On Pastoring by H.B. Charles, Jr.

On Pastoring is a book by a pastor, for pastors. Written in a conversational style, and illustrated throughout with personal anecdotes, H.B. Charles has produced a book that gives an honest assessment of the work of pastoral ministry and provides Biblical exhortation and practical lessons that he has learned along the way. The book covers a wide variety of topics; the pastor's spiritual life, his preaching ministry, and leading the church.

The short chapters are full of wit and wisdom, grouped together in three sections: The pastor's heart, the pastor's leadership, and the pastor's public ministry. However, it is not necessary that your read the book straight through, each chapter can stand alone. Where some books on the ministry are not very applicable to pastors of small churches, this book's focus was upon faithfulness to God. I found it very encouraging to press on in the work of the Lord and think seasoned pastors and those who desire to get into the work would learn and be encouraged by the book.

There are books that are written about how we wish things could be in the church. There are books written about how things should be in the church. This book is written from the perspective of  how things usually are in a church, which makes it both challenging, and encouraging.

My thanks to Moody Press for the review copy.

Habakkuk's Humble Question

This is a repost and edited version of an older post from several years back.

The book of Habakkuk is named for the prophet  of Judah who lived to see the nation fall from the blessings of godly King Josiah's reign to diving headlong back into idolatry.  Habakkuk surveyed the spiritual state of  the people and marveled that God didn't stop the violence, strife, contention, and iniquity that was running rampant in Jerusalem. God told him that he would not let this continue but would chasten Judah by raising up the “Chaldeans( Babylon) to come and batter the land and take the people captive. Babylon was a dreadful nation to their enemies; strong, fast, and ruthless. They were everything you do not want your enemy to be.

This presented another problem for Habakkuk (Hab. 1:13). Since God is holy and cannot bear to look upon sin, and will not allow His people to continue to live in iniquity, how God could raise up a nation who is worse than His own people and give them strength and power? He decided he would wait on the Lord to answer. Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

Something wasn't adding up in the mind of Habakkuk. He came upon a dilemma that he couldn’t understand in reconciling God’s sovereignty and the problem of evil. In his mind there seemed to be a contradiction. He said I will see what God says and then I’ll have my answer when I have been corrected. This is the way to come to God’s Word. Too often people will pick up the Bibles trying to prove themselves right instead of sitting and being reproved and taught by God. Habakkuk assumed he was the one with the problem, not God.

Because Habakkuk knew that there was no contradiction in God, and God is both sovereign and holy, he knew the problem was not with God but with himself and his understanding. So he sought God in humility to be shown where he was wrong. Habakkuk 2:4  Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Pride will cause men to assume the worst of God and suppose that there is contradiction with the Holy One before admitting they might not have full understanding or they might be the one who is wrong. It is the just who live by faith and trust in the goodness and mercy of the Lord God.

The answer was that Babylon would eventually be punished too and every sin they commit will be accounted for and would come back upon them in due time. God would be faithful to Israel and to His promises, despite their unfaithfulness. Habakkuk remembered the history of Israel, what God had done in the past and that God keeps his promises and He will again (Habakkuk 3:17-19) so he trusted in God's goodness.

What makes a good pastor? - Tuesday with Timothy #49

1 Timothy 4:6  If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

What makes a good pastor? Everyone has an answer to that question, but I wonder how many would answer the question like Paul? Paul said in order to be a good minister, you need to preach the truth of God's Word and remind your hearers that the Spirit said that some will leave the faith. To remind them that there are seducing Spirits preaching false and devilish doctrines.

Paul doesn't say anything about his style of delivery. He doesn't say anything about his "vision casting" for the future of the church. It was a good thing Timothy wasn't required to be like a CEO of the church because CEOs hadn't been invented yet. Timothy, preach the truth and warn the people. Preach the positive truths and warn of the evil of heresy and apostasy. As we've studied this pastoral epistle, you see what is important. The only ministry skill that Paul said is a requirement is that he be apt to teach. Everything else is about the man's character. Do you want to be a good minister? Preach the truth. Always improve in the skill of teaching. Be a godly man.

A good pastor will remind you of what you already know. He won't be looking for the new novel. A good pastor will warn and will love you enough to tell you the truth, even – no, especially when it hurts. A good pastor will be nourished in the words of faith and good doctrine. He will be feeding himself from the Word of God and feeding on good doctrine and then dispensing that food out to the flock. A good pastor will be a man that studies and mines God's Word and feeds his own soul. He will be nourished himself by the Word and then give the church the fruit of his labors and study in the Word.

The God of the Birds

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Georgia a few years ago, I took my family on a walk down a nature trail the county had developed. Along the wooden boardwalk through the swampy marsh we saw some tall and ornate bird houses; beautifully crafted, white with high pitched roofs. Mentioning to my son that they looked like church buildings for birds got his three year old mind churning. He wondered what the birds called their pastor, or if the baby birds had to get dressed up for service like he did. He asked about the quality of the bird hymnody, but reckoned the fowls have a very pretty song service and were not at all hindered by the lack of piano. After a few other observations, he asked, "Since the birds went to church, who is the bird’s God? I wonder what his name is?” I told him, “The birds do have a God, and His name is Jesus.”

Jesus is Lord of everything in this earth, including the birds. He created them on the fifth day for His glory (Gen 1:20; Psalm 148:10). Jesus watches over and cares for even the smallest of sparrows and not one of them are forgotten or will fall to the ground without His notice. Jesus knows and cares for every bird in Clay County (Psalm 50:11). Birds don't need to plant gardens and build barns because God takes care of them and feeds them. God gave the beautiful wings to the peacock and cares for the eggs of the ostrich, since mamma ostrich won't do it (Job 39:13-17). Sometimes the chirping you hear are the birds praying for food, according to Job 38:41  "Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat."

Jesus told us to consider the birds and then to think about our own lives. Walk outside one evening and watch the birds and think how God cares for them. Take a moment, mull over that if God takes care of the birds, wouldn't it stand to reason that He would take care of His own? If the Father sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for His people, don't you think He would take care of the lesser things, like our earthly needs? If God provides so much for the birds, would He at least provide the same for His people? Aren't we worth more than the birds? Jesus reminds us that we are worth more than the birds, and our Father, who is the God of the birds is not only our God but our Father. Trust him with your soul and with your life, Jesus is the good Lord of all, come to Him and He will not cast you out. The birds may not have a church building. The birds may not have a pastor. But the birds do have a God, and His name is Jesus.

Christians get depressed too by Lewis Kiger

 Becoming a born-again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ does not exempt anyone from the difficulties of this life. Regardless of what some of the money-hungry charlatans on TV promise, we are all going to face our share of sorrow and sickness. No matter how dedicated we are to serving God and no matter how great our faith, we ARE NOT immune to depression, disease, or disaster.

 I have faced my own battles with bouts of melancholy, and throughout my time in the Gospel ministry I have known many good and godly saints who have struggled with mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, panic attacks, personality disorders, and even suicidal thoughts.

 Readers, we live in a fallen world; everything and everyone around us, has been affected by sin. Just as surely as there are sicknesses that weaken our bodies, there are also illnesses that attack the mind. Far too often, when someone is struggling with mental health issues we draw back from them, rather than wrapping our arms around them and embracing them. Stop and think about this; if a church member announced they had been diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, or leukemia, the whole church body would weep with them, support them, and pray for them. Yet, most of those who struggle with some form of mental health issues are reluctant to publicly mention anything for fear they will be considered a lesser Christian.

 Too many of God’s people suffer in silence because they are afraid to ask for the help they so desperately need. Depression and mental health issues are just as real, and just as deadly as sicknesses that affect the body. We would never tell someone with Multiple Sclerosis they just need to “suck it up and get over it.” Yet how often do you hear this said to someone who is battling with despair?

 God’s Word is not silent on this subject, nor should we be. In the 42^nd and 43^rd Psalm we read the candid confession of the inspired writer who is internally at war. He repeatedly asks, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted (troubled) within me?"  The words “cast-down” will lead you to see the discouraged writer actually is asking himself: “Why are you depressed? Why are you so disheartened? Why don’t you have peace in your life?”

These short Psalms tell the story of one who had all the inner tranquility and joy ripped from his life. I believe depression is a double-edged sword that cuts even deeper and hurts even more for the child of God. We know we should not feel this way. We know we have victory in Jesus -- but that does not stop the pain, and so we feel even worse. On top of that, we often receive a cold shoulder from Christian friends or relatives. All the while, the enemy of our soul, Satan, is whispering his twisted words in our ears, stating that if God really loved us, and we really loved Him, we wouldn’t feel this way.  We are not told the reason for the Psalmist pain. As a pastor, I will agree that unconfessed sin can and often does lead to heartache and misery in the lives of people, but sin is not always the root cause.

 The Psalmist here calls out to God for help, but seemingly, God is far, far away. He is an empty man, weary of his own complaints. He seeks help by attending the house of God, and for a short while, he is encouraged, but it is short-lived. Even though we don't know the why of his pain, we know there is hope.

Psalms 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

 Finally, if you are battling with depression, I urge you to seek help. First I would tell you to flee to Christ. Burdens are indeed lifted at Calvary. Jesus can give you victory by trusting in Him and His finished work. Secondly, there is no shame in asking for help and by seeking professional Christian counseling. Lastly, just as there are medicines that help heal the body, there are also good medicines that help to heal the mind.

Pray for those who are hurting and battling with these issues. If we could ever get past the ugly stigma that is attached to depression and mental illness and be willing to help them, we will have gone a long way to address a major issue facing our churches today.

Pastor Lewis Kiger

Memorial Heights Baptist Church

TWITTER: @Lndmrkpastor