I have a young pastor friend that I am extremely proud of. (Not that I’m not proud of my other pastor friends, but this guy takes the cake right now). This is his first pastorate and it has not been a grand experience as of yet. The details do not matter. What pertains to this post is his attitude. The only thing that you need to know is that he is having to endure a dangerous disposition from an influential man in the church. From what it sounds like this is the type of guy that could split the church.

My young pastor friend has decided that rather than leave town he is going to take the bullets for the sheep God has entrusted to him. Rather than being a hireling he is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. This guy is modeling the heart of Jesus: “12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:12-15)

I’ve known, and heard stories of, my fair share of pastors that leave when things get tough within ministry. “These people are not ready to follow my leadership”, I have heard. “I no longer am able to serve with joy”, some have said. “There is no future here”, has been offered. “I do not want to stir up anymore strife, for the sake of the church I will leave”, an admirable sounding excuse. I am sure you have heard some of these as well (or maybe even offered them). They all sound pretty good and may even be legit. Problem is they sound more like the hired hand than the Jesus-type shepherd.

If you are in the ministry for any reason other than seeing the glory of God displayed through the spread of the gospel to the nations then you will flee when the wolf comes. The hired hand looks for comfort. You can’t comfortably kill a wolf, you might even die from it. Jesus did but he took the wolf down with him. He destroyed the wolf through his death not through his comfort.

Whether it is money, ease, fame, pleasure, respect, power, notoriety, selfish ambition, pride, a jewel in heaven, a street of gold, or a really cool Pope hat, if this is your reason for being a shepherd you will run as soon as you see a wolf. Worse yet, you might befriend the wolf. Maybe you’ll cut a deal with the wolf. That way you can keep your title, most of your comfort, and only have to deal with a few sheep getting devoured. But that’s the hired hand. The Jesus-type shepherd isn’t satisfied with only 99. He goes after the lost sheep. He doesn’t sit by and let any of his sheep get devoured even if it means losing money, fame, pleasure, comfort, or the really cool Pope hat.

Pastor, you may have seasons where the wolf isn’t bothering with your sheep. You will have days when you can joyously tend to your sheep. And sometimes you might be called to a different sheep pen. But if you leave your sheep because things get tough then you aren’t a Jesus-type shepherd. One example then I’ll stop meddling.

Take the “I’m leaving because I do not want to stir up more strife, for the sake of the church I will leave”. If you are the one causing the strife then you aren’t being a shepherd anyway. That’d be like a shepherd having mutton for lunch and wearing wool underpants. So, yeah, maybe you should leave. But if there is deep conflict and it is because ungodly people are treating you in an ungodly fashion, or even if there are wolves in your midst...you DON’T leave the sheep at this time. This is when they need the shepherd the most. Take the bullet or rather the wolf bites, that’s your job. That’s why I am proud of my young pastor friend.

The hired hand leaves. The Jesus-type shepherd lays down his life. Which are you?

Also, I know this is not as black and white as I’ve presented it. Feel free to disagree and bring out the other side to this. This is called a “musing” for a reason…

This will be two weeks worth of stuff…I never got around to posting last week with church camp and everything else going on. 

I’ve never heard of Francis Grimke but apparently Thabiti Anywabile has.  These two things to guard against when taking a stand is worth checking out. 

Morris Chapman has offered a clarification on his words at the SBC Annual Meeting.  Timmy Brister responds…with more to come later.  Timmy also discusses a little about the Clark Logan resignation here.

If I read the post correctly, Rod Dreher asks, “How do we raise kids in a pornified culture”.  Zach Nielsen gives his answer. 

What a great quote here by Spurgeon about the Bridge of Grace.

Boundless has put together a couple of posts talking about Joshua Harris’ I Kissed Dating Goodbye.  Check out Post #1 and Post #2.  Also check out Josh’s response. 

Nathan Finn has begun what looks like an interesting series: 15 Factors that have changed the SBC since 1979…that’s part one. 

Tony Reinke’s suggestions on indexing books is very helpful.  If only I had the discipline to listen.

The iMonk assess the Blogosphere’s Spirituality.  Helpful insights here.

Chuck Lawless has written an open letter to Older Southern Baptists.  I didn’t read it because I don’t qualify…that’d be like reading someone else’s mail right?

I’m a huge fan of Christopher Wright.  Recently he wrote for Koinonia a couple pieces on a false dichotomies in mission.  Check out part 1 and part 2.

Denny Burk provides a good commentary on Derek Webb’s new song/album. 

Good question and sound advice.  When do you begin the structural change toward elders?  Thabiti provides his answer and Michael McKinley offers his answer.

Carl Trueman talks about hurt mail as the new hate mail.

This question makes me laugh but it’s actually quite serious: How do I get black people to come to my church?

Here are three videos for your viewing pleasure.  I have yet to watch them all but they looked good…my internet connection is being weird and I would have to spend about 3 hours to view these 3 short videos.  If something is “off” or needs to be taken down please let me know.

As always, if you are just joining the discussion then please check out the foreword, intro, and chapter one. You can catch up pretty easily. If you have yet to buy the book I would suggest buying it for a paltry 9 bucks, here.

Quick Summary:

Chapter 5 covers the issue of church discipline.  Few things are more neglected, abused, and misunderstood as the issue of church discipline.  This chapter (along with a few books) needs to be circulated throughout all churches.  I had read this chapter previously but after reading it again I was blown away by something I had missed the first time: building a foundation. 

Dever begins this chapter by showing the difference between formative and corrective discipline.  Formative discipline is like exercise; it is what you do to keep healthy.  Such things as Bible study, prayer, small groups, worship, are in place to help followers of Jesus to grow.  Corrective discipline is like surgery; it is what you do to regain health.  This can be as “simple” as a loving rebuke or admonishment or as trying as public church discipline.  Both forms of discipline are necessary for a healthy church.

“…before discipline can be productive, there must be a context of both meaningful spiritual relationships and structurally sound leadership.”  This is the part that I missed reading this chapter the first time.  I think my view of discipline was so transformed that I desired us to return to a biblical view of church discipline.  But as Dever says, “loving engagement in each other’s spiritual lives must be normalized in a positive and formative way before corrective discipline can be sustained.”  Furthermore, there should be a solid structure of leadership in place; otherwise it looks like only the pastor is pushing for discipline.  Such a thing prevents an “us v. him” mentality.

We are also given a couple tips to assist us in the process of corrective church discipline.  Dever suggests forming a “care list”.  He suggests presenting such a list verbally at a congregational meeting.  The “care list” does not necessarily mean that you are involved in sin, it only means you need prayer.  Making a person’s name available to the congregation helps in the process.  In such instances we ought to make it open for members to “privately air questions”. 

Another helpful thing is to teach beforehand what excommunication means.  Remind the congregation what it means to remove someone from the membership rolls.  What does it mean to treat someone like an unbeliever?  It does not mean that they are not allowed to come to church.  It just means that we cannot have biblical fellowship with them.  And certainly we would not allow known unbelievers to serve in church positions. 

Dever then closes up not only this chapter but the entire section by again reminding us to patiently teach and preach the Word of God.  Be patient!  And trust in the fact that Jesus is building His church.

Quotables:

“Neglecting corrective discipline can be deadly for a church.  No one likes the prospects of going under the knife.  But sometimes it is the knife that saves your life.”  (68)

“Sin needs darkness to grow—it needs isolation disguised as ‘privacy,’ and prideful self-sufficiency disguised as ‘strength.’  Once these conditions prevail, sin is watered with the acid of shame, which then makes darkness appear more attractive to the sinner than light.  But when we walk in the light by confessing our sins, we realize that we are not alone in our struggles, and we open ourselves to the protective rebukes and loving corrections that function as pesticides to curb the destructive and enslaving potential of habitual sin.”  (68-69)

“Healthy member relationships must be recovered before corrective discipline can be carried out realistically.”  (69)

“Without [a] context of deeply interpenetrating spiritual relationships, corrective discipline will be like walking up to a child whom you see only once a month and spanking him in the street.”  (69)

Questions:

• What does your church do to create an atmosphere of discipline?  What types of things do you do for formative discipline?  What does your church do for corrective discipline?
• Dever suggests reading Matthew 18:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; and Titus 3:9-11, then answering this question: How should we treat disciplined members?
• What do you think of Dever’s suggestion of a “care list”?
• Do you have any appropriate stories that you would like to share about church discipline? 
• What are your thoughts on this chapter?

Author: Christopher J.H. Wright

Pages: 585 pages

Publisher: IVP Academic

Price: 25.99

Genre: Theology/Evangelism/Biblical Theology

Quick Summary:

Christopher Wright’s hope in this book is that we might discover that “Mission is what it’s all about”. Of course he is not saying that the Scriptures are not Christocentric and glory of God focused. Wright spells out his thesis in the beginning, “our mission (if it is to be biblically informed and validated) means our committed participation as God’s people, at God’s invitation and command, in God’s own mission within the history of God’s world for the redemption of God’s creation.” And, thus, the book follows that flow.

Part One is foundational. In the first two chapters Wright attempts to formulate a missional hermeneutic (a way to understand the Bible and mission). Secondly, Wright lays the groundwork for mission by introducing us to the God of Mission. All mission flows from the fact that God desires to make Himself known. Thirdly, we look in depth at the people that God redeems and their continuing mission. Lastly, our eyes are opened to the arena for God’s mission.

From beginning to end this book is about God being on a mission and His call for us to join Him on that mission. Everything flows from mission.

What I Liked:

Wright is an amazing OT scholar. He opens up passages of Scripture and sheds light upon them in such a way that they come alive. He helps the reader to make connections that are not easily made, and does so without needlessly stretching texts. There are statements within this book that cause the heart to beat in worship. You will read things and be inspired to follow God in mission. You will read things that cause you to weep at the comprehensiveness of God’s plan and the beauty of its finality in Jesus. Even though it is 585 pages long—Wright never bores you.

His chapter on idolatry is worth the price of the book. There are sections of this book that would make me want to give it 6 out of 5 stars. One statement in particular blew my mind and I feel it necessary to share it with you as an example of what this book contains:

“Ultimately all that will be there in the new, redeemed creation will be there because of the Cross. And conversely, all that will not be there (suffering, tears, sin, Satan, sickness, oppression, corruption, decay and death) will not be there because they will have been defeated and destroyed by the cross. That is the length, breadth, height, and depth of God’s idea of redemption. It is exceedingly good news. It is the [banner over all of our] mission.”

What I Disliked:

It is not a boring 585 pages but sometimes a tad redundant. Wright is so thorough and makes his point so well that sometimes you want to scream out, “okay I get it!!!” In this way he reminds me of reading Jonathan Edwards. This book probably would be a very effective 350 pages. It took me so long to read through this book that it lost some of its momentum from early on. It is filled with such gold that it is worth the labor of panning for it; however, I would hate to see someone not purchase this book because its thickness scares them. This book is not only for the scholar, it is for every pastor and missionary; but it is also for every believer. I would absolutely love to see a condensed version of this book for those that are more casual readers.

Should You Buy It?

Even if it takes you a long time to read it, this book needs to be in your library and one that you read often. Buy a copy and take it slow, you will thank me later.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Have you ever been mightily used by God, get a spiritual high, and then the next day feel like a schmuck? Have you ever been running on a spiritual high for quite some time only to be blown away by an equally crushing period of depression and dryness? If so then you might be experiencing Post-Preaching Depression; or as Archibald Hart has termed it, “Post-adrenaline Depression”. Hart describes it this way:

“…what I was experiencing was a profound shutdown of my adrenal system, following a period of high stress or demand. It was as i my adrenal system were saying, “That’s enough abuse for now; let’s give it a break,” and shut down so that I had no choice in the matter.”

Sometimes we experience this because we are adrenaline junkies. Sometimes we experience this because there are seasons in our life when we must rely upon adrenaline (God gives it for a reason). The problem is that we often abuse adrenaline. We get addicted to the “high’s” and become pleasure-seeking adrenaline junkies. So, whether you are addicted to adrenaline or you just crash after big events there is wisdom in understanding post-adrenaline depression.

For me almost any time I preach I am totally spent afterwards. I typically preach on Wednesday evenings. After youth group is over I am exhausted. On Thursday I am drained for a little while but usually back up and running by Thursday evening or Friday morning.

This past week I was the Camp Director/Camp Pastor. It took a few weeks of late nights, stressful planning, and tons of adrenaline even to get ready for camp. Then there was a week of actually speaking twice per day and being responsible for over 100 people. Needless to say at the end of the week I was fully exhausted. I actually felt depressed at youth camp on Wednesday and Thursday and am only now beginning to “see the light”. I am having difficulty writing, preparing sermons, speaking to others, as well as battling feelings of worthlessness.

So, what do we do when we crash? How do we fight post-adrenaline depression? Hart’s suggestion may seem surprising: “cooperate with it”. He further explains. “When the adrenal system crashes its need for rejuvenation far exceeds my need just to feel good. In fact, the mood that it creates is deliberately designed to slow me down so that recovery can take place.”

Rather than fighting this feeling it is best to listen to its message. Try to relax. Do not try to find more adrenaline by ski-diving on your day off, just rest, do low-grade activity. As a pastor it may be wise not to take your day off on Monday (or me on Thursday) but rather do “easy” things in the office to recover. Take your day off when you could actually enjoy it.

Hart offers a few more helpful suggestions for dealing with this:

• As soon as possible after the activity is over, go aside and relax for a while.
• Allow the low mood to come over you, welcoming it as your friend.
• Pay attention to what the “healing” process feels like in your body; it’s not really unpleasant if you interpret it as something good.
• Continue to relax for as long as possible, without tackling any task awaiting you, giving priority to your recovery.
• When you feel like it, mark time by doing routine, low-adrenaline demand activities”
• If you are feeling depressed, accept the feeling as part of the recover process—it has no other significance, so don’t try to interpret your feeling or believe any of the negative self-talk that always accompanies it

What do you think? Good advice? What are areas where this thought can be developed further? How might this be difficult to follow? If you are interested in what Hart has to say I would suggest these two books: Unmasking Male Depression, Adrenaline and Stress.

After a week of church camp and all the planning prior to it I am exhausted.  My wife, son, and I will be going to the St. Louis Zoo today.  Regular blogging will continue tomorrow.  Thanks for being patient.  Be sure to subscribe via Google Reader.

In the midst of a changing culture in Baptist life, Todd Benkert offers Things to Avoid in Baptist Disagreements. 

I’ve linked to these before, but now the entire list is compiled:  Ligonier Ministries has done us a great service by giving the Top 5 Commentaries for each book of the Bible.  Check out the list.

Michael Spencer steals all of my ideas about youth ministry.  Not really, but it’s nice to know that I’m not alone.  The iMonk gives his “model” of youth ministry.

It has been interesting to follow this “debate” between iMonk and Frank Turk concerning Mark Driscoll’s need to publicly repent.  See Turk’s Part 1, iMonk Part 1, Turk Part 2, and iMonk Part 2.  Be sure to read the comments on each of these. 

Bill Mounce answers a really good question: “How Rude Was Jesus?”

This is a very insightful point by David Fitch on Christendom evangelism.  (HT: Milton)

Not sure if I’ve linked to this before or not.  Pretty cool testimony from Korn’s Brian Welch: