother recognize her son, who departed from her an emaciated infant, in yonder angelic form in the vigour and brilliancy of resurrection manhood. ­ And how shall the father, who wept bitter tears in secret over his daughter’s decrepitude, distinguish her in yonder seraph of celestial grace ­ What mean you, friends? ­ You surely cannot wish to meet your children in that plight of wretchedness in which you bade them farewell, so that, unassisted, you could of yourselves recognize them. The Lord will provide: but methinks it will, probably, be a busy day for those good angels who ministered to us on earth, finding us out for one another, and introducing us. Remembering how they had seen us grieve for one another, how sympathetically they will enjoy the scene, as we stand amazed for a while at one another’s glory before we embrace!

Nor will it be with little excitement that they hasten to meet you, their brothers and sisters, with whom they may associate and worship, as being more of their own nature than any others to be found in all the kingdom (Wm. Anderson, Glasgow, 100).

Flower-planting gravedigger (with some translation)
Mr Gray the Parish minister came across the gravedigger, John Brown, smoothing and trimming the lowly bed of a child which had been buried a few days before, he asked him why he was so particular in dressing and keeping the graves of the children. John paused for a moment at his work, and looking up, not at the minister, but at the sky, said, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

“And on this account you tend and adorn them with so much care,” remarked the minister, who was greatly struck with the reply.

“Surely, sir,” answered John, “I canna make ower braw and fine [I can't make too beautiful] the bed-coverin’ o’ a little innocent sleeper that is waitin’ there till it is God’s time to wauken it [waken it] and cover it with the white robe, and waft it away to glory. When sic [such] grandeur is awaitin’ it yonder, it’s fit it should be decked oot [out] here. I think the Saviour that counts its dust sae precious will like to see the white clover sheet spread abunde’t [about it]; dae ye no think sae, sir?”

But why not thus cover larger graves?” asked the minister, hardly able to suppress his emotion. “The ‘dust of all His saints is precious in the Saviour’s sight.”

“Very true, sir,” responded John, with great solemnity “but I canna be sure wha are his saints wha are noo [who are his saints and who are not]. I hope there are mony [many] o’ them lyin’ in this kirkyard; but it wad be great presumption in me to mark them oot [out]. There are some that I’m gey sure aboot [very sure about], and I keep their graves as nate and snod [neat and tidy] as I can, and plant a bit floure [flower] here and there as a sign o’ my hope; but I daurna gie [dare not give] them the white sheet. It’s clean different, tho’, wi’ the bairns [infants]. We hae His ain [have his own] word for their up-going, and sae I canna mak’ an error there” (108-109).

Positive Leadership: Clarity and Communication

Oct 19, 2012 • By David Murray • 0 Comments

Positive Leadership is (1) Cheerful, (2) Climbing, and (3) Confident. It’s also (4) Clear and (5) Communicative.

Clear Leadership

The positive leader has clear principles and convictions that He will not compromise. Yes, there are secondary issues and debateable questions, but there are also non-negotiables. The positive leader does not hide these things or waffle when asked about them. People who have known him for a while know where he stands on the most important questions.

He also has clear language. He states His understanding of God’s word with as clear language as he can. He strives to use language that is as simple as possible without sacrificing accuracy. He uses short rather than long sentences; short words rather than long words; concrete rather than abstract terms; illustrations rather than philosophical terms. His motto is “Brevity + Simplicity = Clarity.”

Clear principles and clear language are impossible without a clear conscience. This was something Paul strove for constantly (Acts 24:16). Whenever I hear someone waffling or prevaricating on whether something is right or wrong, or whether something is true or false, I immediately wonder about the person’s conscience. Is there some compromise in that person’s life that’s making it difficult for them to explain their position without their conscience protesting.

The leader also communicates positive energy by having a clear vision. He doesn’t need a vision statement, but everyone can state his vision. They know what he is trying to accomplish, where he is taking people, and why.

Why not ask people to state in one sentence, “What do you think am I all about?” or “What do you think I’m trying to accomplish?”

Communicative Leadership

Weak, negative, fearful leaders hear the phrase “Knowledge is power” and think, “Yes, the more I know and the less they know, the more powerful I’ll be.” The positive leader hears “Knowledge is power” and thinks, “How can I empower people by sharing knowledge with them.”

I’m still amazed at the way some pastors and elders try to keep people from knowing what’s going on in the church. Of course there are some things that should not be shared, but the default should always be share, inform, communicate.

So much trouble results in churches when elders and pastors try to starve people of information, when there’s a “We know what’s best for you” kind of attitude.

It’s almost impossible to keep people from knowing things today. So what’s the point in trying? They only get suspicious and then feel angry and distrusted when the information does eventually get out to them. Then you are on the back foot trying to explain and defend yourself.

The positive leader gets on the front foot and defaults to communicate rather than conceal.

The Happy Pastor

Oct 17, 2012 • By David Murray • 2 Comments

Yesterday I gave an address on “Positive Leadership” at a URC Conference for Pastors and Elders. In my first point I argued that “A Positive Leader is a Cheerful Leader.”

When people think of you, what image or picture immediately comes into their minds? When they hear your name, it’s as if a little passport picture of you pops out of their mental files. What does that picture look like? Is it glum, sad, hopeless, and depressed? Or is it happy, joyful, and cheerful? Or is it robot neutrality – a Stoic of the Stoics?

The positive leader possesses and projects a happy attitude and appearance. He’s not Mr Happy-Happy-Happy all the time-time-time; he knows there is a time for sobriety and sorrow. But on the whole he is Mr Optimist rather than Mr Pessimist.

Silver linings
He enjoys his work, he looks forward to each day (or most days), and he tries to find the silver lining on the darkest clouds, a smiling face behind the darkest providence.

He faces problems in the church and in individual lives with optimistic hope, trusting that God’s Word and Spirit can make the most impossible situation possible.

Joy of the Lord
His cheerfulness is not a matter of natural temperament, although most people God chooses to be leaders do have a happier disposition. The joy of the Lord is His strength. He builds His happiness out of His knowledge and experience of God. He rejoices in his own salvation by grace, his own fellowship with the Lord, his knowledge of God’s Word, and his divine calling to the ministry.

A sunny character and joy-filled words attract people and empower them. Much easier to follow such a person than someone whose looks like a Tornado and who speaks like an undertaker.

Need a tow?

Oct 11, 2012 • By David Murray • 4 Comments

We’ve been working our way through the service bays in the Soul Care Garage this week.

Let’s visit the last two, and make sure you don’t miss the last and most important.

Service Bay 6: Re-prioritize

As our lives slowly yet inexorably grow more complicated and committed, especially in the ministry, we must regularly examine our life and see what we can do to reduce our commitments and obligations. We all do this to some extent – because we all realize that we cannot meet the needs of everyone – the question is more about how seriously and intentionally you do this.

Prevention is better than cure here. If you can learn to say “No” to certain ministry demands and opportunities, it’s a lot easier than having to pull out when you’ve already committed and raised expectations.

You will need to cut out many good things to do the best things. You will need to cut out some ministry to others in order to minister to yourself. The life of the minister is the life of his ministry (Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 4:6). What’s your greatest priority? YOUR SOUL!

A pastor’s duties to his wife and children are not reduced by his duty to his flock; rather, they are increased (1 Sam. 15:22-23).

Service Bay 7: Return

The aim of all these other service bays is a return to a Christ-centered life, a life lived in communion with the Lord Jesus; yes, dare I say it, a personal relationship with Jesus. We want a life connected to Him, obedient to Him, imaging Him, glorifying Him, and worshipping Him. Here are a few things I’ve found helpful in returning to the Lord:

  • Guard personal Bible reading and prayer time as jealously as you guard your own children.
  • Pray out loud. Find a place where you can pray out loud without embarrassment. Hearing your own prayers helps to improve the clarity and intensity of prayer.
  • Make singing part of your personal and family devotions.
  • Carve out uninterrupted study time in 2-3 hour blocks at least four days a week.
  • Read Christ-centered books. Don’t let your love of missiology, ecclesiology, eschatology, apologetics, evangelism, etc., push out daily personal communion with Christ. Why not start with John Owen, Volume 1 on the Glory of Christ, or Volume 7 on Spiritual mindedness; John Flavel, Volume 1 on Christ the Fountain of Life,
  • Read for your own soul rather than for ministry to others. It makes a big difference to the personal edification you get from reading if, from time to time, you determine that you will not use anything in a certain book for ministry purposes.
  • Listen to Christ-centered sermons from various pastors. We have a wealth of online resources at sites such as SermonAudio.com. I like to listen to preachers outside my own tradition as I often find their approach to texts quite refreshing and stimulating.
  • Disconnect from Twitter, Facebook, Email for several hours at a time. Discipline yourself to check only certain number of times a day.
  • Seek accountability with another pastor or elder. Read through the 7 R’s, agree parameters, and commit to regular accounting.

Need a tow?
Please visit the Soul Care Garage regularly. The more frequently you visit it, the less time you will spend in each of the service bays. It will save you from the Pastor’s wrecker’s yard, and if you’re already there, get a tow over to this garage and start working your way through the bays until you’re fit for the road again!

This is an edited version of an article that was first published at Gospel Centered Discipleship.

Service Bay 5: Rethinking our Thoughts

Oct 10, 2012 • By David Murray • 0 Comments

One of the most common signs of burnout or depression is unhelpful thought patterns, which tend to distort our view of reality in a false and negative way. As the writers of Mind over Mood put it, “Our perception of an event or experience powerfully affects our emotional, behavioral, and physiological responses to it.” Or, as the Bible puts it: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).

Service Bay 5 of the Soul Care Garage (previous bays here and here) identifies, challenges, and changes false thought patterns. Let’s go pay the mechanic a visit. He seems to have s small white book in his hand with a strange emoticon on it.

Service Bay 5: Rethinking our Thoughts

In Christians get depressed too, I describe 10 false thought patterns that reflect, but also contribute to, the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Here’s a summary of some of them:

False extremes: This is a tendency to evaluate personal qualities in extreme, black-and-white categories; shades of gray do not exist. This is sometimes called all-or-nothing thinking.

  • Life example: You make one mistake in preaching a sermon and conclude you are a total disaster.
  • Biblical example: Despite most of his life being characterized by God’s blessing and prosperity, when Job passed through a time of suffering, he decided he must be an enemy of God (Job 13:24; 33:10).

False generalization: This happens when, after experiencing one unpleasant event, we conclude that the same thing will happen to us again and again.

  • Life example: When you try to witness to someone, you are mocked, and you conclude that this will always happen to you and that you will never win a soul for Christ.
  • Biblical example: At a low point in his own life, Jacob deduced that because Joseph was dead and Simeon was captive in Egypt that Benjamin would also be taken from him: “All these things are against me,” he generalized.

False filter: When we are depressed, we tend to pick out the negative in every situation and think about it alone, to the exclusion of everything else. We filter out anything positive and decide everything is negative.

  • Life example: You heard something in a sermon you did not like or agree with and went home thinking and talking only about that part of the service.
  • Biblical example: Despite having just seen God’s mighty and miraculous intervention on Mount Carmel, Elijah filtered out all the positives and focused only on the continued opposition of Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 19:10).

False transformation: We transform neutral or positive experiences into negative ones. The depressed person doesn’t ignore positive experiences; rather, she disqualifies them or turns them into their opposite.

  • Life example: If someone compliments you, you conclude that the person is just being hypocritical or that he or she is trying to get something from you.
  • Biblical example: Jonah saw many Ninevites repent in response to his preaching. But in- stead of rejoicing in this positive experience, his mood slumped so low that he angrily asked God to take away his life (Jonah 4:3–4).

False mind reading: We may think that we can tell what someone is thinking about us, that the person hates us or views us as stupid. But such negative conclusions usually are not supported by the facts.

  • Life example: Someone who used to talk to you at church now passes you with hardly a word, so you decide that you have fallen out of her favor. But, unknown to you, the person’s marriage is in deep trouble, and she is too embarrassed to risk talking to anyone.
  • Biblical example: The psalmist one day concluded that all men were liars. On reflection, he admitted that this judgment was overly hasty (Ps. 116:11).

A couple more, quickly, in summary form:

False lens: This is when we view our fears, errors, or mistakes through a magnifying glass and deduce catastrophic consequences. Everything then is out of proportion. The other side of this is that while you maximize your faults with a magnifying glass, you also tend to look through the binoculars the wrong way when it comes to your assets—and minimize them.

False “shoulds”: Our lives may be dominated by “shoulds” or “oughts,” applied to ourselves or others. This heaps pressure on us and others to reach certain unattainable standards and causes frustration and resentment when others or we fail.

Step-by-step guide out of false thought patterns

These false thinking patterns are not only the symptoms of burnout and depression; they perpetuate and deepen them. They eventually cause physical symptoms too. So, let me propose a biblical method that will help you to correct these false and damaging thought habits. And they are habits; we get into deep ruts in our thinking that are sometimes very difficult to get out of.

We must first identify false and unhelpful thought-patterns, then challenge them, and then change them. And this isn’t optional: Christians are obliged to challenge falsehood and distortions of reality, especially when they find them in themselves

Psalm 77 is a perfect example of Asaph’s investigating, challenging, and changing his thoughts, with God’s help, in order to raise his mood and spirits. There are also slightly more abbreviated versions of the same biblical strategy in Job 19, Psalm 42, 73, and Habakkuk 3. So, this is not “psychological mumbo-jumbo,” but true Bible-based Christian experience. In Christians get depressed too, I go into this Biblical Re-thinking Training in much more detail. Maybe I’ll return to this next week, but we must hurry on to Service bays 6&7 in the Soul Care Garage tomorrow.

This is an edited version of an article that was first published at Gospel Centered Discipleship.

Soul Care Garage: Rest & Recreation

Oct 9, 2012 • By David Murray • 3 Comments

Yesterday we visited the first two bays in the Soul Care Garage. Today we visit Service Bays 3&4.

Service Bay 3: Recreation

In the garageBodily exercise is profitable (1 Tim. 4:8). Moderate physical exercise helps to expel unhelpful chemicals from our system and stimulates the production of helpful chemicals. Outdoor exercise has the added benefit of the sun’s healing rays. Spurgeon said: “The next best thing to the grace of God for a preacher is oxygen.”

John Wesley attributed his great age and remarkable usefulness even in his eighties to God’s power, prayer, and his regular exercise in the fresh air! William Blaikie said: “It is very certain that due attention to physical exercise is an essential condition of sustained vigorous preaching. The command to be ‘strong in the Lord’ includes strength of body as well of strength of soul.”

Is God glorified in our bodies (1 Cor. 6:20) when we rob them of what they need to function properly? Do we glorify our Creator when we remain willingly ignorant of or reject the knowledge He has kindly provided in His created order, information that we need to keep our re-create our bodies and stay healthy?

Service Bay 4: Rest

Open

A Christian psychologist said to me that he starts most depressed people on three pills: “Good exercise, good diet, and good sleep!” That’s great advice, and I would encourage you to make use of the plentiful resources available today on these subjects.

Daily rest

As regular sleep patterns enable the body and mind to repair and re-charge, set fixed times for going to bed and getting up, and try to get at a minimum of seven, and an ideal of eight hours, of sleep per night.

Weekly rest
And remember God’s gift of weekly rest. Secure a weekly intellectual Sabbath to refresh your mind. The devotion of one day to rest will not lose you time but rather help you to gain it as the other days will be more decisive and vigorous.

My wife has forced me to take one day off a week throughout my ministry; usually it was a Monday as we were home-schooling. Perhaps twice I managed to persuade her that I really needed the rest day to be a work day, but both weeks were a disaster. Overall I accomplished less than I would have had I taken the day off and properly rested my body and mind.

Small print for pastors?
It doesn’t say, “Six days you shall labor…unless you are a pastor who must work seven.” It’s a command…”Six days you shall labor, but the seventh is to be a Sabbath of rest.” It takes faith to obey this. Reason and society says, “If you work seven days you’ll get more done!” But as you practice weekly Sabbath, you will begin to see how gracious, merciful, and wise God’s commands are.

Tomorrow we’ll visit another two service bays in the Soul Care Garage.

This is an edited version of an article that was first published at Gospel Centered Discipleship.

7 Service Bays in the Soul Care Garage

Oct 8, 2012 • By David Murray • 2 Comments

As with your car, if you regularly service your soul you are far less likely to experience burnout, breakdown, or a crash.  So let me take you to the Soul Care Garage and show you round the seven service bays, starting with the first two today: Routine and Relaxation.

And if you’ve failed to service your soul, if you’ve already hit the wall, crashed, and burned, you need to visit the same seven service bays. You just need to spend longer in each of them.

Service Bay 1: Routine

Service BaysRegular routine is one of the first things to fall by the wayside when we become too busy. We respond to increasing demands by increasing our accessibility and availability. Our regular daily routine is squeezed, then disrupted, and then displaced.

We end up feeling like passive victims waiting for things to happen – emails to arrive, phones to ring, and requests for help to knock on the door. We are knocked from pillar to post, running from one crisis to another.

Weakened wills
Even when we get some quiet, uninterrupted time, we are so tired and wrung out that we lack the will and discipline to use that time wisely and well. We end up doing only what we feel like doing – which is not very much – as our wills and decisiveness are so weakened.

The first question I ask burn-outs is: “Tell me your daily routine.” Usually the answer is “I don’t have one…Every day is different.” I press further, “Is there nothing constant from one day to another?” Again, usually the answer is “No.”

Basic routine
The first thing I do is to get them to draw up a basic routine of sleeping, worshipping, eating, working, studying, etc., that they then commit to. God is a God of order, not of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33), and as His created image-bearers we glorify Him when we live regular, orderly lives. He has made our bodies so that they flourish

when they have a rhythm and regularity.

Now, of course, there are elements of life, and especially of ministry, that we cannot predict or regulate, but we can usually do a lot more than we presently are. Start with regular bed times and rise times. Read and pray in the same place at the same time each day, preferably in privacy, and before you see or speak to anyone else. Set family meal times and stick to them. The more regularity you can build into your day and your week, the more your body, mind, and soul will flourish.

Service Bay 2: Relaxation

Esso Garage @ Ground Level 2

We need to incorporate times of relaxation into our lives. This may involve finding a quiet spot at regular times throughout the day to simply pause for 5-10 minutes, calm down, and seek the peace of God in our lives. Unstretch the band, let the tension go, breathe deeply, pray and remember God.

Jesus recognized His disciples need for relaxation when He took them “apart into a desert place, and rested a while” (Mark 6:31).

Learning to relaxe
You’ll find lots of websites and books that outline many varied relaxation techniques. These are usually effective and easy to learn. Once you try some of these you’ll soon learn straight how tense you actually are. Many of us are living like a flexed muscle, coiled tight from tip to toe. Is it any wonder that we’re exhausted and feel aches and pains all over!

Many of us actually need to learn how to breathe properly again. When we are stressed, anxious, and tense, our breathing becomes shallow, starving our body and brain of oxygen, increasing the difficulty of physical and intellectual work. Again, websites abound with helpful exercises that will help you to become conscious of your breathing habits and re-train them if you’ve learned bad habits.

Computer or communion sermons?
As I mentioned before, many creative breakthroughs are made in quiet downtimes. I believe many preachers could do with working less on their sermons. What I mean by that is getting away from scanning commentaries and hammering away on the computer, and communing with God in quiet reflective walks. There are computer sermons, and there are communion sermons! There are sermons that collate others thoughts and there are sermons that flow out of communion with God in His Word.

Tomorrow we’ll visit another two service bays in the Soul Care Garage.

This is an edited version of an article that was first published at Gospel Centered Discipleship.

Six Audiences

Sep 19, 2012 • By David Murray • 1 Comment


Every organization chooses its own audience…But don’t doubt that it changes everything you do (Seth Godin).


I’ve suggested six church parallels for the six audience choices described by Godin:

  • The sales force = The pastors
  • The stock market = The major donors
  • Potential new customers = The unevangelized
  • Existing customers = Church members
  • Employees = Church staff
  • The regulators = Elders, Presbytery, Denomination, etc.

Who is your audience? Who is your church focused on? Is there Someone missing here?

Godin: “You get what you focus on.”

Jesus the Ecumenical Separatist

Sep 13, 2012 • By David Murray • 20 Comments

One of the hardest balances to get right in the Christian life is to decide how ecumenical or how separatist we will be; how much will we unite with Christians who are different from us in some areas, and how much will we separate from them?

There are two relatively easy options: unite with everyone that calls themselves a Christian or separate from everyone who is not exactly like us. Neither option is biblical.

The biblical way is much more intellectually and spiritually demanding. In the Bible, God provides us with commands and examples of both unity and separation and calls us to exercise rigorous and prayerful discernment about what route to take on each occasion.

I want to explore this difficult area by looking at our different “bottom lines,” the different responses that will result, the different roles God calls us into, and the different sins at the different extremes.

Different bottom lines
In all our associations, we all have to ask, and keep asking, ourselves: “What issues are non-negotiables? What biblical principle is sufficiently important to separate over? What is the minimum agreement in truth and practice before we begin to unite with others?”

Here are some examples of issues that will determine not only whether we will unite or separate, and also the degree to which we will unite or separate.

  • Denial of the infallibility of Scripture
  • Denial of the Trinity or of the deity of Christ
  • Denial of justification by faith
  • Denial of Christ as the only way of salvation
  • Denial of virgin birth, resurrection, miracles, etc.
  • Denial of biblical view of marriage and gender roles
  • Denial of historical Adam
  • Denial of six-day creation
  • Women in pastoral leadership roles
  • Ecumenical activity with Roman Catholics
  • Belief in continuing apostolic office and gifts
  • Worship style: over-liturgical or over-contemporary
  • Standards of holiness or worldliness
  • Evangelistic methods (altar call, entertainment evangelism, etc).
  • Mode and subjects of baptism
  • Modern Bible versions

I hope a list like this makes it clear that not all areas of disagreement are equally serious. Some will draw the line high on this list, others will draw it lower down. And some will want to re-order it altogether, or shorten it…or lengthen it!

And in serious matters, some may want to go further than this by practicing “secondary separation.”  What’s that? Well, imagine two pastors (A & B) who agree on all these issues. However Pastor B has some association with Pastor C who denies six-day creation. Pastor A then decides to separate from Pastor B because of Pastor A’s contact with Pastor C. That’s secondary separation and tends to get extremely complicated.

Different levels of association or separation
When we come across a Christian or a Christian minister who differs from us in any significant area, we may have to take a decision about how united or how separated we will be. Again, there are a number of options here between the two extremes of “We’re all one in Christ,” and, “There’s no one like me!” Here’s a range of possible responses to disagreements with another pastor:

  • Stay in the same denomination or federation
  • Separate denominations but occasionally invite him to your pulpit
  • You don’t invite him to your pulpit, but you will accept an occasional invitation to preach in his pulpit
  • Join in united action on some moral and theological issues
  • Wiling to join in a local pastoral fraternal or fellowship
  • Listen to their sermons and read their books
  • Qualified recommendation of their ministry
  • Acknowledge their Christianity but have no contact or involvement
  • Criticize and condemn their error publicly
  • Warn people to have nothing to do with such theological or ethical heretics

Again, the decision requires prayerful discernment, and will have a lot to do with the issue of disagreement. It’s foolish to treat every disagreement as equally deserving of total separation and vocal condemnation.

Different roles for different people
It’s probably God’s plan that some churches and ministers have a more separatist role in his Kingdom, and others have a more ecumenical and bridge-building role. We probably need one another as a constant check on one another’s sinful tendencies.

That’s also true on an individual level. While we may have one role in the church, it’s possible that others will have a different role. For example, someone with a high level of spiritual maturity will be better equipped to build bridges with others who are different, without the risk a novice might have of being carried away into compromise. And while we may appeal to people about their associations, we must also accept that in some cases it’s a matter of individual conscience.  We must not automatically assume that association means approval.

Neither should we assume that association means cowardly compromise. It’s very easy to condemn people from a distance whom we’ve never met. It’s much harder and braver for a person to lovingly confront error face-to-face. It’s also much more likely to work.

God has also given some Christian leaders a much wider platform – national or even international. They have been given the opportunity to influence other pastors and churches for good. What may be appropriate and even a God-given duty for them, may not be appropriate or wise for others on a local level. Different times and different contexts may also be factors that influence our decisions.

Different sins at the extremes
It’s a sin to separate from those whom God would have us united with. It’s a sin to unite with those whom God would have us separate from. The extreme separatist risks sinning by condemning those whom God would not condemn; the extreme ecumenist risks sinning by uniting with those whom God does not unite with. The ecumenist risks compromising the Gospel by confusing it or being quiet about it; the separatist risks hiding the Gospel by not communicating it, for “how shall they hear without a preacher?” But both also risk the sin of pride; the separatist is proud of his separating, the ecumenist is proud of his “loving.” And even those in the middle are often proud of their “balance!”

What would Jesus do?
I know this question has got a lot of bad press, but it’s still a valid question to ask. When I look at the life of Jesus I see neither an ecumenist nor a separatist but an ecumenical separatist. He lived a life of perfect balance as he considered each issue and gave it sufficient weight, as he considered the different relationships he sustained to different people and institutions, and as he lived out his God-given role of building bridges between God and man, Jew and Gentile.

The ecumenist cannot claim Jesus for their side because he pronounced woes on the Pharisees and cleansed the temple with a whip. But the separatist cannot claim Jesus either, because he associated with sinners, dined with a Pharisee, and even preached in the Christ-denying, soon to be Christ-crucifying, synagogues of his day.

Many of us would love a simpler Jesus, so that we can live simpler lives, and have simpler decisions and relationships. However Jesus calls us to follow His example by prayerfully judging each person and situation with the help of the Holy Spirit, and by walking the path He calls us to walk, even if we are sometimes condemned by ecumenists on one side and by separatists on the other.

We would prefer to please God and men. But if we have to make a choice, the choice is clear.

Salvation and disabilities

Aug 6, 2012 • By David Murray • 4 Comments

Can anyone point me to books, blog posts, sermons, articles, etc., that discuss the salvation of those with disabilities.

I’ve received a few of queries about this, and wondered if you could help me crowd-source any helpful resources. I’m looking for different perspectives.

The last time we crowd-sourced on miscarriage and the death of infants we produced a great list of resources. Let’s see what we can do with this even more challenging subject.

 

Four (more) characteristics of Evangelistic Preaching

Jul 12, 2012 • By David Murray • 4 Comments

Further to yesterday’s post listing the first four characteristics of evangelistic preaching, here are the remaining four marks.

Plain
Evangelistic preaching will be plain. If we love sinners and we are anxious for them to be saved, we will be clear and plain in our structure, content, and choice of words. If we can use a smaller word, we use it. If we can shorten our sentences, we do so. If we can find an illustration, we tell it. Everything is aimed at simplicity and clarity, so that, as it was said of Martin Luther, it may be said of us, “It’s impossible to misunderstand him.”

And this is exhausting work. People may think at times that doctrinal sermons are harder to prepare and preach than evangelistic sermons. Not if you are really going to edit and trim and modify until your message communicates the profoundest truth in the simplest way possible. That involves real labor, sweat, toil and tears. In Preaching and Preachers Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote:

If I am asked which sermons I wrote, I have already said that I used to divide my ministry, as I still do, into edification of the saints in the morning and a more evangelistic sermon in the evening. Well, my practice was to write my evangelistic sermon. I did so because I felt that in speaking to the saints, to the believers, one could feel more relaxed. There, one was speaking in the realm of the family. In other words, I believe that one should be unusually careful in evangelistic sermons. That is why the idea that a fellow who is merely gifted with a certain amount of glibness of speech and self-confidence, not to say cheek, can make an evangelist is all wrong. The greatest men should always be the evangelists, and generally have been; and the idea that Tom, Dick and Harry can be put up to speak on a street corner, but you must have a great preacher in a pulpit in a church is, to me, the reversing of the right order. It is when addressing the unbelieving world that we need to be most careful; and therefore I used to write my evangelistic sermon and not the other (pp. 215-16).

Powerful
When we go into the pulpit with an evangelistic sermon, let’s not go in defensively, and apologetically. Yes, it may be an “apologetic” sermon, but we are not apologizing for the truth. When we go in front of sinners with the gospel, let’s not come across as if we have something to hide or be afraid of. Let’s not hedge and qualify. Let’s not “discuss” or ”share.” Let’s preach with powerful, bold, divine authority. People need to hear, “Thus says the Lord.” This isn’t an option, this isn’t just another idea; this is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Persevering
And let our evangelistic sermons also be characterized by perseverance. We preach. No one’s converted. We do it again. We preach. No one’s converted. We do it again, and again, and again.

How often should you preach an evangelistic sermon? That will largely depend on context. In Scotland, I was expected to preach one evangelistic sermon and one teaching sermon every Sunday. Once a week is probably too much if you and your church are not used to this. But how about once a month? And you can tell your congregation that on such a morning/evening this is going to be a sermon for the unconverted, so that Christians will think, “I can take my friends to this. This is something I know my boss could listen to with some understanding.” Make it regular, and make it known that this is what you are going to be doing.

Prayerful
Above all, of course, evangelistic preaching is to be prayerful – before, during, and after. Pray to be delivered from the fear of man. Pray that God would give you a passion for souls. Pray that you would be able to communicate naturally and easily and freely. Pray that you’d get a hearing for the gospel and that you’d be able to present Christ so that you ”disappear.” And pray afterward that the seed sown would bring forth a harvest of saved souls, and that the church will be revived and built up.

“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Dan. 12:3).

Don’t live for a legacy

Jun 18, 2012 • By David Murray • 9 Comments

“So, David, what do you want your legacy to be?”

“Em, I’m not expecting to have much of one. Not leaving any debt is be about as much as I can hope for.”

“No, I don’t mean a financial legacy, I mean a spiritual legacy. What spiritual legacy do you want to leave behind?”

“Oh…eh…um… you know, I’ve never given it a thought. Should I?” I spluttered.

Having now had a couple of days to think about this surprising question, I think I’ve got a slightly more coherent response.

Ministering for the moment
First, I’m not living to leave a legacy. If I start thinking about my future name and reputation, I can easily foresee that having a detrimental effect on present decisions. There are certain things I may do or not do, say or not say, write or not write because it might harm my potential of leaving a “legacy.”

It’s hard enough making the right decisions day-to-day without having also to weigh the impact 50 years down the road. Better just think about the today and leave all the tomorrows with the Lord. In fact we’re probably more likely to leave a legacy if we don’t live for one.

Ordinary ministry
Second, I’m not that concerned if my name and ministry fades from view a few years after I die. That’s what happens to 99.9% of preachers, missionaries, writers, bloggers, etc. So why not me? I’m not exactly the next Charles Spurgeon, William Carey, C S Lewis, or Tim Challies ;)

Obviously there are some men who will leave an obvious legacy, rare men whom the Lord has raised up to recover a lost truth or emphasis (e.g. R C Sproul’s popularization of Reformed Theology), or to take an especially courageous stand against sin and for holiness. However, most of us have ordinary ministries, and our ministries will die with us.

I don’t imagine either of my two books will still be in print when I die. Someone will come along and write a better introductory book on depression, and a better beginner’s book on preaching – I’m sure they have already! My films will look dated in ten years, never mind fifty. And my blog will disappear into the ether. That’s life; it’s not a disaster; and I’m not sad about it.

Immeasurable legacy
Third, spiritual legacies are extremely hard to measure. They’re not measured by books published, size of church, or conference invitations. Spiritual legacies are largely invisible and therefore immeasurable.

Obviously I hope that my sermons, books, blog posts, etc., are impacting people for good – that sinners are being converted and saints sanctified, equipped, and prepared for heaven. However, how am I ever to know? Most of it is invisible, inaudible, and undetectable.

One thing I believe that heaven will reveal is that the vast majority of completely unknown and faithful pastors are leaving a bigger spiritual legacy behind in the hearts and lives of their flock than many who are preaching, ministering, and writing to huge audiences.

What did he leave?
But if you really push me, yes, there’s one thing I do want to leave behind – and that’s four converted children. I’d rather my children know Christ than people know who David Murray is a hundred years from now

A new breed and a dying breed

Jun 12, 2012 • By David Murray • 14 Comments

Deepak Reju is the Pastor of Biblical Counseling at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. In A New Breed: Pastors who Love Counseling, Deepak highlights the welcome upward trend of interest in pastoral counseling in the local church, and lists some examples of churches who have hired a Pastor of Biblical Counseling.

I’ve only heard good things about Deepak’s counseling ministry and I’ve always enjoyed what he’s written on counseling. However, I wonder if his article highlights a growing and worrying division of roles into pastor-preachers on the one hand and pastor-counselors on the other?

For example, consider how Deepak describes himself as a pastor, but then draws two contrasts between himself and other pastors:

  1. “But I am also a counselor.”
  2. “Yet, I’m different than most pastors. I love counseling.”

Now, the church definitely needs men and women who are called specifically to pastoral counseling; some pastors are so overwhelmed with the number and complexity of counseling cases, that specialist pastoral counselors are needed to ease the load. But this article seems to envisage pastors who are not counselors, or at least pastors who do not love counseling. And that seems to fit what I perceive as a growing and widespread withdrawal of pastors from counseling ministry.

Serious questions
Which raises some serious questions: Can you really call yourself a pastor without constant counseling involvement in people’s messy lives? Can you really be an edifying preacher of the Word without regularly getting your hands dirty in personal ministry?  To be blunt, can you be a pastor and not love counseling? Is that not an oxymoron? Surely a love for ministering the Word to individual needs and problems is a basic qualification of a Gospel minister. If a man told me that he felt a call to pastoral ministry, but didn’t want to counsel people, I’d show him the door.

Pedigree or mongrel
Now it’s possible that I’m drawing the lines too starkly here. Perhaps pastor-preachers are also doing hours of personal counseling every week. But, from what I can gather from various churches going down this route, it doesn’t work like that. The two roles are growing further and further apart, with serious adverse effects on the tone and content of pulpit ministry – more academic, more distant, less “real,” less “human.”

It might appear logical that a person’s preaching will improve if he’s given much more time to study. However, there’s nothing like the stress and strain of daily involvement in people’s lives to put life, vitality, and gritty realism into a preacher and his sermons.

I’m afraid that pastoral ministry is being split into two pure pedigrees – the preacher breed and the counselor breed. I much preferred the old “mongrel” breed of the pastor who both preached to and counseled his flock (Acts 20:20). I hope they’re not dying out.

Learning from the Wrecker’s Yard

May 3, 2012 • By David Murray • 12 Comments

Why do so many pastors end up in the Wrecker’s Yard? How do I avoid it? How do I get out of it?

[Email and RSS click through for video on Lessons from the Wrecker's Yard]

Pastoral Supermodels

May 2, 2012 • By David Murray • 2 Comments

Supermodels are super-paid because they are super-effective at making people copy them. Fashion and design gurus know that the way to sell their clothes is to get them on Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Giselle or whoever the latest coat-hanger is. Young (and not-so-young) people see the clothes on the model and say, “I want to be/look like that!”


So how would you like to be a Pastoral Supermodel? Well, if you’re a pastor, you already are. Your life, character, and conversation, are super-influential. And although you’re never going to get super-pay for it, to see people being impacted for good by our life, character, and example should be more-than-sufficient reward.

But that raises the question as to whether we are modeling for good or for evil. Just as many have followed Kate Moss into drug abuse, and Naomi Campbell into prima donna mood-swings, likewise many people have suffered by copying the bad examples of their pastors. So let me pose some questions:

  • Are you demonstrating the need for a weekly Sabbath rest from work? (Or does “six days you shall labor” only apply to non-pastors?)
  • Are you treating your body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit?
  • Are you drawing wise boundaries in your relationships with other women in the congregation?
  • Are you taking reasonable vacations and really vacating the office – leaving it behind mentally as well as physically?
  • Are you exercising wise time-management?
  • Are you setting reasonable working, resting, and sleeping hours?
  • Are you modeling a godly family by spending quality and quantity time with your wife and children?
  • Are you showing your spiritual need to hear good preaching and to read good books for the good of your own soul?
  • Are you guarding personal devotion time as jealously as you guard your children?

To put it bluntly, is the overall message of your life: “I am so indispensible, unstoppable, and incomparable that I don’t need to care for myself.”

Or are you communicating: “I am so dependent, so vulnerable, so fragile, so needy that unless I take care of myself and my family first, I won’t be able to take care of anyone else.” Now that’s a Supermodel.

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