The word of God often surprises me, but none so much as last week when I was studying 1 Thessalonians 4: 1-12. Clearly a passage about sanctification (the word and its lexical friends occurs all through the passage) -- Paul begins it in a way that was -- well, shocking, outrageous. I think he actually undermines his whole argument -- but I imagine Paul, under the inspiration of God, knows better what he is talking about than I.
Continue reading "Would you dare say this?" »
I have been meditating in 1 Thessalonians. This is what I have been preaching lately. It is a very different book -- the most personal and intimate and affectionate of the NT. It has been hard to see the Gospel in the book -- because it is so historical and personal. Paul is "forward" in the second and third chapter -- his example, his love, his anxiety, his joy. Where is the Gospel in that except that he preached it?
Then the Gospel became clear and the nature of pastoring -- all at the same time.
Continue reading "Pastoral care and the Gospel" »
For the last two weeks I have been spending time with an old friend -- Eugene Peterson. His writing have shaped me powerfully for years. I am aware that there are reasons to be discerning with him -- gender issues for one -- but I would say that few have a clearer grasp of the history of soul care than Peterson. Read him carefully, but benefit from his wisdom. He has read widely -- some of his sources may not be the ones I would point people to -- but he also finds help in unusual places (like learning pastoral ministry from Dostoevsky!).
I first met his works when I was finishing my DMin thesis at Trinity, Chicago. I wrote on pastors as physicians of the soul and the church. Peterson helped me navigate pastoral confusion and managerial pastoral models that are so present in our day. He is a counter cultural model in an age which reduces ministry to the pulpit or distorts it to church growth.
Continue reading "Pastoring as though God is the One at work" »
I believe it was Spurgeon who said that truth is like a portrait of a face. It must be presented in proper proportions or we have a caricature that is grotesque or humorous. I am not Spurgeon, but I would agree. It takes much prayer and skill to present the word of God each week in a way that is proportioned, with emphases on those points which are emphasized in the Bible.
It is difficult because we all have pet peeves in our hearts . . . and my pet peeve is of far more interest to me than than the heart of the Bible. So, how do I avoid tangents? How do I guard my heart and my people from tangents?
Continue reading "Of the making of many tangents?" »