Fellow Labourers-
Do you have such a story? A story that centers. How many of us remember the song below? It seems these days we have forgotten the story because of the demands of life. We seem to be more focus on the immediate so much so that the future gets obscured. The focus these days seems to be on the self and not on the Christ. We cannot fully tell the story until we begin to deny the self. Sons and daughters of God arise because the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.
1. I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
Refrain
I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
2. I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems
Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.
I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;
And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.
3. I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat
What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.
4. I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Magnificent Obsession
Fellow Labourers-
Our obsessions have a tendency to propel us into our future sometime quicker than we imagined. How would you describe your present obsessions? Would you say they are magnificent, pedantic, or indescribable? Do you find that your obsessions are taking a strangle hold on you and make you feel like a person possessed? This is where I find myself, as I seek the mind of God. I am obsessed with the feeling, the desires and the prerequisites of revival. I do find it a magnificent obsession but a very challenging obsession. It's an obsession that won't let go of me. It grabs me so tightly that I might as well surrender and say like Isaiah the prophet "Here I am Lord send me."
Today we will have to make tough choices if we are going to leave the place of mediocrity. We must become obsessed with the cross of Christ, a cross that is ugly and offensive. The path of the cross may lead us through the hall of fame and the hall of shame. Think about Jesus just before his crucifixion. He was invited to a home where an uninvited guest showed up and did an unusual thing. Mary Magdalene was obsessed with Jesus to the point that she was not afraid to visit him where she was not welcomed. She did not only entered into his presence but she prepared him for his death without even knowing it. Her obsession caused her to do the unthinkable which exposed the heart of those who invited Jesus.
As you ponder may you come to that place of magnificent obsession.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
Our obsessions have a tendency to propel us into our future sometime quicker than we imagined. How would you describe your present obsessions? Would you say they are magnificent, pedantic, or indescribable? Do you find that your obsessions are taking a strangle hold on you and make you feel like a person possessed? This is where I find myself, as I seek the mind of God. I am obsessed with the feeling, the desires and the prerequisites of revival. I do find it a magnificent obsession but a very challenging obsession. It's an obsession that won't let go of me. It grabs me so tightly that I might as well surrender and say like Isaiah the prophet "Here I am Lord send me."
Today we will have to make tough choices if we are going to leave the place of mediocrity. We must become obsessed with the cross of Christ, a cross that is ugly and offensive. The path of the cross may lead us through the hall of fame and the hall of shame. Think about Jesus just before his crucifixion. He was invited to a home where an uninvited guest showed up and did an unusual thing. Mary Magdalene was obsessed with Jesus to the point that she was not afraid to visit him where she was not welcomed. She did not only entered into his presence but she prepared him for his death without even knowing it. Her obsession caused her to do the unthinkable which exposed the heart of those who invited Jesus.
As you ponder may you come to that place of magnificent obsession.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
Does Faith Hide Marital Abuse?
Fellow Labourers-
Please note the following article, and let us pray for a breakthrough in our Church.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
Does Faith Hide Marital Abuse?
Too often spouses allow abuse because of twisted theology and Scripture interpretation.
Debbie Jansen posted 10/20/2010
Sherri (not her real name), a newlywed, was suffering from intense mental abuse that had the potential to escalate to physical abuse. When Christian friends tried to intervene, she smiled and said quietly, "I don't mind doing that for him. I love him." She ducked her head and walked away—alone.
It's difficult for Christian women to separate the demands of their husband from the demands of their faith. The hardworking Proverbs 31 woman may make some women feel totally responsible for the home, the children, and anything that goes wrong. Rather than evaluate circumstances they accept the abuse hoping that their Christian love will cause the situation to change. These women often refuse to believe they are victims and instead view their role as peacemakers. These women rarely acknowledge abuse until it becomes physical.
Sherri was one of those women. She reluctantly came to me for counseling at the urging of her parents. Her mother wasn't sure it was abuse, but worried that something was wrong. Sherri quietly talked about her desire for a Christian home and that she was committed to doing whatever was necessary to keep her home together. Her husband made unreasonable demands, criticized every action, damaged her self esteem, and blamed his inadequacies on her choices. He even refused to share control of bank cards or the checkbook, and often left her without change to purchase a small drink while shopping. She endured the mental abuse by quoting Scriptures and the fact that she might be able to bring her husband to a deeper walk with Christ. By quoting 1 Corinthians 7:14 she felt it was her duty to take the mental abuse thinking that her prayers, her patience, and her love would heal her home.
It's easy for a newlywed to explain changes in personality, friends, and obligations as a desire to be the devoted spouse. A devoted Christian can take a verse like, "Wives submit to your husbands" (Ephesians 5:22) or "The two shall become one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31) and turn it into a reason to accept mental or physical abuse.
If you fear your friend or family member is a victim of abuse, there are four ways you can help her, especially when she uses faith to justify the abuse.
1. Don't try to argue into understanding. Faith abuse is rooted in the lack of scriptural understanding concerning God's desire for women and marriage. If you choose to argue marital opinions with a victim, you'll create avoidance and the loss of all incoming information. Instead coordinate your efforts with friends and family, agree to be pleasant, kind, affirming, and compassionate. Your goal is to share Scripture as if you were planting a seed that will counteract what he/she is hearing at home. Be patient and compassionate as you wait for the seed to take root.
2. Ask your church to provide a coordinated series on subjects such as real love, God's designs for us, or relationship skills. Seek to teach them from both the pulpit and classes in order to double-up the message. Strong scriptural teaching that promotes individual self-esteem while teaching against abuse will also plant a seed. Be aware that the abuser may restrict the victim from attending those events. Approaching the abuser will cause a larger problem. If the abuse is mental, it's better to give the abused the tools he or she will need to break away from the abuser.
3. Plant little seeds. It's dangerous to allow a victim to feel alone and helpless. Make time to be with the victim. Chat and laugh about as many different topics as you can. Your goal is to build trust rather than make a point. In each meeting use chatty comments about how your spouse or boyfriend supports your self-esteem. Be sure and support their actions with Scripture. Rather than accuse her husband, share an example of how your husband treats you. If you're gentle you can offer a general negative remark like, "I'm so glad my Tom allows time for my girlfriends. Don't you just hate it when some men are so controlling that they won't let their wife have a life?" Look away. Don't connect with her as if you're talking about her husband. Immediately change the subject. our goal is to plant a lot of little seeds with situations and Scripture.
4. Do your homework and be ready with the name and phone number of a good counselor. After the seed begins to grow, the victim may decide to share her or his situation. Without being judgmental, offer counselor information and quickly add, "Only if you want to."
An abused person must develop the strength to endure separation, guilt, and the possible physical abuse that comes with correcting the problem. It's important to give her time to develop the desire and the strength to change.
5. Pray for her and that she'd understand the true meaning of Scripture. It's difficult to look past some Scriptures to the larger truth that God's will does not include the destruction of talents and abilities he placed within us. Marriage shouldn't tear down who we are. Marriage should celebrate and magnify our good qualities. It's only when we concentrate on the responsibility of both parties to lift up the other that we can see God's true purpose for marriage.
I was able to help Sherri realize that God's love for her included a mandate for her husband to treat her with respect and protect her mentally. She isn't responsible for her husband's sin. God loves her and doesn't want her to suffer.
When Sherri began to see her purpose through the eyes of a loving God, she was able to correct the abuse within her home. She sought help from her family and church friends. She confronted her husband in a safe environment, and put boundaries in place that would hold both of them accountable—him to no longer be able to abuse, and her to no longer tolerate the abuse.
As Christians we're asked to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, and to give until it hurts. Scriptures that support self esteem and personal talent must also be applied to marriage. For example, 1 Corinthians 12 describes personal gifts and their importance to the church body. In the same way, individual gifts are important to marriage if partners are to function as one body. If a dysfunctional definition of faith allows one partner to destroy the talents and abilities of their spouse, it can only be labeled as abuse.
All of that giving might confuse some partners into believing that God requires them to suffer through an abusive marriage. If you step back and look at the Bible as a whole, you'll find that God's design is for each spouse to support the abilities and talents of the other (1 Corinthians 12:7). We should not allow faith to hide marital abuse.
As the husband explores his God-given abilities and the wife expands her God-given abilities, the marriage becomes a unique blend of Christian potential. It's only in this blending of talents that a marriage can be successful and reach out to a hurting world.
Debbie Jansen is a family specialist, author, speaker, and owner of The Family Training Center. She writes and teaches the curriculum for more than 90 classes on relationships. www.debbiejansen.com
Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today International/Kyria.com.
Please note the following article, and let us pray for a breakthrough in our Church.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
Does Faith Hide Marital Abuse?
Too often spouses allow abuse because of twisted theology and Scripture interpretation.
Debbie Jansen posted 10/20/2010
Sherri (not her real name), a newlywed, was suffering from intense mental abuse that had the potential to escalate to physical abuse. When Christian friends tried to intervene, she smiled and said quietly, "I don't mind doing that for him. I love him." She ducked her head and walked away—alone.
It's difficult for Christian women to separate the demands of their husband from the demands of their faith. The hardworking Proverbs 31 woman may make some women feel totally responsible for the home, the children, and anything that goes wrong. Rather than evaluate circumstances they accept the abuse hoping that their Christian love will cause the situation to change. These women often refuse to believe they are victims and instead view their role as peacemakers. These women rarely acknowledge abuse until it becomes physical.
Sherri was one of those women. She reluctantly came to me for counseling at the urging of her parents. Her mother wasn't sure it was abuse, but worried that something was wrong. Sherri quietly talked about her desire for a Christian home and that she was committed to doing whatever was necessary to keep her home together. Her husband made unreasonable demands, criticized every action, damaged her self esteem, and blamed his inadequacies on her choices. He even refused to share control of bank cards or the checkbook, and often left her without change to purchase a small drink while shopping. She endured the mental abuse by quoting Scriptures and the fact that she might be able to bring her husband to a deeper walk with Christ. By quoting 1 Corinthians 7:14 she felt it was her duty to take the mental abuse thinking that her prayers, her patience, and her love would heal her home.
It's easy for a newlywed to explain changes in personality, friends, and obligations as a desire to be the devoted spouse. A devoted Christian can take a verse like, "Wives submit to your husbands" (Ephesians 5:22) or "The two shall become one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31) and turn it into a reason to accept mental or physical abuse.
If you fear your friend or family member is a victim of abuse, there are four ways you can help her, especially when she uses faith to justify the abuse.
1. Don't try to argue into understanding. Faith abuse is rooted in the lack of scriptural understanding concerning God's desire for women and marriage. If you choose to argue marital opinions with a victim, you'll create avoidance and the loss of all incoming information. Instead coordinate your efforts with friends and family, agree to be pleasant, kind, affirming, and compassionate. Your goal is to share Scripture as if you were planting a seed that will counteract what he/she is hearing at home. Be patient and compassionate as you wait for the seed to take root.
2. Ask your church to provide a coordinated series on subjects such as real love, God's designs for us, or relationship skills. Seek to teach them from both the pulpit and classes in order to double-up the message. Strong scriptural teaching that promotes individual self-esteem while teaching against abuse will also plant a seed. Be aware that the abuser may restrict the victim from attending those events. Approaching the abuser will cause a larger problem. If the abuse is mental, it's better to give the abused the tools he or she will need to break away from the abuser.
3. Plant little seeds. It's dangerous to allow a victim to feel alone and helpless. Make time to be with the victim. Chat and laugh about as many different topics as you can. Your goal is to build trust rather than make a point. In each meeting use chatty comments about how your spouse or boyfriend supports your self-esteem. Be sure and support their actions with Scripture. Rather than accuse her husband, share an example of how your husband treats you. If you're gentle you can offer a general negative remark like, "I'm so glad my Tom allows time for my girlfriends. Don't you just hate it when some men are so controlling that they won't let their wife have a life?" Look away. Don't connect with her as if you're talking about her husband. Immediately change the subject. our goal is to plant a lot of little seeds with situations and Scripture.
4. Do your homework and be ready with the name and phone number of a good counselor. After the seed begins to grow, the victim may decide to share her or his situation. Without being judgmental, offer counselor information and quickly add, "Only if you want to."
An abused person must develop the strength to endure separation, guilt, and the possible physical abuse that comes with correcting the problem. It's important to give her time to develop the desire and the strength to change.
5. Pray for her and that she'd understand the true meaning of Scripture. It's difficult to look past some Scriptures to the larger truth that God's will does not include the destruction of talents and abilities he placed within us. Marriage shouldn't tear down who we are. Marriage should celebrate and magnify our good qualities. It's only when we concentrate on the responsibility of both parties to lift up the other that we can see God's true purpose for marriage.
I was able to help Sherri realize that God's love for her included a mandate for her husband to treat her with respect and protect her mentally. She isn't responsible for her husband's sin. God loves her and doesn't want her to suffer.
When Sherri began to see her purpose through the eyes of a loving God, she was able to correct the abuse within her home. She sought help from her family and church friends. She confronted her husband in a safe environment, and put boundaries in place that would hold both of them accountable—him to no longer be able to abuse, and her to no longer tolerate the abuse.
As Christians we're asked to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, and to give until it hurts. Scriptures that support self esteem and personal talent must also be applied to marriage. For example, 1 Corinthians 12 describes personal gifts and their importance to the church body. In the same way, individual gifts are important to marriage if partners are to function as one body. If a dysfunctional definition of faith allows one partner to destroy the talents and abilities of their spouse, it can only be labeled as abuse.
All of that giving might confuse some partners into believing that God requires them to suffer through an abusive marriage. If you step back and look at the Bible as a whole, you'll find that God's design is for each spouse to support the abilities and talents of the other (1 Corinthians 12:7). We should not allow faith to hide marital abuse.
As the husband explores his God-given abilities and the wife expands her God-given abilities, the marriage becomes a unique blend of Christian potential. It's only in this blending of talents that a marriage can be successful and reach out to a hurting world.
Debbie Jansen is a family specialist, author, speaker, and owner of The Family Training Center. She writes and teaches the curriculum for more than 90 classes on relationships. www.debbiejansen.com
Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today International/Kyria.com.
Revival
Fellow Labourers-
I received this reminder earlier this week. I feel it in my bones. Yes, It's Revival time!!!
Praise the Lord Robert,
Is your church struggling right now? Does it seem that every time the church advances even a little bit, it ends up pushed back where it was before? Are you getting tired of the struggle? Feeling a bit burned out? Getting frustrated with people?
Then it's time for Revival! It's time to put behind you all the failures (big and small) that tell you your church can't grow. Forget about the numbers and focus on Revival. Stop preaching to bad attitudes and start telling the devils to move out. God has something better for you and it's not where you are right now. It's time for the Church to move forward. The Glory Cloud is moving and the Church is moving with it!
It's time for Revival!
It's time to get excited about what God is doing and get some others excited too. Remember you get what you preach. What do you say we preach Revival and see what God will do.
If you're feeling stuck, I pray that you can pray yourself out of the mire and begin to focus on the prize of Revival.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
I received this reminder earlier this week. I feel it in my bones. Yes, It's Revival time!!!
Praise the Lord Robert,
Is your church struggling right now? Does it seem that every time the church advances even a little bit, it ends up pushed back where it was before? Are you getting tired of the struggle? Feeling a bit burned out? Getting frustrated with people?
Then it's time for Revival! It's time to put behind you all the failures (big and small) that tell you your church can't grow. Forget about the numbers and focus on Revival. Stop preaching to bad attitudes and start telling the devils to move out. God has something better for you and it's not where you are right now. It's time for the Church to move forward. The Glory Cloud is moving and the Church is moving with it!
It's time for Revival!
It's time to get excited about what God is doing and get some others excited too. Remember you get what you preach. What do you say we preach Revival and see what God will do.
If you're feeling stuck, I pray that you can pray yourself out of the mire and begin to focus on the prize of Revival.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
The Cost of Distraction
Fellow Labourers-
These are days for serious contemplation and reflection. What is really important? Are we so absorbed with the blessings that we forget the blesser? What has impacted your life the most recently? In my own reflections I am becoming even more aware of the fact that distraction can be costly. There is a song we sing which goes like this, "Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm and dare to make it known."
Let us not let down our guards but be even more vigilant. Those of you who are following the situation in France and are acutely up to speed on your history will remember than the French have been a rebellious people. The Revolution itself is difficult to be dated because of the different phases into which it evolved. Are we still experiencing residue of the old revolution? You see, revolutions tend to feed on themselves, and once we begin to give way to the rebellious we create an insatiable appetite for more rebellion.
Let us not get distracted by the many voices around us. The cost of distraction can be too deadly for us not to be focus on eternity.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
These are days for serious contemplation and reflection. What is really important? Are we so absorbed with the blessings that we forget the blesser? What has impacted your life the most recently? In my own reflections I am becoming even more aware of the fact that distraction can be costly. There is a song we sing which goes like this, "Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm and dare to make it known."
Let us not let down our guards but be even more vigilant. Those of you who are following the situation in France and are acutely up to speed on your history will remember than the French have been a rebellious people. The Revolution itself is difficult to be dated because of the different phases into which it evolved. Are we still experiencing residue of the old revolution? You see, revolutions tend to feed on themselves, and once we begin to give way to the rebellious we create an insatiable appetite for more rebellion.
Let us not get distracted by the many voices around us. The cost of distraction can be too deadly for us not to be focus on eternity.
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Ministry: Spiritually Hazardous to Your Soul
Fellow Labourers-
If you have seen the below article before I apologize, but I find it very pertinent. Someone shared this with me. Had to share it with you.... Please Read it!
Ministry: Spiritually Hazardous to Your Soul
Dr. James Emery White, Pastor,
Ranked Adjunctive Professor of Theology and Culture Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Another well-known Christian leader has come under fire for sexual immorality. I won't go into the details. If you are at all dialed into church world, you know the megachurch pastor I'm talking about, and can find all the salacious details on the internet. He's denied the allegations and vowed to fight the charges. I hope for the kingdom's sake that he's innocent, and is fully exonerated. But whether that proves to be the case or not, many leaders have fallen. Why is this happening so frequently?
Some would argue that there aren't enough checks and balances in large ministries today; some would say there is a lack of personal accountability in leader's lives. Perhaps. But if that's what it takes to keep a leader clean, well... So I've got another theory to throw into the ring. Ministry is spiritually hazardous to your soul. Why? First, it is because leaders are constantly doing "spiritual" things, and it is easy to confuse those things with actually being spiritual. For example, you are constantly studying the Bible in order to prepare a talk. It's easy to confuse this with reading and studying the Bible devotionally to apply to your own soul.
You're not.
You are praying - in services, during meetings, at pot lucks - and it is easy to think you are leading a life of personal, private prayer pouring out your praise, your confession, your thanksgiving, your needs, to God.
You're not.
You are planning worship, leading worship, attending worship, and it is easy to believe you, yourself, are actually worshipping your God in spirit and truth.
Again, chances are, you're not.
What's at play here? It's actually quite simple. When you are in ministry, it is easy to confuse doing things for God with spending time with God; to confuse activity with intimacy; to mistake the trappings of spirituality for being spiritual.
But there's a second reason why ministry is hazardous to a leader's soul, and it's even more subtle than the first. It is because as a minister you are constantly being put on a spiritual pedestal. In truth, the people you lead have no idea whether you have spent any time alone with God in reflection and prayer over the last six weeks; they do not know what you are viewing online; they do not know whether you treat your wife with tenderness and dignity. They just automatically afford you a high level of spirituality.
Here's where it gets really toxic: you can begin to bask in this spiritual adulation and start to believe your own press. Soon, left unchecked, the estimation of others becomes your own bead on things. This is why most train wrecks in ministry are not as sudden and "out of the blue" as they seem to those who just "hear the news." Most leaders who end up in a moral ditch were actually veering off of the road for some time. Their empty, or "false front," spiritual life simply became manifest; or caught up with them; or took its toll. You can only run on empty for so long.
I had a defining moment on this in my life when I was around thirty years old. A well-known leader, who had been a role model for my life, fell through an adulterous affair. I was devastated. But more than that, I was scared. If it could happen to him, then I was a pushover. It didn't help my anxieties that I was in a spiritual state exactly as I have described: confusing doing things for God with time with God; accepting other's estimation of my spiritual life in a way that made it easy to bypass a true assessment of where I stood. I was like a cut flower that looked good on the outside, but in time would wilt dreadfully and display quite plainly how divorced I was from any roots of life. It was a life-defining moment. I remember so clearly the awareness that I too, could fall; that no one would ever own my spiritual life but me; that I needed to realize that the public side of my life was meaningless - only the private side mattered. This was not flowing from a position of strength; it was flowing from a deep awareness of weakness. From this, the gun went off. I began to rise early in the morning for prayer and to read the Bible. I began to take monthly retreats to a bed-and-breakfast in the mountains for a more lengthy immersion in order to read devotional works, pray, experience silence and solitude, and to journal.
I began a two-year, intense mentoring relationship with a man who had many more years on me in terms of age, marriage and ministry. There were many more "begans" as more disciplines, acts and choices found their way onto my agenda, but you get the idea: I was going to be a public and private worshiper; I was going to be a student of the Bible for my talks and for my soul; I was going to pray for others to hear and for an audience of One. I hope you hear my heart on this. It's not to boast, it's to confess. I still could end up in a ditch. You could too. Let's keep working to make sure that we don't.
James Emery White
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
If you have seen the below article before I apologize, but I find it very pertinent. Someone shared this with me. Had to share it with you.... Please Read it!
Ministry: Spiritually Hazardous to Your Soul
Dr. James Emery White, Pastor,
Ranked Adjunctive Professor of Theology and Culture Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Another well-known Christian leader has come under fire for sexual immorality. I won't go into the details. If you are at all dialed into church world, you know the megachurch pastor I'm talking about, and can find all the salacious details on the internet. He's denied the allegations and vowed to fight the charges. I hope for the kingdom's sake that he's innocent, and is fully exonerated. But whether that proves to be the case or not, many leaders have fallen. Why is this happening so frequently?
Some would argue that there aren't enough checks and balances in large ministries today; some would say there is a lack of personal accountability in leader's lives. Perhaps. But if that's what it takes to keep a leader clean, well... So I've got another theory to throw into the ring. Ministry is spiritually hazardous to your soul. Why? First, it is because leaders are constantly doing "spiritual" things, and it is easy to confuse those things with actually being spiritual. For example, you are constantly studying the Bible in order to prepare a talk. It's easy to confuse this with reading and studying the Bible devotionally to apply to your own soul.
You're not.
You are praying - in services, during meetings, at pot lucks - and it is easy to think you are leading a life of personal, private prayer pouring out your praise, your confession, your thanksgiving, your needs, to God.
You're not.
You are planning worship, leading worship, attending worship, and it is easy to believe you, yourself, are actually worshipping your God in spirit and truth.
Again, chances are, you're not.
What's at play here? It's actually quite simple. When you are in ministry, it is easy to confuse doing things for God with spending time with God; to confuse activity with intimacy; to mistake the trappings of spirituality for being spiritual.
But there's a second reason why ministry is hazardous to a leader's soul, and it's even more subtle than the first. It is because as a minister you are constantly being put on a spiritual pedestal. In truth, the people you lead have no idea whether you have spent any time alone with God in reflection and prayer over the last six weeks; they do not know what you are viewing online; they do not know whether you treat your wife with tenderness and dignity. They just automatically afford you a high level of spirituality.
Here's where it gets really toxic: you can begin to bask in this spiritual adulation and start to believe your own press. Soon, left unchecked, the estimation of others becomes your own bead on things. This is why most train wrecks in ministry are not as sudden and "out of the blue" as they seem to those who just "hear the news." Most leaders who end up in a moral ditch were actually veering off of the road for some time. Their empty, or "false front," spiritual life simply became manifest; or caught up with them; or took its toll. You can only run on empty for so long.
I had a defining moment on this in my life when I was around thirty years old. A well-known leader, who had been a role model for my life, fell through an adulterous affair. I was devastated. But more than that, I was scared. If it could happen to him, then I was a pushover. It didn't help my anxieties that I was in a spiritual state exactly as I have described: confusing doing things for God with time with God; accepting other's estimation of my spiritual life in a way that made it easy to bypass a true assessment of where I stood. I was like a cut flower that looked good on the outside, but in time would wilt dreadfully and display quite plainly how divorced I was from any roots of life. It was a life-defining moment. I remember so clearly the awareness that I too, could fall; that no one would ever own my spiritual life but me; that I needed to realize that the public side of my life was meaningless - only the private side mattered. This was not flowing from a position of strength; it was flowing from a deep awareness of weakness. From this, the gun went off. I began to rise early in the morning for prayer and to read the Bible. I began to take monthly retreats to a bed-and-breakfast in the mountains for a more lengthy immersion in order to read devotional works, pray, experience silence and solitude, and to journal.
I began a two-year, intense mentoring relationship with a man who had many more years on me in terms of age, marriage and ministry. There were many more "begans" as more disciplines, acts and choices found their way onto my agenda, but you get the idea: I was going to be a public and private worshiper; I was going to be a student of the Bible for my talks and for my soul; I was going to pray for others to hear and for an audience of One. I hope you hear my heart on this. It's not to boast, it's to confess. I still could end up in a ditch. You could too. Let's keep working to make sure that we don't.
James Emery White
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
Dwarfed Perspectives
Fellow Labourers-
"Perspective is a difficult thing to alter, for there is always so much more than vision involved. We are shaped as much by habit and sentiment as we are by fact and reason. If we will not allow them, our windows on the world will neither expand with discovery, correction, truth, or faith."
I have become very fascinated with Astronomy, so this subject grabs my attention immediately. I can very well remember that August when they decided that Pluto was too small to be regarded anymore as a planet. But let us put this into perspective. Did it affect the price of cheese? Did it affect our lives? I think not. Man is always in the mood for changing things whether it's based on fact or fiction.
Change is neither good nor bad, but to completely do away with the past can have cathostrophic ramifications for the present and the future. This is a fact of history and would be worth our while to become students of history.
I had a discussion with one of my sons in my study just before service yesterday (10-03-10) in which he was trying to show me that the bible teaches that dinosaurs existed. I know for a fact that very large creatures existed in the past but as to what they were called I am not sure. Today they are called dinosaurs etc. So, I won't quarrel with a name because tomorrow somebody else might call them ting-a-ma-gig.
Of a fact the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handy works. When Edwin Hubble in 1923 used his new 100-inch telescope on Mount Wilson near Los Angeles to look in the skies he saw galaxies beyond the Milky Way. It was Hubble who discovered that the Andromeda Nebula is some 2 million light-years away-far outside our Milky Way galaxy. For the non-astronomers a nebula is the fuzzy patches of light you see sometimes in the night sky. According to astronomers these are actually other galaxies, with billions of stars, planets, and possibly life like our own. Hmmm. I recommend to you the reading of Job.
Job 38:4-7 (New King James Version)
4 “ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
"Perspective is a difficult thing to alter, for there is always so much more than vision involved. We are shaped as much by habit and sentiment as we are by fact and reason. If we will not allow them, our windows on the world will neither expand with discovery, correction, truth, or faith."
I have become very fascinated with Astronomy, so this subject grabs my attention immediately. I can very well remember that August when they decided that Pluto was too small to be regarded anymore as a planet. But let us put this into perspective. Did it affect the price of cheese? Did it affect our lives? I think not. Man is always in the mood for changing things whether it's based on fact or fiction.
Change is neither good nor bad, but to completely do away with the past can have cathostrophic ramifications for the present and the future. This is a fact of history and would be worth our while to become students of history.
I had a discussion with one of my sons in my study just before service yesterday (10-03-10) in which he was trying to show me that the bible teaches that dinosaurs existed. I know for a fact that very large creatures existed in the past but as to what they were called I am not sure. Today they are called dinosaurs etc. So, I won't quarrel with a name because tomorrow somebody else might call them ting-a-ma-gig.
Of a fact the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handy works. When Edwin Hubble in 1923 used his new 100-inch telescope on Mount Wilson near Los Angeles to look in the skies he saw galaxies beyond the Milky Way. It was Hubble who discovered that the Andromeda Nebula is some 2 million light-years away-far outside our Milky Way galaxy. For the non-astronomers a nebula is the fuzzy patches of light you see sometimes in the night sky. According to astronomers these are actually other galaxies, with billions of stars, planets, and possibly life like our own. Hmmm. I recommend to you the reading of Job.
Job 38:4-7 (New King James Version)
4 “ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Pax Vobiscum
Robert A. Stewart J.P.
Pastor
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