To Accomodate or to Stretch?

From Don Johnson's comment, I wanted to expand on his point. First of all, I totally agree, Don. It is certainly proper to stretch people by our teaching. Being stretched is to learn and change. I think the value of Bridges' counsel in this area is for the young pastors. Many young men(and older men too) feel that their faithfulness to God in preaching demands that they preach at the theological level of their own studies. Too often I have seen men be self-righteous in their supposed "faithfulness" in this way, when in actual fact they are self-indulgent and unloving. It can be very difficult to communicate abstract, complex and nuanced theological ideas in concrete, plainspoken ways. Some pastors feel they don't need to undertake this work. But as to Don's point, there ought to be a stretching aim in all that we teach. Stretched in repentance, stretched in devotion, stretched in witness. Of course the solution is to work at the former while being mindful of the latter. In this way we fulfill Paul's purpose for equippers to accommodate in order to stretch the Body of Christ to 'mature manhood' (cf. Eph. 4.12,13).

A Classic Work For Pastors

I was speaking to a friend who is preparing to candidate at a church, which pastorate would be his first. Among the cartloads of books for pastors to recommend to him, and many good ones recently, I have been suprised at how insightful the work of Charles Bridges has been in his book, The Christian Ministry. Few modern ministry books will discuss what constitutes 'success' in ministry or lack of success, without being a how-to manual of worldly techniques. Pastor's do wish that their ministry would be successful. It must succeed in glorifying the Living God chiefly, or else the work would not be undertaken. Bridges offers nuanced analysis of how this kind of success is sought and won. Another random insight is on the nature of the composition of sermons. Bridges argues that sermons should be full of content (voluminous, not in the sense of being overlong, but in the sense of having 'volumes of divinity' packed into the sermon; see Bridges note about Ussher's description of Manton). Sermons should also accomodate themselves to people's natural capacitities. It is no good having content multiplied if people don't have the physical or intellectual ability to absorb it. Bridges' writing style is articulate, but not plainspoken. In that sense he is more Anglican than Puritan. But his breadth of learning coupled with depth of insight make the book ever worthy of being read and applied.

Prayer as Siege Engine

I was thinking of George Herbert's poem, Prayer, when I preached yesterday from Revelation 8. The censers carrying the prayers of the saints are the censers that scoop fire from the altar in order to cast judgment upon the earth. Consider Herbert's lines: Prayer the church's banquet, angel's age, 2 God's breath in man returning to his birth, 3 The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, 4The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth 5Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tow'r, 6 Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear, 7 The six-days world transposing in an hour, 8A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear; 9Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss, 10 Exalted manna, gladness of the best, 11 Heaven in ordinary, man well drest, 12The milky way, the bird of Paradise, 13 Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood, 14 The land of spices; something understood. The text is found at Representative Poetry Online

Sharing the Gospel in the Gay Community

I'm glad to hear of my former student, John Bell, getting a wide hearing with his blog post at Tim Challies site. John pastors New City Baptist, a plant downtown in Toronto and is involved actively in evangelism in Toronto's large Gay community. Check out his post, here.

Calvin 500 at Calvary Grace

Into the panoply of reflections on John Calvin upon the 500th anniversary of his birth, our church, Calvary Grace Church in Calgary, had the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Jan VanVliet offer his own. Dr. VanVliet, spoke on the topic which I had assigned to him, "Who is Afraid of John Calvin?" as well as bringing God's Word to us, highlighting some of Calvin's favorite texts of Scripture. It was a treat to be able to spend some time with Dr. VanVliet, his wife Joan and daughter Janine. My wife and I enjoyed their fellowship as we collectively reflected on urban life in contrast to the rural. I particularly enjoyed hearing from Dr. VanVliet regarding his time at Westminster Seminary and his relationships with many of the professors and students there. A further tidbit that I found interesting was the fact that Jan was the first person to revise the Prairie Bible College statement of faith since the founder L.E. Maxwell crafted it. I think Jan's contribution is a very sound and helpful one. Finally, as we prepared to depart, I pointed out that our church's new meeting location was in a sandstone building that had once been a public school with William Aberhart as its principal. Jan's daughter Janine had recently done research on the towering figure in religious and political spheres in Alberta. "Bible Bill" as he was known, started off as a powerful preacher, but later became the Premier of Alberta. I noted however that Aberhart's theology seemed to decline noticeably the further he went politically. It was a stimulating Lord's Day. And I thank God for the ministry of Jan VanVliet as he serves the students at PBI, even heralding the God who subdued the Genevan Reformer.

T4G, Scottish Communion, and Running the Bulls

Life has been eventful, so eventful that blogging has descended to the nether regions of indifferent repetition. Yet in the midst some interesting experiences have been had. I will list them for blogging brevity's sake if for no other: 1. I was informed that my preaching at Together for the Gospel made the cut for the promotional video for the upcoming conference (see 1.10 or so into it). Of course I wasn't on the schedule of well-known and well-empowered preachers in the pulpit. I was just one more preacher at the conference who can't help but exhort, talk with his hands, and generally preach all the time (Thanks to Chad and Dan for making me aware of it). 2. Last Sunday we had a Scottish Communion Season of sorts at Calvary Grace. Since we had nowhere to meet due to various circumstances, we decided to meet outside and have a communion service. However what was different about it was that we had 3 preachers and 3 sermons. Our theme was the table of the Lord , with Jeff looking at the OT, Paul looking at the NT, and myself combining the two by springboarding from Ps.78.19 "Can God Spread a Table in the Wilderness". Brock's service leading highlighted the Scottish Communion season practice and helped everyone to prepare their hearts for partaking of the supper together. 3. On the ranch, we sorted the cattle in order to haul them north to their summer pasture at Buck Creek. While we were sorting, I stood in the path way of a large, black bull with nowhere to go. Needless to say he went through me, or over me as the case was. His head butted me so that I was pushed to the ground. He then stepped on the back of my leg leaving a nice purple hoofprint. I am thankful my leg was not broken, nor anything else. But I am reminded of the cowboy philosophy that says, " Cowboys eat beef, to get even".

Toronto Pastors Conference

Those pastors who are in the Toronto area should note the date of the upcoming Toronto Pastors Conference. Hosted by the diligent work of Paul Martin and Grace Fellowship Church, among many others, the conference features the insights of 9 Marks ministries. If you are not a pastor, then send your pastor! Here are the details: The Toronto Pastors Conference Featuring Mark Dever and Matt Schmucker of 9Marks Ministries June 1,2,3 Cost: $115 Includes conference registration, books, several meals, and more. Register online at torontopastors.org