Trained NOT Called

I'm beginning to grow weary of older, more experienced, and better trained pastor's being given the benefit of the doubt in ministerial leadership.  The church continues to call out to seminary trained men who have little to no calling from God to be pastors.  In my estimation there are less than 10% of men who are in ministry today who are legitimately called pastoral ministers.  That's not to say that they haven't been called by God in some alternate ministry... be it evangelism (rare), administration/prophets (which seems to be at least 50% of what seminaries are cranking out these days), doctrine pushers (the other 50% and not a biblical category), and Jesus material teachers/church planter/apostles (predominately youth pastors from my experience).

Legitimate "head" pastors, I believe, are those who are gifted at exhortation of the direct revelation of God (solely scripture) or as scripture puts it "preachers and teachers."  These are not 4-point sermons starting with the same letter preachers, their not "fire and brimstone" preachers, their not 10 minutes of content and 30 minutes of anecdotes preachers, and their not "doctrinally sound" dispensationalist preachers.  These are not deal with the issues in the newspaper preachers or political preachers or media and technology savvy preachers.  Aaaahhhhh!

I should add that it may not be helping my cynical viewpoint because of the treasure trove of awful "preachers" that continue to be parade into the church I currently pastor (Oh wait, did I say pastor... I should say assist lest I get heckling e-mails for the next few weeks to come).  Seriously, where are all the Holy Spirit controlled communicators.  Why is it so incredibly difficult to find even one decent person to fill the pulpit.  There are literally 100's of thousands of churches that are currently being pastored by "educated" boobs.  This is the reason that we see so little excitement about church (not counting the places where church is all that there is to do), this is the reason that scores of intelligent people tuck tail and run from organized religion, and this is the reason that it has become increasingly difficult to believe that the Bible might actually have something substantial and eternally significant to say.  When did church become the place for the socially retarded to obtain leadership positions?

Honestly, the biblical community that we call church should not be as difficult to maintain as we have made it and it starts at the pulpit.  The terrifying thing is that the average church goer is so indoctrinated with substandard spiritual leadership that they have no idea what they should be looking for when they go to fill a leadership position.  Churches that succeed, over the past few decades, have either been recently started from scratch or have accidentally fallen backwards into an actual man (and in some cases woman) of God.

Perhaps we need to go back to the old system of casting lots to identify those whom God has ordained in pastoral ministry.  Heaven forbid we rely upon a biblical system of doing anything when we can have other "qualified" people or "qualified" organizations tell us how to do things.

Now at this point I'm so upset I've forgotten the original reason I began this post... regardless I should end this by saying that I do not necessarily consider myself the best pastor in the world, I do not consider myself the most qualified or best trained or most spiritual leader ever.  I am not 100% under God's control at all times and in all situations and I don't deliver the greatest sermon ever spoken Sunday to Sunday.  However, I am fully conscious of my lack of sufficiency for this particular calling (to pastor) and spend countless hours ever week attempting to listen to, follow, and communicate with God in order to allow Him to control what I say, how I teach, and how I act.  This will be a never ending process for me (as it should be for anyone) and is a daily battle that I must fight.  As exhausting as it is, I am spurred forward by the knowledge that there are multitudes who are trained but very, very few who are legitimately called to pastor spiritually starving congregations of people.  I'm not sure where this commitment will lead me (although I'm beginning to doubt it will keep me at FBC for too long) but I am willing to go and do whatever must be done.  I'm sure that this will me trial and testing for my entire immediate family (including Meg) but I'm confident that they would rather walk through the fire than sit in the primordial pool of inadequacy and stupidity that predominately makes up the organized church today.

And yes, I still love Jesus and the work that I do and no I'm not currently working for Satan (or Stan... I constantly get these two names mixed up.)

The Mind and Heart of a Postmodern World

I had to post this... this is a discussion I had with 3 young men on facebook. I don't ever want to forget it. I'm Squeegy:

Ruben Etienne is wondering....Who REALLY killed Jesus
Yesterday at 1:59pm · Comment · Like
Randy Mendoza likes this.

Caesar Bodden at 2:58pm April 10
Yeah, yeah?? NO!!!! :D

Ruben Etienne at 3:20pm April 10
this is a question worth thought idiot....your earth bound breain cannot begin to comprehend this question

Caesar Bodden at 3:31pm April 10
Lol relax Mr. Priest-in-training. But before you go insulting me, why don't you ponder the whether he was actually the Son of God. It doesn't matter who killed him, the point is he died. The real question is, who really was Jesus?

Jose De Jesus at 6:10pm April 10
if you have to ask you're too stupid to know

Ruben Etienne at 7:15pm April 10
LMAO...the philisophical atheist and caesar...ok caesar there is no such thing as priest in training.....so calm that down....jose....you're too foolish to understand (foolishness and stupidity are two different things so before you enlighten us with nothing think next time k) caesar...if i haven't pondered what you so smartly thought of I wouldn't be asking this....I don't ask simple questions...ever...when I'm serious...so thanks and bye

Jose De Jesus at 7:21pm April 10
this is to easy to debate and if its not going to challenge me its not worth doing. Moving on in 3...2....1........

Squeegy Beckinheim at 9:47pm April 10
Who was and is Jesus is certainly the most important question for each of us to ask ourselves... it will be the most eternally significant question that we will ever answer.

Jose De Jesus at 9:54pm April 10
i completely disagree.

Caesar Bodden at 10:30pm April 10
I feel the same way as Jose. Jesus is important (to certain people) but to say that he is the MOST important is hyperbole.

Ruben Etienne at 1:19pm April 11
i like this....stubborn minds contemplating a question that they believe is so simple....i guess it was right to ask this...even jose's....self...is commenting...let me add then....why is it every mythology out there speaks of a healer and teacher who came back from death? there's no way the entire world (Christ believing or not) could have similar stories

Caesar Bodden at 2:13pm April 11
I wish you would've Church History or even English 12H with Harris... both classes would've blown your mind. The thing is, the motif of the "son of God" coming to save humanity and afterwards dying has been around for ages, even before Jesus. For example, Greek Hercules, Sumerian Gilgamesh, and the Egyptian Osiris are some examples. Same with the ... Read More

Caesar Bodden at 2:17pm April 11
The symbolism in the story of Abraham's attempt to sacrifice his son Issac to God at the top of the mountain is complete and utter obedience and faith in God. And lastly, the symbolism in Jesus Christ is salvation. Maybe Jesus was the son of God or maybe not, but the point is that he taught people to live a better way of life and he taught that anyone and everyone could become a better person, regardless of past deeds, through repentance.

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:24pm April 11
So then the question, outside of history (which by the way is simply humankind's retelling of their story through their worldview and is the product of those who were successful in their military endeavors... as Churchill would say, "History was written by the victors.") outside of history then is the question of why these "stories" of repentance and salvation have been around since the inception of culture.

Jose De Jesus at 2:25pm April 11
Caesar, i think we both know that true ignorance comes in the form of idiots who believe themselves to be enlightened .

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:29pm April 11
To take anyone's history as the basis for your own absolute truth is foolishness, according to these arguments... which includes the church. What we are left with is logic and reason outside of historical opinion.
If one wishes to argue outside of the Bible and/or the history book then the question of How and Why are simplified.
The problem is that each one of us has a tainted worldview. Because of our culture and belief system we have preformed opinion that will run us in circles.

Caesar Bodden at 2:30pm April 11
@ Squeegy: I agree with your quote about Churchill. History is indeed written by the victors. If you want a perspective on the "loser's point of view," I recommend Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States." Furthermore, I believe that the reason these "stories" of repentance and salvation have been around since the inception of ... Read More

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:34pm April 11
@ Jose: I concur... idiots who believe themselves to be enlightened. But in assuming that we each already have the right answers to the question at hand, aren't we included in that group.
Enlightenment isn't religious it's individual. If we are so stubborn to assume that we already know and refuse to ask questions that we have become nothing more than primordial waste... which I believe defines the better part of humanity.

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:35pm April 11
@ Caesar: Exactly... getting to the root of the "message" or "purpose" of such stories is what is most important.

Jose De Jesus at 2:35pm April 11
i never said i had the right answer, only that it was ignorant to debate the topic at all because of the fact that there is no answer.

Caesar Bodden at 2:38pm April 11
Lol how is it ignorant to debate something that has no answer? Yeah you're right that there is no universal answer, nevertheless, we can theorize and form our own answers. Otherwise, is philosophy a complete waste of time? I think not...

Jose De Jesus at 2:40pm April 11
really? i think it can be argued that it is.

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:41pm April 11
If there is no answer then invariably there is no hope, no purpose, no reason.
We educate ourselves for nothing, we accomplish or fail to accomplish things to no end... there would be no such thing as love or logic... our existence, this very discussion, then, would be pointless. (Which I think is your point)
However, what if, on the off chance, we are wrong? What if there is an answer and we have simply convinced ourselves that there is no way to find it... what then?

Caesar Bodden at 2:42pm April 11
I love you Jose, I'm going to miss your esoteric points of view. But with that said, I would love to see you argue that Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle wasted their lives with philosophy.

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:43pm April 11
What if there is such a thing as heaven and hell? What if, what is at the heart of all the salvation and redemption stories is true?
The question men have wrestled with for years is: "Am I willing to risk it?"

Jose De Jesus at 2:44pm April 11
i think i could make a very good argument that they did in fact waste their lives. However, this would be coming from the guy who believes life is in fact a waste

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:46pm April 11
And how foolish is a belief system that challenges you to be humane, loving, merciful, joyful, and so on?
Would you rather exist in a world that is meaningless in its existence, void of the necessity of logic and reason and faith, or a world that progressively attempts to better itself for the greater good?

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:47pm April 11
@ Jose: it seems that you have already answered my question.

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:48pm April 11
"Life is in fact a waste..." what a sad, albeit humanly logical conclusion.

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:49pm April 11
For everyone's sake, I hope that I am wrong about Jesus.

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:50pm April 11
In the meantime I'm going to attempt to introduce Him to as many people as I can... I might, at the very least, make the world a better place to exist in.

Randy Mendoza at 2:50pm April 11
this is now an open forum. i love it

Caesar Bodden at 2:51pm April 11
Well, belief are both a blessing and a curse depending on the individual person. I for one, do not believe in religion. I believe in God, and everything else is my own personal belief. Why should I have to conform to the beliefs of people who are just as corrupt as the people they persecute? Catholicism is a particularly humane, loving, merciful, and joyful belief system. However, where was that belief system during the holocaust? Where was the almighty pope clamoring against Hitler? Did this belief system stop clergymen from abusing countless young children? No, it didn't.

Squeegy Beckinheim at 2:53pm April 11
@ Caesar: You hit the nail on the head. Religious systems are empty.
I can't stand the religious... I long for the real.


The conversation has yet to continue... the logic of the young mind... the next generation in ministry.

Thinking Out Loud - "Christianese"

Can I ask you a question... have you ever noticed that religion and the religious have their own special language?

Think about it for a moment... there are a number of words or phrases that we frequently use in religious conversation which assume a supernatural meaning or a supernatural understanding.

For example, “I have been born-again.” Now we may all possess, at least a basic understanding of what this means... to be “born-again” means that we were physically born into this world as sinners and that even though we were physically alive at birth we were simultaneously spiritually dead... in order to rectify our spiritual state we needed to receive the gift of spiritual life from God through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ... so then when we received this gift, when we were saved, we had a spiritual birth... a new beginning... now we are spiritually alive in Jesus Christ.

Now even with that definition the concept of being born-again can be incredibly difficult to fully understand... even those who are religious are going to have a hard time fully understanding and/or trying to explain this to people... Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus, a high ranking Pharisee, shows us that...

Here’s my point with this... it is possible to live this life as a person who knows Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior without ever being able to sufficiently understand or explain a number of the things that they believe in... or to even be able to explain some of the key elements, some of the pillars of strength and hope that we claim, in this new life that we have in Jesus Christ.
This is why countless hours are spent, within the family of God, arguing over what is meant by the word worship or sanctification or baptism...

This is the reason that we will hear hundreds of sermons that center around the biblical explanation of the words, love, joy, sacrifice, servanthood, adultery and so on... each sermon differing slightly, or adding some new twist on what these things mean.

I believe that this may be the reason that so many of our friends and family, that do not yet know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, shy away from religious conversation, refuse to come to church and all together shut down when God or the Bible is mentioned.

And friends, please understand that there are elements of God and His Word that are beyond our understanding and explanation. The Trinity, the omni-presence of God, the eternality of God, and so on... there are things which God has not yet revealed to us that we will be unable to explain in our finite state.

But we would be remise to chalk up all of the religious, righteous concepts that God has given us in His Word as unknowable, untouchable, to be blindly believed in truths that we have to suffer through until we are given perfect minds and perfect bodies.

I grow tired of the mentality that we have to walk around as Christ-followers, misunderstood, mocked and berated, carrying the cross of an unexplainable belief system...
What’s worse is that when we are faced with a barrier that we cannot explain or fully understand the tendency is to cover up the issue with claims of faith.

And having a strong faith is not evil or wrong... but it was never meant to be used as an excuse for ignorance...

This isn't a completed post so thoughts or additions are welcomed, although I reserve the right to completely disregard the ridiculous.

Doctrine

When considering doctrine I predominately find, in the organized church, 2 types of Christ-followers. 1. Those who cling so heavily to their doctrine, and by in part their traditions, that they shut out and shut down the religious community around them... not to mention any on the outside. 2. Those whose doctrine changes at a tip of the hat, making truth relative and forcing the Word of God to take a back seat to cultural mood swings. I'd like to think the balance is somewhere in the middle... viewing doctrine, as I once heard it described, as, "Man's understanding of God." While doctrine, in and of itself, is not evil, humankind have the capacity for and, dare I say, tendency to manifest evil. If we are broken and incomplete then why should we view human made doctrine in any different light? Why do we live or die by our own understanding? Don't misunderstand me, I believe that doctrine is necessary and, in certain cases, has hit the proverbial nail on the head. However, are we so proud to assume to fully grasp our God to the point that we scare off and often offend those who do not yet know Him? I dare say this is the very problem with so many of the "religiously active" today. Perhaps we would better serve our Lord if we stand firm solely on the basic, clear cut doctrines (such as Inspiration, Incarnation, Atonement, New Birth and Eternal Life by the grace of God) and allow ourselves to manifest these doctrinal beliefs in the merciful, open and loving way that our Savior, Jesus Christ, modeled for us while He walk this earth. While there may be a time for righteously induced anger and the leading of the Holy Spirit to drive us to disagreements, table turning and disassociation, they are few and far between. And perhaps the greatest victory that Satan has, concerning spiritual warfare in the church, is when legitimate Christ-followers spend the majority of their time squabbling amongst themselves about fringe doctrine and a minority of their time living out their vocation of God reflection to Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world.

Ministry Lies

  Since the beginning of ministry time senior pastors have handed down helpful rules and restrictions that aid a young pastor along the path to "godly" success.  Some of the most memorable nuggets of wisdom consist of, "Never speak about a personal sin struggle unless you've already achieved victory over it... your congregation will think to themselves, 'Why should I listen to this guy if he's just as big of a failure as I am.'" or, "You have to make the Bible relevant for today by using stories, anecdotes and modern day parables, otherwise your congregation will be forced into misguided self-application.” and perhaps my personal favorite, “You can’t be friends with your congregation... you have to separate yourself. A pastor’s journey is a lonely one because once people view you as their friend they’ll never respect you as their pastor.”
I subscribed to these proverbial sayings as a young pastor, hungry to learn and ready to run the race set before me... problem is, I disagree with most of them now. Never share a personal sin struggle, hide the fact that your imperfect so that your congregation doesn’t see you as inadequate. I’m sorry, did I miss something? Granted Paul preached about his past and his victory over that “old man” lifestyle... but everything he taught pointed to the conclusion that no man is better than any other, that we’re all daily struggling towards Christ-likeness, accountability and iron sharpening iron, and so on.
I know the danger of sharing an area of insufficiency... it’s vulnerability, it’s transparency. But how can we ever expect to achieve victory if we are unwilling to struggle openly with those who we have been charged to struggle with. I do however believe that this transparency requires vigilance to our conformity, but share a struggle, reveal what progress you have made, ask for prayer and reach out for brother/sisterhood in the task set before each of us. Yes it’s dangerous... but if we are not willing or able to take the risk then why should we expect our congregations to be?
“Proverbial” saying number two, "You have to make the Bible relevant for today by using stories, anecdotes and modern day parables, otherwise your congregation will forced into misguided self-application.” Ok, another question, when did the Bible stop being relevant? It may be that if an individual is unable to make the Bible relevant without using outside, contemporary sources for application that they don’t understand what the Bible is saying in the first place. Now I’m not saying that there is no place for outside inspiration and/or properly placed stories or anecdotes. These things often induce powerful emotional responses, but emotions are fleeting and the power to change hearts and lives resides solely in scripture. I would challenge preachers of the Word to use them as sparingly as possible, perhaps as a lead in to the biblical passage of focus or as a personal example of a specific point. It should never be used as the “Home run” statement of the sermon. The point that is intended to convict and/or effect the soul. Stick to Scripture, stick to God... it is possible, and guess what, I’ve tried it, it actually works.
Finally, “You can’t be friends with your congregation.” Have you read the Bible? Did Jesus stay at arms length from the disciples? Not allowing yourself to be friends, real, intimate, love based friends with your congregants is a cop out. Sure it’s easier... you risk practically nothing if you’re not friends with those you’ve been sent to lead. But is this what a call to shepherding, i.e. pastoral work, should look like? I have to tell you, you will be burned, your heart will be broken, you will experience great periods of mourning over the sheep you’ve been called to care for. Choosing to befriend, or as David explained his relationship with Jonathan, “to be closer than a brother,” with those in your congregation means tireless and often thankless work... but I believe this is the reason that few are called and even fewer will answer the call into ministry.
Putting ministry into a box of rules and regulations is like putting our Lord and Savior into a box that restricts His ability to do miraculous things. there are plenty of ministry “do’s” and “don’ts” but their all in the Bible. Refuse to ascribe to any restrictions, or “nuggets of ministry wisdom,” that are outside of the Book!

Mentor or “Dementor”?

Wide eyed, bushy tailed and in need of mentoring (whether you know it or not).  I’d like to think that this is how most men enter into the pastorate.  However, how many pastors are truly worth mentoring (and not from a distance)?

I’d like the answer to be a favorable one but I’ve been around the ministry block and my experience says otherwise.  I’ve done the conference hob-nobing and shoulder rubbing, I’ve been to my share of pastoral “fellowship” events... superficial, time wasting, ego boosters.  Don’t get me wrong, the preaching is usually good, there are some helpful ministry resources/connections and there is always at least one person at the event worth knowing.  Overall the experience is spiritually unsatisfying.  I should add that I feel these events, conceptually, are necessary.  It’s important for pastors to stop long enough to re-align themselves with God.  I’m wandering on bunny trails from the purpose of this post.

I’ve always heard that you can learn as much from a persons mistakes and shortcomings as you can from their successes and strengths if you’re really in it to learn.  Problem is, we just seem to be reproducing more mistake makers than Holy Spirit led ministry leaders.  I wonder... at what point do young pastors give up on their “unrealistic” ideas of what the church should look like according to the Word of God and instead chose to compromise, possibly subconsciously, their convictions because of the plethora of listless, passionless, self-delusional “pastors” in the ministry.

Now I don’t want my mentor to be Jesus but I would like to see some Jesus in my mentor.  I’m not a cynic... really... I just believe that we can do better.

I’ll end by saying that I have found pastors that are truly worthy mentors, not idols... American or otherwise (bad joke), but for some reason God has kept me from having the ability to formulate an intimate relationship with any of them (by distance or schedule).  I know that I do not “go it alone,” I am cradled by the Holy Spirit and have been gifted with a select few who share in my passion, although not in my call.  Regardless, God is good and mankind will continue to disappoint, but if you have HIM then you are capable of mentoring instead of dementing.

Passionately Passive

A destructive epidemic is sweeping the organized church.
Why does it seem like so many true Christ followers are passionate about being served and not passionate about serving. Seriously. Week to week I find myself uttering the phrase, "We could do this if we had more help." I'm sick of hearing that we don't have enough people or that we aren't big enough yet.
Frankly, the only excuse that I believe is sufficient is, "I'm not mature enough in my relationship with Jesus," or "God's calling me somewhere else." Is that the reason why so many church members are passionately passive in their church? I don't believe that the real reason is the one that I most commonly receive, "I have a busy schedule." Shut up and check your priorities, if God's not one of them then talk to someone who has God as a priority because you've either lost your first love or you're not saved.
Now don't misunderstand me, I think that the problem is in the churches and religious organizations just as much if not more than in the individuals. I know how difficult it is to really find a church that is passionately active in the work of God. If that's the case, leave! Go somewhere God will use you. I'd be willing to guess that a church that is not worth helping and working in is a church that no true Christ follower should belong to. Granted, no church is perfect. Every church needs work. SO WORK!
No loopholes, no excuses. You don't have to work directly and exclusively in the church building, but we are required by God to work in one another's lives and in the lives of our communities.
How am I doing that? How are you doing that?
Where is true discipleship, where is real great commission consciousness, where is passionate activity in God's work?
Where ever it is, find it, get involved! Ministry isn't the exclusive work of the pastor... it is the responsibility of every individual in the collective family of God. Don't think I'm trying to get out of anything... it's my responsibility, as a pastor, to teach, train and actively participate with those who God has given me charge of. But I can't and won't force people into my conclusions because my conclusions are empty. An individual has to be open to God's conclusions and leading after which my responsibility to God begins.

On a side note, I'm sick of the idea that Christ honoring church "involvement" means voicing your opinion or being on a board. From personal, painstaking experience I find that all organized boards are useless unless their actively doing something in the church.
Also I find that more often than not those who "speak up" in church or about the church but are not actively involved in any form of ministry besides opening their mouth and giving their opinion tend to be self-led not Spirit-led people. We talk too much and do too little. Not a new sentiment by any means... but come on! Life's too short and the work of God is too important to just let it go. But this whole side note deserves it's own post.