Rural Ministry: God loves the middle of nowhere

I never expected that ministry would lead me to living in the middle of nowhere. I grew up within 20 minutes of a major city (Pittsburgh) and in college and seminary we lived in sizable cities.  So for 31 years of my life I lived in cities and it was the norm. Several of my first ministry trips were in large cities (New York and New Orleans) and I loved them.  So I assumed that I was wired to be in ministry in a city setting, even if it were a smaller city of say 100,000. I was wrong (that is often what happens when we presume on God’s will!)

God led me to the middle of nowhere.  I say that because of two things that happened this week that reminded me I’m sort of in the middle of nowhere. I was having dinner with a denominational leader and our pastoral intern. The denominational leader was getting an important phone call on his cell and it kept dropping.  In his frustration he told the person on the other end, “I can’t hear you, I’m in the middle of nowhere!”  I understood his frustration because I dealt with this on several occasions. But we were having dinner discussing how we can bring the message of the gospel to these towns located in the middle of nowhere.

The second thing that happened is that I heard my own preaching.  I don’t particularly like to listen to myself preach and I agree with what Martyn Lloyd Jones said that I would not cross the street to listen to myself preach.  But I was going through my filing cabinet and found a DVD of a sermon I did in seminary.  I wanted to listen to see if I could notice some improvement in my sermon delivery since then.  I heard myself say in the sermon these words (maybe prophetically to myself): “Are you willing to go and take that church in middle of nowhere and be that unnamed disciple who never gets any glory but God gets it all?”

So here God has me to the middle of nowhere. We are trying to buy a house in the middle of nowhere. My kids are going to school and making friends in the middle of nowhere. We are trying to put down roots in the middle of nowhere. Last night I got to pray with a handful of people who live in the middle of nowhere and love Jesus. I get to serve Jesus and His church in the middle of nowhere. 

God loves the middle of nowhere.  He created the middle of nowhere.  Jesus gave His life for churches gathered in the middle of nowhere.  God calls some of His servants to serve Him joyfully in the middle of nowhere. So for those of you who serve in the middle of nowhere be encouraged: God loves the place and the people in the middle of nowhere. 

*(For those of you who don’t know where I serve it is an extremely nice small town of 6,000.  Orange City Iowa is a Dutch enclave with a rich heritage of the Reformed faith. There is a college here which gives it a younger feel most of the year. It would probably make it on the top ten list of the cleanest towns in the world.  I say all this because I am aware that there are those who serve Christ much more in the middle of nowhere than I do.)

What I've learned this first year of ministry

July marks the first year I have been full time in ministry serving at Cornerstone Baptist in Orange City Iowa.  As I look back at the year and reflect on what I have learned, there would be one piece of advice I have come away with for young pastors: Beware of giving much advice in the ministry right now, instead, seek out seasoned pastors and learn from them.

There is a temptation in seminary to formulate opinions about everything and think of how you will lead a church and do it better than most guys out there.  I confess that was my thinking at times and it probably came out in my conversation. I also find this true with the atmosphere of blogging among younger pastors, and have probably contributed to it at some point.  We young guys have it figured out.  If only people would listen then the church would have a lot more health right?  Probably wrong. 

Just think, who was it that wrote the pastoral letters in the New Testament: Timothy, Titus or Paul?  God used Paul, a man seasoned in ministry to do the talking.  Or how about the disciples in the Gospels?  Usually when they are speaking it is not all that good and they need corrected by Jesus (I’m preaching on this tomorrow).  So the biblical example seems to be that young and inexperienced men should keep their mouths shut for some time when it comes to ministry advice.

So again, my advice is: young pastors need to beware of giving much advice in ministry right now, instead, seek out seasoned pastors and learn from them.  Just to clarify, I do not mean that young pastors should not give advice at all.  Many in the congregation may come for counsel and it is a pastor’s job to counsel from the Word. But what I have often seen in myself and other young men in the ministry is having too many opinions with too little experience.

So how does this practically look? (Yes, please forbear with me while I break my own rule and give some advice) I would say try to find a local pastor who has about 20 years of ministry experience, and meet for lunch one a month where you can ask him many questions.  Do be careful in choosing this—be sure he is not a pastor who is cynical and bitter in the ministry.  Sadly I have met a few of them and your time will not be an encouragement at all.  You may even find yourself questioning you call.

God has been kind to place a pastor in my town who has been this seasoned man.  He has listened to my ups and downs, encouraged me those days I wanted to quit, gave hope when others said there was none, and centered it all on the firm foundation of God’s Word. I know that he was able to do this because he has weathered these same storms of ministry in his life over the past 20 years. If you can find a man like that you have found a treasure.  Thank God and him.

I also think that having a seasoned pastor with a larger ministry platform who you don’t know personally but can learn from is also helpful.  My “larger platform” pastor is Tim Keller.  I love what he has to say and love his writings. The nice thing is that I can access him anytime through his books (remember this is how Paul mentored Timothy and Titus at times) But I come to him as a learner—my goal is not to try to model my ministry after his, but simply to learn some pastoral gems along the way.  

And that is how I see it: young pastors are to collect as many gems as they can now, store them up for some time.  There will be the day when you and I will be sitting on the other side of the booth at the Chinese restaurant, encouraging that young pastor not to give up just yet and giving him the seasoned counsel he needs in Christ.  

What Do I Want For Father's Day?

As Father’s Day approaches, this question will typically get asked of me.  The reply is usually, “Oh, nothing really except maybe a new set of golf clubs, or a full-size Chevy pickup with an extended cab.”  Dad’s usually want big-ticket items when they get something and I’m no exception—so I usually settle for going out to get pizza or a burger or maybe a new shirt if I’m lucky.

Actually, Father’s Day can be counterproductive for most men.  Most dads (I’m top of the list) really don’t need a day set aside to be more self-indulgent, spend more money or treat themselves to something.  So what do I want, or should I say, what do I need for Father’s Day?  Probably to be reminded of my calling and responsibility as a father.  Paul had to remind dads of this in the early church:

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)

As I look at this command, I realize how far short I fall  when left to myself.  This is why I desperately need to be filled with the Spirit.  The promise of what this looks like is seen in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”   

I would say that patience tops my list.  So often I sense a lack of patience toward my children.  They are slow, procrastinate and for some reason don’t listen the first time. I find myself usually responding in an impatient way.   

Joy comes next.  My kids are kids, and kids have one main objective each day (at least mine do): to have as much fun as possible.  But I often find myself correcting them for every little infraction, warning them of how much stuff they can break (or how many bones my son can break).  Deep down though, it often reflects a lack of joy.  God has blessed me with three precious kids and I need more joy as a dad.

How about gentleness? Gentleness is tied to the meekness that describes Christ (Matt 11:29).  Do my kids see me in this way—approachable and gentle towards them?  It is interesting how often they go to my wife and ask her when they want something.  Do I lack the gentleness that they can confide in and rest in?

So what I want this Father’s Day is what I need—for the Spirit to work in my heart and produce more fruit so that I can honor Christ more as a dad.  The golf clubs eventually rust; the pickup depreciates and eventually breaks down, but the Spirit’s work has an eternal impact on my family. 

When is the right time to enter the ministry?

I wrestled with this question for years: when is the right time to enter the ministry?  A little background might help.  The Lord Jesus saved me at sixteen and I experienced a pretty radical transformation.  I knew I desired to serve Him with my life somehow.  So you could say that my call to ministry came soon after my conversion as a teenager.  But I knew that I lacked training, so I went to Bible college and seminary.  That took approximately 10 years of my life—I also gained a cute wife and three precious kids during that time.  But over those years I wrestled with when I would be “ready” to begin full-time ministry.  Even between college and seminary I wrestled with the decision to either find a ministry position or further my education.  I think it is right to say that for many years I did not believe that I was ready.  A quote that I stumbled across today during my sermon prep may have helped me in those days and may be a help to someone else in the future:

“No matter how much exegesis, theology, and counseling one has studied, one is never ‘prepared for the ministry.’  A genuine call to ministry always calls us to that which we are not adequately prepared.  It is only in awareness of such that the Christian experiences the presence and promise of Jesus Christ, and learns to depend not on human capabilities but on the one who calls and in the power of the proclamation to authenticate itself.” (James Edwards The Gospel of Mark, p. 183) 

Now I fully trust in the sovereignty of God and His timing for me to enter ministry.  Furthermore, I think there is wisdom in waiting a little longer to enter ministry rather than taking a pastorate early in life.  Life experience is a huge help in ministry and I know very few men in their early twenties who have the maturity to shepherd.   But for myself, there may have been more of a tendency to trust in developing my own capabilities rather than depending on Christ and His strength.  With that said, when is the right time to enter ministry?  My answer: when you are keenly aware that your own human capabilities are nothing and the presence and promise of Christ are everything!  

The Reason I Will Only Blog Occasionally

My goal for blogging after seminary was to continue in the discipline of writing. I enjoyed setting up a blog and tried at one point to post something once a week.  It has been fun and for the handful of people who actually took the time to read my stuff I am humbled and say thank you.

I initially posted reasons for starting a blog and mentioned that if it interfered with family time then I would stop posting. While I do not feel it has threatened my family time, I wrestle with the decision if it is the best use of time for my spiritual family—my church.    I desire to be the hardest-working pastor by the grace of God that I can be.  The words of Peter are a continual reminder to me of my responsibility:

“shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you…And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:2,4).

If I knew that the majority of the folks in my church read what I posted and it edified them in some way, they I would more eagerly post on a weekly basis.  But I have a hunch that very few people in my congregation are reading what I post and it is mostly friends from seminary and other pastors who read my stuff.  I am not a pastor to pastors (John Piper and John MacArthur are these men) so I need to focus my energy on Cornerstone Baptist Church in Orange City Iowa for now.   If you read this, I would appreciate a brief prayer for me and my church.  I love the local church, because Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Eph 5:25).  There are many Christian leaders who have great platforms and should blog regularly.  I am not one of them and this is why I choose to be an occasional blogger for now.  My ministry energy is completely focused as the full-time pastor in a small Baptist church.

When I do post occasionally, it will probably be geared toward biblical manhood and masculinity or something family related.  Again, thanks to those of you who take the time to read my stuff. 

What Are Your Prayer Plans?

At the beginning of each year I usually set out to begin a Bible reading plan.  It is at this point in the Spring that I can often let it slide a little.  Thankfully, this year our church is going through the Read The Bible for Life plan and we use this as the base of our mid-week Bible Study.  So I have accountability from others in the church to keep up with the plan.  I also have accountability that I stay in the Word because I have to preach and put together Sunday School lessons weekly.  This is good and I find great joy in doing it.

This is not true with prayer.  There is nothing, or should I say no one who holds me accountable to pray.  Outside of the public prayer times, I’m not held accountable to anyone to pray.  Obviously the Lord Jesus expect me to pray (Matt 6:5-13; 9:38, Luke 6:28, 11:1) and I’m accountable to Him if I fail to pray.  But I know the temptation to not pray often happens when there is no plan to pray. 

The way I prioritize my work day goes like this:

1.    Do the thing I need the most first: seek the Lord and pray to Him.

2.    Do the thing I hate the most next: usually administrative related stuff or making a hard phone-call.

3.    Do the thing I enjoy the most last: reading & study (still a seminary geek at heart!)

All this is to say that all Christians, especially those in leadership need a plan to pray.  We need to have a set time, place, and goal (prayer list) in order to pray effectively.  The advice of D.A. Carson is well worth consideration:

“Much praying is not done because we do not plan to pray.  We do not drift into spiritual life; we do not drift into disciplined prayer. We will not grow in prayer unless we plan to pray.  That means we must self-consciously set aside time to do nothing but pray.”  (D.A. Carson A Call to Spiritual Reformation, p.19)

Calvinists Who Love Evangelism

The picture may look like an oxymoron to some.  It is a gospel tract (used for personal evangelism) with a picture of Charles Spurgeon (a Calvinist-Baptist preacher).  Some Christians, especially in my denomination (Southern Baptist) stereotype those who hold to Calvinism as non-evangelistic. They think that those who have a high view of God’s sovereignty in election and predestination are not eager in evangelism. This may be the case for some, but not true consistently.

I was a member of a Baptist church in college that held Calvinistic theology.  More missionaries went out from that church than my non-denominational church I was in as a teenager that taught a more free-will theology.  The seminary I went to is considered the Calvinistic one in my denomination.  Many of my friends I graduated with are either on the mission field or planting churches and working hard in evangelism.  My heroes, William Carey and Adoniram Judson both held to a high view of God’s sovereignty in election, yet gave up all their comforts in life to share the gospel with pagan people. So the stereotype does not hold true consistently.

As I write this, I’m preparing to go to an evangelism conference this weekend led by a man who holds to more of a free-will theology. I may not agree with some of what he says, but I always desire to grow and become a better evangelist and that’s why I’ll go. I confess that I don’t always seek opportunities when I should.  At the same time, some of my most joyful moments in ministry have been sharing the gospel with unbelievers and I try to consistently present the gospel to unbelievers in many of my sermons.  When I fill a pulpit where I don’t know the congregation, it is usually an evangelistic message.

I dislike the label Calvinist.  First, I’m not sure how Calvin feels about us attaching his name to it in light of 1 Cor 1:12-13.  Second, the TULIP acronym comes not from Calvin but from the Canons of Dort, so more accurately it ought to be labeled Dortism.  Either way, I hold to all five points of TULIP because I think they are all biblical and logical.  But I also see that it is biblical to be earnest in evangelism. Paul tells Timothy:  “…do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim 4:5).  This is why there are Calvinists who love evangelism: because they love God and His Word and want to obey it....just like Mr. Spurgeon.