In this episode, Dr. Mike Lake interviews me. In this heart-felt discussion, Mike and I examine the need for local congregations to address end-time prophecy, how to approach the subject and maintain balance, and encourage pastors to become true theologians for the sake of the flock. This episode is a timely word for both pastors and congregates.
In this series we have been examining a great need in the Church today. While there are certainly many things we could choose to discuss that fall in that category, the primary focus must start with the pulpit. Pastor do you take seriously your God-given calling to teach people the Bible? Pastor do you reject the common belief today that people simply won’t sit for a clear, systematic, and theologically rich exposition of the Scriptures and push on in your equipping God’s people.
Here is what we have covered thus far in our Pastor You Must Be a Theologian series: you must be because (1) people are perishing without hearing the lifesaving message of salvation through faith in Christ while they are simultaneously entertained with stage props and warm-fuzzy motivational speeches about being better parents, spouses, students, or employees. (2) because God has called and equipped you with His gifts to teach people His Word for the purpose of leading them to a deeper, richer, abundantly full relationship with Him. They will need this equipping when they face persecution for their faith.
Luke records for us these words of Jesus spoken to His disciples as He prepared them to go into all the land to preach, teach, and make disciples: Jesus said, “I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute” (Luke 21:15). The context of this encouragement from our Lord was that faithfully preaching, teaching, and making disciples will result in persecution.
I am convinced that the reason so many pastors will not faithfully preach the Bible is because they have abandoned belief it its ability to save. Perhaps they have forgotten Paul’s declaration that we are not to be ashamed of the gospel because it is what God uses to bring people into His Kingdom. Paul calls the gospel the power of God.
God has promised the power of the Holy Spirit to fuel the efforts of His work. It is the supreme privilege of the church to share God’s amazing love and mercy to all who will believe on Jesus Christ. This simple message has become obscured today through a religious philosophy that suggests people must be made to feel welcome and comfortable in the church so that they will consider God’s offer.
One problem with this approach is that it is not biblical. If the seeker sensitive era of church history has taught us anything it has taught us that it is bereft of the ability to make disciples of Jesus Christ. The grandmaster of the seeker sensitive movement – Bill Hybels – recently admitted this very thing and repented of the wasted years and effort that rendered very little to no fruit.
So what must be done to turn the tide? My personal view is that it is too late for the big “C” church as a whole. Many who hear this will disagree with this assessment. They hold out hope that we are not so late in God’s timeline that things can’t be turned around.
Nevertheless, we have arrived at the time of the remnant. We are past the tipping point. So Pastor, be faithful where you are planted. Pour your best into the people God has entrusted to your care. Do not follow the way of those who advocate for a Wall Street approach to church growth. The entire church growth model is corrupt, worldly, and fleshly in that it is based on appealing to the felt needs of the lost. Trust Jesus to build His church as He desires it to be built. Jesus’ keys to Kingdom success look nothing like what the church growth gurus are saying today.
Secondly Pastors, trust God and His Word. Resist the temptation to twist the Bible into some kind of self-fulfillment manual. The Bible is God’s message of His creation, redemption, sanctification, and glorification of a people who trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross. Do not lose sight of the fact that the Gospel is the power of God to save.
Finally Pastor, and this is equally applicable to every believer, focus your time and energy on making disciples. That is the last command of Jesus before He ascended to glory. Be a disciple who makes disciples.
Stay tuned for Part 4 of Pastor You Must Be A Theologian.
In part one of this five-part series I discussed the rise of the nones and the dones. A large percentage of the former group has no experience with the organized church. This is in sharp contrast with the latter group who has years of experience with the organized church but have chosen for various reasons to no longer be a part of it.
A major factor that keeps both the nones and dones disinterested in the church is the inability or outright refusal of God’s shepherds to preach the Word of God without compromise. Unfortunately this is nothing new and certainly is not unexpected from a biblical perspective.
What Does The Bible Say?
God states plainly through the prophet Amos for example that “days are coming . . . when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11).
Through the prophet Jeremiah God identified why this latter-day famine would be so widespread: “Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, They have trampled down My field; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness” (Jeremiah 12:10).
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture! Declares the Lord.” Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:1-2).
“My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill And have forgotten their resting place” (Jeremiah 50:6).
Through the prophet Ezekiel God spoke these words: “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;” (Ezekiel 34:8).
And then this: ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them”’” (Ezekiel 34:10)
What Is The Problem Today?
I am willing to admit that some shepherds today simply do not know how to preach and teach the Bible. Fifty plus years of inadequate and intentionally misguided seminary training has yielded a generation of shepherds ill-prepared to be the leaders of God’s people that they must be for the times we live in.
However, there are a growing number of shepherds who simply choose not to teach God’s Word. They have chosen to be CEO’s instead of foot washers, Public Relations managers instead of holy writ counselors, managers of staffs instead of friends to people in their fellowships.
To these God spoke as well: “Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it’ And I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen’ (Jeremiah 6:16-17).
Time To Refocus
What all of these passages and many more speak of friends, is the absolute necessity of God’s shepherds knowing God’s Word, being able to counsel using God’s Word, and basing church life and practice on God’s Word.
God has always set a clear path for His shepherds to lead His people upon. Today, many shepherds have chosen a path that appeals more to the flesh than to the spirit. When God’s people are fed God’s Word they will flourish. Perhaps the issue for modern-day shepherds is a lack of faith and trust in the power of God’s Word.
Friends, don’t mistake goat food for sheep food. Large crowds and large church campuses do not identify healthy ministries. Faithfulness to God and His revealed Word are the marks of a faithful shepherd and church. It is true today more than ever, as the shepherd goes, so goes the sheep.
Stay tuned for part three of this five-part series on “Pastor You Must Be A Theologian.”