The Elijah Cup

Yesterday, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper at church. During my studies for the service, I learned a lot about the connection to the Jewish Passover. I was fascinated to learn that there were 5 cups involved with the Passover. I learned that with the first 3 cups there were special blessings attached. The fourth cup was for the coming Messiah and it was this cup Jesus did not partake. However, the fifth cup to me is the most interesting. It seems that there had been a debate among rabbis about how many cups were to be served at Passover. Some said the Talmud demanded that four cups be served while others held that the Talmud said five were to be served. Finally, to resolve the issue, the rabbis agree to pour a fifth cup for Elijah and when he came, he would partake of the cup and say who was right. With the many things that are going in our Convention and the world today with trends in baptism going down maybe it’s time we pour a cup for Jesus on these lesser issues that seem to divide us and let Jesus tell us who is right when He comes. Until that time, let us work the fields for they are whitened unto harvest and let us cry out to Jesus as Lord of the Harvest to send more workers into the fields.

Technorati Tags: southern baptist, conflict, communion, resolution, Lord’s Supper, passover, Jesus Christ

Powered by ScribeFire.

Prayer Request

I haven’t been blogging this week because my father-in-law who is a pastor has been in the hospital and as I write this post, he still is.  I ask your prayers on his behalf.  Thank you.

Chili Cookoffs, Microwaves, and Preaching

I lost the chili cook-off at the local school tonight. I am not too upset about it. I mean I am sitting here enjoying the chili with some crackers as I write this. The lady who won the contest deserved the victory. She won a nice trophy that she can put on her mantle. I really didn’t deserve to win tonight. I didn’t even place. I didn’t take the time to do a good job with my chili. I rushed it and took too many shortcuts. The lady who won started her chili last night. She picked the freshest ingredients and carefully seasoned her dish. I mean she took the time to finely dice the bell peppers and onions. She took her time while I rushed.
Now, let us consider the task of preaching. There is a tendency to use “microwave” sermons. I don’t understand why preachers buy sermons off the Internet when there are so many free ones available. Also, if you eat microwave popcorn day after day, meal after meal, you will grow weary of it. You cannot get proper nourishment from such a diet. The sermon you buy from that Internet site or get out of the book was meant to be preached by that man that day to that audience. Today, the people in the pews are tired of being fed microwave popcorn sermons and they want to feast upon the Word of God. There are some who claim they do not have the time to do proper sermon preparation so they buy books of classic sermons or go on the Internet and buy series from various websites. Now, Benjamin Franklin once said he would rather have a man who can’t preach read another man’s good sermon then to preach his own bad sermon. However, if we are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit preaching the inerrant and infallible Word of God, shouldn’t we be able to produce good sermons?
Let’s be honest. The reason that nothing is happening with our sermons is that we are not being found to be good stewards of our time and the charge given to us. There is no expectation in the invitation anymore because there is no anticipation of the participation of God due to the lack of preparation in the sermon. It is an honor to be called to preach. If there is not a burning in your bones (Jeremiah 20:9) to preach the Word of God then do us a favor and get out of the pulpit and let someone who loves preaching occupy the pulpit. It is a great responsibility to go into the sacred desk and preach the Word. W.A. Criswell considered this portion of ministry so sacred that he would not practice the sermon before preaching it. We have a sacred task. Paul writes to Timothy:

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Just as the winner of the chili contest took the time to finely chop the peppers and onions, let us rightly divide the Word of God. Just as she prepared the night before the contest so the flavors would saturate the chili, let us take the time to saturate our sermons with prayer so the flavor of the Holy Spirit will prevail in the message. Also, let us wisely chose our ingredients for our sermons. Spurgeon writes:

In order to be able to expound the Scriptures, and as an aid to your pulpit studies, you will need to be familiar with the commentators: a glorious army, let me tell you, whose acquaintance will be your delight and profit.

Let us not forget the great works that are at our disposal to help us proclaim the Gospel. Let us chose our illustrations, not for entertainment value, but for Kingdom value. Use Internet resources wisely. I highly recommend Dr. Wayne McDill’s site. There are other sermons links meant to assist in sermon inspiration and preparation. Also, build your personal library of books. Books have 2 advantages over the Internet:

1. If a book crashes, it only hits the floor and you can fix the problem yourself.
2. You don’t have to worry about pop-up windows with a book.

If we are diligent in our prayer, preparation, and proclamation then God is faithful to reward our efforts with more than a trophy that will sit on a mantle.

Technorati Tags: w.a. criswell, wayne mcdill, preaching, southern baptist

Powered by ScribeFire.

Everyone Can?

Welch, in his BP column, noted, “One of the little-recognized deterrents to many people’s earnest hard work in evangelism has to do with the last decade of poor seed sowing. It is impossible to reap much or anything where little or no seed has been sown, watered and cultivated. This last decade has seen many persons preoccupied with attempting to discover a magic way to do evangelism that does not call on people to go out into the world and intentionally sow seeds. We are now all faced with vast wastelands of seedless soil in North America.”
The Baptist Press has this article about the results of the “Everyone Can” campaign. Reading this makes me think that my friend, Chadwick Ivester, is on to something with his series about Shallow Evangelism.
Bobby Welch is correct in that we are looking for a “magic bullet” for evangelism. There is no urgency in fulfilling the Great Commission because we have forgotten what is at stake. If seeds aren’t planted in the fields then there can be no harvest. If there is a harvest but no workers then the harvest rots in the field.
Everyone can but the question is, “Will everyone?” People don’t feel like they can witness because they don’t have a certificate or have a pastor who demonstrates personal evangelism in his own life. We have made what should be as simple as breathing too complicated. Just tell what you know and trust God. The people will follow if the pastor will lead. I heard Johnny Hunt say that we shouldn’t expect a harvest if we as pastors are not willing to work the fields. We do not preach on Hell and judgment because these doctrines are viewed as being not seeker friendly. We have become so seeker friendly, we are no longer Savior sensitive. We describe salvation as being a wonderful experience where Jesus comes and fills the God sized hole in our hearts and if we will only accept Him as Savior then He will give us love, peace, joy, and happiness. When the new convert encounters trouble that robs him of love, peace, joy, and happiness, he leaves the faith and is worse off.  We do not warn them of the impending judgment. We must regain a passion for missions and evangelism as well as assume the mantle of biblical preaching given to us.  We must preach the full consul of God’s Word including that which is not popular or well received.  I remember Junior Hill preaching one time and he just stopped. He pointed a finger and said in a low voice, “Don’t preach about Hell without a tear in your eye.” If there are no tears then we have a heart problem. I think that is the problem here. We are having heart trouble.

Technorati Tags: “bobby welch”, evangelism, “chadwick ivester”, church growth

Powered by ScribeFire.

Pulpit Envy

I admit it. I am a competitive person. I race the computer on the stationary bike and get upset if I don’t lap it in the first lap. However, the pulpit and the ministry are not the places for competition. I say this because there seems to be a tendency to compare the success of a ministry to the number of baptisms or money given to the Cooperative Program. With a nominee for the Second Vice President, I notice that the number of souls won to Christ being touted as his main qualification. This is great but honestly, it is God who gives the increase. He chooses whom He blesses and how He blesses. We are just harvesters in the field. He has been all over the world and led people to Christ. I applaud his efforts for the Kingdom. However, is his ministry more valuable than a missionary friend of mine who is in a Islamic nation who imprison Christians? My friend in 2 years of work had one convert. He suffered great physical pain. While in the field, he developed a kidney stone and was rushed to the local hospital. They removed part of his kidney. He has recovered and went back into this field. Is his contribution any less important? It is wonderful how some of our larger churches are able to give to the Cooperative Program but is the sacrifice of the small church pastors or bi-vocational pastors who may not be able to accept a paycheck so the church can give to the Cooperative Program any less important? We are getting a “gun notch” mentality in our Convention. There some men I know who doctor the Annual Church Profile in hopes of getting state and national attention. I knew guys at seminary whose only concern was to see how many Gospel tracts they gave out that week. This obsession with numbers has led to shallow evangelism techniques. There are pastors in my association who told me if I preached about Hell that I would scare people away. They are self-proclaimed church growth experts and they tell me to have more entertainment in my service so people will come. Looking at what we have now, would we be better off as a Convention if we add 16 million more like us? People are not living their lives like they are fleeing the wrath to come because we have not told them of the wrath that is to come. That noted theologian Pogo put it this way: We have seen the enemy and it is us. We have brought competition rather than cooperation into our ministries. I know pastors who absolutely refuse to work other pastors not because of theological concerns but they desire the whole harvest for themselves. Listen, there is more than enough to go around for everyone! Check out NAMB for statistics to support my position. It is time for us to remember it is God who gives the increase. He measures our obedience, not our numbers. Competition is great on the field of athletics but not in the fields of our Lord.

Pastor As CEO

Now, let me just say this. What bothers me today is the tendency of spiritual leaders to be too heavily influenced by secular wisdom. For a Christian to rely upon worldly wisdom to guide his leadership practices is like water running uphill. It’s just backwards! It seems that in the modern church, if a pastor must be careful to see that his model is Jesus and not Donald Trump.

For instance, please consider Jesus describing Himself as the Good Shepard. Let me just say now that when Jesus compares us to sheep that it is not always a compliment. I had the opportunity to raise sheep for a year on the family farm. I learned a few things that year. For instance, sheep may look good at a distance but up close, they are dirty and smell. Also, sheep are not that smart. They are the only animal who cannot find their way home because they are so focused on eating they do not take notice of their surroundings.

This is why the parable of the 99 sheep is special to me. Please consider what Jesus is saying:

15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

15:5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

15:6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Matthew Henry writes of this passage:

The parable of the lost sheep is very applicable to the great work of man’s redemption. The lost sheep represents the sinner as departed from God, and exposed to certain ruin if not brought back to him, yet not desirous to return. Christ is earnest in bringing sinners home.

Now, you may be wondering what does this parable have to do with modern pastoral leadership. It is the key to understanding that the role of the pastor is not to be a CEO who points a finger at a person and say, “You’re fired!” A CEO would look at the 99 sheep in the fold and write off the lost sheep as a loss leader. He does not have a relationship with the sheep so he could care less about it. The Shepard, on the hand, knows each sheep by name and knows when one is missing. Rather than write the sheep off as the cost of doing business in a wolf-infested environment or think of it as a tax deduction, he goes out for that sheep. When he finds that sheep, he brings it home and rejoices.

With this said, let us go and do likewise.

Now for something completely different

| View Show | Create Your Own