Dr. Meredith Griffin | The Flourishing Life™

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Rants

The Burning and Learning

My former pastor, under whose ministry I came to salvation and responded to my ministry call, used to say that preachers needed the burning and the learning, the inspiration and education, the celebration and information. What he meant was that as preachers, pastors, and teachers in ministry we should have both the desire that comes from an abiding sense of call, and intentional theological development. In recent years, I’ve come to notice that theological education has become an unimportant accomplishment for those expressing a call into vocational ministry. I find this widening trend both unfortunate and dangerous for the health and future of the Church. The mission of the local church, and ultimately universal Church is far too important to be entrusted to the ignorant, ill-equipped, and uninformed. The logical end of this trend is continuing doctrinal error, false teaching, heresy, and the leading astray of countless multitudes.

Historically, there have always been movements within the Church that have considered intentional, formal theological education unnecessary, and in some cases a hindrance to effective ministry. In my development, I had to endure comments that called seminary the “cemetery”, and other derogatory comments. This was a small thing to endure, to make sure that I gained as many of the tools that would aid me as a preacher, pastor, and ministry leader.

Some of you are thinking as you read this, the Holy Spirit is my teacher. The Spirit of God is a prerequisite for living a Christian life, and absolutely needed for effective ministry service. It is he, who convicts of sin, calls to service, and provides the required “abiding sense of call”–the burning that doesn’t dissipate. Without the aid of the Spirit of God, we cannot preach, teach, lead, or minister effectively. The Spirit of God imbues the ministry leader with the power that becomes clear in public ministry situations. I cannot, do not, and would not deny the power of the Holy Spirit in my life as a ministry leader.

I must also say that God desires us, saints and those saints who lead in ministry, to always strive to be the best we can possibly be. We should want to be equipped in every way possible. This want, or burning, should lead us to desire learning. Those freshly called into ministry should be running to discover what they need to be effective. These runs should be to formal, intentional forums of ministry training. This training can be as formal as Bible colleges, seminaries, or universities. This development can also be effectively obtained through intentional, structured, denominational, or church-based theological education. While seminary or university education is the choice of many, there are other viable options to get the needed ministerial development. Now, I am by no means endorsing any particular institution (although I have attended several that I would highly recommend), but if God has given you a desire to enter vocational ministry, the desire for development as a minister should go with it.

One more piece to this rant. A renewed desire for intentional theological education will, I can only pray, stem the current tide of extra-biblical, un-biblical, error prone, flavor of the month, making up things that aren’t in the Bible, ear-tickling, ego-driven preaching and teaching that is far too prevalent in the contemporary church. We do not stand to tell what is on our mind’s, what we believe they want to hear, what will make them put more in the offering, or what we think will make more people attend our churches, but to articulate the message of God to his people. This isn’t a joke or a business people! I’m not mad, I’m just tired of the nonsense. Stay blessed.

The Decade of Service

The second decade of the twenty-first century has officially begun. What a wonder it would be if, a decade from now, we looked back upon the next ten years as the “decade of service”. We, individual believers in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord as well as the Church catholic, have an opportunity to show that the previous decades of me-ism and decadent opulence within Western Christianity were an anomaly. We have an opportunity to return the servant and service to others first dynamic that has been a hallmark of the Church for centuries.

Listen, I am not naive enough to believe that the history of the Church hasn’t before been marred by TBN style self-indulgence, or that similar forays into prosperity focused gospel ramblings will not occur in the future. What I am saying is that the overwhelming intrusion of such teachings into the mainstream of the Church in recent history is alarming, and the tide must be stemmed.

Is the gospel message inward-focused? No. Is the gospel me-focused? No. The gospel calls me to deny my desires in order to be used to fulfill God’s ultimate desire, the redemption of his creation. The gospel compels me to think of myself after I have considered the needs of those around me, to love (actively) whenever the opportunity avails itself. Our Lord Jesus was the penultimate example of a servant and leader in action. We are called Christians because of our desire to emulate his faith and actions, and fulfill his mission. If these statements are true, and I believe them to be, then we should move to make ourselves stellar examples of what it means to “serve and not be served.”

Who’s Vision Will You Pursue in the New Year?

In less than two days we will all be saying farewell to 2009, and hello to 2010. For many people the end of year routine will be the same; they will set a course for the new year, things to accomplish in the coming twelve months. As a Christian and pastor, I must pose the following question: who’s vision will you pursue in the new year?

Watch night services across the country will be populated with people looking for a fresh start, and preachers in pulpits eager to tell them that one is on the way. New money, new jobs, new businesses, new relationships, new jobs, new academic degrees…will all be spoken of as God’s vision for you in the new year. Many churches will ensure that we jam our way out of the old year and into the new. Men and women will leave church feeling wonderful about what is in store, but will they have a clear understanding of the vision that they should pursue?

We weren’t saved from an eternity of separation from the God who loves and created us, so that we can become self-indulgent in ways that previous generations could only imagine. In other words…its not about us! God has a vision, and it is that vision that we ought to pursue daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. God’s vision entails those who belong to him being holy. His vision sees those who are called by his name desiring to serve others, rather than being served themselves. The vision that God has is for a people who shun sin and selfishness, in order to pursue righteousness and selflessness. In God’s vision, those who are called by his name remember that their bodies are not their own…they have been bought with a price. God’s vision holds reconciled relationships, selfless service to others, sharing his message of love with the world through word and deed.

I don’t doubt that those who belong to God are taken care of by him. I don’t doubt that God takes great care of everything and everyone that belongs to him. The Bible tells us that Solomon couldn’t adorn himself like the lillies that God took dressed in splendor. The Bible speaks of God’s great care for the well-being of birds, though they have no barns. God will care for those he loves. Since this is the case, our personal care is not the vision that we should pursue primarily in any given year. We should desire and envision being servants of the most high God. We should envision using everything that he has given us to glorify his name and advance his mission in the earth. Who’s vision will you pursue in the new year, your’s or God’s?

Not Really Seeing a Lot of Servants in Ministry

I’ve pretty much sworn off of “Christian” television. The various networks seemed to be filled with individuals and couples alike, bent on flaunting varying forms of selfishness, self-exaltation, and idolatry. The little doctrinally sound or orthodox ministry that is televised is far outweighed by the fluff and heresy that appears. Where is the widespread outrage from ministers and ministries that believe that orthodoxy has died a slow death on television and in local church ministry? Where are the servants?

I’m in the process of writing my doctoral dissertation that seeks to address the dearth of servants, and in particular servant leaders, in the local church. My passion for this topic stems from the steady decline of servants in ministry leadership that I have watched occur over nearly twenty years in local church ministry leadership. We, the Church, have reached the point where the drought of servants in ministry leadership must decline or the fulfillment of our mission is in extreme jeopardy. Let me explain that last statement a bit more…God’s use of us in the fulfillment of his mission is in extreme jeopardy. I have no doubt that God’s will be done and his mission in the earth fulfilled, with or without us.

I just needed to rant for a moment about what I’m seeing in the local church and in the Church worldwide. Where are the servants? Where are those who serve because it needs to be done, not so that they can make a name for themselves? Where are those who served regardless of who sees, without a banner or camera present? I know that there are some out there, my fear is that there are far too few? What do you think?

Back in the Game

I’m now the proud owner of a newly rebuilt Apple notebook computer. Its been a year since my Dell notebook died. I’ve been looking at, and resisting, the Mac revolution for years. My family surprised me with this new toy for Christmas. So I’ve got no more excuses, its time to get the dissertation completed and get back to regular posting. Here we go!