counsel

WHO DOES THIS JOB?

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Why & How We Must Pray for Pastors

On occasion, some younger pastor seeking counsel coaxes me out of retirement. Typically, he unpacks a perplexing story about a shepherding challenge. He hopes to gain some wisdom from my thirty-six-year ministry history to help navigate his latest flock mess. After these heavy-lifting soul-care conversations, I sometimes lighten the mood a bit jesting with this question: Who does this job anyway?

Over the decades of my sometimes wood-hay-stubble, other times gold-silver-precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12) pastoral stewardship, some realities about my seemingly impossible task crystallized sooner than others.  Perhaps most importantly? Undershepherds desperately need their sheep’s ongoing prayers for the Chief Shepherd’s (1Peter 5:4) help. Why else would the apostle Paul close one epistle so succinctly, “Brethren, pray for us” (1Thess. 5:25) and entreat the same more specifically in a second to the same church (2 Thess. 3:1-2)? He appealed to another assembly to strive together with him in their prayers (Rom. 15:30). He pleaded yet again elsewhere, “You also must help us by prayer” (2 Cor. 1:11). Look here for more of the same (Eph. 6:18-20; Col. 4:2-3). Another writer urged his readers to pray more earnestly for him (Heb. 13:18-19). Our pastors need our prayers; the Bible tells us so.

Retirement brings all kinds of reflection about one’s vocational past. I’ve pondered often lately about the whys and hows to pray for my pastors. This pastor-turned-sheep remembers the challenges. He knows the need for tons of prayer support. I’ve landed on some whys that inform various hows in supporting your local shepherds with strategic intercession. In this post I want to emphasize just one.

Pastors Are Beset with Inestimable Weakness

At times the Holy Spirit brings my devotional Bible reading to a full stop over a particular passage. That happened recently with Hebrews 5:1-2.

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness (emphasis added).

Weakness. Let that word sink in. The frailty to which all human flesh is heir, as one lexicon puts it. Frailty—like ignorance and waywardness—among countless other weights and close-clinging sins (Heb. 12:1) passed down from Adam. Now, let another word sink in. Beset. That’s how the ESV translates a compound of two Greek words—around/to place, i.e., surrounded. Like Paul’s chains fettered [same word] him about in prison (Acts 28:20), new covenant pastors drag around with them the same restraints of remaining sin that encumbered their old covenant counterparts. Just like their sheep, pastors stumble in many ways. Consequently, they await a stricter evaluation at the final judgment given their influential teaching stewardship (James 3:1-2).  

Like it or not, though above reproach in character as required (1 Tim. 3:2), your pastor still sins like you and I do (Ecc. 7:20). Sometimes he even sins against you! If he’s at all like I have been and still am, he will battle off and on with things like pride, anxiety, insecurity, comparison, anger, immoderate appetites, fear, entitlement, resentment, selfishness, covetousness, self-reliance, demandingness, and a host of other deeds of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). So, you must pray for him, let alone deal gently with him as he does with your ignorant/wayward-tending self.

Specific ways to pray for your beset-with-weakness pastor will have to wait for my next post. In the meantime, please be mindful of this candid testimony of the self-confessed chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), Paul the apostle, in Romans 7:

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Sufficient for now and always may we pray for our pastors in light of Paul’s answer to his own cry in v. 25: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  Pray that your pastor runs his race relentlessly fixing his eyes, not on his sins, but on the One who kept the law perfectly in his stead and paid the price for his every weakness with precious blood spilt at Calvary (Heb. 12:1-2).

You’ll be the better-off sheep for doing so.

Good Counsel for Helping the Bereaved

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Today I learned of another couple in a different state who lost their nine month old son about three years ago.

They offered this testimony of what help brought comfort in their time of need:

For us, meals was essential as I had no appetite to cook, grocery shop or even eat unless someone told me to eat and placed food in front of me. We had meals delivered to our house, in a cooler outside so I didn’t have to answer the door and talk. We had meals for months, which was such an answer to prayer. Maybe going to the grocery store weekly or just bringing over essentials like paper products, milk, eggs, etc would also be so helpful. I know for me it was the cards, the emails and the love that people demonstrated to us that really meant so much. reminding the parents monthly weekly or daily that you have not forgotten and that you are praying is so encouraging. Knowing that people were praying was essential. The other thing is to talk about the child and not try to ignore it or not bring her up. It is so painful when people try to avoid talking about our son like he never exisited. I tell people all the time that it is not helpful when they avoid the subject or exclude him from our life. Of course it is painful to live without him but keeping his memory alive is what I need. People do not cause us more pain when they bring up our child as it is on our mind constantly. I think just embracing their pain and being willing to grieve along with them is what means the most.

May the Lord give us grace to love the Waltons at least as equally well.

Whatever You Get, Get Wisdom

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Last Friday night it was my privilege to give the charge to this year’s graduates of Veritas Academy. This post is the text of my address. I entitled the talk Whatever You Get, Get Wisdom.

Let me add my congratulations to you on your graduation. Job well done! I count it an enormous privilege to address you, your family, and friends, in these commencement exercises. I too once sat where you now sit. May, 1970, I graduated from Conestoga High School, in PA. I decided to pursue, as I suspect most if not all of you have done, higher education. I went on to acquire three earned degrees. But it all started with finishing high school.

I will never forget a conversation I had with the principal of my high school upon graduation. He had only one charge for me. Get straight A’s. Believe it or not, I did that. I finished my undergrad with a 4.0 GPA. When I thought about how I would use my time in this charge to you this evening, I wanted to say something equally succinct, but not the same message. I wish my principal had told me this, quite frankly, though I have nothing against academic excellence. But nobody and I mean nobody, in my profession as a pastor, has ever asked me about my GPA at any institution. But they care a great deal about how much wisdom I have.

As well they should. The book of Proverbs in the bible puts it this way in 4:7-8 – The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. Prov. 8:11 goes so far to call wisdom far better than jewels – all you may desire cannot compare with her. That statement should focus you intently in terms of where you go from here. And so that’s my charge to you in this commencement address, graduates – whatever you get, get wisdom.

I want to give you blazing fast in bullet point fashion, six two-word principles for getting wisdom all from the book of Proverbs, the treasure chest of wisdom. I made this easy to remember by making an acrostic from the word wisdom. If you embrace these things and act on them, I believe you stand to gain the prize among prizes, no matter what your career endeavor. Nobody can do without the priceless commodity of wisdom – put simply, the ability to apply knowledge in any situation to the best of all possible ends.

W – Worship God.

I – Imbibe Scripture

S – Seek counsel.

D – Doubt self.

O – Overlook sin.

M – Make disciples.

Okay, let’s go. First, W for Worship God. Prov. 9:10 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. If you get this wrong, you get everything wrong. You have no hope for wisdom in your life if you don’t start here. The five of you, listen to me, if you haven’t already settled this, then settle it tonight. Whom will you worship? The world will assault your soul with a million and one competitors to the living God. It will bid you worship money, power, sex, possessions, status, leisure, and on the list goes. Determine that nothing matters more to you than pleasing God and you will set yourself well on the road to getting wisdom, the jewel-in-the-crown prize.

W for worship God. Second, I for Imbibe Scripture. I’m sorry. Nobody uses the word imbibe anymore. But it fits. It means literally to drink something as to imbibe a beverage like a Coke. Prov. 2:1-6 –

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Make a decision now as to what disciplines you will master. Whatever your vocational calling, your calling as a follower of Jesus requires you to make the word of God your daily bread. You shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). Jesus words, not mine. No Scripture, no wisdom.

Worship God. Imbibe Scripture. Third, S for Seek Counsel. Prov. 13:10 – with those who take advice is wisdom. Prov. 19:20 – Listen to advice and accept counsel, that you may gain wisdom in the future. When I graduated seminary, I originally wanted to seek a position under a seasoned pastor to learn for five years or so before I struck out on my own. I let somebody talk me out of that because of my supposed giftedness and the waste that would be. One of the worst decisions I have ever made. No amount of giftedness will ever compensate for a lack of wisdom. Get yourself a mentor, maybe multiple mentors and badger them for input, critique, counsel and insight. You will be wiser for it, I guarantee it.

Worship God. Imbibe Scripture. Seek Counsel. Fourth, D for Doubt Self. Not in the sense of lacking self-confidence. That is not what I mean. Doubt self in terms of not trusting your sinful heart. Proverbs 11:2 – When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. Listen to me. Your and my worst enemy is ourselves – our desperately wicked, deceitful-above-all-else, who-can-know-it Jer. 17:9 heart. In your relating to others, learn to be suspicious first and foremost of your own sinful heart. That’s wisdom.

Worship God. Imbibe Scripture. Seek Counsel. Doubt Self. Fifth, O for Overlook Sin. Not in yourself. That wouldn’t square with D for doubt self. No, overlook sin in others. I love this verse. Prov. 19:11 – Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. Hear this. It is GLORY to overlook the sins of others. Deal harshly with your own sin by repenting as the Lord convicts you through the grace that Jesus in the gospel gives you but deal with others with amazing grace, patience, forbearance and love. I have a saying. I think it’s a good one. You will have to work a whole lot harder to offend me than that. Do not be easily offended. That’s wisdom.

Worship God. Imbibe Scripture. Seek Counsel. Doubt Self. Overlook Sin. Sixth, M is for Make Disciples. Do you want to fast track toward wisdom? Determine to give yourself away to others. Proverbs 4:11 – I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. Here is my challenge to you, graduates. Don’t just seek a mentor; be a mentor. I know no better way to acquire wisdom than to need it desperately because someone else depends on you to show them the way. Someone out there needs you to take them under your wing and show them the way. Do you want to learn wisdom? Then take somebody, probably younger than you, maybe in your church, and pour your life into them.

That’s my charge. Whatever you get, get wisdom. Get from God the ability to apply what you know whatever the circumstances to the best of all possible ends. To do that, commit yourself to these six things. Worship God. Imbibe Scripture. Seek Counsel. Doubt Self. Overlook Sin. And Make Disciples.

As I searched for a way to close this address, I turned, in wisdom, I think, to a mentor of mine, John Piper, of Desiring God and Bethlehem Baptist Church. Turns out he spoke at a graduation like this one and finished this way:

Finally, there is one last, absolutely essential thing to do if you would “get wisdom”: you must come to Jesus. He said to the people of his day, “The queen of the south will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). What an understatement. Greater than Solomon indeed! Solomon spoke God’s wisdom. Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). Others had spoken truth; he is the truth. Others had pointed the way to life; he is the way and the life (John 14:6). Others had given promises, but “all the promises of God find their yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Others had offered God’s forgiveness; Jesus bought it by his death. Therefore, in him are “hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). To know and love and follow this Jesus is to own the treasure of ultimate and eternal happiness. Therefore, the command, “Get wisdom,” means first and foremost “Come to Jesus! Come to Jesus!” in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom.

Dear ones that is wisdom. If you get anything from this point on, in all your getting get wisdom. Amen.