Talk about a lineup. Plans are being set for the upcoming Miami Pastors Conference and if you’re still wavering the time is now to jump of the fence. Not only will we have our starting lineup of the usual suspects (Jones, Armstrong, Burns, Carter and Leach) but coming off the bench we have Anyabwile, Andrews, Baucham and Campbell. And you thought the Celts creamed the Lakers in game 6. Wait till these brothers let loose with both barrels on bad theology, good theology and what thus says the Lord to His church through His church. Early registration closes the first week in October so make your plans now and join us courtside for Miami 08.

I know your shelves are full but these three are a must have. And since I'm convinced that they will both edify, challenge and inspire you I'm giving away two copies of each book. Just drop a line in the comment section and tell me why you want the book and why you believe they're important in your life and ministry right now.

What books you say? The first is Experiencing Truth by our brother Anthony Carter with contributions from Michael Leach and Ken Jones. Experiencing Truth presents the biblical basis for choosing and attending a church and even offers helpful wisdom on sermon preparation, a sermon outline and sample orders of worship. You can check it out as well as order by going here.

Our next contribution comes from the pen (or perhaps cpu) of Thabiti Anyabwile. It's entitled 'What Is A Healthy Church Member' and is a follow up to Mark Dever's book 'What Is A Healthy Church'. Like its title this book will outline what a healthy church member is. Drop by here for more info.

The last is 'Where Are All The Brothers - Straight Answers To Men's Questions about the Church. This significant work is from our brother Eric Redmond and tackles many of the reasons African-American men avoid church like the plague. More info is available here.

Please take the time to support these brothers and their efforts in writing books that speak to many of the needs and issues within the church in general and black church in particular.

For Christ, His Church and The Truth

Pastor Lance

Our brother Reddit Andrews concludes his insights in a message from the book of Jonah. Also check out the message he preached from Jonah 1:1-6. Rev. Andrews serves as the pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Church in Sacramento CA.

The story that follows conveys four essential lessons that we are either to emulate or searchingly root out of our lives. First, there is Jonah’s self-centered unconcern for the spiritual well being of those around him. Jonah’s portrayal of this both compels our deepest admiration and lifts his account completely out of the realm of a mere children’s story. How fearless is his candor and familiar his failing. In each of the four vignettes he portrays himself as tragically self-absorbed and completely out of touch with the mercy, compassion and God’s purposes in the world. See him perfectly at sleep in the hull of the ship while the mariners are in peril of perishing. He acts to safeguard them only after being shamed and prevailed upon. Had they not done so he would have slept on, permitting them to die with him. Behold him in the belly of the great fish. He records the foolish cry of his heart; one that contains twenty five first person pronouns and completely disregards the commission of God. How callously he writes of the Ninevites, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I….� Look at him as he rudely conveys God’s message to the Ninevites, having been vomited out by the fish that provided a divine response to the self-centered cry. “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!� He preached so as to ensure they would in fact be overthrown! Lastly, see him petulantly sulking at the joy of their entrance into the covenant community as “the people of Nineveh believed God.�

His self-centeredness comes to a gruesome climax as he bemoans the loss of his personal shade tree while simultaneously angered at the joy of the Ninevites salvation. After all it did bode ill for the political tomorrow of his people and the personal enjoyment of his day, didn’t it? We can all too easy be like Jonah can’t we? We can be oblivious to the cause of world mission, the salvation of family members, neighbors and co-workers, while bemoaning the perks and possessions we don’t have. Let us learn this lesson.

Second and more succinctly, Jonah conveys a wonderful portrait of the persistence and patience of God in dealing with His self-centered people. Certainly God could’ve called another prophet to carry His message. We can see no necessity that it be Jonah that carries the message. But behold how God sets the world in motion to bring Jonah into sympathy with Him. God ‘appoints’ a great fish to swallow up Jonah. He ‘appointed’ a plant that made Jonah glad and also ‘appointed’ the worm that attacked the plant and made Jonah sad. God ‘appointed’ a scorching east wind that drove Jonah to his knees in order that he might truly hear God’s voice. If life isn’t working and has lost meaning could it be because you’ve set sail for Tarshish and you are being brought into sympathy with God through His ‘appointed’ difficulty? Too often our dissatisfaction really amounts to pitying plants at the expense of the perishing Ninevites on our doorsteps. Learn to give profound thanks to God for His great love that patiently pursues you until you give up your flight to Tarshish and are happily involved in His purposes for Nineveh.

A third great lesson Jonah affords and perhaps the one most easily appreciated but difficult to live is the expansive portrait of God’s compassion for the lost, His awesome heart for the nations of the world. Nineveh, a nation known far and wide for a level of cruelty and brutality seldom equal in the annals of history, is the object of divine pity. We, along with Jonah, are stunned awake and then shamed by the question, “And should I not pity Nineveh…?� Oh, may we never forget that this is what God is like! The true nature of God’s compassion involves forgiveness and judgment but is biased towards forgiveness. He is the God who so loves that He gives His one and only Son for the world. Which brings us to the forth and last lesson Jonah imparts.

The divine compassion that Jonah seeks to elicit from us is not one that can be found within us as we are by nature. Jonah ends on a note that leads us to conclude that he felt his need to be as great as the Ninevites. Is there anyone or anything that can rescue him from His self-centeredness? Yes, centuries later one would come who was greater than Jonah! Jesus likens His experience to Jonah’s. He would embody the obedience Jonah withheld and the compassion he was incapable of. In this way we are invited to renew our commitment to compassionate obedience by following Jesus, who is greater than Jonah. Nineveh was long gone when Jesus came, He sends us to the world. As we learn to love the Lord, who embodies divine compassion and pity we will be moved to pity and have compassion on those upon who He does.

Our brother Reddit Andrews provides some wise and godly insight in a message from the book of Jonah. Also check out the message he preached from Jonah 1:1-6. Rev. Andrews serves as the pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Church in Sacramento CA.

“Jonah was a prophet, he never really got it.� The popular Veggie Tales song is only partially true. His enigmatic ending leads to the conclusion that he finally did get it and portrays himself negatively as a creative way of helping his reader ‘get it.’ Few biblical stories have raised as many questions and elicited as much fascination as the prophecy of Jonah. Unfortunately many treat it is especially suited for children missing the tremendous message it conveys. We desperately need the lessons Jonah imparts, because there are striking parallels between his time and ours.

Jonah, a contemporary of Amos and Hosea, prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam, II (793-753 BC). Assyria was both a military juggernaut and constant threat to the stability and national sovereignty of Israel. Jonah, concerned for the future of his nation, was greatly relieved when Assyria’s military machinery bogged down leading to national decline. He was just as alarmed when they suddenly recovered from decline and began to resume its reign of terror.

The moral and religious decline of Israel ran concurrent with Assyria’s resurgence but was masked by economic prosperity. The economic prosperity blinded them to their sin and led them to believe that the prosperity was a sign of God’s approval of the life they were leading. Taking God for granted became the accepted norm and the incredible privilege of Israel’s covenant relationship was supplanted by the notion that God was the private possession of the nation. They thought of God in terms that had nothing to do with His great purposes of world redemption and equated the short term national interest with God’s kingdom aim. This is the very same position we find ourselves in today as Christians in the Western World. The limits of God’s purposes are often thought to run parallel to the promotion of democracy (regardless of whether its ultimate goal is His glory or not) and the current unprecedented economic prosperity we enjoy is widely interpreted the obvious sign of God’s approval while we are blithely oblivious to our terribly sinful neglect of God’s glory.

It was in this setting that the last words Jonah ever hoped to hear struck his ears. “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.� Jonah correctly reasoned that God was perfectly capable and would be justified in destroying Nineveh without the benefit of a prophet. He correctly concludes that his commission was a clear indication that God was willing to show mercy to the Ninevites, the inveterate enemy of his people. Whereas the prospect of Sodom’s destruction, no friend to God or His people, set Abraham to pleading for mercy the prospect of Nineveh’s pardon set Jonah to fleeing. What could explain this but that Jonah was affected by the truncated theological thinking prevalent in Israel? To this point “Jonah was a prophet, but he never really got it.� He could see neither the greatness of God’s purpose in His people, or the glory of His limitless compassion. We too must be careful, that we do not concentrate so much on the short term political affairs of the day (which we must give attention to) that we lose sight of the great purposes of God going on around us. The political aims of our nation are not the same as the kingdom aims of our heavenly Father, neither are the personal limits of our own compassion identical with the extent of God’s compassion. Are we sufficiently aware that God is capable of bestowing mercy on those who hate us and despitefully use us? Jonah was unprepared to accept the radical forgiveness of God when it applied to his enemies

It's conference time already (although lately it seems as though it's always conference time in reformedville).

 Anyway our brother Eric Redmond is scheduled to speak at the 2008 Mid South Conference on Christ and Culture to be held on Friday May 2nd and Saturday May 3rd in Tupelo MS. You can click this link for more information.

 The fellow elder Thabiti Anyabwile will speak at this year's Together for the Gospel Conference scheduled to take place on Tuesday April 15th to Thursday April 17th in Louisville KY. You can find more on that conference here.

Please pray for these brothers as they declare God's word and seek to edify His people.

Our brother and favorite 2nd veep Eric Redmond has a new book answering many of the common questions relating to the absence of black men in the church. The book offers straightfoward answers to some of the common excuses given by men who've either left or were never apart of the black church. You can follow this link to pre-order the book now. Praise the Lord for our brother who has given us an excellent resource to dialogue with our brothers, fathers, cousins, nephews and sons about where they are and where they need to be.

Some of you may have trouble viewing the comments section of our blog if you're using the microsoft Internet Explorer browser. We're working on the problem but until it's solved you should probably view our site using the Mozilla Firefox browser. 

 'You young ministers need to stop running ahead of the pastor and be quiet until you’ve been through something with God.' I received the call to ministry at the ripe young age of 19 and can’t tell you how many times I heard older ministers chastise us youngsters for our brashness and bravado. The scheduled ‘youth rebuke’ was usually given by some assistant pastor who in my view was simply too envious of the fact that their ministry and life hadn’t turned out to be what they’d hoped.

 

 I usually tuned them out thinking that the real reason they have a problem with me and the other younger ministers was due to our youth, charisma and anointing. Fact was they didn’t want us cutting in on their precious preaching time even though it was obvious that we had the ear of the young people, the advantage of youth and of course really had it going on.

I often took comfort in Paul’s words to Timothy in 1Tim 4 ‘Let no one despise you for your youth’  which bolstered my contention that they were just jealous and had little if any interest in my spiritual development. I rarely however took the time to examine and reflect on the rest of Paul’s statement. You know the one that reads ‘but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity’

Well lo and behold I’m no longer an eager young minister with a lot to say and little experience. I’m the one now more likely to caution young men to be careful, take it slow and don’t be so eager to tell people about a God that you have a lot of knowledge about but little experience with. Does that mean that I look down on young ministers? I hope not. But I do see where some of those older assistant pastors were coming from. In my youth I really believed I knew more than those older than me. I was sure that I had the answers for church, ministry and life for my generation and was ready to get on with the task correcting the church, winning the world while kicking the old to the curb. Praise God I didn’t take charge of the souls of God’s people in my twenties. And if I had it to do over again I might have waited until I reached forty before becoming a lead pastor.

And if that were to happen I hope that I’d pay a bit more attention to the second phrase of 1Tim. 4:12. While Paul didn’t have a problem with Timothy’s youth he knew (perhaps from his own experience?) that youth has its pitfalls. Young ministers tend to shoot off at the mouth without thinking about how what they say and how they say it will affect God’s people. Paul warns Timothy to learn how to talk to people in ways that honor the humility of Christ, serve the furtherance of the gospel and build up the body of Christ. Young ministers should constantly keep in mind that speech can be used as a weapon to tear others down especially when they don’t agree with us. Those skilled in speaking must take great care to not to use that skill to carve up the saints just because we can.

Along with watching what we say and how we say it Paul reminds Timothy that the substance of biblically directed ministry is the lifestyle of the minister. How we carry ourselves out of the pulpit around God’s people, our peers, family, and those who don’t know the Lord will at times speak volumes about how seriously we take the Lord, His gospel and His church.

Young ministers must serve out of a deep love for God’s people, His church and the lost. We must never view the sheep of God as simply cogs in our ministry machine. They are neither stepping stones to a better position or cash cows created to line our wallets. We serve because we eagerly desire to see those under our ministry grow and mature in the walk before our Lord.

Men of God must grow to be reliable. It would be both wise and good if young ministers spent a few years serving quietly and consistently to support other ministries in the church before speaking the word of God. This may help to wean out those who are simply seeking a position up front from those actually called to serve God’s people.

Last, but by no means least young ministers must live in sexual purity. Sexual sin is a problem in the church. And it appears that it’s becoming more accepted for pastors to fall into sin, brush it off and keep going as if nothing happened. Considering such a climate it’s crucial for young ministers to pay close attention on their own personal purity, develop authentic accountable relationships in this area and should they find themselves caught up in sexual sin step back from ministry to work through it thoroughly.

Why are these things so important? Paul begins his short exhortation reminding Timothy that he is a role model. Thus if he talks in dismissive, demeaning ways to God’s people those who follow him will learn to do the same. Should he live in a manner that doesn’t honor God or the gospel those who follow him will get the idea that God is not be taken seriously and that biblical Christianity is a fraud. If he seeks the limelight and has an aversion to faithful, humble service God’s people may be led to think that it’s only the ministry ‘up front’ that really counts for anything. A harsh, insensitive young minister will convey that as far as he’s concerned the people of God are a means to an end. And that may lead to the mindset that God Himself is merely a means to and end not someone to love, serve and delight in as an end in and of Himself. Young ministers who dabble in sexual sin can model a careless disregard for God’s word and blatant disrespect for the Lord who died to take away sin. They run the danger of showing God’s people that the sheep are there to devour, hypocrisy is acceptable, and that personal charisma counts far more than personal integrity.

For Christ, His Church and The Truth,

LL

 These are intriguing, interesting, uncertain and providential times. On the one hand it seems as though biblical Christianity is fading from the African-American cultural landscape. That’s not to say that the trappings of the faith have disappeared only a good deal of its substance. It appears to matter little to ask if individual black folks believe in God or have ‘a personal relationship with Jesus Christ’.

 

 For many belief in God is synonymous with belief in the mayor or the governor or the president. It is a simple acknowledgement of fact not a commitment to pursue God’s agenda or publicly identify with and follow Him. On the other hand these are exciting (although I’d prefer not to use that word) times for the promotion of authentic biblical Christianity. African-American culture is undergoing an tectonic shift that is affecting our view of life, God and church. Along with this are the usual and unusual pressing challenges on the church. If that weren’t enough God’s men still have the responsibility to lead God’s church to disciple into a worshiping, obedient relationship with Jesus Christ.
How should those called to lead God’s church respond to such circumstances and calling? What skills should we employ to connect with and ’reach’ this generation at this time?

Paul warned Timothy of the troubling times that would come on the church. These changes have already hit the church and others like them (apostate ministers, grossly heretical and destructive theology) will continue to challenge her until the return of our Lord. One of the temptations men of God will face during particularly turbulent times is the lure to exchange the calling to character for the allure of charisma. More than likely the apostate ministers Paul warned Timothy of were extremely charismatic and persuasive. They could draw a crowd, skillfully twist the Scriptures, make appealing arguments, gather a following and even start ministries and churches. But these men weren’t interested in developing character and that’s exactly what Paul tells Timothy to focus on even while he opposed them and continued to serve the church.

Paul moves through this section of the letter and stresses to Timothy the value of training for godliness. Godliness has great value for our lives, the church we serve and the community around us. Think through that for a moment. We live in a time when godliness is viewed by many (even in the church) as passé. Many don’t see godliness as necessary for advancement and for much of our society it is not. But men of God see great value in godliness for the sake of godliness. Why? For one we’re not interested in just gathering a crowd, advancing for the sake of advancement, making a name of ourselves or getting wealthy. Nor do we evaluate the ‘success’ of our ministry by the number of people in our church, our annual budget or how well we’re admired by others. For us the measure of ministry is the constant pursuit and growth in godliness. Another reason we pursue godliness is because we’ve publicly and vocationally identified with God who is absolutely holy and separate from sin. We therefore agree with the apostle John who wrote that those who claim fellowship with the God of light must themselves strive for godliness.

Another blessing of godliness is for our own relationship with the Lord. Pursuing godliness reinforces the reality that God has called us from sin for the purpose of enjoying a thriving, joyful relationship with Him. We all know that though the Lord is pleased to use us, He doesn’t do so because He’s dependent on us. God has called us to Himself so that throughout eternity we can be the recipients of the unsearchable riches of His gracious kindness in Jesus Christ. Pursuing godliness allows us to taste the Lord’s goodness, rich kindness and beauty now while we wait patiently to experience the fullness of His presence in the age to come. For us to continue in sin is to say to our family, those we serve and our community that the pursuit of godliness is a waste of time.

One other effect of godliness is its bearing on the personal witness of the man of God. In the book ‘Adam Where Are You’ Why Some Black Men Don’t Go To Church author Juwanzaa Kunjufu compiles a list of the top 25 reasons why many black men don’t go to church. The top of the list. Well I can tell you that it wasn’t irrelevant worship or boring sermons. The main reason most of the black men refused to step into a church was the complete lack of character of the pastor. This lack of character was evident in the way pastors mistreated and used women for sex. Brothers how can we speak to our communities about issues of pride, anger, sexuality, selfishness, integrity, injustice and greed if those are the very sins we traffic in?

How do men of God respond in challenging, troubling and providential times? Do we look for the next wave of breakthrough moving worship, hone our communications skills so we can present scintillating speeches, think of new daring ways to connect with the culture or go back to the drawing board and create a church for this generation? No we trust the Lord that He will use our pursuit of godliness to enrich our lives, families and bless our ministries.

For Christ, the Church and the Truth
LL

About a year and half ago I caught some of ‘An Officer and A Gentlemen on one of those UHF stations. That’s the movie where Louis Gossett Jr. earned a well deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. At one point in the movie Gossett’s character catches Richard Gere’s character with contraband. After sending the rest of the squad to their first weekend pass Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley (Gossett’s character) does his best to get Zack Mayo to voluntarily quit.

 

 He puts Mayo through every onerous duty he can just to get him to drop out but Mayo is determined to hang in there. At one point with Mayo exhausted from doing push-ups and laying on the ground covered in mud Gunnery Sergeant Foley gets right in his face and asks why he’s putting himself through all this. When Mayo yells the canned response (to get jets sir) Foley says that’s horse hockey! He then says something very insightful. Looking straight at Mayo Foley said that becoming a Navy pilot isn’t about skills its about character. The U.S. government had no intention of entrusting a multi-million dollar machine to a man without character.

In other words, becoming a Navy pilot wasn’t about glory and glamour, it was about character. Our last post emphasized the value and significance God places on character in the ministry. In 1 Timothy 3 Paul defines what that character is. The man of God must have a life and lifestyle free of the practice of sin. From Scripture we know that neither he nor anyone else will be completely without any form of sin whatsoever. But the man of God can and must have a life that is not ensnared with ongoing, unrepentant sin. Moreover, he must be a man who deals with his own sin with integrity. He does not look past, rationalize or minimize his sinful issues. When an issue or issues of sin come up in his life he confesses, repents and seeks to grow in holiness. This is crucial because sadly the church has been affected by our consumerist, commercial culture. In our quest for bigger, better, more and more the church can too easily look past moral failures just because a brother can pack the seats and move the troops.

The bishop (that is local church elder) must be the husband of one wife. I don’t think that means that elders must be married and haven’t come to the conclusion that they must be men who’ve never divorced. I am convinced that the elder must be a man who consistently, actively loves his wife. His wife can’t be a satellite in a life that revolves around the church nor can she be another cog in the wheel of the mission. As important as preaching, teaching, leading, shepherding and theology is (and they are) I’m becoming more and more convinced that in a culture of broken homes and fractured relationships that one of the most important aspects of ministry is how I love, care for and relate to my wife.

God’s men must grow to be men who carry themselves as those who represent the king of kings and Lord of lords. The virtues of self-control, good judgment, respectfulness and hospitality aren’t ones we generally associate bold, cutting edge, innovative and ‘manly’ leadership but they are vital to the biblically grounded, Christ-centered leadership that God cultivates and values. It’s interesting and insightful that the aforementioned virtues are the kinds of qualities nurtured and displayed as it were in the background. God’s men aren’t looking for ways to be seen and noticed, but to allow our character to put the focus on the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

The man of God cannot be addicted to wine, food, shopping, or Madden. (and you Madden players know exactly what I’m talking about!) The man of God must have and use self-control. He must exercise it in the use of his time, recreation, relationships and gospel graced freedoms. (sorry my Baptist brothers but the Scriptures just don’t condemn having an occasional drink).

He cannot be someone who loves picking, engaging in and dominating an argument. Paul mentions this a few times (see 1 Tim. 1:5-7, 2:8, 6:3-5, 2Tim. 2:14, 23-25; Titus 3:9). Clearly it was a big problem for many of the church’s elders and it could have easily been a huge distraction to Timothy. I can speak from personal experience because in my younger (and much more foolish days) I relished a good argument. I can tell you that during those times my goal wasn’t to correct a true error, but just to be right. We don’t engage in long unproductive arguments about the truth. Being argumentative is a sign of immaturity, arrogance, self-centeredness and possibly insecurity. God hasn’t called us to break people down but to build them up. If too many people leave a conversation with us feeling stupid then we may have certainly won an argument but we have in no way served the cause of our Lord.

The man of God must have a well run household with children who respect him, our Lord and the church. Though we can’t guarantee our children will come to know the Lord we can attempt to raise them in such a way that they know that we take the Lord, His church, our calling and THEM seriously. We cannot be about the business of winning the world and neglecting our children. I want to especially appeal to young men with young children at home. Please, please don’t allow ministry to swallow your every waking moment. Take the time to raise, play with and enjoy your children. Trust me should our Lord tarry you’ll have more than enough time and sinners to win for the kingdom. But you only have one time when your children are young. Pay attention to them.

An elder must not be a recent convert for the obvious reasons that Paul wrote. Bestowing ordination on someone just because he completed seminary, a few papers and a couple of test is a bad idea. Let him grow some first. Give him the opportunity to fall flat on his face when his neat little theological grid becomes unglued in the face of trial. Allow him to walk with the saints as they traverse sickness, unemployment and death. Let him learn to watch himself and depend on the Lord in temptation and learn from his failures.  Afford him the chance to demonstrate that he can really grow to love his wife as Christ loves the church before we put him in charge of God’s people. Before he preaches to raise the dead, convert the lost and pack the church let’s see if he can get some God in himself first!

Finally, an elder must have a good sound reputation among unbelievers. We already have too many brothers who’ve carried on a double life, fallen into Satan’s trap (it doesn’t matter what you are, just how good you perform) and brought disgrace to our Lord, His church and the truth.

Brothers, being and becoming a leader in God’s church isn’t about fame, glory or glamour. The issue isn’t skills, charisma or talent it is and always will be character.

For Christ, His church and the truth.

LL

Someone once asked me the difference between the ministry and my former job at corporate America. I responded that in at least one way the difference is simple. In corporate America I got in at eight, left at four-thirty and for the most part the job stayed there. My evenings and all my weekends were mine to do with as I pleased. Had I wanted to advance in the company I could have worked more hours, took on extra tasks, traveled more and even sought to relocate a few times. But I didn’t have to. I could be content doing a good job, showing up with a positive attitude, working with integrity and collecting a paycheck.

That’s not true with ministry. Much of my time is spent in one way or another serving God, and His people. Whether it’s preparing sermons, counseling, encouraging spiritual growth, praying, doing administration, attempting to connect with the community, having people at my home or any number of things, ministry takes up a great deal more of my life than investigating and settling automobile claims. It actually makes me laugh when people say ‘you got it going on, just sit around a chill Monday through Saturday spout off a few words on Sunday and get paid�.

And yet that may not be the biggest difference between vocational ministry and corporate America. You see the secular world didn’t demand consistent, integrated biblical character from me. That doesn’t mean they didn’t want me to treat clients, co-workers and even attorneys with respect, consideration and honesty. The company I worked for was very clear that we weren’t to defraud anyone in anyway. We were to pay what we owe, no more and no less. However outside of the office my company wasn’t all that concerned if I dabbled into online pornography, verbally abused my wife, was generally rude and overbearing or materialistic. It didn’t matter if I was selfish, arrogant or if my children were wild and disrespectful. For good or ill I could separate my character from my corporate career.

But in ministry these two are vitally linked like tendons and muscle. Paul told Timothy that the office of elder is a noble calling. It is a calling in which men of God represent God, His word and church as we go about the task of shepherding His people. While corporate America is chiefly concerned with our competence for the job, the quantity of work we put out and our effect on the bottom line, God is primarily concerned with the quality of our character. Successful ministry isn’t measured by how many people hear you on Sunday mornings, the number of conferences you’re asked to address or the number of hits on your blog. Rather it’s the consistent, lifelong demonstration of Christ’s character before His Father, His followers and the world.

The desire to shepherd God’s people is the wish to pursue authentic, Christ-like, godly character. God wants His ministers to display His character, not our competence. From the relevant passages on leadership the Lord puts far more weight on our example to His people, not our expertise in ministry. This is why the calling to shepherd the Lord’s flock is such a serious one. How easy it is to separate what we do from who we are. How simple it would be to fool ourselves into believing that the church must look past our ungodliness just because she so desperately needs our gifts. The church needs good leaders. We need men who will pursue the calling of elder to lead God’s people to carry out the mission He’s given us to disciple the nations and transform culture. But don’t confuse need with desperation. If our pursuit of ministry isn’t tied to our growth in godly character then we should do something else. And as far as I know my old company is always on the lookout for another good rep.

For Christ, the Church and the Truth
Lance Lewis

In the past several months I’ve had the opportunity of giving the charge to three friends of mine entering the ministry. One was installed as the pastor of a church plant and two others were ordained to the gospel ministry. I enjoyed each of the occasions. The worship, fellowship with God’s people and the privilege of exhorting these good brothers was a blessing to my soul.

 

 Preparing for these charges got me to thinking about the ministry and those whom God calls to carry out. It’s a strange thing isn’t it. The heavens declare the glory of God. They display His matchless beauty, majesty, intricacy, care, order, power and sovereignty. Created in six days and all very good they are a shining example of God’s existence and good will toward humanity. They also humble us as we look into the vastness of space and realize that God created all these out of nothing and without the help of one single, solitary human. Yet with all its beauty and splendor the heavens will one day be rolled up like a scroll. Even in its grandeur the physical universe cannot compare to the eternal kingdom of the living God. This kingdom which has no end is an even more spectacular display of God’s attributes than the heavens are. For the kingdom of God doesn’t just reflect His glory, power, goodness, beauty, order, and sovereignty, it visibly and permanently demonstrates His love, grace, mercy, compassion and infinite justice in and through Jesus Christ.

It is this kingdom however that He’s entrusted mere men to guard, preserve and promote throughout the earth. We are His men, bound to His cause and charged to carry forth the gospel of His kingdom. What then is a man of God? What qualities should we look for in those who lead this most significant of endeavors? While most of us probably know the answer to those questions it’s good to be reminded of them as I was when giving the charge to three of my friends.

From Paul’s first letter to Timothy we learn that a man of God is one who holds and keeps a sacred trust. For us, truth is important, truth matters and truth is non-negotiable. We don’t change, trifle with or finagle truth just to fit current circumstances, stay relevant, skate the cultural cutting edge or please a particular ethnic group. For us different doctrines aren’t just a matter of cultural tastes, but an issue of life and death. What an individual, family, society or people group believe about God, Scripture, humanity, sin, salvation, Jesus Christ is not up for grabs. Those who claim to be called into the gospel ministry are compelled by the obligation to preserve and promote the truth we already have, not to twist and change it to suit our particular selfish needs.

In promoting the truth however we do not promote controversy for its own sake, nor do we seek to be harsh, caustic, unkind or arrogant. The evidence that the truth of God’s grace in Christ has soaked into our lives is a response of genuine love for God, His people, His truth and the lost. We’re not here to win arguments, but to serve people. Men of God approach the ministry not with underlying motives of gaining wealth, fame or a private group of disciples but with a whole-hearted desire to see God glorified, Christ honored and praised and the church built up. Men of God discover fulfillment in ministry not in wielding a great deal of influence over others, but because our great and glorious God and Savior Jesus Christ, our high priest, good shepherd and soon returning King delights in our feeble and flawed service to Him.

For Christ, The Truth and The Church

Lance Lewis

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming. Our goal is to feature sound, reformed, biblical preaching from African-American pastors. Our hope is that more and more people will their interest piqued and develop an appetite for true biblical preaching. In the coming weeks we'll hear from brothers who are working through the epistles, psalms, gospels, Acts of the Apostles and books of the law. Please pray for our efforts and refer this site and the sermons on it to friends and relatives who could benefit from a good sermon from a faithful man of God.

Over the next serveral days we'll post the messages of the 2006 Knowledge of the Holy Conference. The conference hosted by Rev. Louis Love of New Life Fellowship Church of Vernon Hills featured Rev. Anthony Carter and Rev. Sherard Burns preaching on the attributes of the living God.

 We're featuring these messages in light of the 2007 edition of the conference the theme of which is 'The Godly Life'. This year's speakers are Rev. Anthony Carter and Rev. Thabiti Anyabwile. For more information please visit the conference home page and by all means please pray that God will use the conference to bless our people with the knowlege of His holiness which spurs us to pursue the godly life. Hope to see you there!

Looking for some good, sound, solid preaching? Good, you'd do well to prioritize your week, get some rest on Saturday night and purpose to attend your local church with an open heart and ready mind. Participate in the sermon by listening actively and asking yourself how the message is moving you to consider God's character and nature as expressed in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

Take some time this week to pray for your pastor. Pray for his study and preparation. Pray for his health (mental, emotional and physical). Pray that he would preach the word with clarity and conviction. And pray that you would be built up by his preaching and thus moved to worship God more fervently, walk before Him more diligently and witness of the gospel of His grace more boldly. After the sermon go up to your pastor and thank him for his faithfulness and let him know that you’re praying for him.

For those who want to continue to cultivate a godly mindset through the week by listening to other sound brothers please feel free to check out, listen and glean from the following: Pastor Reddit Andrews of Soaring Oaks Community Church is currently finishing up a series from the book of Ephesians. His latest message from Eph. 6:19-20 is titled 'An Earnest Plea for Prayer'.

Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman is currently moving through the gospel of Matthew. You can listen or download his message on Matt 3:1-10.

Pastor Tony Arnold of Gaithersburg Community Church is doing a series on the similar letters of Colossians and Ephesians. His latest message concerning ‘Obedient Children and Caring Fathers’ examines Col. 3:20-21 and Eph. 6:1-14.

Pastor Robert Benson of Southwest Christian Fellowship is currently preaching on the 'Keys to the Kingdom' from Matthew chs. 4 -7. His latest message is 'Moved By Mercy' from Matt. 5:7.

Pastor Howard Brown of Christ Community Church is preaching through the book of Judges. His latest message entitled 'A Comedy of Errors is from Judges 17 and 18.

Pastor Mike Campbell of Redeemer Presbyterian Church of Jackson MS is preaching through the gospel of Mark and last week spoke on the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’ from Mark 6:30-44.

Finally, yours truly of CLF continues to proclaim the gospel from the book of Genesis. Yesterday's message entitled 'Walk This Way Pt. 1 from Gen. 13:1-13 focused on the beauty of the gospel in the face of our failures.

So check them out, be edified and by all means pray for these brothers and your pastor who faithfully (no, not spectacularly) bring the riches of the word of God to bear in our lives and culture.

For Christ, the Church and the Truth.
Pastor Lance