The Need for Pastor Theologians

There is something that takes place when you began to move beyond that middle point of life.  You tend to look back in retrospect at time and opportunity that was squandered.  You look forward with much more concern about the great values and virtues of a spiritual life than what was in those early years of youthful inexperience.  Age uniquely brings a sobriety, a seriousness, a focus, and at times even a sense of grimness to the mind.  This is especially true for a Christian pastor, or in my thoughts, it should be.  One of those areas of my own personal calling and ministry that I am looking back to are the countless times that I said, “I am an assistant pastor, preacher, minister not a theologian.”  Increasingly as my preaching style has drastically changed from my earlier years from topical preaching to much more expository preaching, I have been greatly convicted by the Spirit of God and my interaction with the Word of God that pastors need to be

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 1, Days 4 & 5

One of the things that this study guide, Lord, Is It Warfare? works toward is getting our minds to think in a biblical direction about spiritual warfare.  One of the benefits of this is that it will move your mind to areas of Scripture and characters that exemplify the principles.  Day 4 and Day 5 are both relatively short although is some more interaction with Scripture that is necessary.  By virtue of this, you make a strong connection between the events of Acts 19 and the principles that are expressed in Ephesians 6.  One thing that comes to mind is the closing out of Ephesians 5 and beginning of Ephesians 6 where Paul speaks of marriage and the family.  The reality of the matter of it all is that these too can be battlegrounds that the enemy will attempt to insert himself into.  While spiritual warfare takes place in the heavens, it is played out in a very practical setting where we live our lives. 

Ephesus, because of occultic influence, was a place that was driven by fear.  The shamans, pagan priests, and others given to the influence of the “curious arts” (defined as such in Acts 19) played and preyed on the fears of the people.  This caused me to consider the aspects of America culture where that we pay money to experience fear.  However, I would cause you to think in this way with me.  If the enemy can cause fear and use themes that have ominous spiritual outcomes to be confined to a movie screen, the viewer’s compartmentalize it and believe that there is nothing to it.  What a brilliant move but very deadly move by the enemy.  Kay Arthur notes, “Films, TV, and recorded music evidence increasing control from the ‘dark side.’  Occult images fill even children’s films, cartoons, and video games.”    

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 1, Day 3

We are to Day 3, in the first week of Kay Arthur’s Lord, Is It Warfare? study guide.  You need fair warning to know that this entry today will force you to think through some matters that are facing our society today.  One of the spiritual battles that we face on a regular basis is when a there is a developing fearfulness of speaking about these things and how that you will be perceived among your friends.  It is very interesting the subtle peer pressure that is prevalent in the church these days both among ministers and members when we speak something that is solidly Word-based that is opposed to a humanistic bent.  Say what you will but this is spiritual warfare!  The same spirit pushing on Jehudi to take a penknife to Jeremiah’s words in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 36:23) wants to do the very same thing today. 

To combat this and other attacks, Paul gave us some instructions:

·        Be strong in the Lord—v. 10

·        Put on the whole armor of God—v. 11

·        Take the whole armor—v. 13

·        Stand—v. 13

·        Stand—v. 14

·        Put on the belt of Truth—v. 14

·        Have the breastplate of holiness/righteousness in place—v. 14

·        Put the shoes of the Gospel on your feet—v. 15

·        Take the shield of faith—v. 16

·        Take the helmet of salvation—v. 17

·        Take the Sword of the Spirit, the Word—v. 17

The following format is the manner that I have recorded these notes in my journal.  It does not follow an active paragraph style. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 1, Day 1

One of the top ten books for me in the honorable mention category from last year was KayArthur’s book, Lord, Is It Warfare?  I did use it in some of my own personal devotions but as I worked through it, I discovered that as a pastor, this book was a launching pad of sorts to go beyond the exercises that had been given in the book.  Therefore, over the next several weeks, I have intentions of putting some of my scribblings from the book margins and from my own personal journals that I composed.  Obviously the study guide has some areas of personal reflection and evaluation that I will leave out for understandable reasons.  I would encourage you if you are a regular reader of this blog to take some time to consider what will be covered.  Also I would greatly encourage you to get the book, get a journal, and get a pen and write.  For me, it ended up being about an hour time allotment but it will become one of the most eye-opening hours that you will spend during that day.    

Spiritual warfare can be a slippery path that can lean toward fanaticism or formalism.  At the end of the day what we must take into consideration is what Scripture clearly and accurately addresses in this area.  If you have been in Pentecostal circles for any length of time, you have probably heard some very fanciful stories relating to this subject.  I am in that camp!  I have heard some of the most far-fetched stories that as the years have rolled on, I have dismissed them as pure imagination of the teller who had a motive of self-aggrandizement mixed with too much exposure to Hollywood.  On the other hand, because my father-in-law has been a district global missions director for over 30 years, my exposure to missionaries has probably been much higher than that of the average pastor.  Friends, neighbors and all ya’ll in between, when a missionary comes to town, the vast majority of them can tell you some very clear and accurate things concerning the dark side of the spiritual battle.  I would encourage you to spend time with these men and women and listen to what they have to say. 

Book Review -- Apostle of the Last Days -- C. Marvin Pate

Several weeks ago, I was sent a book from the Kregel Academic Division by C. Marvin Pate, Apostle of the Last Days—The Life, Letters, and Theology of Paul.  The arrival of this book coincided with a study that I had been doing in Acts and it came at just about the time I was going through the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.  While there was some good material about the basic history of Paul, the whole subject matter of the book was concerned with the eschatological stances that Paul placed in his epistles.  One particular thing I appreciated about Pate’s subject matter was his response to some of the critics who have attempted to question the authenticity of the Pauline letters.  I have increasingly noticed in the last five years or so that there is an increasing tide among those who once believed in the Bible to begin to pick at its edges and question the authority of the Word of God.  Pate meets some of that response briefly in the introduction as he moves toward a conservative approach to the Bible.  You will benefit from what he has written and how he has responded (p. 13). 

Continuing Education for Ministers--Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology

I am working on a series of blog posts that deal with the necessity of continuing education for ministers.  The first post was along the lines of the necessity of and reason for continuing education.  While I believe that prayer and ministry of the Word are the major priorities of the minister most of these resources will be tailored toward areas of helping us to get better with that.  I need to always add the necessary disclaimer and say that just because I am pointing to these resources, it does not mean that I am entirely endorsing the content.  However, I can say that in my own experience it was reading and studying things I did not agree with that either helped me to shore up my own beliefs or helped me to change according to what the Scriptures were clearly promoting as doctrine. 

I recently read an article written by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  The title was “The Pastor as Theologian” and he noted the great decline in theological acumen when theology was turned into an academic discipline to be taught only in seminaries.  “Every pastor is called to be a theologian.  This may come as a surprise to some pastors who see theology as an academic discipline taken during seminary rather than as an ongoing and central part of the pastoral calling.  Nevertheless, the health of the church depends upon its pastors functioning as faithful theologians—teaching, preaching, defending and applying the great doctrines of the faith.”  Mohler made it clear in his article that the pastoral calling meant that we are to give our minds, hearts, and tongues to the great quest of knowing Scripture and then clearly teaching it to those who are under our care (2 Tim. 1:13-14; 2:2; 4:2-4).  A pastor is to guard and protect the flock and this calls for a clear and well-defined preaching of the Scriptures.  The only way for a man to do this with freshness, clarity, and authority is for him to become immersed in the theology of the Scriptures.