Mark Altrogge, who I know primarily from his songwriting for Sovereign Grace Music, has written a blog post titled “The Pastor from Gehenna” that really gets to the core of one of my inner struggles as a pastor: how do we motivate people to live like disciples of Jesus?  Quote:

My job was to whip the saints into obedience against their will. Since they really didn’t want to serve God, I had to guilt or pressure them into it. I’d say things like, “Come on, let’s worship God like we really mean it.” How self-righteous I was.

Read the article for what Altrogge understands as the solution (and I would agree).

Christianity Today has an in-depth and insightful article on the Ancient-Future Church movement: “The Future Lies in the Past.”  The author, Chris Armstrong, attended the 2007 Wheaton Theology Conference which had as its theme “The Ancient Faith for the Church’s Future.”  The article provides a helpful introduction to the movement: its orgins in the 1970s; its key figures including Robert Webber, Thomas Oden, Thomas Howard (who, famously, later converted to Roman Catholicism), Peter Gilquist (who moved to Eastern Orthodoxy), and Richard Foster; and  the problems that the movement attempts to correct, as well as potential ways it can get things wrong.

My own interest in the movement came about in the 1980s,  when I was invited to attend services at St. Joseph of Arimathea, an Anglican church in Berkeley, Calif.  It appealed to me aesthetically: I enjoyed the Gregorian chants, the peaceful atmosphere, the simple, traditional architecture of the sanctuary, the liturgy (although I could take or leave the use of incense, as well as the vestments).  Theologically, however, I had too many differences: I could not accept infant baptism, I felt it promoted too great a clergy-laity distinction, most importantly, I objected to its sacerdotalism (the belief that a priesthood is needed to intercede between people and God).

Later I became acquainted with Touchstone magazine (at the 2000 Wheaton Theology Conference, incidentally) in which conservative Christians from the mainline Protestant denominations, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy as well as Evangelicalism write on matters of common concern.  It attempts to be a forum of “mere Christianity,” a phrase borrowed from the book of the same title by C. S. Lewis, the “patron saint” of the magazine.  I also became interested in the writings of Robert Webber, particularly Ancient-Future Faith.

I don’t know how the insights of the ancient-future church movement can fit in with what we are doing at Beaver Baptist Church.  On occasion I like to include reciting the Nicene Creed in order to emphasize our unity with all Christians throughout the ages and the world today.  I have also introduced the practice of spiritual disciplines, which are of course not limited to the ancient-future movement.  We also incorporate a couple of elements from the “church calendar” such as having Maundy Thursday or Good Friday services during Holy Week.  These aspects of traditional worship have been positively received, or at least tolerated at our church.

In general, Southern Baptists are likely to be unreceptive to this kind of traditional Christian worship, although the SBC is large enough to have a diversity in worship styles.  For example, Sojourn Church in Louisville, Kentucky uses elements of ancient worship.  The Baptist Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas is also incorporates a liturgical style.

We’re on vacation for two weeks, the first half of which will be in Louisville where we will see much of our family. 

We also got to visit our old church family at Clifton Baptist Church.  It was a refreshing time for us.  We saw–if only far too briefly–many of our old friends.  The service was wonderful, Bruce Ware preached on Psalm 116 on the subject of Thanksgiving.  The music, led by Chip Stam, was beautiful.  It was good for me to see a fresh example of what I hope to see develop at Beaver Baptist Church.

It makes me think of how, on the one hand, it is good to have a vision for the church, ideally directed by Scripture.  On the other hand, I want to be directed by the Holy Spirit, to avoid subtly substituting my idea of what this church should be for God’s intention for this church.

Yet, I mustn’t be afraid to lead.  I could easily fail to move forward because of indecision.  This quote from Thabiti Anyabwile helped me to see this truth:

And we cannot be afraid to lead. There may be 1,000 things we must be sensitive to, but we must resist the paralysis that comes from over-analyzing and tea leaf reading. Leadership is as much an act of faith as prayer. We must trust that God is at work in our leadership of the church, and that He will providentially rule in our prayerful efforts.

The moment I read that quote I saw that was an area in which I am weak.  This past year is one in which I had to learn a lot about leadership–the hard way.

What does God want for this church? In which direction should we go? How does this church have to change? Where do we start? How cautious or bold should I be? Will it work? What will I do if it fails? I’ve asked these questions and I expect that many other pastors, especially new pastors like me, have also asked them.

The prevailing answer today is the “seeker-sensitive” or :purpose-driven” approach. But I am repulsed by its dependence on marketing, demographic niche-filling, entertainment, and consumerism. I cannot take the riches of God’s Word and craft sermons consisting of “life principles.” You’ve heard them, sermons series like: “The Decalogue: Ten Principles for a Better Sex Life.”

I am also persuaded that there is another, better, more Scriptural way to go. And there are churches that are showing us the way. Churches like Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, and Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, M.D. I’ve seen it first-hand at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY where it was the privilege of my wife and me to be members for five years.

What is distinctive about these churches? What is it they have in common? I would list the following characteristics: (1) All of these churches emphasize content-rich, doctrinal, evangelistic, expository preaching. (2) Although they vary in style, their worship uses God-centered music that reaches both the mind and the emotions. (3) These churches are led by a plurality of elders, with a mixture of full-time, paid pastors and non-paid lay elders. (4) All of these churches have a passion for missions and evangelism. (5) All of them are Calvinistic in their soteriology. (6) All four churches have rich opportunities for adult education, in some cases even training for church leadership.

My heart’s desire for Beaver Baptist Church, where it is my privilege to be pastor, is a minstry that relies upon God in the faithful proclamation of the Gospel, both to win souls for Christ as well as progressively to conform these saints to the image of Christ. I know that there are other pastors and church leaders who desire the same thing. I believe we must encourage one another to remain faithful, and to help one another. We must do it for the sake of our churches. We must do it for sake of the church at large, demonstrating that there is an alternative to the modern church growth movement.