the call to pastor- part 1

Recently I've been meeting with three students who have shown an interest in learning how to pastor, as they each feel a specific call from God to one day do so. We've been meeting for a few weeks now, and I can say with confidence that I am enjoying the specific conversations we've been having surrounding a subject woven deep into the very fibers of who I am. And that subject is the call to pastor. I've taken a good amount of notes throughout our conversations, and decided to post some of the thoughts we've been talking about. I hope those who are responding to God's call on their life to pastor will find the next series of blog posts helpful.

I guess before you can conclude that "yes... I am called to pastor", you first need to be aware of the reality that not everyone is called to pastor. I personally think the reason we have so many churches across the nation closing their doors for the last time, is because many people who are pastors were never called to be a pastor to begin with. Certainly they are called to be a lover of the church, and a tool for people. And there is no doubt in my mind that many have a genuine, authentic, contagious love for Christ. But those clues are not enough probable cause for one to assume he is called.

James 3:1 warns us that not many should teach [the word], because teachers are judged more severely.

Before those boys in my office were taught how to be a pastor, they were asked the tough question: are you sure that you are called to be a pastor? I certainly couldn't make that decision for them. I will not be held accountable- they will. Because of that, I am probably more hesitant and slow-moving right off the bat of someone showing an interest in pastoring. Maybe it's because I went to Bible college, and I've just seen one too many future businessmen and future school teachers declare a pastoral ministry because it sounded interesting. Or maybe I've seen one too many people enter the ministry because their Nana told them hundreds of times that they were going to make a great pastor one day.

James 3:1 is a warning to those who want to try this pastor thing out one day. It is a warning to those who can't wait to give a church congregation a piece of their mind when they get their shot. It's a warning to those who see a pastorate as something they'll one day take the reigns of to keep the family ministry heritage alive.

I guess, what James is trying to say is this: If you can do anything else and be happy, do that thing. Because pastoral ministry is not for the faint of heart. It is not a vocational decision. It's not a hobby. It's not a skill. It's a calling. Are you truly called to be a pastor?

i exalt thee

Have you ever had something overwhelm you with the nearness of God? For me it is a certain worship song that I have grown up loving titled "I Exalt Thee." I'm sure most of us who have grown up in church attach ourselves to a certain nostalgia with this song. But as of late this song has been one of the most successful vehicles for driving me into worship of God. The tipping point for my sudden attachment to this song was at my wedding. Danielle and I knew that we wanted to have a section of our wedding ceremony dedicated to worshiping God, and this song was one of two songs we had some friends of ours lead. I don't know if it was how suddenly I realized what was happening or it was the relief that that day was finally here, but when that song started to play, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness. The presence of God was so strong on my most significant day. The best way I can think to describe it is that the nearness of God was so palpable. I felt like I could reach out and touch it. Most memories fade into a faint distant recollection of experience, but when I reflect back on this day, it's like I'm back there at that alter standing in my suit next to my soon to be wife, looking up at red brick wall I was standing in front of, with warm tears uncontrollably streaming down my cheeks. All I could think to mutter was thank you Jesus. I must have said those three words 50 times during the two song worship set, but I'm telling you I meant those words.

Now whenever I hear that song, "I Exalt Thee" my mind takes me back to that hot late afternoon, and I am once again overwhelmed with thankfulness to God.

what makes Jesus difficult

What makes Jesus difficult is that he is going to go after our hearts. Most of us don't want him to do that. We would rather work for Jesus. We'd rather commit to doing all sorts of good things and being a good person (our definition of a good person at least), Just as long as he leaves our heart alone. So it looks like this: Jesus, I'll go to church twice a week, I'll give my tithe regularly and offering often, read my Bible everyday, not watch rated-R movies, lead a small group, I won't do this, I will do this.... just leave my heart alone!" We do not like it when Jesus presses on and snoops around our heart with the intent to expose core issues.

The problem with this whole idea is that God is not interested in the things we do for Him if we don't have the heart to back it up. We see this scattered throughout scripture. In Isaiah, God refers to Israel as a people who honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. Many times God comments on how much He hated their sacrifices and fasting, because their hearts were not on the same playing field. We even read in the gospels how Jesus would approach the ones you would least likely expect needing correction and confront them concerning how wicked their hearts were. The heart is very important to God.

Since God's operation on the heart can be so uncomfortable, most of us busy ourselves with good things (ministry, prayer, fasting, etc.) in order to disguise the fact that we have never dealt with the area of our heart that God has revealed. We'd rather wake up an extra half hour early and do our devotions than confess and repent of that secret sin, or forgive that person that hurt us. We go extra lengths with outward works in order to secretly nurse our core heart issues. But again, God is not enamored with the outward appearance like people are. Right actions with the wrong heart is in no way pleasing to God. A scheme like this has the potential to fool everyone around us and make the most pious men proud of us, but we will never have the ability to fool God. Actions do not hide our hearts from God. God still sees it and will not be satisfied until we let Him have it.

new iphone wallpaper

genuine

I've been thinking the last few days about being genuine. Of course this word is probably very familiar to you. This word is not new by any stretch of the imagination- especially in the church world. It's one of those over-used words pastors use to describe everything. It's up there with relevant and life-changing. Genuine is one of those words that churches everywhere would use to describe themselves as. "We are a genuine church with genuine values presenting genuine talks through genuine creativity" Meanwhile, they all look the same, their values change to correlate with the current seasons fads, and every sermon series is ripped from LifeChurch.

This word has been on my mind lately, because I think this word should lived out. I'm not talking about being perceived to be lived out. Honestly I could care less if we ever uttered the word genuine ever again. I just want the local church to actually be genuine. Be someone other than what they see other churches being. I feel like we are sacrificing the foundation of consulting with God about who we are and who we reach to appear cool and trendy.

Being recognized for your ingenuity and innovation should not be your goal. God gave the church creativity not to compete and jockey for spotlight, but instead to reach a dying gasping world. I'm glad that churches all across the nation are feeding the poor and spreading the gospel, but sometimes I question the motives. Is it because we genuinely love the Lord and want to do His work, or are we more focused on heightening our popularity and investing in our reputation? If you stretch the truth on Twitter about your Sunday morning numbers or even feel the compulsion to post them every week, I would seriously recommend taking an inventory of your motives. Are you really genuine when you minister? Do you do the things you do to make God famous or you famous?

feels like christmas

My life is about to change forever. In only one month and one week I will be married. I finally got used to introducing Danielle to people as my fiance and now it's changing again. I am so excited. I hear that you're supposed to get nervous about this time before you get married. I must be a late bloomer, because I am not even a little nervous right now. I am anxious, excited and impatient, but not nervous.

Now that I am in the 11th hour the best I can describe the feeling is the way the atmosphere changed after Thanksgiving when you were a kid. All of a sudden you allowed yourself to listen to all the Christmas music you could handle, ate dinner quickly so you were finished in time to watch all the Christmas specials on network TV, and began reading your gift list out loud, just in case your parents forgot what you wanted. It feels like moments before Christmas. So excited, it's hard to sleep.

my first diet: wrapping up

I finished my Special K diet and in the end I ended up gaining 4 lbs. I don't know how that's possible, but I was so mad I quit the whole thing. Right after that I began a Daniel fast for something totally unrelated to this. A Daniel fast is where you withold from eating anything other than fruits, vegetables, nuts and natural things of that sort. I've been on the fast for nearly a week and have lost 10 lbs. Now I'm not fasting in order to lose weight, but I will definitely agree that the weight loss is a perk when fasting. I am also still running as much as possible- probably about 4 times a week for at least 20 minutes.

current weight: 170 lbs