I asked the young man who was sitting next to me at lunch, “Why did you decide to go to the seminary?” he said, “I wanted to do great things for God!”
His answer made me shudder a little. I wondered if I had ever read a biography of men who did “great things for God. “I was aware of the sacrifice that accompanies “greatness. “
- Many of these great people were reformers.
- Did they see anything broken.
- Aimless or distorted.
- And took steps to change course?or rebuild.
- These great characters were true shepherds: they were students of the Word who were in charge of proclaiming it.
- They acted as prophets.
- Not by prediction.
- But by discernment: to be able to speak frankly of the present.
- In the light of what had been written in the past.
That’s what a shepherd does. He raises the Word of God and calls men and women to renew their minds and reform their ways. If you don’t want to be a reformer, you don’t want to be a pastor.
Motivations for reform
When you look at a small, weakened, sick body of believers, what could lead you to begin the necessary work of reform?Let me suggest six motivations:
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Discover the six motivations by reading the full article
This article is part of the 9Marks Journal.
Translation: Vin-cius Silva Pimentel. Review: Vin-cius Musselman Pimentel. © 2014 Faithful Ministérium. All rights reserved. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. Original: Why revitalize a church ?.