Christian Joe

Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

The Lord has used some people recently in my life to teach me about priorities.  I am not talking about priorities when it comes to human beings, but rather priorities as a minister of the Word of God, a preacher, if you will.  These are not new things, just things that I need to put in remembrance.

1.  My personal walk with God.
It is far too easy for a minister of the Word to become so focused on bringing fresh bread to the people of God’s pasture, that he ceases to feed his own soul with the Word.  Couple the eating with fervent prayer and we have a full meal.  Often I find myself thinking about what the church needs or what my duties are and how to accomplish those duties, meanwhile failing to spend much time in personal reflection and attention to my walk with God.

2.  My family.
This is cliché I know, but it is still true.  The pastor’s family is his walking résumé.  Most other professions do not require a family in submission to God’s teaching both in word and in conduct in order to continue at the job.  But the Bible clearly gives a requirement that the pastor’s family walk with God.  For this to happen I must be real as I live out what it means to be a Christian (notice that I did not say, “what it means to be a pastor”); and I must be really there (there is no substitute for the often presence of a father with his family).

3.  Exposition of Scripture.
My chief responsibility as a minister of God’s Word is to accurately know and proclaim the entirety of God’s Word within its context.  I must spend the bulk of ministry engagement in analytical study and prayer over texts of Scripture.  I must wrestle with original intent, grammatical wording, and logical relationships.  I must deepen my understanding of historical interpretations and original languages.  I must consult other men of God both living and dead who have wrestled with the same texts.  By the grace of God through the Holy Spirit, I must boldly proclaim the intent of a text and provide implications for how this ought to impact all who hear or read.

4.  Systematic teaching of Doctrine.
Along with exposition of Scripture, I must make it my delightful duty to study and prepare systematic teaching of the Word of God.  My job is not to change people, persuade sinners or saints, or to make clones of myself; but my job is to teach all who have ears to hear the manifold wisdom of God unfolded in a systematic, understandable fashion.  If I must part ways with those with whom I have been privileged to minister to, I must depart with the doctrines of God and grace firmly rooted in their hearts so that they might continue to teach others long after I am gone.

5.  Continued Discipleship of other men.
The things that I have learned of God, I must commit to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.  This means that I must prioritize my time to teach the teachable, to study with those looking for answers, not those who imagine they have all the answers.  Jesus Christ taught multitudes, ordained 70, discipled 12, and devoted much time to only 3.  All were important to the ministry and to our Lord.  Instead of trying to build large congregations where crowds can get only a taste of Christianity, I must devote the bulk of my attention to those so satiated by the Word, that they will be able to feed others.

6.  Give further teaching to saints personally as needed.
Another way this has been expressed is with the word “counsel.”  Counseling is private teaching from the Word of God. Those who don’t desire to find the answers in the Word of God will not generally appreciate the type of counsel I can give.  I am not a therapist or counselor in the modern use of the word, but I can point people to Jesus Christ.  He has the answers to every problem, and he has given us the answer in His Word; ours is to obey.

7.  Facilitate proper worship of God and service to God.
A duty of mine as a minister of God’s Word is to help God’s people understand the true meaning and purpose of corporate worship and to facilitate such.  By facilitate, I mean both by example and principle, provide a God-honoring method and motive for pure worship in public reading, music, giving, serving, and prayers.  This mostly happens when we gather on Sunday to honor the Lord.  This, of course, implies that I would be confident in what God-honoring worship looks like from Scripture and be willing to model and gently urge toward that kind of worship.

8. Faithfully lead the church in spiritual direction.
This includes leading the church in administrative and policy decisions that enable us to more fully do the work of the ministry.  By example and teaching, God can use me to help the church make Biblical decisions that will set the direction for the church.  This is a far cry from a dictatorship, but rather through giving principles and then urging others how to practically follow those principles, God can use me to spiritually guide the course of the ship.

You might notice that some duties that ministers do are not included in my priorities.  I believe that we have confused what it means to be a pastor with a Christian at times.  I did not include my duties and priorities as a Christian in this list, but this does not mean that a pastor is exempt from them.  They are a given no matter what position I would hold in an assembly.  These would include (but not be limited to) evangelism, edification of others, service in the physical needs (the building, etc), visiting the sick, praying for one another, fellowshipping with saints, attendance to church services, Bible studies, discipleship, etc.

Consider this post as a work in progress, as this is my understanding with the Biblical knowledge I have at his time.  I have intentionally put these priorities in what I believe to be order of importance.  Although I did not quote Scripture, I believe that Scripture supports what I have written.  “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enable me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” -I Timothy 1:12

It doesn’t matter which side of the political spectrum one falls upon, there is certainly some who are willing to hack up God’s most holy Word, run it through the grid of what they think it should say, and then publish it for all to cringe over.  See the latest in attacking the authority and inerrancy of God’s Divine Word. www.conservapedia.com.

I had a hard time understanding why a “conservative” group would want to rewrite Scripture, since the word “conservative” carries the idea of “preserving” and “conservation.”  But then I realized they are supposedly “politically conservative” who want to give Bible translation to the people and let the “free market” decide what the Scripture means.  Are you kidding me?

In the previous post, I said that this one would be practical concerning the presentation of exposition. I am going to deviate a little bit here because I think that I missed an important point concerning why we should be committed to exposition as undershepherds, and why the people of God’s pasture should desire and demand expositional preaching.

Need for Exposition
The definition of expositional preaching is explaining a specific Biblical text (without our personal, cultural, or traditional opinions and biases) within its own context and providing implications concerning our lives. Since this is the definition, we must recognize that Biblical exposition may not always have immediate application in our lives. (Although I have learned that the Holy Spirit has a way of meeting a specific need that I had no idea existed when I have preached the Word). But that is okay! If we are living from sermon to sermon in order to “survive” as a Christian we are exhibiting immaturity and frailty in the Christian life. The Psalmist says, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11) Often we use this verse to promote Bible memory, and that is good, but hiding God’s Word in our heart is better understood as storing up sustenance that will keep us in the moment of trial and temptation. That is why we must be active in receiving Biblical exposition even if the preacher’s sermon is not what we “need” today. Preventative treatment for illness is far better than prescriptive rescue when we are failing in spiritual health. No one would argue that counseling with a married couple on the verge of divorce is better than premarital counseling or consistent teaching on Biblical roles in marriage long before there is conflict. However, the church has long ago left this concept behind and has moved along with the culture in seeking instant gratification in all areas, even the spiritual. “I’m sick, fix me!” is the cry of the anemic Christian, or rather “My job is in danger, my kids are struggling, my marriage is suffering, etc. . . Fix it. . . Now!” Perhaps the cry should be, “I may become ill, build me up in the most holy faith in a consistent, thorough fashion!” (Personal note* As a pastor, that would thrill my heart more than a million statements like, “good sermon pastor, it was just what I needed today.”) One view seeks a solution from Christ, the other seeks after a relationship with Christ. Crisis preaching (topical preaching patterned to focus on man’s current need) views God and the Word as means to an end. Expositional preaching (systematic explanation of Biblical texts) views a relationship with God through the Word as the end itself. One is man-centered, the other is God-focused. I will let you guess which is which.

If we are committed to thorough, Biblical exposition, we will take great joy in preaching through texts that seem to have nothing to do with the “big issues” of today. The opposite is dangerous in my opinion because the preacher becomes tied to the issues at hand and may begin drifting toward a man-driven ministry rather than a Word-driven philosophy of ministry. On the flip side, it is a misnomer that some texts are alive while others are dry and boring. The entirety of the Word of God (even Leviticus) cries out concerning the beauty and glory of our great and mighty God. He is in every phrase and paragraph of Holy Scripture. We can delight in God through any passage of Scripture because the Bible is the revelation of God Himself, not a book of virtues or morals. Perhaps the style and type of preaching will reveal the preacher’s view of the Book itself and even the God of the Book?

Shepherds, be committed to expositional preaching. Flock be demanding expositional preaching from your shepherds. The health of the local church, present and future, depends upon it.

Preaching an expositional sermon is a lot different than studying for one. A lot of times, I can know what the text says and have discovered great implications (at least I think they are great because they have encouraged and/or convicted me); but struggle with how to present the text in such a way that is meaningful and understandable for the listeners. At the same time, I am keenly aware of the danger of overreaching a text or undermining a passage in favor of meaning and understanding. This is the balance beam of preaching an expositional sermon. It is a work in progress for me, and I need God’s Spirit and grace to accomplish this task for His glory.

I have been thinking of what exposition is not lately. I have thought through these things regarding experiences I have had (regrettably also that which I have done), as well as different books I have read. One resource that has caused me to think more about this topic is the book The Nine Marks of A Healthy Church by Pastor Mark Dever.

Exposition is not verse by verse explanation of a text. To the contrary, I wonder if chapter and verse divisions have not done more harm to proper exegesis than help. Preachers tend to divide their texts up in chapter units, and though at times the chapter/verse divides might be accurate, many times meaning is missed when we are afraid to cross chapter and verse boundaries. A common stereotype of expositional preaching is dry, droning reading a verse and then rewording it. Reading the next verse and then rewording it with the occasional pause for application or reflection. I do not think this is true exposition. Genuine exposition is alive as we are coming to a fuller understanding of an entire text (paragraph, sentences, phrases, or even books) and learning of the implications that text has on our lives even today.

Exposition is not void of using other texts. The method of exposition mainly stays on the lines of that particular text, but it is important to show how other texts illustrate or support the main idea of the primary passage. The opposite of that is taking a topic and preaching through various verses or phrases in support of the topic (proof-texting). I do think this can be done at times, but I believe it is dangerous to make this the steady diet of the church. The best illustrations of a Biblical text is another text that supports the premise of the primary passage.

Exposition is not simply restating the text in the preacher’s words. It can be an easy trap especially when the text is difficult to understand, to simply reword the Scripture. This is not giving the sense of the passage. An example of this could be reading Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” And then the preacher saying something to this effect, “We should be confident of this very thing, that He, Jesus, who began the good work in us will perform it until Jesus Christ returns.” True, but all that the preacher has done is restate the text. To preach this text expositionally, there ought to be an explanation of the confidence which resides in the heart of Paul and possibly therefore in the saint and why it is there. How could Paul be confident, and can we be confident of this thing? The previous verses explain that. What is the good work begun in them? When was it begun, how was it begun, who begun it? What does he mean by “good” work? Why is there a completion to this good work and when is it completed? What exactly is the day of Jesus Christ? Is there any significance to verse 7 and Paul’s love for them being related to his confidence in Christ through them? There are hosts of other questions the expositor should be asking, these are just examples to show that it is not enough simply to reword the passage if we are to do proper exposition.

The next post will be positive and practical concerning the presentation of an expositional sermon.

Preparing to preach an expositional sermon on the Lord’s Day is nothing to be taken lightly. Then again, it is not just for pastors to be expositional. We should be expositional in our devotions, our Sunday School lessons, our evangelism, and every time we open the Word of God. Therefore, exposition is not just for pastors, but I believe that if the saints in the seats are going to properly use exposition in their daily lives, they should learn it from the pulpit. Preaching an expositional sermon requires certain commitments in the pastor’s preparation.

Commitment #1 The preacher must be committed to understanding the text before he enters the pulpit. I admit that there have been times (more than I want to admit) where I have begun the task of preaching and have still been uncertain as to what the text was saying. To understand the meaning of the text in study means that I will stay in my chair until I have a grasp of what God is saying. How can I speak of that in which I am not certain? Sometimes this takes weeks, sometimes hours, but I should never be satisfied with getting something “that will preach” but without a thorough understanding of “what? when? where? why? to what extent?” of the specific text.

Commitment #2 The preacher must be committed to interpreting the text within its context. Much damage is done when we rush through the interpretation discipline straight to the application of a particular text. Studying the Word looking for practical application instead of studying the Word looking for original intent is dangerous. To interpret the Scripture we must know the cultural, literary, historical, and theological context of the particular text. This means a great deal of study before we even get to the actual preaching text. Before we can exposit Romans 1:16 we must have a good understanding of what Romans 1 is about. We must also understand the meaning of the letter to the Romans in its entirety. We must also understand Pauline structure and the cultural audience receiving that letter. It is also good to see how the Book of Romans fits within the theological framework of the Gospels (since Romans is a treatise on the Gospel of Grace). Throughout this process, the interpreter is making decisions and choices about texts; if those choices are not subservient to the Holy Spirit’s active work in our lives, we will err.

Commitment #3 The preacher must be committed to saying nothing more or less than the text says. We are horrified with cults and false religions that add to the Word of God, and yet we seem to excuse shoddy interpretation, sloppy exegesis, and poor presentation of the Scripture because, “Bless his heart, he loves the Lord.” If we are truly the mouthpieces for God’s holy, perfect Word; then we must be devoted to not injecting upon the text our personal opinions or preferences (which are imperfect and many times unholy). We must not let the fear of man dictate our interpretation. Cultural and traditional understandings of God’s Word should not be thrown out, but rather they should be processed through the grid of what God’s Word is saying. Don’t jump to conclusions about God’s Word simply because it sounds good. Study the intent, the grammar, the broader context, the moods of Scripture, and the tenor of the passage. Make interpretive decisions because it is the plain sense of Scripture not based upon conservative or liberal tradition or pressure.

To be continued. . .

Expositional Preaching is the simplest form of preaching, yet one of the most arduous tasks for the pastor. Basically, exposition consists of explaining the meaning of a specific Biblical text and showing the spiritual implications that the text has on the listener’s lives. Exposition is simple in that the main idea of the sermon is nothing more or less than the main idea of the particular Scripture. It is difficult-not because Scripture is difficult to understand (although some passages are heavy), but because we humans tend to make too much or too little of God’s Word. At times, we tend to miss the point of the passage because we are distracted by movements, systems, or prejudices. Sometimes we miss the point of the passage because we have already come to a text of Scripture with our preconceived ideas of what we think God is saying or perhaps, what we wish God were saying. Some times we make too much of a text of Scripture. What I mean by that, is that we are looking for that jewel or gem that will save a marriage, finally penetrate that rebellious heart, or get some desired result in the listener’s lives and so we contort the plain sense of the text in order to garner results, maybe even good results. But the danger in either extreme is that the Scripture may be hindered from speaking because we, the mouthpieces have injected our designs and desires on the text.

Jeremiah 23:22 “But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.”

Expositional preaching is causing people to hear the the Words of God. Failure to do that, will result in people running to evil ways.

“Christian theology differs from every other branch of knowledge, by being the outcome of divine revelation. Consequently the interpretation of Scripture is the very first work of the theologian. When man constructs a system of philosophy, he must look into his own mind for the data; but when he constructs the Christian system he must look in the Bible for them. Hence the first procedure of the theologian is exegetical. The contents and meaning of inspiration are to be discovered. Christian dogmatics is what he finds, not what he originates.” [emphasis mine]

-William G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology pg. 11; 1888 first printing.

I just thought this was an interesting reminder that all Christians are to be theologians, yet they must be exegetically driven theologians; discovering theology first and foremost from the proper and clear interpretation of the Biblical texts within its context.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLByTnNwico&hl=en&fs=1&]

It has been a long time since i have written on CJ, sorry to all those who actually read this blog.  Now you may breathe a sigh of relief because I should be able to write more frequently.  This weekend I take off to speak at a teen retreat at Camp UTIBACA, but last week I spent most of my time preparing to administer our Christian School.  I have a question that I really desire discussion on. 

Is the Christian School movement dead?  If it is, do you consider that “good riddance” and “It’s about time”?  Or with a mournful dirge, do you lament the loss of the only way we will ever be able to reach the world with the Gospel?  Maybe most will probably find themselves somewhere in the middle (you bunch of compromisers).  I believe that the Christian school movement as we knew it, is dead in the water.  I do believe that is probably a good thing, but I also lament the “failure” of the movement.  Yes, I believe the movement failed in its endeavor.  Those that argue for the success of the movement really just adjust what the goal was.  Several years ago, there was a noble goal to train and send out a Christian army of young people who would evangelize the world and increase God’s Kingdom. In my experience (and the experience of others I have talked to), most of those young people are not serving the Lord today.  So what happened?  Why did that goal fail.  I believe there were several fundamental flaws in our philosophy of Christian education. 

1.  The school became equal to or more important than the church. 
God called his people to go into all the world and make disciples through the local church.  Schools became the goal of the church instead of a tool for the church.  Maybe you have heard this dialogue before: “What church are you serving in?” “Oh, It’s just a small church of about 100-150 in x-ville.”  “Do you have a school?”  “No” “Maybe the Lord will help you start one.”  Maybe the conversation was not exactly the same, but there became a note of sadness that you weren’t done building the church until you had a Christian School.  The school can be a ministry tool of the church to honor and glorify God rather than a drain on the financial and spiritual success of the church; but it must be in its proper place. 

2.  We let the world teach us how to educate our children.    
Whether we recognize it or not, the world has seeped into the educational process in our schools.  Skinner’s operant conditioning and behavioral modification has replaced Holy Spirit empowered changing of the heart by the Word of God.  This was seen in outward conformity to a set of rules without a knowledge of God.  How then do we educate our children?  In the knowledge of who God is and what He has done–God’s works and character.  Every part of education needs to be focused on knowing more of God. 

3.  We believed that isolation would create true followers of Christ. 
I believe very strongly that insulating our children from the world’s philosophy and morality is right.  It is immoral to bring Satan’s philosophy into my house and I don’t believe our children should be inundated with the wickedness of the world. However, isolationism is not the answer.  One of the fundamental ways this was done was with closed enrollment.  “You can only attend our school if you are saved and go to a church of like faith and practice.”  Of course you can’t pay teachers with good intentions so we had “Interview office conversions” and redefined what like faith and practice was.  Basically the bottom line replaced our philosophy.  Completely closed enrollment (in my opinion) creates a breeding ground for works without faith.  It produces a class of young people who are faith-faking instead of faith-living.  In an open enrollment (with strict moral guidelines that are enforced) one can escape the worldly philosophies and goals and still recognize that you are dealing with a mixture of pagans, Christians, and “pagan-Christians.” 

I will be following up this article with another that will explain my goals for our Christian school.

Before I attempt to answer this question, let me give a little background about myself.  I grew up in a God-fearing, Christ-honoring home where family devotions were insisted upon (even though we complained about getting up early).  I went to a small Christian school and received a solid education for which I am very grateful.  I attended a small Bible college in Northern Wisconsin and received my degree in Biblical Languages.  I then moved to Salt Lake where I worked with the youth in a small church and taught in the Christian school there.  Recently, the pastor of the church asked me to fill the spot of school administrator.  I accepted this ministry and am now the principal of a small private, Christian school.  That is where I am coming from, and it may surprise some to hear me say that I am not supportive of Christian Schools educating our children.  I am not for public schools educating our children.  Neither am I for a great homeschool curriculum educating our children.  Maybe it is just semantics, I don't know.  But there has been a movement in our culture to push the responsibility of education of the next generation off onto someone else.  The government will do it (public school), the church will do it (Christian school), or the curriculum will do it (homeschool).   However, God places the responsibility of the education of our children squarely on the shoulders of the parents (both of them).  One of the reasons public schools have failed (and most have failed miserably), is that the parents let the ungodly, secular world decide what their children will be taught.  One of the reasons Christian schools are failing (and many are) is that the parents have felt that the Christian school will "fix everything."  There are many homeschool families (not all) that are an embarassment on the Christian community because the parents have relegated what and how their children will learn to the "superior" curriculum.  What needs to change?  We need Christian parents overly-involved in every aspect of their children's education.  From the moment the day begins till they lay their little heads on their pillows–educate.  If you enroll your children in a public school, be active in the political process, after all you are giving your most precious gift into the government's hands.  If you enroll your children in a Christian school, get involved in the school and church as much as you can.  If you homeschool your children, don't trust the curriculum, involve yourself in the process of imparting and receiving truth.  We don't need more schools and curriculums for this next generation, we need more God-directed, God-devoted, God-worshipping parents to be serious about the responsibility of "Christian education."