Here are some terms I plan to process in the days and months ahead. As I wrestle with each of these ideas I will change them as I go. I will place the date of the most recent edit behind each term.
Preaching
I encountered this video today that is intriguing to me. While I can’t say it is my exact views on preaching, I can say it really resonates with me. Check out this interview of Matt Chandler from Village Church in the DFW area. Note: Click on the first square to watch the Driscoll/Chandler Interview.
http://www.theresurgence.com/
Here’s another interesting and healthy perspective on preaching:
http://mentoringleaders.com/article.php?id=5
(Updated: April 17, 2009)
Pastoral Care
Often when people think of pastoral care they think of being an encouragement to people. Yet, true pastoral care is not always about “good feelings.” In fact, real pastoral care is often hard and painful when you’re addressing hard issues of sin.
In the 1960′s, Clebsch and Jaeckle identified that all pastoral care falls within four categories. These categories are: Healing, Sustenance, Guidance, and Reconciliation. As I have wrestled with pastoral care through the years I have realized that my efforts in any of those four areas are extremely temporal. The reality is that only God can bring about any of those things. Therefore, true pastoral care comes from helping people see God within their current context. As people discover God within their circumstance he begins to bring Healing, Sustenance, Guidance, or Reconciliation within their lives.
(Updated: March 5, 2009)
Spiritual Formation
It seems to me that spiritual formation is something that many churches claim they’re doing but few are doing justice. Often in the church we do more with changing people’s conduct than changing their heart and soul–their will.
True spiritual formation cannot happen based on what I do for someone. It’s ultimately about what God does within a person through the leading of the Holy Spirit. This does not remove me from playing a part in the spiritual formation of a person I’m in relationship with. However, it does change how I view it.
If God is going to transform a person’s heart, then that person will be more apt to becoming what God wants them to be if they have a right understanding of God. Therefore, my role as a spiritual leader is to constantly reveal who God is through Scripture so that they can have a right understanding of Him, therefore allowing Him to shape them more completely. Tozier wrote, I believe it was in The Knowledge of the Holy, “Our ability to worship God rises and falls on our perception of who He is.”
(Updated: April 1, 2009)
Faith
Faith is hard. You might say, “I want to be a person of faith like the people in Hebrews 11.” But, really? Are you willing to pay the cost?
I recently heard the story (which I am paraphrasing) of someone telling a golfer that they would give anything to play golf like him. The golfer turned and looked at him in disgust and said, “No you wouldn’t. If you would, then you’d be out here driving golf balls for 6 hours a day until your hands hurt so bad you couldn’t play any more. You’d be hear at the crack of dawn. You’d be spending a lot of money to make it in this profession even when you don’t have any money.” Isn’t that how we are with faith?
First Peter 1:3-9 gives us a glimpse of what faith is like. In this passage we see that faith is our shield (1:5). Faith is forged through trial (1:6-7). Faith is valuable (1:7). Faith is proven as genuine when it is held on to in times of grief and trial (1:7). Faith is loving and believing in what you have not seen (1:8). Faith results in our salvation (1:9).
What is faith? Faith is living every possible moment, good or bad, in humble submission to God because you are confident that He is in control and will create you into who it is He wants you to be. Oh, how I need to grow in faith.
(Updated: April 1, 2009)
Financial Stewardship
Ministry
Worship
Leadership
Salvation
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