by chrisaiken | Oct 16, 2017 | pastor
I am a preacher. It is what God called me to do. In my surrender to ministry, He confirmed this calling in the propositional questions Paul asks in Romans 10:13-15 when he makes the definitive statement, “All those who call upon the Lord shall be saved.” He asks, “How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? How will they hear unless someone preaches to them? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news (gospel) of good things!”
Honestly though…most non-Christians struggle to grasp the concept. How can they? Understanding such a calling requires a reference point in the gospel itself.
For this reason, when I am speaking to a non-believer, I often explain what I do in some version of public speaking. Most of them have had to give a book report or have taken a public speaking class in college so they can relate to that aspect of speaking; however, in truth, preaching and public speaking are miles apart. Here are a few ways:
- Public speakers prepare “talks” or speeches to give. In preaching, the man of God is prepared by the message that the Lord gives Him. God works me over in a process of refining and purifying as He prepares me and the message in my heart.
- Public speakers employ rhetorical devices to manipulate audiences. (Please hear “manipulate” in the most charitable of ways, since my point is that they seek to have their words move the audience.) In preaching, it is not the skill of the preacher that is responsible for moving a congregation. We convictionally believe that God moves His people through the Word but not by the words.
- Public speakers want to be liked/appreciated/lauded/invited back. This is not wrong…since if you are a speaker, this is how you make a living. Preachers often speak in such a way that if you did not love them, you could never like them. They apply God’s Word as a chisel to hearts of stone and pry into areas of behavior that are barely, at times, socially acceptable. Preachers are like surgeons that use a scalpel to remove a tumor and then tell you the recovery will be painful but necessary.
- Public speakers choose their own topics based, often times, on some sense of mastery of the subject. While a preacher should demonstrate expertise in handling the Word, He is most typically not one who has mastered the subject or its implications. He is a beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.
- Public speakers can walk away. Like any profession, one can choose to retire or semi-retire. Preachers are terminated. The prophet Jeremiah says that the Word of God implanted in a preacher is like a fire in his bones that burdens the man until he lets it out. One day, God terminates his position. Until then, he must preach.
- Finally, public speakers need skillful rhetoric to accomplish a task; whereas, a preacher has no such need. The object of preaching, that is the Word of God…always accomplishes that for which it was intended. God uses His Word despite (or perhaps through) the preacher’s limitations.
Some may wonder, “Why would anyone be a preacher?” Simply put…because God calls a man to the task and uses the preacher’s efforts, however wondrous or feeble, to confound the wisdom of the world (1 Cor 1:20-25), and to bring glory to Himself! God chose preaching as His instrument…not a dialogue, a debate, or a lecture, but preaching. God directed that those who desire to serve God as an elder/pastor, always be ready to preach “the Word,” in every season and circumstance (2 Tim 4:2).
Thus, I am a preacher. Nothing more. Nothing less. Without compromise. I lack perfection and I often fail…but I am being fitted and shaped as an instrument of revelation and reconciliation by the One who called me out of darkness and enlisted me in the ranks of the those bearing the calling—to preach.
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by chrisaiken | Oct 9, 2017 | Devotions, pastor
“You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb.” Psalm 22:9-10 (NASB)
“Just a little bit more.” This was the response of J. Paul Getty (1892-1976) when asked: “how much money do you want?” In modern dollars, Mr. Getty died with a net worth north of 8 billion dollars.
Now before you jump on the “1%” train and start to indignantly define Getty as a greedy miser, consider this: Perhaps everything is an economy of scale and his issue was not greed but fear. Amassing wealth, for many, is not so much about the number of zeroes on a bank statement, but the sense of security that a large nest egg brings. It is about how one can weather the storms of life and still come out on top.
In Psalm 22, a messianic psalm, David writes from a low point in his life. He cries out to God because of his circumstances and immediately answers his own cry with a call for praise. It is, as if, the difficulties of David’s life are instruments of God to train him to trust God in all things.
David reminds us in verses 9-10 that our training to trust God is both natural and intentional. It is natural for us as beings because we do not cause our own birth. No person wills himself into being. We cannot choose any part of our beginning. We exist WHOLLY as the result of another person’s choice. (This is a picture of grace). David goes a step further and declares that the ultimate One who makes the choice is God who brought him forth from his mother’s womb.
Not just in origin, but in sustainment, even as an infant, the lessons of trust are inherent. No infant prepares his own breakfast. If the child is to eat, he is to do so at his mother’s breast, by her initiative, and at her pleasure. The infant has no control yet there is rarely a more peaceful picture of trust and contentment than that of a nursing child.
David’s training was also intentional. His mother “cast him” upon the Lord even from birth. (Think of casting him as releasing him wholly to the Lord). She learned to trust the Lord with her child and thus taught her child to look to God rather than her for his daily needs.
Perhaps, the great enemy of our growth in faith is not the difficulties of life, but its excesses. Perhaps our self-sufficiency (or pursuit of it) actually moves us from peace to anxiousness, from potential comfort to perpetual longing.
Is there hope? YES!
Jesus, in the “model prayer,” to His followers to pray in this way: “…give us THIS DAY our DAILY bread.” (Matt 6:11, NASB. eEmphasis added.)
We find peace in the Person of God and in His provision, not in our ability to provide or store up for ourselves that which we anticipate needing. Further, in one of the most arresting proverbs in my life, we are told that this is the way toward true wisdom:
Proverbs 30:8-9 states: “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.”
Today, do not seek security but God’s sufficiency. He can be trusted. You can trust Him. Don’t let the wisdom of the world draw you away from the peace that surpasses understanding. Return to a daily dependence. This is more than ATTITUDE. It requires ACTION. If there is a point of security for you, a place you turn to for hope and comfort other than God…remember that no man can serve two masters. He must choose today whom he is to serve. As for me and my house…we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15).
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by chrisaiken | Oct 3, 2017 | discipleship, Leadership, Pastor's Reflections
Recently, Jodi and I rented a paddleboard while spending a week together at the beach.
I must say that as someone who has never surfed or even successfully waterskied, my first try on the board was not very impressive. I had no idea what I was doing so those first rides lasted between 10-60 seconds. (Jodi, of course, owned it like a boss from the beginning). Honestly, it took me a couple of YouTube videos to get the basics down and day two was pretty good. Jodi and I both paddled a bit and had a good time. We also met some folks who seemed to have interest in our paddleboard “sea stories.” We thought they might want to give it a shot themselves so we offered up the use of the paddleboard for them to try.
Their responses:
Husband, “No I’d probably break something.”
Wife, “I can’t since I have a terrible fear of sharks.”
They were very interested in what it was like for us, but their fear of injury or “Jaws” kept them from even trying the board for themselves. This encounter made me think: I wonder how often we forsake “what could be” because of fear?
- Afraid of what they might say, we refuse to ask that special someone on a date.
- Afraid of getting lost we never leave the guided tour to experience the heart of a City.
- Afraid of what “might happen,” we never travel beyond our own country or even our state.
- Afraid of being “turned down” we simply don’t apply for a new job.
- Afraid of failure, we choose never to return to school and complete a degree.
- Afraid of rejection, we never share the gospel with others.
When we choose to allow fear to drive our actions, we acknowledge a (little g) god in our lives. It may be safety, security, control, or some other form of that false god, but, in our fear, we choose to serve it ahead of our goals, dreams, or even calling.
Fear is a non-negotiable in life. Everyone is afraid of something, sometimes. If you have no fear, you have a rare genetic condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease; or, you could be a run-of-the-mill psychopath who experiences fear but doesn’t recognize it. Otherwise…everyone experiences fear. Fear, though, is not the problem. What we do with fear determines our destiny and indicates Who or what we serve as our god/God.
Peter tells us to take our anxiousness/fear to Jesus (1 Peter 5:7). Paul says to seek God rather than serve anxiety (Philippians 4:6-7). Jesus tells us to believe (have faith)…because faith conquers fear.
Now, certainly Jesus did not direct me to go paddle boarding; however, the board serves as a good analogy to understand how to find victory over our fears. We pursue our objective with passion and refuse to quit.
Honestly, paddling was cool but what I really wanted was to get up close to some dolphins. On day 3… I did. The water was choppy but I had mastered how to use it like a kayak so when we saw them beginning to play about a half-mile out, I looked to Jodi for approval, grabbed the board and took off for the open water. It took a bit to get out there (since they did not exactly wait on me). I had to plot an intercept course on the open water, but it paid off. I came to within about 15 feet of three dolphins playing as they surfaced near me. It was amazing! (In fact, it is what I had prayed for earlier that morning when I sat a few hundred yards offshore scanning the horizon. I told the Lord that He was all I needed but that I would love to see some dolphins up close if He’d let me.
When the dolphins submerged again (not to return), I looked down and was well beyond the emerald green water we are known for on the Gulf coast. In fact, I could barely make out the spot of beach I had departed from…but I did it! I saw the dolphins up close, simply by getting on the board, paddling hard and not stopping until I go there.
Our new friends…they never broke anything and they were certainly not eaten by sharks…but they also didn’t see the dolphins.
Here is the question…do you want to see the dolphins the Lord has in store for you?
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by chrisaiken | Sep 26, 2017 | America, American, Leadership, Pastor's Reflections, politics, symbolism
This article will not address all of the nuances of the “kneeling” debate. The matter is far too complex for a single, simple article. I do want, however, to drill down on why the protest over standing at the National Anthem actually undermines the potential conversation because it eliminates a vital piece of common ground.
Let’s cover the bullet points that I won’t elaborate on so you can determine bias. Consequently, everyone has some bias and is dangerous if you cannot recognize it.
- I stand at the playing of the National Anthem. I will continue to do so. That has nothing to do with a camera or the current debate. It is an ethical issue.
- I want others to stand and render courtesy toward the symbols of our nation (the flag and the National Anthem). I also recognize that what I want is not the standard. In fact, as a soldier, I took an oath to protect the very freedom secured in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution for you not to do so if you so choose. If you choose to kneel, it frustrates me and is offensive, but you knew that which is why you chose that manner of protest. It is intended to agitate me.
- I don’t care how political NFL games get. I stopped watching them when this started. The entire NFL system codifies rules of what is considered sportsmanlike and by NOT calling this protest “unsportsmanlike,” they made a statement. So, I did too…in my home…by myself. If you watch pro ball, I am not offended.
- The President spoke un-presidentially at a campaign-like rally in Alabama. Shame on you sir. When you stepped up and declared you are a Christian, you accepted a higher calling. Live up to it! Please. Jesus’ name is attached to your diction and rancorous tone. And, while it is not as significant as your status as a Christian, your role as President demands that you choose words more carefully. You’re supposed to be a role model. If my kids said what you said, I’d wear their hind parts out.
Now, to why I think it is counter-productive to kneel during the national anthem.
When I share the gospel with someone, the process begins with determining common ground. If a person does not acknowledge God, the biblical explanation of sin, redemption, invitation, and sanctified living lacks foundation. If there is no God, who is then offended by our sin? In fact, who gets to determine what IS sin and what is simply sinful in someone else’s eyes? The fact is until we can agree that there is a higher authority, there is no basis for further discussion.
A similar principle applies to the symbols of the nation. The very plea for justice implies that there is a standard that we are appealing to. If our claim is that God (and our creation in the imago dei) is the standard, we have created a distraction by wrongly pointing to the symbols of an ungodly nation. (Yes, I know that sounds offensive, but the nation we live in today does not reflect the principles or purposes of God). Our arguments are akin to the time Jesus took a knee when told to pay taxes to a nation whose leader was viewed as a god. Actually, the Roman Empire was polytheistic and enslaved Jesus’ people group. That’s why He formed the protests as a community activist. Wait…the story went differently in the Bible. He did not protest but kept pointing to a higher standard in an eternal Kingdom, not of this world.
If the standard we are pointing to for justice is found in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the nation including the Bill of Rights, the laws of the nation, etc., then by protesting the symbols of the nation, we surrender the ability to agree on them in our appeal. In other words, we disavow the symbols of our nation and thus the very laws we are appealing to. That leads us back to the unsustainable standard of “what is right in our own eyes.”
There are white leaders like myself that want to move the conversation forward. We do not agree with the incidents of injustice that occur in our nation, whether those are circumstantial or systemic. We want to address them and see them changed, now and not later. No one that I know supports or advocates police brutality. Professional police officers don’t want to be saddled with that imagery any more than a faithful pastor wants to be saddled with the likes of some of the health and wealth preachers on the airwaves. However, we cannot support a protest movement that immediately disavows in its actions the standard that we would otherwise appeal to. In other words, the movement is dead on arrival because we cannot agree to a starting point.
It seems to me that until we can agree on the standard we are appealing to and lock arms there, we cannot move forward together. That means there will be a lot more Freedom of Speech with far too little discipline to listen. If I were making a suggestion that anyone listened to. I’d walk out, thankfully render courtesy to the authority I was appealing to, then ask my brothers to the left and right to join me in rooting out injustice in our midst. I think that appealing to the standard we all can agree to (Liberty and Justice for ALL) is a great starting point for our conversation, even if we are not all Christians at the table. At least we can agree that we are all Americans and have benefitted in our lives from that status…
As always, Comments are welcome, but be respectful if you want to see them published.
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by chrisaiken | Sep 25, 2017 | discipleship, Leadership, parenting, pastor
Recently, I received a precious note from a mom. I have been preaching on the subject of evangelism lately noting that ALL of God’s people are, by design, proclaimers of the gospel. In fact, I have been encouraging the church I lead to embrace a challenge to identify one person (#MyOne) and share the gospel with them using the “3 Circles” Conversation Guide. Sharing the gospel is more than a statement or conversation about Jesus; which necessarily makes it more than a Christian greeting (God bless you) or a Christian truth (Jesus loves you) but that it connects the brokenness of man with God’s redemptive story and points to the restoration that is possible when we repent and believe the gospel.
This mom shared the challenge of this. In essence, she wanted to know how her sharing with her children fit into this challenge. It is a GREAT QUESTION and, with her permission, I wanted to pass along some of my response because I imagine there are others who are in a similar situation. So, “does sharing the gospel with my children, who have my nearly complete attention every day, fulfill the great commission mandate?”
In short, my answer is Yes, this is the Great Commission, but, ALONE, it is incomplete. This mom is intentional about consistently connecting the gospel to her kids’ lives. This is the premier method of discipleship. In fact, I don’t know of any better outworking of Deuteronomy 6 than what this mom described.
At the same time, Jesus expressed a “going” aspect of the gospel enterprise. He called us to make disciples as we go (Matt 28:19) and to go and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15).
These truths are not opposed to but complimentary of one another. We are to constantly rehearse, train and teach the gospel to those who are redeemed and exist within our circles of influence while at the same time, expanding the scope of our circle by building bridges to new people. Here is my response to this mom, in part:
My hope, and I think the biblical admonition, with the #MyOne promotion is to treat honestly the intent of the Lord in evangelizing. Jesus did this in every conversation. Sometimes more overt in some than others…but He always pointed to God’s redemption and man’s required response. The other NT writers did as well. I can hardly think of a teaching in the NT that is not focused on evangelizing or on living out the Gospel. They are never really separated from each other.
If we are to treat the Scriptures with honesty, we must also see that there is a “going” aspect of the gospel enterprise as well. It is never the intent that we would simply work within our “constant” circles of influence; rather, that we would be continually building bridges to reach new people INTENTIONALLY seeking to see how the Lord is working in those relationships so that we can join Him in His gospel work. Just as with your child, God loves our neighbors and desires their redemption even more than we do. He has, in these cases, commissioned us as instruments of redemption both in telling and applying the gospel in the lives of others.
So, reach your child and your neighbor. Praise God for that. Encourage other moms with the Gospel. Praise God for that. AND…intentionally grab that wife who is a HOT MESS and have her and her rowdy kid over for a play date…and get to know her and her crazy world. Then, prayerfully, build a gospel bridge. Then do it again!
There isn’t enough time to do it all, but we must continually press the limits of the circle outward…for Jesus’ sake.
So, what do you think? Can you relate to this mom? What would you add to what I shared?
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by chrisaiken | Sep 25, 2017 | Uncategorized
Words cannot adequately express what life has been like with you over the last 33 years or so we have known each other. I am beyond grateful for your love, partnership, friendship, encouragement, and companionship. While your birthday isn’t the only occasion worthy of remembering how amazing you are, it is a fitting day.
The pictures here are probably more significant to you and me than they will be to those who peruse them with us, but they go back at least 30 years, multiple careers, two kids, lots of ups and downs. I’ve watched you grow in grace, elegance, wisdom, and influence through those years. I have benefitted from that growth.
I say it often but have never meant it more…(apart from Christ who is preeminent in each and both of our lives) you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I would climb any mountain, traverse the driest desert, swim the most treacherous seas, fight the biggest dragons, or scale the most dangerous castle tower to have you as my own.
It has been my honor to serve you and to serve with you throughout our days thus far. I am certain that many adventures yet await us. You have been and will always be my truest love and if I had to do it all over again…I’d choose you every single time.
Thank you for being my wife, my friend, my confidant, counselor, and sometimes co-conspirator. While I could share these words with you privately, I want the world to see and hear what they may only assume or have never considered…you are ALL THAT and a box of chocolates.
I pray that today brings you smiles, blessings, and abundant joy. Happy 29th birthday again! (No one would believe we are the same age anyway). All my love for All my days.
CJ 4ever
N.S.G.
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by chrisaiken | Sep 1, 2017 | pastor, Pastor's Reflections, Teaching
Yesterday, I listened to a video broadcast from a former pastor apologizing to gay and transgendered people on behalf of evangelicals because of the “Nashville Statement.” He went on to chastise the authors of the statement for building walls instead of bridges to lost people and even went as far as to register disagreement with the “statement” itself. He went as far as to say that these leaders had no right to cast judgment on the sexual sins they spoke to. How does a pastor get to that place?
Where does bad theology come from?
I wish this was the only occasion I had heard such foolishness. Unfortunately, it is pretty prevalent in a world where a person has the ability to publish every weird thought they have ever had on a wall or blog site. In fact, if they have a graphics design or marketing background, they’ll even look credible in their presentation. It does lead one to ask, “How can people believe that?” and further, “Where does this crazy thinking come from?”
Lack of training:
For some, the error is in a lack of training. They are self-educated and have never sat under formal teaching or worse, they have limited training…enough exposure to be “dangerous.” While formal teaching is not always required, it is helpful. If you don’t know the difference between genres, you might attribute the authority of the ten commandments to a parable taught by Jesus or the poetry of the Old Testament. Doing so can lead one down a scary path. If you can’t understand biblical languages, you are at the mercy of the translators of your version of the Bible. If you’ve never been guided to think on things like biblical theology, systematic theology, and their role in theological understanding, you are as equipped to interpret Scripture as a man navigating the woods without a compass. If you get where you needed to be, its only by luck.
Lack of humility:
This may be related to the training but it doesn’t have to be. You can be WELL TRAINED and choose to ignore every rational thought your teachers ever offered. Further, self-directed studies are not bad. I encourage them. I also caution people to read a good diet of scholars. If you are the first person to think the thoughts you have, be careful. It may be that someone thought them before and they were wrong then too, so they were abandoned. If getting to your position means ignoring or abandoning sound exegetical principles, you’re likely headed the way of charlatans and heretics. This doesn’t mean that if the majority of scholars disagree with your views, that you’re wrong, but a humble man will pause and ask why others disagree and seek to understand their position.
Lack of peace:
Unfortunately, this is a major source. A man’s son declares he is gay, so the man’s theology shifts toward inclusivity because his heart is wrenched over the son’s eternal prospects, and cannot bear the thoughts of the judgment of his son. A Christian’s child professes Christ as a small child but has no fruit of a repentant life, and dies. The Christian cannot bear the thought that their child may be lost, so they create a theology to give their child another chance in hopes that it gives them peace in the dark hours of life. False peace never begets genuine godly peace.
Lack of holiness:
Sometimes our own sins reign in our hearts and we develop a theological viewpoint where we are “ok” and traditional understandings of theology must be wrong. The examples of this are too plentiful to mention.
Spiritual opposition:
Let’s not forget that the enemy is alive, active, prowling about, and looking for people to destroy. Genesis 3 records the first temptation of man where the enemy introduced a false understanding of God and man “bought it.” Yes…the first book and the first section following the Creation Account. Yep! The enemy’s planting of false theological understandings leads us off as the source of all sin!
Are there protections?
Of course! God gives us Scripture which is our most reliable source of revelation. God gives us the Holy Spirit to bring truth to mind. He gives us accountability through the local church community that serves to keep us in check while we also help others keep from straying into error. God gives us wisdom…to think about the motives of our own wicked hearts and grace to run to Him for help and hope.
Will these protections always guard us? No. We are industrious and resourceful people that can blow it even with a thousand protections in place. But, a life of humility before God and constant pursuit of Him as He reveals Himself to be in His Word and within the community of faith, we will find a pathway to truth and a gracious Guide for the journey.
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by chrisaiken | Aug 14, 2017 | America, American, Leadership
This Sunday, in response to the deplorable actions of white supremacists and according to the necessity of the calling on my life as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I spoke to my church family in a public manner to register my disgust with the racism on display in Charlottesville. It seems odd that a minister of the Gospel would have to speak up and articulate a position which should be assumed as it is the ONLY position that can be held by any follower of Jesus and student of the Holy Scriptures of God. In the very public age in which we live, it seems necessary to also make my comments available as they were given extemporaneously during the first 12 minutes of the service this weekend. The clip is available HERE.
There is no Christian justification for any of the racist actions of what is known as the alt-right movement and the display of hatred at the weekend’s protests is categorically and completed indefensible. The position of our church and my position personally is that of the Word of God: That all men are created in the Imago Dei (Image of God) and therefore possess equal and inherent worth in the sight of God. Any different view discounts and disagrees with Holy Scripture and is cause for man to repent and seek forgiveness from God and his fellow man.
Any movement or action of a person or people that treat others as “lesser beings” based on race is evil, despicable, indefensible, ungodly, unholy, and is the antithesis of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A racist is no worse a sinner than any other sinner. All sin is offensive to God and damaging toward others. Our heart is for the reconciliation of all men to God, knowing that all who come to Him are made acceptable as one people known not by the deeds of our hands or the color of our skin but by the name of our Savior, Lord, and King.
We grieve with those who are hurt, frightened, or justifiably angered by the reprehensible conduct of those who advocate for all forms of racism and for any superiority of person on the basis of race.
We call on sinful men, including those protesting and advocating for white supremacy to repent and turn to God begging His forgiveness and pleading with Him for mercy. Further, we call on sinful men of all ethnicities to turn to God and from self, to trust in Christ alone who is the avenger of the weak and the judge of all mankind, and to seek reconciliation with God in consideration of God’s gospel work in our lives.
I do not know of one evangelical Christian who affirms or tolerates the sinful position of racists of any stripe. Racism is categorically wrong. That said, I wanted to add my voice to the chorus of those who have publicly denounced the actions of racists in Charlottesville in recent days so as to remove any perceived ambiguity as to my position.
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by chrisaiken | Aug 7, 2017 | Leadership, pastor
Recently, I was engaged in a casual conversation with some guys and I mentioned that I had once served as a police sharpshooter. The comment was just in passing but it resonated with one of the new guys in our group. He was taken back to some degree and stopped me to confirm what he had heard. At the heart of his mental disconnect (of how a pastor could once be a policeman) was the underlying question of “how does God call people to vocational ministry?”
First, I don’t claim to be the “village expert” on God’s calling of preachers. There are great resources out there to explore the question including an incredible book by the President of Midwestern Seminary, Dr. Jason K. Allen, called Discerning Your Call to Ministry (which you can learn more about and purchase from Amazon HERE.) What I DO CLAIM though is a call to ministry. I have talked with many men who have also experienced this calling and there are some consistent traits in the calling. Though my list is by no means exhaustive, here are four things that are true of a calling to ministry:
- There is a distinct stirring in one’s spirit that is often confirmed by a personal sense of God’s confirmation through His Word. Some discount the “Word/Scripture validation” and argue that a sense of God’s voice in prayer was it for them. Others claim that the affirmation from others (parents, respected elders, etc.) was the affirmation they needed. While I don’t discount these, my experience was an affirmation in the Word (Romans 10:13-15 to be precise).
- There is a recurring dissatisfaction with NOT being “in ministry.” My pastor said to me in the counseling process leading up to my surrender to the calling to preach, “As long as you can do anything else and be satisfied, then do that.” [That’s good advice].
- There is a desire for the calling that exceeds the cost of pursuing the calling. A call to ministry is a call to prepare. Don’t even think about it if you won’t submit yourself to higher theological education. (I know…I have heard that “with all of the information on the internet, you can get everything you need—for free—and, after all, Moses never went to Seminary”). In response, I’d simply state that if I needed to have my spleen removed or a diagnosis of my heart, I’d want to have a practitioner who had been to medical school do it. It’s great that some kid watched 300 hours of YouTube videos of the Surgery Channel but he can keep his scalpel away from me, no matter how sincere his sense of calling to medicine is. (If one agrees with me about this and our physical well-being, how could we even consider diminishing the view of a spiritual doctor, shepherd, leader to guide us in our relationship with God. After all, your spirit is eternal!)
- Finally, there should not be any significant protest by those who love and care most for you. If your spouse thinks you’re nuts…perhaps you are, or perhaps she is…but in either case, you need to wait long enough for God to change her heart or for this yearning within you to pass. If your church leaders don’t sense an affirmation of calling is in order, perhaps you need to revisit and ask why godly people don’t see what you sense in your spirit.
The pathway of ministering to God’s people is littered with guys who once were. The ditches along the road are filled with degrees from Bible Colleges and Seminaries, cassette tapes of “best sermons ever” and clerical robes, stoles, or coat and tie “get-ups” discarded as a man turned away from his place of service forever.
Again, the list is not universal or exhaustive, but I hope it is helpful. If I can help you think through any of these things more in depth, feel free to give me a shout at my contact page. Blessings!
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by chrisaiken | Jul 11, 2017 | pastor, Uncategorized
This morning as I was making my lunch and preparing to start my “public” day, I had an incredible moment of reflection. When I was a small child, now more than forty years ago, I was spending the summer with my maternal grandparents. My grandfather (Papa Conner) often ate hot peppers with his dinner meal. One evening, he offered me one of his peppers (and if memory serves, may have even induced me to eat it with the offer to pay me a dollar if I did). I recall eating a bite (about half of the pepper and being less than impressed with the flavor. It was like a “bell pepper” taste. Then I went for the second bite. This one included the seed pod which, by the way, created a five-alarm fire in my mouth and caused me to never want peppers again (at least until much later in life). I remember as I was taking the second bite, that my granddad protested as I bit down. He knew what was going to happen, but I was clueless. He could have explained it a hundred times I would never have grasped the fact that the seedpod is hot; yet, one good bite of experience and I can go back to that moment after four decades like it was YESTERDAY! (My mouth is watering at the thought of it).
It was the DOING that caused the KNOWING to stick with me later.
DOING makes KNOWING STICK!
Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6.
This is the heart of the writer’s instruction in Proverbs. Train a child in the things of God early and God will bring them back to mind. Now this is a principle and not a universal formula. Not all children return to God but many do…and if the training is compelling, then so is the draw to remember later and return.
There is much evidence to support that the love of our hearts, our affections, follow our actions. We DO something and then we come to LOVE something. This is one of the reasons that God tells us to train up our children. (It is also why He gives us commands to obey even before we echo David’s words and declare that we love to obey the commands (Ps 119:47).
Mom and Dad, if you want to make a difference long-term with your children and shape a world in the process…teach them by training. Make bible reading an experience rather than an exhortation. Practice prayer rather than merely promote it. Show them how you seek the Lord’s wisdom rather than merely saying God is wise. Respond to your failures with repentance rather than merely reciting that repentance is required by God.
This type of training will take root in the heart and maybe…when they are old…they will remember it, like the taste of a pepper at dinner forty years ago.
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