Last year, a recall broke out of my car. By “spoiling” I mean there’s been a lot of damage. If you’re like me and you don’t know anything about elevators, and by the way, do most kids look like when you’re sick?The main thing to know is that when an elevator dies, sometimes you can die with it!This is because the tire sometimes declares its independence from the car and flows in the other direction. There are few experiences in life. that compares to the satisfaction of being at 80 km/h just to see your tire roll at 80 km/hy get out of your car. It would be a lot of fun if it wasn’t so dangerous.
Here it is: I used to go to a lot of places with my car every day, not knowing that my walk was rotting, then it broke down, the car collapsed and my advance became a sudden stop.
- There are few things more dangerous to a church than a pastor who is extraordinarily gifted and extraordinarily deficient in the field of character.
- This shepherd is a rotten rod waiting to break.
- Progress can be impressive.
- Until character collapses.
There is a reason Paul said, “Take care of yourself and the doctrine. Continue with these tasks; because in doing so, will you save yourself and your listeners?(1 Timothy 4. 16). Pastors are called to be “carers,” someone named God to search themselves and their doctrine. Why did God order this as a way to send His people to heaven?
Have you read Joel Beeke’s chapter on Pastoral Ministry Reform, entitled The Absolute Need for a Pious Life?[The urgent need for a pious life]? This is a wonderful thing for anyone who wants to deepen the link between the efficiency and character of a shepherd.
As Joel Beeke says
The amount of fruit of a minister’s work is proportional to the sanctification of his heart before God; therefore, we, as ministers, must seek grace to build the house of God with the hand of sound preaching and sound doctrine, as well as with the hand of a sanctified life. Our doctrine must shape our lives and our lives must adorn our doctrine (Reforming Pastoral Ministry, p. 61).
So where does a pastor begin this adventure of shape life and decorate the doctrine?Does Beeke call us to a deeper relationship with Jesus?He calls it a “growing understanding of God. ” Beeke gives us some helpful tips on where to start.
A better understanding of God: this is how Beeke speaks of a preacher who grows in his knowledge and relationship with God. He says:
Spiritual life begins in the heart and, as a dynamic reality, feeds on grace and knowledge, when our hearts, as preachers, become increasingly sanctified before God, new and subtle nuances will be added to our preaching, reflecting our inner growth. they express the same eternal truths, but will they be enriched by the various dimensions of our growing relationship with God?(p. 61-62).
An understanding of God full of psalms. A wise shepherd understands that his journey with God leads him through many dangers, traps, and traps. To prepare you for the road ahead, Beeke recommends parking in the Psalms:
The Psalms testify eloquently that knowing God and walking with Him on earth is a different experience. Some people see Christian life only as joy and victory; but such a vision would eliminate at least half of the psalms, describing pain, sadness, frustration, and loneliness as authentic parts of a theology of the Christian experience. Therefore, we must turn to the Psalms for a more complete understanding of what we will find in our walk with God. As Luther says, “If you do not find your life in the Psalms, have you never become a child of God?(p. 62).
An original understanding of God. This is how Bee asks for a kind of authenticity that not only imitates models, but is born of the pastor’s personal commitment to God.
If our understanding of God is authentic, it will be original, we will not simply repeat the language or experience of another, but we will confess to John that what we have seen and heard is also proclaimed, so that you too can maintain communion with us?(1 John 1. 3) (p. 64).
The herd does not start with a position, but with a person. Before we seek ministry, we must seek God Himself. Is there a conformity coming from this understanding? We became like him because we were with him. After all, every pastor should look in the mirror knowing that his effectiveness as a pastor is directly related to his own personal holiness. Who could blame me for quoted this exceptional phrase from Robert Murray M. Cheyne: “The greatest need of my people is my own holiness. “
The people of our congregations need our ministry, but they need our holiness more.
Without personal holiness, is the shepherd like a car with a corroded rod?Brilliant on the outside, but every mile brings you closer to a dishonest ministry and a destroyed church. Keep your understanding of God, this will save you and your listeners. .
By: Dave Harvey, © 2014 Call Me? ORIGINAL: PREVENT PASTORAL CAR PINS
Translation: Joel Pedro Cavani Review: Yago Martins © 2016 Faithful Ministério All rights reserved. Website: MinisterioFiel. com. br Original: The link between the efficiency and character of a pastor
Authorizations: You are authorized and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that the author, his ministry and translator are no longer no longer modified and not used for commercial purposes.