Pastor, You Cannot Offend Me!

Every family experiences the occasional kerfuffle, some more than others. Since the church is a family and since families are made up of sinners (redeemed or otherwise), churches will have conflict. Some of the sweetest words in my pastoral recollection came at a time when our church was experiencing a time of testing. As the pastor, I was at the center of the conflict. My pastoral skills were being tested and, unfortunately, were not always up to the challenge. People had been offended. Not because I tried to be hurtful, but, apparently, I was.

In the midst of one such conflict I turned to a deacon with whom I was praying and asked him with all the sincerity I could muster that if I ever did anything to “offend” him, would he please let me know so that I could make things right? Sadly, I seemed to offend people without even knowing it. I passed someone in the church corridor with my mind fixed on the service or whatever, and I failed to give a proper greeting. Or someone was sick or in the hospital, and I failed to visit soon or often enough. Or someone had a need, and I seemed oblivious. To be sure, some of the offenses were genuine. I was sometimes in my own world and missed an opportunity to minister. But at other times, life happened and despite my best efforts, an offense was received.

It was in that sort of context I asked the deacon to alert me to my error. Happily, he responded, “Pastor, you cannot offend me!” Even now as I write this post, I have a lump in my throat. What was he saying? “Pastor, you never do anything wrong?” “Pastor, I’m 100% for you?” “Pastor, you walk on water?” Hardly . . . he had none of these in mind. We both knew better. But what he was saying and what he added was that he was determined to love me for who I was, warts and all, and to pray for me that God would sanctify me!

Man, talk about encouragement! Here was a man on whom I could depend. Here was one of David’s three mighty men. Every pastor needs that kind of encouragement! We need to be this kind of subordinate, and we need this kind of support. If we Christians would look at each other with a “you cannot offend me” attitude, I wonder what the world would think? “By this shall all men know you are my disciples . . . if you love one another” (Jn 13:35). Lord, help me not to be easily offended!

Service Times and Sporting Events – A Friendly Rejoinder

Well, the Vikings lost last night in overtime, so maybe this post is adding insult to injury. But it’s an important topic to ponder. My colleague and good friend, Jon, recently posted a piece that all in pastoral ministry encounter from time to time, no matter who or where. In the US, it might be football, in Canada, it is hockey. Elsewhere, it might be the World Cup. It is not a unique problem to contemporary Christians. The contemporary church, however,  is responding to it in ways unlike believers of the past.

One should remember that in 1618 and 1633, the Kings (James I and Charles I of England) had to advocate formally Sunday sporting events because the Puritans opposed these activities as desecrations of the Lord’s Day. The debate over Christian activity on Sunday has continued virtually unabated. In 1924, the Flying Scotsman, Eric Liddell, refused to run his best race, the 100 meter dash, at the 1924 Olympics in Paris because it was held on the Lord’s Day. He went on unexpectedly to win the 400 meter dash later in the same Olympics, setting a world record in the process.

I remember when I was in college, I had a professor who would not eat out on Sunday because he was essentially a Christian sabbatarian. In the South, it was quite common for Christians and churches to avoid Sunday activities for the same reasons. My wife has farmers in her extended family and some of them would not work the fields on Sunday. They went to church and rested. The Lord’s Day was treated with reverence and set aside as a day of worship.

In today’s Christian culture, Sunday is like every other day and the Sunday service times are regularly adjusted so that people can have maximal personal time during the day. Today services are canceled for a variety of reasons, including spending time with family. I have known people who will go to the early service so they can spend the day at the lake. Or better yet, go to church on Saturday so they can have the whole day on Sunday. Now we further cater to Christians by changing the service times for an activity that in the end, has no eternal consequences other than perhaps negative ones. If Halloween falls on Sunday, services may be canceled for that. And the list goes on.

Admittedly, the Bible specifies neither the times nor the frequency of services, nor even does it legislate the day on which we are to worship. Clearly the early church worshiped on Sunday, hence the title “the Lord’s Day” found in Revelation chapter one. NT believers seemed to set apart that day for worship.

The question that must be asked, however, is does any of this really matter? Is this not a matter of adiaphora? Am I not free to esteem one day above another while another believer is free to esteem all days alike? So can we, or better, should we adjust our services times to accommodate things like the Super Bowl? Interestingly, my father-in-law attends a denominational church in a major city which is located close to the stadium of a major football team. If you come to the early service in his church, you get free parking for the game! Other churches throw Super Bowl parties and bring in big screen TVs for the big game and use this as outreach . . . ok, where does this all end?

I have been to a few professional sporting events. Sometimes I wonder if I would be embarrassed to be there if the Lord came back and found me in such a place. The players are for the most part quite ungodly as are the crowds who watch them, though admittedly, there are a few believers. Alcohol is a major sponsor of these kinds of activities, and it flows pretty freely at the stadiums. I hate passing the guy sitting next to me his beer!

I just wonder what the Lord would have done? Better, will there be Sunday sporting events in the eschaton? Will God adjust our worship of Him in eternity, so we can catch the big game?

No, the service times are not etched in stone. But somehow, adjusting the services times for the Super Bowl does not seem to me to be in the best interest of the Lord’s people. If they already have a hard time with idolatry and worldliness, why accommodate it or make it easier? If the Bible does specify any Sunday meeting time, why not just forget church altogether when the big game is on? No, I think I will go to church, somewhere on the Lord’s Day in the evening. There may be only a few . . . but where two or three are gathered, the Lord will meet with us! That is enough. It seems to me that the Bible is clear—what you treasure is indicative of where your heart is. If the big game is important, . . . well, I will let God judge the rest!

Service Times and Sporting Events

Many churches in Minnesota (and Louisiana) are facing a dilemma: what should we do with our Sunday evening service when the NFC Championship Game’s kickoff is set for 5:40 p.m.? I realize that many people do not have any interest in such things as sporting events. For them this whole discussion is an exercise in futility or, worse, an evidence of spiritual immaturity. “How could any good Christian be distracted from the ministry of the Word by something as insignificant as a football game?” they might ask.

For the uninitiated I cannot begin to explain what has become for some an ungodly obsession, and for people like these some real heart work is needed as concern for the outcome of a game has replaced their sincere love for Christ.

Doing Less with More?

I’m beginning to wonder if we are not addicted to technology. I admit, I’m laptop dependent. I have a poor functioning left mouse button on my current laptop and though the thing is under warranty, I am not sure I want to be without this for the two plus weeks needed to repair it! I remember the days when I got a Circuit City warranty that fixed my laptop inside of seven days. Now these extended warranties are two to three weeks out. That’s a long time to be without my brains. Everything I know is stored somewhere on the hard drive!

Monk Parker and Fundamentalism: Part Two

After reading Monroe Parker’s autobiography (Through Sunshine and Shadows: My First 77 Years [Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1987]), I have a couple of random observations to make about fundamentalism. While these are not original or earth-shaking, I find them rather interesting. First, the evangelistic emphasis of fundamentalism in its early years promoted a great amount of inter-denominational, almost parachurch (or perhaps better, inter-church) ministry. Parker often organized evangelistic crusades in the towns where he ministered by connecting with the local Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist churches. These churches would then come together and support a tent meeting or evangelistic center where the preaching services would take place. Sometimes these gospel centers would continue to exist even after an evangelistic campaign ended so that they could be used in future campaigns.

Preaching to the World

The world as we know it is shrinking. Not that the task of world evangelism is diminishing. To the contrary, there are more people than ever before who need the gospel. But the world itself is shrinking.

I recently had the distinct privilege of preaching to a truly worldly audience. Nearly every continent in the world was represented—Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America. I was ministering in L’Eglise Evangelique Baptiste de Saint Denis in a suburb of Paris where church planters Stephen and Rowena Barnes have labored for a quarter of a century. Upwards of twenty-five nationalities are represented in the church family. Talk about diversity and cultural engagement! Talk about what heaven’s going to look like as people from every nation bow their knees to the Savior of the world! Wow! It was truly a moving experience.

Monk Parker and Fundamentalism: Part One

While I was doing some research on the history of Pillsbury College (see the results of this here), I came across Monroe “Monk” Parker’s autobiography, Through Sunshine and Shadows: My First 77 Years (Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1987). He was the first resident president at Pillsbury (1958-1965). He also served as the General Director of Baptist World Mission (1969-1994) and as Assistant to the President at Bob Jones University (1937-1949). But serving as an itinerant evangelist was his main interest and the ministry for which he was most well known. It is safe to say that hundreds of people came to trust in Christ as a result of hearing his preaching. And his ministry to thousands of Christians during his tenure at Pillsbury, Bob Jones, and Baptist World Mission is well-attested by those he influenced (he positively influenced my own dad was during his student years at Pillsbury).

What about the Girls?

A few weeks ago I blogged about an article I had written in our church newsletter entitled, Eight Questions I’m Going to Ask the Young Man Who Wants to Marry My Daughter. Well, I wouldn’t want the girls to feel left out, so I have written another essay about them: “A Girl Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad? What I Want my Son to Consider When Choosing a Wife.” You can find it here.

Incidentally, I don’t think egalitarians will like the implications of what I am proposing in each of these articles (e.g., the young man asking the girl’s father for permission to marry his daughter or the young lady being a well-organized “keeper at home” who is servant-oriented and knows how to show respect, i.e., submit).

Seeing Romanism as It Really Is

One more thought on the Manhattan Declaration . . . well maybe not. Anyway, I am traveling in Europe, just completing a teaching stint in Romania. One thing about Europe, you can see Roman Catholicism up close and personal. It’s everywhere and prominent, especially in the parts of Europe I am traveling. The second week of December, before I went into Romania, my Romanian host drove my wife and I to Vienna and Salzburg. Austria is a beautiful country but one which was left virtually untouched by the Reformation since it was held tightly in the grip of Rome. A case in point is Salzburg Castle, a.k.a. Festung Hohensalzburg.

Seminary Faculty Ministering in Local Churches

While I certainly count it a wonderful privilege to minister here in the seminary as we seek to assist local churches in equipping Christian leaders for ministry, I am also blessed to be involved in local church ministry myself. And I am certainly not alone in this endeavor as all of my colleagues are active in local church ministry.

Several of our professors have served as interim pastors. In fact, our dean, Tom Zempel, has recently finished serving in this capacity at All Nations Baptist Church in Minneapolis and is currently doing pulpit supply at Brookdale Baptist in Moorhead, MN. We have all had opportunity to minister in several churches in Romania, and many of us have traveled to other parts of the world, teaching and preaching on various mission fields. You have probably noticed that my friend, Jeff Straub, has been blogging from Europe as he has visited several churches there.