Midwestern Magazine - Issue 34

M I D W E S T E R N B A P T I S T T H E O L O G I C A L S E M I N A RY A N D C O L L E G E

THE PASTOR GOD’S MAN ON GOD’S MISSION

ISSUE 34

WHY I ADMIRE PASTORS | RECOVERING THE CURING OF SOULS | INTERVIEW WITH GREG BELSER

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BRIAN KEY

JARED C. WILSON

OWEN STRACHAN

JOHN MARK YEATS

CO NTENTS

Midwestern Magazine Issue 34

AT A G L A N C E

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PURSUING THE RIGHT THING IN MINISTRY

Matt Chandler

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PASTOR, WHAT’S YOUR VISION FOR THE CHURCH? H.B. Charles, Jr.

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STUDENT HIGHLIGHT Tyler Sykora

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ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT Micah Fries

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IN FOCUS Antioch Bible Baptist Church

32

AROUND CAMPUS A review of news and events

at Midwestern Seminary

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BOOKS IN BRIEF Recently published books by

Midwestern faculty and staff

FROM THE PRESIDENT

6 Why I Admire Pastors and You Should Too

50

RESOURCES FOR THE CHURCH A selection

of articles from the For The Church resources site at ftc.co

ESSAY

ESSAY

Q&A

10 Recovering the

14 Pastoral PTSD

18 Knowing When to Leave

Curing of Souls

Godly pastoral care is the overflow of love, an act of nurture, and an act of self-giving.

J.A. Medders on how to deal with the harsh realities of ministry trauma.

An interview with Greg Belser, Lead Pastor of Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi.

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Dear Friends, There is little doubt that the 21st century pastor wears many hats—like leader, missionary, evangelist, apologist, theologian, church historian, shepherd, father, and husband. Some of these hats are appropriate, aligning with the New Testament’s lofty expectations for the pastorate. Yet, many others are unhealthy, burdensome expectations imposed by the congregation—or even self-imposed by the pastor himself.

In both cases, the 21st century pastorate can be a daunting position to hold. The biblical expectations are high, and the nonbiblical ones held by many churches are higher still. No pastor is omnicompetent; no pastor can be omnipresent. Yet, this is exactly what today’s pastor is called on to be.

Helping God-called men to navigate in-and-among these high expectations is the very mission and heartbeat of Midwestern Seminary. We exist to train the next generation of pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders for service in the local church. Every last ounce of our planning, educating, and mentoring through each of our degree tracks, especially the M.Div., is poured into fulfilling this vision.

Within this educational process, Midwestern Seminary’s faculty strives to assist students in answering questions like: “What is the pastor to be?” and “What must the pastor do?” They turn for these answers, first and foremost, to Scripture—which provides the impetus and instruction for all we endeavor to do in Christ. Further, the faculty gives deeply of themselves to these students—offering words of instruction and encouragement so that they might more faithfully, and more effectively, serve the local church upon graduating.

Over the years, I have pastored several churches and served several others in varying roles. Thankfully, my experiences have been good ones with supportive, loving congregations. Now I find myself one step removed, serving as a seminary president, where my responsibility and joy is to train ministers for service in the local church.

I often tell people the seminary presidency is the highest office one can hold, other than being the pastor of any local church. I mean those words. The call to pastor is a grand, glorious call. And it’s a call one should seek to fulfill with maximum faithfulness.

As you read through this magazine, you’ll find that many of the pieces revolve around the theme “The Pastor: God’s Man on God’s Mission.” I hope what you find within assists you in understanding anew the role of the pastor. May it help you to pray more fervently for pastors across the globe, as well as to pray for Midwestern Seminary as we train the next generation of pastors and ministry leaders for the Church.

Sincerely,

Jason K. Allen, Ph.D. President Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

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Readers can visit DR. JASON K. ALLEN’S BLOG at jasonkallen.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE ISSUE 34

ADMINISTRATION Jason K. Allen PRESIDENT

James K. Kragenbring VICE PRESIDENT FOR

INSTITUTIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Jason G. Duesing PROVOST

Charles W. Smith, Jr.

VICE PRESIDENT FOR

INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS

EDITORIAL Jared C. Wilson CHIEF EDITOR

ART Jason Muir

LAYOUT & DESIGN

Liz Stack

I am not sure any poet has captured the essence of the pastoral vocation better than the 18th century clergyman and hymnist John Newton, whose “A Minister’s Burden” begins with this poignant insight: What contradictions meet, In ministers employ!

It is a bitter sweet, A sorrow full of joy.

This is clearly a man who knows what he’s talking about! The highest of highs and the lowest of lows—the faithful shepherds of the church see them all, because they’ve walked through them all with their flocks.

What can sustain a pastor through the trying contradictions of ministry? Well, what else would you expect from the man who wrote “Amazing Grace?” He says, of course, that it is “the Savior’s dying love” that “moves the efforts” of the minister. It is to that spiritual reality—the empowerment of God’s grace for pastors—that we’ve dedicated this edition of the Midwestern Magazine.

PHOTOGRAPHER

Special thanks to: PAT HUDSON

In these pages, you will find interviews with ministers well-known and lesserknown, practical helps for ministers of every size church and platform, and encouragement for ministers in every season. Matt Chandler offers counsel on preaching and discipleship. Greg Belser lets you know when it’s time to move on. Jeff Medders has counsel for recovering from wounds. Midwestern President Jason K. Allen offers admiration for the whole lot of you!

“The World Needs Pastors,” Midwestern professor Owen Strachan argues. And the church and her institutions need to recognize and support the men who meet this need. That’s the aim of our school—to be For the Church, in part, by training and equipping her leaders, present and future—and that’s the aim of the issue you hold in your hands. I trust you will be helped by it.

© 2017 Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.

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WHY I ADMIRE PASTORS and You Should Too

by JASON K. ALLEN

M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was one of the greatest elected officials in our nation’s history and one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known.

He was a tsunami of energy, one who never saw a mountain too tall to scale or a fight too threatening to join. He shook the nation, invented the modern presidency, and left a changed country in his wake.

In other words, there is a reason why his face, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln is chiseled on Mount Rushmore.

Teddy Roosevelt, reflecting on the burden of leadership and the willingness to risk all and attempt great things, famously observed, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”* Every time I read Roosevelt’s quote, my mind darts to the pastorate, and the fine work that men of God do. The office of the pastorate is a high one, the work a noble one, and the men who faithfully undertake it are worthy of our admiration.

In our age of constant news, social media, and the world’s attentiveness to pastors who have stumbled, it is easy to forget all that pastors do for the church. Sure, we have all heard of a pastor who has not acted admirably, but they are the exception, not the rule. Most of the pastors I know garner my trust and respect and deserve my prayers and support. That, and given my own years serving churches, makes me admire pastors. You should too. Here is why:

“In our age of constant news, social media, and the world’s attentiveness to pastors who have stumbled, it is easy to forget all that pastors do for the church.”

FIRST, PASTORS ARE CALLED BY GOD. Christ has given the church in our age “evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). One does not stroll into the ministry; one surrenders to it.

Pastors are those who have been set apart by God, called by his Spirit, and who have submitted their lives to Him. This requires obedience not only to enter the ministry but to continue in it. Thus, I admire pastors for yielding their lives to God. MBT S .EDU

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“The pastor who faithfully discharges this responsibility does more than feed the church the Word, he feeds me the Word. Every Christian needs a steady intake of God’s Word.”

SECOND, PASTORS MINISTER THE WORD. The pastor’s one, irreducible responsibility is to feed the sheep the Word of God. Paul stipulates the pastor “must be able to teach,” and he charged Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” and to “preach the Word” (I Timothy 3:2, 4:13; II Timothy 4:2). The pastor who faithfully discharges this responsibility does more than feed the church the Word, he feeds me the Word. Every Christian needs a steady intake of God’s Word. And a faithful pastor, who rightly divides the Word weekly, is worthy of high praise.

they offer more than consolation during life’s trials. They preach, lead, and fulfill a host of other responsibilities, but pastors are men who are willing to bear our burdens of heart. When we need prayer, counsel, or support, pastors stand in the gap for us, they bear our burden with us. Paul spoke of his affection and parental care of the believers in Thessalonica, and Peter exhorted the elders to shepherd the flock with eagerness, not lording it over them. Such is the heart of a pastor, one who loves his congregation.

THIRD, PASTORS ARE HELD TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY. In fact, both the task of preaching and the responsibility of spiritual accountability bring this higher level of accountability. It begins with the qualifications of the office, as outlined in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. But it extends to other passages as well, including “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgement,” and that congregations should “obey their leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account” (James 3:1, Hebrews 13:17). This fact is all the more daunting when you realize that pastors face more intense temptation.

Satan targets those whose fall will do most damage to the church and most sully God’s glory. I admire pastors for putting themselves in the arena.

fall will do most damage to

FOURTH, PASTORS TEND THE FLOCK. Pastors are more than a shoulder to cry on, and

“Satan targets those whose the church and most sully God’s glory.”

This is no easy task. Church members can be wayward, stubborn, and even rebellious. Thus, the pastor who serves the flock is worthy of our admiration.

Do you admire your pastor? Does he know it? The point is not to put him on a pedestal. The point is to rightly value, appreciate, and honor him. Do not wait until pastor appreciation month. Why not thank him this week? Why not pray for him this week? Why not speak encouraging words about him and to him this week? As you do, he will be encouraged, your church will be strengthened, and you will no doubt be even better served by him.

*Roosevelt, Theodore, and Brian M. Thomsen. The Man in the Arena: The Selected Writings of Theodoe Roosevelt: A Reader. New York: Forge, 2003, 5.

M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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REC OV ERING the

CURING of

S O UL S

by JARED C. WILSON

M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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From my ministry vantage point at Midwestern Seminary, and in getting to travel quite a bit and meet young and aspiring pastors around the world, I have been greatly encouraged by the increasing sense of what I can only call the “pastoral temperament” I sense among the younger generation.

What I mean is, I sense—and I hope I’m right—that something that has come alongside the gospel recovery movement is not just a recovery of theology, expositional preaching, missional church planting, and the like, but also a recovery of the active and intentional shepherding of the people of God. Our ancestors used to call this intentional shepherding “the curing of souls.”

A lot of us still remember the winning of souls, and we employ that concept in a variety of ways, from end-of-service invitations to door-to-door evangelism or gospel sharing in backyards and coffee shops and airplane seats. But the curing of souls has fallen on hard times. You get the impression from some church promotional material that our only job is to win the soul, and then the soul is really sort of on its own. But Jesus did not say simply to go out into the world and make converts of all peoples; he said to make disciples. And this means the pastoral enterprise cannot begin and end with public proclamation

and private planning—it must be applied in personal care. As John Piper has famously warned us: “Brothers, we are not professionals!”

The phrase is antiquated today, of course—curing souls may conjure up the image for some of an old-timey physician or apothecary, promising some magical elixir for our spiritual maladies. Or, more crudely, it may simply remind others of curing meat!

But while the wording may be old-fashioned, I certainly hope the concept is not.

To those in the church committed not just to preaching and teaching and prayer—the primary tasks of the church elder, to be sure—but also to home and hospital visitation, counseling, personal discipleship—to helping people think and helping people die—I want to offer my warmest thanks and profoundest salute. And to those who would seem to be falling behind in this vital area, I hope what follows will serve as a gracious exhortation to repentance.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, the apostle Paul writes: But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

The nursing mother, of course, is not the dominant model of the pastoral vocation marketed today. I have never seen a ministry conference advertised called “The Pastor as Nursing Mother.” But this is exactly the image that Paul here is introducing as emblematic of the pastoral task.

Why does he use this maternal image to reflect “being affectionately desirous” of this flock and “sharing not only the gospel but his very self” with them? Three reasons, I think, which I offer briefly: MBT S .EDU

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1. Godly pastoral care is the overflow of love.

I didn’t nurse my children, of course, but I do remember getting up with them in the middle of the night and preparing a bottle and feeding and rocking them. As fussy and inconsolable as babies can be, I don’t know if I’ve ever felt more connected to my daughters than when cradling them up close, feeding them, singing to them, rocking them, soothing them. I often started that routine in an exasperated, frustrated way, but I almost never ended it that way.

Something spiritual happens when we get up close, share meals with our people, weep with them, remind them gently of the gospel, listen to their stories, hold their hands when they’re hurting or dying. You cannot experience this if you see the people of your church as projects, not people. You cannot experience this if your ministry is driven largely out of ambition or aspiration. It must be driven by love.

“Something spiritual happens when we get up close, share meals with our people, weep with them, remind them gently of the gospel, listen to their stories, hold their hands when they’re hurting or dying.”

Paul calls this love “affectionate desire.” When Jesus looked out at the crowd and said that they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd, he was broken inside over them. If you struggle to feel this way about your church, ask M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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yourself why. Ask God to help you. And then put yourself in positions to have your heart shaped more toward them. This is why Paul describes it as “gentle,” and why one of the biblical qualifications for eldership is “gentleness.” It’s also part of the fruit of the Spirit. So if you’re not a gentle person, not only are you disqualifying yourself from ministry, you have reason to test your salvation to see if you are in the faith.

2. Godly pastoral care is an act of nurture.

The nursing mom is feeding her child. She isn’t neglectful. She isn’t outsourcing the work.

Remember that Jesus didn’t say to Peter, “Teach the sheep to self-feed.” He said, “Feed my lambs.”

Pastor, do not look at your church primarily as a recruiting station or an event center or a spiritual production, but as a pasture where the sheep are nourished.

And you must take care what you feed your sheep with. If you want them to be nourished, built up in their faith, and empowered to follow Christ day by day, you must feed them grace. The finished work of Christ announced in the gospel is the only power prescribed in the Scriptures for growth in godliness. You can’t inject anything into the law that will make it do what the simple, pure feast of the gospel will. Make sure you provide enough feed in the gospel that they never lack the sustenance they need to live and grow.

3. Godly pastoral care is an act of self-giving.

The nursing mom brings her baby to her breast. She is giving of herself. She cannot give what she doesn’t have. This is why Paul connects the image to “sharing our very selves” with the church at Thessalonica.

Pastoral care is costly. It doesn’t just hurt your brain; it can hurt your heart. Sometimes sheep bite. The weight of ministry will keep you up at night. It will make you sometimes feel drained. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul talks about the anxiety he feels

“If your ministry is comfortable, you may not actually being doing ministry. Godly pastoral care is self-giving.”

for all the churches. Godly pastors know what he means by this “anxiety” — the spiritual weight of responsibility.

If your ministry is comfortable, you may not actually being doing ministry. Godly pastoral care is self-giving.

This means, pastor, that to give adequate care you must give adequate time to be nourished yourself.

You cannot give what you don’t have. This is not a call to be self-centered but to be self-aware.

During my last pastorate, one dear lady who began as one of my most serious scrutinizers became one of my biggest supporters. When you can turn a critic into a colleague, something extraordinary has happened because usually it runs the other way!

But this woman watched me for several years up close, asked me lots of questions about motives and intentions. And she saw me at my best and at my worst. She got a piece of my heart. And she ended up being the last saint I had the privilege of helping pass into glory, the last funeral I preached before my time of service there was up. And over the several months it took her to die, I was one of the few she let into her room in hospice at any time— to talk, to pray, to read Scripture to her. Why? Because when I first came I was just “the preacher.”

But I had become, over time, her pastor.

No, this isn’t new. It’s not innovative. And it’s not rocket science. But it is vital to the work of the minister and to the life of his congregation. Godly pastoral care is the overflow of love, an act of nurture, and an act of self-giving. Pastor, cure some souls.

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PASTORAL

PTSD

by J.A. MEDDERS

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Pastor Ted plops down in his peeling “leather” office chair, opens his email, swigs his Coke Zero, and reads a two-sentence message from a church member: “Hey, can we meet? I’d like to talk you about something.”

Depending on the state of Ted’s heart, he will either be encouraged or exhausted—maybe worried or fearful of what’s about to happen.

a street-fight, and I wasn’t ready. As if it weren’t bad enough that people left by the dozens and the church finances went cliff diving in shallow water, the personal attacks were jarring.

HERE ARE MY SCARS I’ll never forget when a well-respected man in our church and city came to my office to chat. It was an ambush. Before I knew it, he was calling me arrogant for not agreeing with him that Adam of Eden wasn’t a real person. “I thought you’d be different and listen to older guys.” He went on to say how he didn’t like how I became the lead pastor of his church. And I can honestly say that I wasn’t too thrilled myself with the position in that moment either! “I’m only staying because I have friends here,” he said. “I can’t imagine you’ll make it anyways.”

I’ve been Pastor Ted. Have you?

THE COMMON PAIN OF BEING A PASTOR It’s not uncommon for pastors to have lurking suspicions toward vague and brief requests for a meeting. Why? Well, many pastors have shrapnel and scars from the ministry. When a pastor goes through a storage unit of skirmishes, he might pick up a flinch along the way. Pastors who have been through the fire, the storm, and the hard- fought battles—some needed, others ugly and unbiblical—will often come down with this peculiar lack of faith. While I’ve never played a doctor on television, I have a diagnosis: I call it “Pastoral Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.”

Here’s my trauma: at twenty-five years old I became the lead pastor of a two-year old church plant. I had no idea I was placing my heart on an ant bed. While I was already a part of the church, no one expected I’d become the lead pastor they were searching for. Nor did I. Dozens of families peacefully left the church after I was installed; it’s like they heard the fat lady sing. I would be lying if I didn’t say it bothered me. But I get why they left. Most of them had been married longer than I had been alive. I was a whippersnapper. But this isn’t what shell-shocked me. My church became

One lady wrote to me in an email, even though she said she didn’t mean to be rude: “You are all about yourself. You don’t care about people wanting to know Jesus.”

I remember getting groceries with my daughter when another woman came up to me and said, “I liked going to your church, but you were just too young for us. My husband just couldn’t respect you.” And this was after former members were avoiding me on the previous aisle.

A small group leader eventually left the church because my wife didn’t wave back to him—because she didn’t see him!—while she was chasing our daughter across the cafetorium of the junior high.

One man stood by my side and advocated for me during the interview process to become the lead pastor, only to pull the Benedict Arnold option after my ordination, spreading gossip and doubt among the church.

I could go further, but I think you get the point: Christians, who I thought were my friends, made me their enemy. Pastoring became a game of Minesweeper.

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Meeting here, counseling there, going well, and then kaboom. Reset. Bang.

One day, it all came crashing down. I couldn’t do it anymore. I was sick of crawling through the razorwire of pastoral ministry. While crying in my car, I managed to mumble out a prayer, “Lord, I can’t do this anymore. Would you please do something? I won’t make it, this church won’t make it, unless you do something.”

He did. He heard my mumble. The church finances recovered. The troops retreated. But once the dust settled, I already learned a new set of unfortunate skills for the next couple of years of pastoral ministry. Similar to signs in a parking lot: hide, take, lock.

Hide in my office, take precautions, and lock the door. I began to pull back from the sheep, fearing their bark and bite. I locked myself away in my study, only taking the time to pastor the people that I knew weren’t a risk.

introverted, crusty. I didn’t have problems enjoying the company of other pastors and leaders outside of our church. I knew they weren’t out to get me. I trusted them. I knew we were on the same team. We are in similar trenches. But it was the Sunday morning worship service that felt like walking through a haunted house.

I wasn’t mature enough to admit it then, but looking back, I feared the people in our church. For about three years, I was terrified of them and hid it by faking toughness: “I don’t care what anyone thinks of me.” But of course I did. We all do to a certain degree.

My heart and mind developed an allergic reaction to the sheep. The closer they got, the itchier I became. I was scared. Some of the sheep seemed like KGB operatives, while others really were kindness in animation.

“THE REASON A PASTORAL FLINCH TOOK RESIDENCE IN MY HEART IS THAT I CEASED TO BELIEVE GOD’S GRACE WAS ENOUGH FOR ME IN ALL OF THESE THINGS.”

Whenever an email, a text, or a quick, “Can we get together this week?” was tossed my way, I immediately ducked for cover. I could feel my heart recoil and my soul would get uneasy. What are they upset about? What did I do? Are they leaving? I bet they are leaving. This reflex paralyzed me.

I became like one of Pavlov’s dogs. Whenever I heard the meeting bell ring, I prepared for another disappointing and painful encounter—even if it weren’t true. A full-scale retreat was in motion. Everything felt like a crisis. Everything made me cringe.

Have you been there? Are you there?

STARING FEAR IN THE FACE Not surprisingly, this disorder in my heart led to disorder in my ministry. I found it difficult to connect with people in the church. They felt like potential spies, waiting to execute their orders. “Et tu Brute?” I thought I was surrounded by a bunch of Brutuses instead of Barnabases. While I used to be outgoing, extroverted and playful, I became guarded,

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After three years of war, the conflict was purged from the land. The church was experiencing the peace of God, but I was still uneasy. The flinch abideth. Whenever a new, gracious, and supportive church member wanted to get lunch, my stomach would turn. Even though no one gave me an inkling that an insurrection was coming over a salad, it didn’t matter. I was suspicious. I was fearful. I was lacking love. Something was wrong. Something was wrong with me. I became a man of little faith.

HIS POWER IS PERFECT IN OUR WEAKNESS The reason a pastoral flinch took residence in my heart is that I ceased to believe God’s grace was enough for me in all of these things. Paul endured more difficulties and ministry battles than I can fathom. He asked the Lord to make it easier on him, and what did our Lord say?

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.

For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:8–10)

for me, lives in me (Gal. 2:20). The gospel I preached was—and is—the gospel I need.

Church members, please love your pastors. Honor your pastors—outdo them in showing honor (Rom. 12:10). Respect and esteem your pastors. “We ask

“FAITH IS THE ANTIDOTE TO PASTORAL PTSD.”

In the wake of attacks, insults and calamities, I failed to believe what we teach little children. I am weak but he is strong. Therefore, I am strong because his power is made perfect in my weakness. I didn’t believe the Lord was at work in me.

Faith is the antidote to pastoral PTSD. The gospel and the gospel’s glorious gifts bring rejuvenating sanity to pastors. Once 2 Corinthians 12:8–10 began to rest on my heart and mind, I could look back at the first three years of my ministry and not refer to it as the First Baptist Chernobyl. I could look back with contentment and thanksgiving—and even, “Boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” God refined me in those years.

THE GOSPEL IS YOUR SANITY As soon as I stared my lack of faith in the face, it began to flee. Joy returned as soon as I believed my identity in Christ is more valuable and precious than my ideas of what ministry should be like. My grip loosened on my dreams, and my hands were raised in praise to him. When I began to have faith that all things are working together for good (Rom. 8:28) and that a mob of angry church folk can’t separate me from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:35), excitement and eagerness bloomed again. The glory of Christ gave me faith in future grace to go out and provide, protect, feed, and shepherd his people. He never left me and never will. I didn’t have to be afraid anymore; I’ve been crucified with Christ, and it’s no longer I who live, but Christ, who loves me and gave himself

Read more from J.A. MEDDERS at jamedders.com.

you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12–13). Pray for them. Make it a joy for them to pastor you.

Brother Pastor, if you are suffering from what has happened to you, do not fear. Put your trust in the One who’s handled your past, present, and future. You too have a faithful and sympathetic High Priest, the Man of Sorrows, that you point the sheep to. Cry out to him, “Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Ps. 56:1–4).

God’s grace toward you is not in vain. He is your sanity, stability, and Savior. He himself will restore you, and empower you for where you are and what lies ahead. “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10–11). May the risen Christ strengthen you in your ministry for his glory, your good, and his church’s good.

J.A. MEDDERS is the lead pastor of Redeemer Church in Tomball, Texas. He and Natalie have two kids, Ivy and Oliver. He is a regular contributor to For The Church, and also blogs at jamedders.com. Jeff’s first book, Gospel Formed: Living a Grace-Addicted, Truth-Filled, Jesus-Exalting Life, is now available.

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KNOWING WHEN TO LEAVE I NTER V IE W W IT H PA S T O R G R E G BE L S E R

by JARED C. WILSON

DR. GREG BELSER, the lead pastor of Morrison Heights Baptist Church

in Clinton, Mississippi, is a long-time veteran of pastoral ministry and has practically seen it all. I believe ministry leaders will find much wisdom here for their work and walk with the Lord.

JARED WILSON: I had the great privilege once of hearing you preach on 2 Corinthians 4, in which you related stories of transition. I was greatly moved, especially as I was listening during a time of great ministry transition myself. You spoke in your sermon a bit about pastors embracing their expendability. That resonates a lot with me, but I also have a deep sense of inadequacy already. How can a pastor embrace or cultivate a good sense of his own expendability without becoming an ineffective sadsack full of self-pity?

GREG BELSER: The answer to that question resides in one’s identity in Christ. The fourth and sixth chapters of 2 Corinthians reflect Paul’s conversion and ministry call (4:1 and 6:3-4) as the backdrop for his hope and confidence in lasting spiritual transformation. We simply must not lose our moorings to Christ and must preach to M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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ourselves this great truth of whose we are. The ministry is difficult, certainly, but the ministry is impossible without a constant reminder that we are not our own. Paul constantly returned to the positive rather than dwelling on the negative. Selfpity is spiritually destructive at best and spiritual suicide at worst. We must run from it to our Savior and our calling as His servant. It will be tough, but God will use it all if we do not shrink back. As much as you can, surround yourself in person or in print with people who smile at the future.

JW: How do you discern the difference between real humility and false humility?

GB: Real humility fosters a confidence in God while false humility manifests itself ultimately in blaming God. The human heart is prone to mutter and grumble and while false humility masks it for a season or for a particular audience, it shows up eventually in private or amongst people of a like mind. The pride of life is the seedbed for all such pretense and is a house of cards that will eventually be exposed. Real humility manifests courage in

God and toward circumstances. We occupy a fallen world and I don’t believe that I or anyone else has ever achieved perfect Christlike humility, but it remains a critical goal worthy of our striving.

1 Peter 2:23 is a key barometer for me as to whether I am enjoying true or false humility.

JW: I enjoyed your exhortation to ministers not to confuse difficulty with lack of calling. It is something I have emphasized in my own work for pastors, and I think it’s an extremely important distinction to make. But how might a pastor discern if it is the right time to move on?

GB: I would certainly not deny that there is a tension here. In Acts 16, Paul is directed by the Spirit to leave Asia and go to Macedonia. In today’s terminology, we might identify this as a “subjective” leading to move. However, awaiting him there was a beating and imprisonment, followed by a departure from Philippi. Many have pointed to their own physical circumstances as the “objective” leadership of God to convince them to move. I don’t have an authoritative position to offer here except to examine myself somewhat.

In temperament, I am much more of a “stay and work” kind of guy. I believe in long tenure in the pastorate and that problems will come and go. Other men are less inclined in their own temperament to approach things the way I do.

The other side of that argument includes the suggestion that a man’s gifts may be suitable for a season and then the circumstances of difficulty or complacency reflect that he is better suited for another place. That’s not a very definitive answer but I think God hardwires us differently and thus, the tension in finding a clear pattern in this area.

JW: Who has been the single greatest influence on you as a pastor, and why?

GB: That is a very hard question to answer because none of us are the result of the influence of one man. However, because you have required me to choose I would say that the very first major preaching influence in my life was John MacArthur.

I’ve never gotten over his relentless commitment to preaching the Bible. I am not enamored with those who place homiletics in front of exposition. Being great at both is an extraordinary thing. I greatly appreciate and admire skilled homileticians (because I am not one) but I want my church experience week after week to lead me to a passionate love of the Savior as He is revealed in Scripture. A close second is John Piper for all the same reasons. I desperately want to be faithful to the end.

JW: What three words of brief advice would you give a new pastor that he might not necessarily have heard in seminary?

GB: First: Your ministry will never be as important as your personal walk with Christ. Never.

Second: You must shepherd people. Be a person yourself: an extraordinary one. Then go love your people with all their foibles as the Savior does you with yours.

Your ministry will never be as important as your personal walk with Christ. Never.

Third: Work hard. Laziness casts a stench on Christ, yourself, your family, and on other pastors.

Learn more about MORRISON HEIGHTS BAPTIST CHURCH at morrisonheights.org.

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PURSUING THE RIGHT THING IN MINISTRY

by MATT CHANDLER

I

spend a good portion of my week in dialogue with other pastors from different denominations and different generations (though most are young), and our conversations range from theology to philosophy, from church growth to how to lead a staff. I enjoy these talks because I love robust discussions about things that matter. These conversations feed my soul.

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But I have to confess that I have been somewhat disturbed by something I hear “underneath” many of the questions I’m asked in these conversations.

When I exited itinerant ministry to become a pastor, I left behind crowds numbering in the thousands, and a financial situation that more than provided for my family, to enter a small (160 member) church that cut my annual salary in half. There wasn’t one person who thought that taking the position at The Village was a smart move. In fact, several people actually sat me down and told me they thought I was being disobedient and a bad steward of the gifts that God had imparted to me. I sense this same kind of logic at work in a lot of ministry conversations, and I think it is extremely dangerous.

The truth is, I didn’t become the pastor of a church in the suburbs of Dallas because I had a grand vision for growing a dynamic, life-transforming, church-planting, gospel-preaching, God-centered church. I took the position because, after a great deal of conversation, after much prayer and fasting, my wife and I believed it was the direction the Holy Spirit was leading us. I came to The Village because I thought that by doing so I would get to see more of God, experience more of God, know more of God, and consequently to see more of me die. In the end, He is the great end that I am after.

• Jeremiah ended up in exile with the rest of Israel after repeatedly getting beaten for preaching what God commanded him to preach.

• John the Baptist was beheaded by a pervert.

• Peter was martyred, reportedly crucified upside down.

• Paul was killed in Rome, but only after he spent his life (with thorn stuck in his flesh) being beaten, rejected, lost at sea, and consistently dealing with people coming in behind him and destroying what he built.

Look, if your hope is set on anything other than In 1 Timothy 4:10 Paul writes, “For to this end we Him, how will you survive when it goes bad? How toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the will you remain passionate and vibrant when attenliving God, who is the Savior of all people, especially dance falters or the baptismal waters are unstirred of those who believe.” I love that verse. We toil, yes. for long stretches? How will you maintain doctrinal We strive, yes. But where is our hope? What—or integrity or teach hard things if He isn’t the trearather, who—is the goal? I love preaching the gospel, sure? How will you worship when your wife gets and I love planting churches, but I do those things sick or your son goes for a ride in an ambulance? If because in them I feel the unbearable weight of His He is the goal, the treasure, and the pursuit, then presence. In ministry that is focused beyond me, I feel this crushing majesty that makes “Just because people love Jesus and follow me want to cry, sing, and scream all at the same time.

Him doesn’t mean that they get to grow or

reach a certain level of ‘success’.”

It seems that the goal for far too many ministers is something else altogether. The goal is growing our churches to a certain size or our platforms (pulpits, blogs, His glory alone willl be the fuel that presses you books) to a certain fame. I mean, how hollow is that? into His goodness and grace all the more. I am not And how scary. Just because people love Jesus and saying any of these difficult things are pleasant or follow Him doesn’t mean that they get to grow or enjoyable, only that if He is your goal, you will find reach a certain level of “success” (I use that word your faith sustained. loosely). Here are a few people who loved our great God and King and were obedient beyond the expecMay God bless you and keep you. May you see that tation of success: He is the one true treasure worth striving for. And may you press on toward the goal for the upward • Moses spent his whole life with grumbling call of God in Christ Jesus. whiners and dies without getting to walk into the Promised Land.

MATT CHANDLER is the lead teaching pastor of • David’s son Amnon raped his own sister, leadThe Village Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas ing to a rebellion against David, dethroning Metroplex and the president of Acts29 Church him for a season.

Planting Network.

Learn more about THE VILLAGE CHURCH at thevillagechurch.net.

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PAS T OR, WHAT’S YOUR

FOR THE CHURCH?

by H.B. CHARLES, JR.

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“So, pastor: what is your vision for this church?”

I was not asked this question at my first church. I was the son of the former pastor. I had grown up in the church. I was only seventeen years-old. They assumed I did not have a vision plan for the church.

Or that I did not have vision worth sharing. So they never asked.

When I met with the pulpit committee of my present church, however, pastoral vision was a big issue.

The committee had no real interest in me becoming their pastor. Yet they still wanted to know, “So what is your vision for this church?” With no real interest in becoming their pastor, I answered, “I don’t have a vision for this church. I have a vision for the church I serve in Los Angeles.”

A few months later, the church extended a call. A few months later, I relocated from one end of the country to the other. When I finally got boots on the ground, it seems the first question they asked was about my vision for the church.

A month after I moved to Jacksonville, the church had its annual business meeting. Leaders pressed me to establish my vision and to communicate it to the church in the meeting. I called my pastor for advice. He began to talk to me about my six monthold daughter. “When you brought Hailey home from the hospital,” he asked, “did you sit her down and give her the vision of the Charles family?” Of course not. “She’s still not ready for that,” he added.

“You can only love her and care for her now. You can explain the plan later on.”

He was right.

I arrived to a completed fiscal budget and church calendar, and the church was in the midst of a storm. It was not time to cast vision. It was time to preach and pray and love and wait and heal. When the time was right, I would talk more about ministry plans.

When I began to talk about my hopes, plans, and goals, it was not received well. Casting my vision to leaders who did not trust me (and vice versa) felt like giving my playbook to the opposing coach to read before the game. Every plan I shared gave them opportunity to set up their defense to block me. It felt like trusting strangers to babysit my newborn. So I just stopped talking.

During one discussion, a key leader told me I was not “curious.” He felt I did not want to learn. And that I did not seem to be interested in the affairs of the church. I had no vision, he thought. This was as far from the truth as it could be. But I understood where he was coming from.

It was not as if I did not have any plans. But my plans were overtly biblical, spiritual, pastoral. I emphasized prayer, Bible study, evangelism, discipleship, service, fellowship, and Sunday School. You

“It was not as if I did not have any plans. But my plans were overtly biblical, spiritual, pastoral.”

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“The faithful pastor is consumed with the mission of the church, not his vision for the church. The Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned the church to make disciples of all the nations.”

know, things many church leaders and church goers have little interest in. It was about four years into my pastorate before I started promoting strategic leadership plans. And I am glad I waited.

fulfilling the Great Commission in the place, with the resources, and through the members the Lord has entrusted to them. You cannot simply do what other pastors and churches do.

My simple, practical advice is that you be very careful with “vision” talk.

What is vision? Ask ten different pastors and you will get ten different answers. This has a lot to do with the fact that “vision” is a business term, not a biblical one. It reflects organizational strategy, not biblical wisdom.

God has called you to a specific place and people.

And the Lord has a specific plan for that place and people. You will need to seek God, learn your people, and understand your situation to discern how your church should carry out its work. After you receive direction, you will need even more direction to know how to communicate the plan to those you lead. These are important matters.

I know what you’re thinking. What about Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish”? Read that verse from a translation other than the King James Version and it will be clear.

The proverb teaches that people cast off restraint if there is no Divine revelation. It does not teach that people perish if the leader does not cast a vision for the future.

Do not forget that you are not a CEO of a corporation. You are the pastor of a congregation. Let the church be the church! Make sure your ministry plans align with the mission of the church. Determine to do the Lord’s work the Lord’s way for the Lord’s glory. Lead your people with heavenly wisdom not worldly strategies. Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser.

The faithful pastor is consumed with the mission of the church, not his vision for the church. The Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned the church to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

This is what the church is called to be and do. Any strategic plan the leader develops should only serve the Christ-established and non-negotiable mission of the church. We are to make disciples for Christ.

We are to proclaim the gospel to lead sinners to saving-faith in Christ and nurture them to spiritual maturity in Christ. Period. To pursue any other ministry agenda is to become something other than the church of Jesus Christ.

So what is your vision for your church?

“Do not forget that you are not a CEO of a corporation. You are the pastor of a congregation.”

Of course, a wise leader makes plans. Knowing what to do and knowing how to do it are not the same thing. Pastors must prayerfully develop a strategy for

H.B. CHARLES, JR is the pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, and serves as senior preaching fellow for the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Seminary. He is also an author and speaker. He is married to his best friend, Crystal, and they are the proud parents of three children, H.B. Charles III, Natalie Marie and Hailey Breanne.

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Learn more about H.B. CHARLES at hbcharlesjr.com.

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e MISSION AND MAJESTY of the CHURCH

NOV. 3–4

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STUDENT HIGHLIGHT

MEET

TYLER SYKORA From The Seahawks to Seminary Interview by Jared C. Wilson

I first met Tyler Sykora when he was part of a discipleship group at Midwestern Seminary I was co-leading with professor Matt Millsap. A thoughtful but soft-spoken guy, I was impressed by Tyler’s easy-going nature, and I was disarmed by his bookish demeanor. I was not surprised to learn that he was assisting Christian George as a research assistant in the Spurgeon Library.

I now attend the same church as Tyler, his wife Samantha, and their daughter Adeline Rose, and he is one of the residents in our Pastoral Training Center. But one evening during a conversation in my home, I was surprised to learn something new and almost-as-cool-as-the-Spurgeon-Library about Tyler: he had come to the Midwest to train for the pastorate after surrendering a promising ambition to play in the NFL. Below is a portion of a follow-up conversation.

JARED

Which came first for you? Jesus or football?

TYLER Well, I was raised in the church, but I was your typical “Christian” kid that tried to do all the right things in order to please man. But I was converted at 18 during a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp. While I was supposed to be leading students to Christ, I was confronted with the fact that I had never trusted Christ myself. Shortly after being converted, I went to college to play football at Southern Arkansas University. During this time, I was discipled and began to desire the ministry.

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JARED When and how did you begin realizing football may be a professional option for you?

TYLER My redshirt sophomore year, we lost a shootout to Ouachita Baptist University. I threw for 520 yards and 5 touchdowns, and after the game I was watching film with my coach, and he looked at me and said that he thought I had a real shot at the pro’s. It had always been a dream, but that was the first time I began to actually think it could be possible.

JARED

What happened next?

TYLER My junior year we had great success offensively. We broke several school records and made a bowl game. Going into my senior year, there was some scouting attention. My senior year, around 25 or so NFL teams came to Magnolia to interview me and watch practice. However, at the same time, my senior year was not as productive offensively, and we lost a couple more games than the year before. Going into the draft, I knew that I was not going to be drafted, but I was told there was a good chance at signing a free agent deal.

On draft night, the Kansas City Chiefs called and wanted to bring me in for their rookie mini-camp, but then I found out they’d withdrawn their offer shortly thereafter. There were no other phone calls that night.

I was devastated. Yet, that was when the Lord revealed to me just how prideful I was. I had always said I was playing football for the glory of God, but when football was suddenly taken away, my true desires and intentions were made abundantly clear. I wanted God to be glorified, but I also wanted glory for myself. I was like James and John in Mark 10, still wanting to exalt Jesus but just asking for glory and honor at the same time.

About a month went by, and then the Seattle Seahawks called. I went out for a one-day tryout, and it went well. I had a great practice and I thought they were going to sign me that day. However, they sent me home and said they would let me know what they would decide. After no immediate calls, I began to pursue the CFL (Canadian) and the AFL (Arena). I had an AFL contract ready to sign, but I had previously committed to preach in Peru at a small pastor’s retreat and it interfered with the team’s training camp. I told the coach I was going to go to Peru, and if he didn’t like that he could sign someone else. So... he signed someone else.

Midwestern has done a great job of equipping me momentarily, but—more importantly—it has done a great job of laying a foundation for a lifetime of study.

About a year had passed since draft day and, believe it or not, Seattle called back. This time they wanted to bring me in for their 3-day rookie mini-camp. At this point, I was excited, but I discovered that my desire for football had already waned. The camp went fine, but I didn’t get signed.

There was one moment from camp that I will never forget.

I was decked out in Seahawks gear (there is nothing like putting on sweet gear!), warming up for practice, and talking to Coach Pete Carroll. In that moment, I had everything that I thought I had wanted for pretty much my whole life. Yet, I remember thinking, “I don’t want this anymore, I would rather be at seminary.” Pretty crazy thought, I know. But I knew that the Lord had called me to preach and teach his Word, and I simply was not content with doing anything else.

JARED

for the sudden change, but the two biggest reasons were the school’s vision of existing For the Church and the legitimate possibility of being mentored by my professors. I wanted to have real access to my professors, and I can say that two years later that has been the case. Midwestern has done a great job of equipping me momentarily, but—more importantly—it has done a great job of laying a foundation for a lifetime of study. My experience with Midwestern has been everything I had hoped for and more.

And what brought you to Midwestern?

TYLER I was originally interested in another seminary and wasn’t considering anywhere else. But then a mentor of mine got hired at Midwestern, and he came and talked to me about the school. Within 24 hours, my wife and I made the decision to move to Kansas City. There were several reasons

I am currently about halfway through an M.Div. in Biblical Languages. Before coming to Midwestern, I was afraid of the languages and wanted to avoid them. But after taking my first year of Greek, I began to see their value and significance when it comes to interpreting the Bible. I thought I was pretty good at debating theology, but then I realized that I was just puppeting what my favorite theologians said, and I had not actually done any careful exegesis myself.

Lord willing, after finishing the M.Div., I will pursue Doctoral studies in New Testament.

JARED Have you noticed any overlap in your gridiron skills and theological training?

TYLER Probably the greatest thing I learned from athletics was discipline. In general, with athletics, an undisciplined athlete is an unsuccessful athlete. While I was playing football, if I was undisciplined when it came to film study, I would get hit more in the games because I wasn’t aware of what the defense was doing. If I was undisciplined when it came to my diet, then I felt it in the fourth quarter. Likewise, in my mind, an undisciplined seminary student is an unsuccessful seminary student. I think some of the discipline I learned in football has allowed me to manage my family, school, and work relatively well.

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ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

MICAH FRIES For this edition’s alumni focus, we visited with Micah Fries, formerly of LifeWay Christian Resources, now senior pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Fries graduated from Midwestern Seminary in 2010 with the Master of Divinity degree. He has been married to his wife Tracy for 17 years, and they have three children— Sarah Grace, Kessed Noel, and Haddon, who was adopted from Southern Africa in early 2017.

You served the Southern Baptist Convention in your previous role with LifeWay. What was that like?

My job was to work with and for Ed Stetzer, to help manage relationships with entities and organizations outside of LifeWay, and to speak and write on behalf of LifeWay. I also got to help innovate and create new products and services. One thing I loved about it was working with Christians from across the evangelical spectrum, seeing the diversity within the kingdom of God and constantly asking the question, “How can we best resource the church?” LifeWay has a laser focus on serving and resourcing the local church, and I loved being a part of that responsibility.

You were a full-time pastor before working there.

Tell me about the call back into full-time pastoral ministry. How did you discern that?

Well, I never felt a call to leave pastoral ministry at all, and that was significant. So when I went to work at LifeWay, I went with the understanding that I could serve in a pastoral role in the Nashville area. I loved serving as teaching and missions pastor at Fairview Church under the leadership of my good friend Dr. Jon Akin even while I was employed at LifeWay. M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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M.DIV. | 2010

However, in my final year there, I was privileged to serve as interim pastor at First Baptist Church of Jackson, Mississippi. As I preached to the folks there, I realized that, while I regularly preached in my role at LifeWay, I deeply missed the rhythm of preaching weekly to the same people—of shepherding people’s hearts. God used that experience to heighten my love for the local church and for serving as a senior pastor in a local church. Shortly thereafter God confirmed this call in Tracy’s heart and, literally, the search team from Brainerd called us within hours of God’s confirmation in mine and Tracy’s heart. This was amazing to us because we had never put out a resume and did not know that Brainerd was considering me as a pastoral candidate.

What is Brainerd Baptist like?

Brainerd is nearly 90 years old and is, aptly, named for the iconic missionary, David Brainerd. Our church’s two most recent pastors, before me, were significant. Dr. Daryl Craft served as senior pastor and was instrumental in leading the church to a place of theological and structural health. He helped make significant changes that prepared the church for growth. Dr. Robby Gallaty then came and served as pastor, and the church exploded

numerically under his leadership. We grew from around 950 when Robby arrived to 2,150 when he left. Under Dr. Craft, Brainerd added a second gathering venue in our gym, and it has seen the significant bulk of our growth and now represents the majority of our people.

Our church is known for many things but more than anything we are known as a church that is passionate and committed to discipleship and mission.

Under Dr. Gallaty’s leadership, we developed a deep culture of personal discipleship and disciplemaking that continues to this day. Under the leadership of our missions pastor, Barry Wilks, we have one of the strongest missions cultures that I’ve ever seen, sending somewhere between 40-60 mission teams around the globe each year.

How did your seminary education prepare you for your ministry?

Among the greatest things that seminary did for me was teach me to be a better student. No education, anywhere, can give you every answer that you will ever need in ministry. However, a great education will not only give you many of those answers, but it will also teach you to love God’s word, to know how to study God’s word and to exegete both the word and the culture around us. In other words, an education can either give someone a fish, or teach them to fish. Midwestern did the latter, in my case. Midwestern gave me a love for learning, a love for the word of God and a love for Christ’s church.

Photos courtesy of Brainerd Baptist Church

Learn more about BRAINERD BAPTIST CHURCH at brainerdbaptist.org.

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IN FOCUS: ANTIOCH BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH

ANTIOCH BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH L O CATIO N: Gladstone, Missouri

J

ust north of the Missouri River from downtown, Midwestern Seminary sits just shy of Kansas City’s border with one of its many suburbs, the city of Gladstone. And just over that border, a straight shot from the seminary on North Oak Trafficway and a single turn on NE 72nd, historic Antioch Bible Baptist Church has been faithfully serving the Gladstone community and beyond since the mid20th century.

that. In 1979, Antioch’s current lead pastor Bob Baier joined the church team as a worship director.

Antioch, which remains an anchor of kingdom witness in a rapidly-shifting neighborhood, was planted in 1963, begun by a few charter members, some of whom so believed in the vision for a gospel-preaching church in this area that they sold their jewelry and re-mortgaged their homes to purchase the property and begin construction on the church facilities. Pastor Steve Doss, currently Antioch’s adult ministries pastor, notes that founding pastor Brother Joe Kreeger hosted the first congregants in the little white house that sat on the land purchased for the future church building.

Antioch supports 89 missionaries in 49 countries, as well as six church plants and seven ministries of community service, including local outreach efforts like City Union Mission, Rachel House Pregnancy Resource Center, and the Forest Avenue Women’s Shelter. Doss says, “This summer we participated in three apartment complex outreaches for kids and families around the church.

We also serve in Gladstone with community projects and events like painting the community center, helping with Gladfest, and cleaning up parks. We want to be a church not only in the community, but a church for the community.”

That’s right—Antioch Bible Baptist Church, bucking the trend of so many churches throughout history, has had only two lead pastors throughout the entirety of her existence!

Today, Pastor Bob leads a large staff that serves nearly 1,100 worshipers each week. Additionally,

As the influence and impact of Antioch Bible Baptist Church continues to grow, so does their special relationship with Midwestern, begun only a few years itself before the launch of the church. Doss notes, “One benefit of being close to Midwestern is the students and faculty that have served through our church.”

Two years later, Antioch began developing the fouracre property, starting with what is today known as the West Building, where church services were held until the completion of the sanctuary four years after

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Indeed, numerous Midwestern leaders have made Antioch their church home, including the families of Dr. Jason Duesing (Provost), Dr. John Mark Yeats (Dean of the College), Dr. Matthew Millsap (Assistant Director of Library Services and Assistant Professor of Christian Studies), Dr. Sung Jin Park (Dean of Asian Studies), Dave Wright (Director of Communications), and Pat Hudson (Executive Assistant to President Jason Allen).

LEADING GENERATIONS TO MAKE DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST EVERYWHERE. PASTOR BOB BAIER Photos courtesy of Antioch Bible Baptist Church

“Midwestern has played a vital role in the ongoing education of our ministry team,” Doss adds. “They have helped us deepen our love for God, the word and his Church.” Direct recipients of Midwestern training at the church include Midwestern alum Todd Slagle, Antioch’s family pastor, who received his M.A in Christian Education from the seminary in 2014. Currently, there are two Antioch pastors working toward their doctorates at Midwestern and two interns pursuing master’s degrees.

The relationship between Antioch and Midwestern promises to continue into the future, as both institutions have hit their stride past the half-century mark. Sharing a commitment to the infallibility and authority of God’s word, the power and integrity of the gospel, and the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ, the mid-1900’s have proven to mark the beginning of a beautiful friendship. As Midwestern Seminary furthers its commitment to exist wholeheartedly in support of the local church, it is faithful, persevering churches like Antioch Bible Baptist that we are most grateful for. Antioch makes it easier for Midwestern to exist for the Church.

Learn more about ANTIOCH BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH at antiochbbc.org.

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For the Church National Conference examines the theme: “The Minister’s Trust”

by T. PATRICK HUDSON

Through worshipful times of praise music and powerful messages from God’s word, the For the Church National Conference, held at Midwestern Seminary’s Kansas City campus on Sept. 25-26, focused on examining, reaffirming, and celebrating the unique stewardship God entrusts to those he has called into Christian ministry.

Keynote speakers Matt Chandler, Ray Ortlund, HB Charles, Matt Carter, Jason Allen, Owen Strachan, and Jared Wilson preached messages revolving around the conference’s theme of “The Minister’s Trust,” while Aaron Ivey and his worship team from Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, Texas, led attendees in praise and worship songs.

“The trust that is given by God to pastors and ministry leaders to proclaim the gospel message places the men in these roles within a distinct fraternity,” President Jason Allen said. “I am firmly of the belief that this is the greatest of all callings one can receive. As such, it is the pastor’s responsibility to develop and grow so as to lead the church he serves to develop and grow.

“One of the primary ways Midwestern Seminary fulfills its mission to exist For the Church is to serve

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and strengthen these church leaders.

Our aim at this year’s national conference is to provide messages from God’s Word and breakout sessions with plenty of practical application which will result in every attendee feeling both the gravity of the gospel that’s been entrusted to him and the gladness of the gospel’s implications for his life.”

THE MINISTER’S PREACHING

Allen led the conference’s first session, “The Minister’s Preaching,” basing his message out of Acts 17:1-7.

From this, his main argument was that the journey of pastoral ministry can bring many challenges and difficulties, but pastors and ministry leaders must “show up” and press on daily to do God’s will.

Through this passage, Allen noted that the apostle Paul and his ministry partner, Silas, endured various trials throughout their ministry, but through it all, they remained faithful to their calling.

Points to be taken away from the passage included that pastors are to preach through hardship; they are to preach the text; and they are to preach for results.

To the first point Allen noted, “Let me say, preacher, if you find yourself under siege – pray. If you find yourself really under siege – preach. There is a call to the pulpit that calls the minister to it again and again and again. As we go, there is no shame in walking into the pulpit with a limp.”

Describing what it means for the pastor to preach for results, Allen

said, “Brothers, we do not just state doctrinal truths. We do not just reflect on the significance of the passage. We press it. We look for a response. We call for a response.

That is what Paul did and, as we see here, something happened.”

THE MINISTER’S PRAYER

The afternoon’s second message was delivered by H.B. Charles, Jr., pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist

Church in Jacksonville, Fla., and was based on a model prayer by the great Hebrew spiritual leader, Nehemiah.

Describing the importance of prayer in a ministry leader’s life, Charles said, “Faithful ministry demands believing in prayer.”

Charles noted that in his most difficult time – before doing anything else – Nehemiah prayed. It is also important to understand that Nehemiah didn’t get results from his prayer because he said the right words the right way.

“God accepted Nehemiah’s prayer because God accepted Nehemiah,” Charles said.

From the text, Charles noted that Nehemiah prayed sincerely, reverently, honestly, and confidently. These were the keys to God’s answering Nehemiah, and are a solid model for

“God accepted Nehemiah’s prayer because God accepted Nehemiah.” ~ H.B. Charles, Jr. us in modern times as well.

To his first point, Charles said, “The minister who prays sincerely prays as a first response, not as a last resort….There is a lot you can to do make a difference after you have prayed, but there is nothing you can do to make the difference until you have prayed.”

In making his final point about praying confidently, Charles stated, “The minister should pray with confidence that whatever the need, whatever the situation, God is able.

There is nothing too hard for God;

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there is no burden that God cannot lift; there is no enemy that God cannot defeat...there is no sin that God cannot forgive.”

THE MINISTER’S MARRIAGE

Ray Ortlund, Jr., pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tenn., brought the first day of the conference to a close with a message on “The Minister’s Marriage” from Genesis 2:18-25.

Ortlund emphasized that a minister’s marriage is one of the most compelling statements that can be made because it puts on visible display the mystery of God’s love in Christ.

He noted that the Bible is all about the story of marriage, and “that story speaks to our hearts at the most profound level and helps us ministers be prophetic in public and in private.

“If we cave on the meaning of marriage, we will lose not just one doctrine of the Bible, we will lose the whole point of the entire Bible.” ~ Ray Ortlund, Jr. M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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“If we cave on the meaning of marriage, we will lose not just one doctrine of the Bible, we will lose the whole point of the entire Bible….

If Jesus really is our true and better bridegroom, then to negotiate over what is so precious to him is to insult him at the most personal level imaginable, where his heart for us is the most tender.”

Ortlund further explained how God gave people the gift of marriage – and that the idea is from God, belongs only to God, and can only be defined

by God. “The reason why people fall in love and get married is that there is a Bridegroom on high who had love in his eyes for sinners, and he came down to gather us together forever.

It is the greatest love story of all time. There is a reason why God created the universe and why history is unfolding itself the way it is. God is telling a love story of time and eternity, and we get to embody it.”

THE MINISTER’S STUDY

The theme of “The Minister’s Trust” continued through the conference’s second day as Owen Strachan, professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Seminary, explained “The Minister’s Study.”

Strachan posited that the work of the preacher is the most glorious calling to which anyone can be called, and it is also the most urgent need of the church and the world. As such, there is no greater need than for the pastor to study for his preaching.

From 1 Peter 1:12, Strachan noted

five implications of a pastor desiring to study God’s Word for his preaching so he can have a holy longing, much like the angels described in the passage.

The first implication is that pastoral ministry is exhilarating; secondly, the church desperately needs biblical truth; thirdly, there is a need to prepare the church for suffering and glory; fourthly, the minister is to work hard in studying God’s Word; and lastly, there is a need for pastors to present the whole counsel of God. To his point on the pastor working hard in his study, Strachan said, “The minister’s study is where the church’s health is decided. If the minister is weak in the study, he’ll be a mouse in the pulpit. If the minister is strong in the study, he will be a lion in the pulpit. We want lions, not

“If the minister is weak in the study, he’ll be a mouse in the pulpit. If the minister is strong in the study, he will be a lion in the pulpit. We want lions, not mice in our pulpits.” ~ Owen Strachan mice in our pulpits.

“If we have lions in the pulpit, we’ll have fearless Christians in the pews. So, we have to train and invest

in young men. The future of the church’s health depends, and I mean solely, on our ability to raise and equip the next generation of men.”

THE MINISTER’S MISSION

Matt Carter, pastor of preaching and vision at Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, Texas, addressed conference attendees on

the topic, “The Minister’s Mission.”

The main emphasis of his message from Matt. 16: 13-18 was of church leaders taking their congregations from being consumers to being people who are actively engaged in God’s mission in their

“We are to train and teach and to equip the people of God so that they will actually walk out the doors of our church, and they go do the work of the ministry in the spheres that God has placed them in in their lives.” ~ Matt Carter

everyday lives.

He noted that it has never been the biblical design for pastors and ministry leaders to be elevated in gospel work above those in the pews.

So, the question is “What does it look like to call our people to the mission of God?” Carter said that Ephesians 4:11 describes gifts given to the church, and the reason for them is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

“We are to train and teach and to equip the people of God so that they will actually walk out the doors of our church, and they go do the work of the ministry in the spheres that God has placed them in in their lives.

“Our job as a pastor, shepherd, teacher, and evangelist is not, and never has been, to primarily teach our people just so they can live better lives and know more theology.

It is primarily to teach them so that they can be equipped to…kick down the gates of hell.”

He added, “The time to engage our people in the mission of God is right now. The time for your church to make a dent in church history is right now. The time to call your people to get in the fight is right now.”

THE MINISTER’S LEGACY

Explaining that pastors must keep a definitive perspective on their place within the ministry, Jared Wilson, director of content strategy & managing editor of the For the Church website, said, “I mean to commend to you a beautiful, faithful nothingness for Christ.”

He added, “To have a legacy that

eternally matters, you must resign your will to the supremacy of the glory of Christ and trade in your ambitions of personal success for the beauty of the bride of Christ.”

To leave a legacy, the minister must know what he is, must know what he is not, and must know what lasts, Wilson acknowledged.

Fleshing out his second point, Wilson said, “The gospel is bigger than me; it is better than me. Pastor, do you conduct ministry like you are the gospel to your church, as if it is really you who makes the difference?

You are not called to be successful;

you are called to be faithful.”

He added, “If you want to invest your time in something that lasts, give your time to people who can do nothing for you. They cannot fill a pew; they cannot fill an offering plate; they cannot talk you up to anybody, but they can remind you of the beauty and bigness of Christ’s previous church.

“If you want to leave a ministry of eternal resonance, you must not be aimed at your own fame, but submit yourself squarely, resolutely, joyfully for the church. And when all the history books are burnt up on the last day, the church will remain.”

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“If you want to leave a ministry of eternal resonance, you must not be aimed at your own fame, but submit yourself squarely, resolutely, joyfully for the church.” ~ Jared C. Wilson

THE MINISTER’S GOSPEL

In the conference’s final plenary session, Matt Chandler, pastor of the Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, preached from Romans 8, painting a picture for pastors of Christ’s love and acceptance for them.

Chandler noted that often, however, pastors and ministry leaders are drawn to certain lies, such as they are not good enough to be serving where they are, so they try to be someone they’re not. Or, they consistently need validation from others. Or, they are insecure, so they become controlling and manipulative about religious doctrines.

To these lies, Chandler said, “You must find spaces where it is okay to be okay. You must be willing to enter into the gospel and believe

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that you are loved by God, and he will be enough as your ‘Abba’ father.

More than the validation of men and women, more than believing the lie that if you were just a better version of you…then things will go well.

“And if you buy into these (other lies), you step outside of the protection of the father and put things on your shoulders that you have not been built to carry.”

Chandler concluded saying, “He loves you as your heavenly father, adores you, rejoices over you, and celebrates you. His grace covers your shortcomings. If you can get this,

everything changes.”

On Tuesday afternoon, eight workshops and breakout sessions were also held on the topics “Preaching Roundtable,” a panel discussion led by Allen; “Boots on the Ground: Creating a Missional Culture for your City,” led by Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Fla.; “In His Image: Biblical Sexuality in a Post-Christian World,” led by Andrew Walker, director of policy studies at the ERLC; Leadership Development for the Church, led by Charles Smith, Midwestern Seminary’s vice president for Institutional Relations, and Kevin Peck, lead pastor at Austin Stone Community Church; “Unfettered Truth: Strategies to Protect Your Church in an Increasingly Hostile Climate,” led by Erik Stanley, senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom; “Ministry in a Post-Christian Context” led by Drew Dyck, acquisitions editor at Moody Publishing; a two-session Women’s Track led by Jani Ortlund; and “Steal Away Home: Charles Spurgeon and Missionary Thomas Johnson,” led by Ivey, Carter, and Christian George, Midwestern Seminary’s curator of the Spurgeon Library.

The 2018 For the Church National Conference will take place in Kansas City on Sept. 24-25, and will explore “The Mission and Majesty of the Church.” To register, visit mbts.edu/ftc18.

To view all plenary sessions of the For the Church National Conference, visit our resources page at ftc.co. •

“You must find spaces where it is okay to be okay. You must be willing to enter into the gospel and believe that you are loved by God, and he will be enough as your ‘Abba’ father.” ~ Matt Chandler

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James Kragenbring named Midwestern Seminary’s Institutional Administration VP

by T. PAT R I C K H U D S O N

Filling a significant Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary cabinet position, President Jason K. Allen announced the appointment of a new vice president of institutional administration July 11.

James Kragenbring, formerly president and chief investment officer of Aquifer Capital, LLC, in Phoenix, accepted the position overseeing all business and financial services, human resources, dining services, campus operations, information technology, major seminary projects, and other seminary programs and efforts.

“Midwestern Seminary is delighted to welcome Jim Kragenbring as our new vice president for Institutional Administration,” Allen said. “Jim has deep roots in the state of Missouri, has a life-long commitment to the Southern Baptist Convention, and is one who has supported and contributed much to Southern Baptist theological education. What is more, Jim is an alumnus of Midwestern Seminary and also a personal friend to many of us at this institution.”

Allen also noted that Kragenbring’s professional experience will

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enable him to make an inestimable contribution as he leads this expansive division within Midwestern Seminary saying, “The institution’s growth these past few years has enabled us to bring greater focus on our endowment. Jim’s significant experience in the investment world will strengthen us all the more.

“We are grateful for the way God has prepared Jim through previous vocational responsibilities, through his up-close knowledge of Midwestern Seminary, and through his personal acumen to undertake this assignment.

We look forward to God using Mr. Kragenbring to help us facilitate the seminary’s next level of growth and institutional health,” Allen added.

Of being appointed to the position, Kragenbring said, “It will be a great joy and tremendous privilege to serve alongside the gifted scholars and leaders God has drawn to Midwestern Seminary. I am excited to return to my home state of Missouri and to join Midwestern Seminary in training men and women for the church.”

Kragenbring, who graduated with a finance degree from the John M. Olin

School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis and earned a Master of Theological Studies from Midwestern Seminary, noted that he sees a bright future for the school The position opened for Kragenbring’s arrival as current VP of Institutional Administration, Gary Crutcher, announced his retirement plans after serving in the position since August 2014. Allen praised Crutcher for his time serving in the position, noting that Crutcher will take on a part-time role for the next several months as Kragenbring transitions into the position.

Kragenbring has been active in the investment management industry for more than 20 years, having managed portfolios of some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated endowments, foundations, pension plans, insurance companies, and multinational corporations.

In 2008, he founded Aquifer Capital, LLC, and has led the firm since that time.

Kragenbring began his responsibilities at Midwestern Seminary on Aug. 1. •

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Matthew Barrett, H.B. Charles, Steven Smith named to Midwestern Seminary roles

by T. PAT R I C K H U D S O N

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Jason Allen announced that Matthew Barrett, H.B. Charles, Jr., and Steven Smith will join the institution’s faculty in varying capacities for the upcoming academic year.

Barrett, as associate professor of Christian theology, will undertake the full-time duties of instructing and mentoring the next generation of God-called men and women at Midwestern Seminary. Charles and Smith will serve in the role of senior preaching fellows for the Spurgeon Library, while each maintains his current local church ministry.

“Rarely does a seminary get to add to its faculty an individual with the gifting and accomplishment of Matthew Barrett, H.B. Charles or Steven Smith,” Allen said. “Rarer still, does an institution get to simulta-

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“Rarely does a seminary get to add to its faculty an individual with the gifting and accomplishment of Matthew Barrett, H.B. Charles or Steven Smith.” ~ Jason K. Allen neously add three such individuals.

Pastor Charles and Dr. Smith are two of this generation’s most well-known and gifted preachers and teachers of preaching. They represent so much of what is right about great preaching and are eager to share their ministries with Midwestern Seminary and as an extension of the Spurgeon Library.

MATTHEW BARRETT Having served since 2015 as lecturer and tutor of systematic theology and church history at Oak Hill Theological College in London, Matthew Barrett has previously served in instructional roles at California Baptist University, as assistant professor of Christian studies, and at Biola University, as an adjunct professor in biblical and theological studies.

He has also ministered in the local church setting as senior pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Riverside, Calif., and in various preaching and teaching roles since 2003.

A well-established author, Barrett has written a number of books, including the aforementioned, Reformation Theology; God’s Word Alone; as well as 40 Questions about Salvation; John Owen on the Christian Life; and Four Views on the Historical Adam. He also

has six forthcoming books.

“As a systematic theologian, I am thrilled to come to a seminary that actually places a high premium on theology, believing it to be absolutely central to the health of the church.

While many schools have severed the academy from the local church, Midwestern refuses to embrace such a dichotomy but instead has embodied the biblical marriage between doctrine and doxology. Honestly, there could not be a more exciting time to be at Midwestern, and my entire family can’t wait to start.”

Barrett is also the founder and editor of Credo Magazine and has written academic journal articles for several publications, including, Modern Reformation, Themelios, and the Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

He is a graduate of Biola University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, and earned a M.Div. in Biblical Studies & Christian Ministry and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

their churches—and for their willingness to share their ministries with us,” Allen said.

Charles is the pastor-teacher at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville and Orange Park, Fla., where he has served since the fall of 2008. His ministry there includes primarily preaching-teaching, vision casting, and leadership development.

“I am grateful, honored and excited to partner with Dr. Jason Allen and Midwestern Seminary as a senior preaching fellow with the Spurgeon Library. Charles Spurgeon is my historical preaching hero, and Midwestern is more than carrying on his legacy and extending his work by training a new generation of preachers for the church. May the Lord use the efforts of this great school to his glory!”

H.B. CHARLES AND STEVEN SMITH Allen noted that in recent months, he and the seminary’s leadership began to dream about the next stage of development for the Spurgeon Library.

Stemming from that was a desire to add two senior preaching fellows, and both Smith and Charles were the two names that remained on the top of Allen’s list.

The two senior preaching fellows will serve the seminary community via preaching God’s Word and instructing students in the discipline both in classroom and conference settings.

“I am delighted to have these two men affiliated with Midwestern Seminary and grateful to God for them and

their churches—and for their

reality. It is repository of history yet located on a seminary campus making it accessible to the next generation of preachers,” Smith said. “In this way the Center is a stimulus for inspiration, research, but principally exists to stoke the fire for the Word in the hearts of the next generation. I’m grateful for Dr. Allen and for the opportunity to be a senior preaching fellow. Selfishly, this fellowship allows a unique opportunity to research in the field of preaching while being a pastor. And for that I am very grateful!” •

“I am delighted to have these two men affiliated with Midwestern Seminary and grateful to God for them and willingness to share their ministries with us.” ~ Jason K. Allen Smith has served as pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., since January 2017. Prior to his ministry there, he served in multiple roles at Southwestern Seminary from 2004-2016, including professor of preaching, dean of the College at Southwestern, and vice president for student services. He has also pastored churches in Texas and Virginia.

“The Spurgeon Center is a unique

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Midwestern Seminary’s Alumni & Friends Luncheon highlighted by “Five Years. Five Lessons” talk and Alumnus of the Year Award

by T. PAT R I C K H U D S O N

A reflective, heartening president’s report and a discussion about five critical lessons President Jason Allen has learned during his five-year tenure highlighted Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Alumni & Friends luncheon June 14 at the Phoenix Convention Center.

In his report to alumni and friends, Allen noted that approximately five years ago, Midwestern’s enrollment stood at 1,200 students; now, the school is about to surpass the 3,000 mark. For this, there is reason to celebrate, he added.

Midwestern Seminary’s president also spoke of two new initiatives taking place at Midwestern Seminary, and praised one existing program. Allen explained the Timothy Track M.Div., which pairs incoming M.Div. students with local, Kansas City area churches in internships. The program provides these students with personal, hands-on mentorship opportunities with Southern Baptist pastors and also enables them to exercise their spiritual gifts while in seminary. Allen added that those participating in the program can earn a 50-percent scholarship.

Allen also noted The Residency Ph.D. track, which is especially

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geared toward those who sense a calling into Christian theological higher education. This track, for those who study in residence, will offer special classes and mentorship opportunities with faculty and guest lecturers, so they can obtain the best preparation possible to serve in Christian seminaries and colleges and prepare the next generation of pastors and ministry leaders.

Lastly, Allen praised the school’s Fusion program, which partners with the IMB in training incoming college freshmen for service in the mission field. Personally witnessing these student’s gospel efforts in difficult Middle Eastern locations, Allen noted, “This is the very best of what Southern Baptists, your seminar-

ies, and Midwestern Seminary are all about. To be ‘for the church’ is to be ‘for the nations.’”

Following his report, Allen presented a segment entitled, “Five Years. Five Lessons,” which expressed key concepts he has learned during his nearly five-year tenure at Midwestern.

About the first lesson, “vision matters,” Allen explained that as he was preparing to arrive at Midwestern, God made it clear that his responsibility was to build a seminary dedicated to serving the local church.

“We have been very clear and intentional to express that vision in every public forum, and to live it every day on our campus,” Allen said. “From the faculty we hire to the events we hold, all

must be filtered through the idea of ‘how will this best serve the local church?’”

In another lesson, “team matters,” Allen noted that the people God calls to serve at Midwestern Seminary is profoundly important.

He shared how, over his tenure, God has raised up great leaders both from within the existing faculty and staff as well as from outside the seminary.

“Team matters. Who you hire matters, and we have gone about each of our hires with the mentality that the future of the seminary depends on it,” Allen said. “God has done a special work by giving us a team that is top notch,” Allen said.

Three other lessons Allen covered during his discussion included: conviction matters, culture matters, and accountability matters.

To conclude the afternoon’s events, Allen honored Tom Cheyney, executive director of missions for the Greater Orlando Baptist Association and founder of the RENOVATE National Church Revitalization Conference, as the recipient of the seminary’s Alumnus of the Year.

Cheyney received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Midwestern in 2014. Before undertaking his role at GOBA, he served at the North American Mission Board in the Church Planting Group as the team leader for the Resource Delivery Team. Cheyney also teaches as an adjunct professor of Midwestern Seminary at the doctoral level in church revitalization and church planting. want to think well about the city of man.” •

Midwestern Seminary launches website holding largest digitized Spurgeon collection

by T. PAT R I C K HUDSON

Midwestern Seminary, in conjunction with B&H Academic, launched a website on June 21 that will hold the largest digitized collection on the internet of writings by famed British pastor, Charles H. Spurgeon.

Also known as “The Spurgeon Archive,” Midwestern Seminary’s original Spurgeon Center website has been grafted together with www. spurgeon.org which was founded and donated by Phil Johnson, the executive director of “Grace to You” – and will consist of accessible sermons, writings, links, and a number of other Spurgeon-related documents.

In addition to facsimiles of sermons that visitors can search through, the site will also feature a regularly scheduled blog by Spurgeon Library Curator, Christian George. There are also links highlighting Spurgeon’s Daily Meditations, where guests can access his morning and evening readings for each day of the year, as well as Spurgeon’s commentary on Psalms, “The Treasury of David,”

the Sword and Trowel magazine, and artifacts from the library.

George, who is in the process of publishing the 12-volume Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon series, added that newly digitized material will be uploaded weekly, keeping the website fresh and continually expanding.

“Spurgeon scholarship is a growing field,” George said.

“There’s so much we are still learning. Our desire is to create a hub for pastors, doctoral students, Spurgeon enthusiasts, and anyone interested in contributing to the field. Collaboration will be key to constructing a three-dimensional portrait of the pastor.”

You can access the online library and learn more about the Spurgeon Center at spurgeon.org. •

To view more writings by CHARLES SPURGEON, visit spurgeon.org.

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Midwestern Seminary trustees celebrate Mathena Student Center groundbreaking, record enrollment

by T. PAT R I C K H U D S O N

Assembling for its spring meeting on April 3-4, members of Midwestern Seminary’s Board of Trustees conducted significant seminary business and celebrated the groundbreaking for the institution’s forthcoming 40,000 square foot student center.

GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY

The week’s highlight came on Tuesday, when the seminary community welcomed trustees and seminary supporters, as well as leaders from around the Southern

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Baptist Convention, to ceremonially break ground at the site of the future student center.

Following the campus’ semiweekly chapel service—in which SBC Executive Committee President & CEO, Frank S. Page, delivered the message—a hearty group braved the cool, rainy weather to initiate the construction phase of the long-awaited project.

President Jason Allen expressed that the morning’s celebration was one years in

the making. He said that in the seminary’s original documents from 1957 there exists a statement expressing the founders’ desire to have a student center built as soon as possible. Even though it’s taken some 60 years, he said now is the time God chose for “as soon as possible.”

Additionally, Allen noted that it is appropriate in God’s eyes for such a celebration to take place.

“We celebrate this project not because of stone and mortar but be-

cause of what it represents in God’s faithfulness on this institution and our ability to serve together,” Allen said. “At the same time, if you read the Old Testament, you notice that the Israelites were commanded by God and were to be intentional to commemorate and celebrate certain acts of God—providential deliverances, unexpected provisions, unanticipated military triumphs, and many other events.

Allen then invited Harold Mathena, a bi-vocational pastor and businessman from Edmond, Okla., to the stage. Mathena, and his wife Patricia, initiated the process of moving the student center from aspiration to reality, by donating a $7 million lead gift toward funding the facility.

In his comments, Mathena explained that the entirety of the student center project is likened to the work of Nehemiah in Old Testament times.

He said there needed to be a leader with a plan, workers, those burdened for the cause, and much prayer.

“This work certainly is not a

solo operation,” Mathena said. “It is not a one-man show….we are all in this together. I am a very small part of a great project that is brought to fruition by many who have been burdened, and who have prayed, and who have planned.

The two-story facility, to be named the Mathena Student Center, will house a cafeteria, bookstore and café, recreation areas for family use, a collegiate-sized gymnasium, a walking track, racquetball courts, fitness rooms, as well as conference rooms and staff offices.

Construction on the complex is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

During his President’s Report, in addition to an update on the planning and progress toward the student center, Allen announced to the board record enrollment for spring semester and discussed the operating budget planned for the next year.

In presenting the institution’s spring semester enrollment, Allen explained that both headcount and hours sold had reached record levels.

“We continue to be in a season of incredible enrollment growth,” Allen said. “If all trends continue, we are on course to break 3,000 students enrolled this academic year. This is up from 1,107 students in 2010-11. Our continued focus is the residential M.Div., but our online, doctoral, and master’s degree programs continue to flourish as well. We are deeply grateful to God for this show of his favor, and we take seriously our responsibility to rightly steward this next generation of students that the churches of the SBC have entrusted to us.” •

Rendering courtesy of Hollis + Miller Architects

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AROUND CAMPUS

Photo courtesy of Cam Parham

Midwestern Seminary embarks on study tour of the Northeast

by J A R E D C . W I L S O N

On May 17, more than twenty students set off on Midwestern Seminary’s first-ever New England Study Tour led by Professor Owen Strachan and Provost Jason Duesing, as well as by Midwestern’s Director of Content Strategy, Jared Wilson. For seven fast-paced days, the team explored various sites of historical, cultural, and ecclesiological significance in the Northeast and in the New England states.

Beginning their trek near Philadelphia, students visited the Pennepack Baptist Church, the oldest surviving Baptist church in Pennsylvania and once the site of an historic sermon by popular revivalist preacher George Whitefield. Along the way, the group visited numerous influential educational institutions, including: Princeton in New Jersey, as well as Yale in Connecticut, Harvard in Massachusetts, Providence College in Rhode Island, Dartmouth in New Hampshire, The King’s College in New York City, Bowdoin in Maine, and Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.

They also visited the resting

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places of some of the most significant figures in American and Christian history. At the grave of pastor Jonathan Edwards in Princeton Cemetery, Dr. Strachan lectured on the long shadow still cast

by Edwards. The team also saw the graves of scholar B.B. Warfield, preacher George Whitefield, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton at Trinity Church on Wall Street, where the team met up briefly for an impromptu lecture tour of some New York City sites led by seminary president Dr. Jason Allen, who was in the city on other seminary business. At the grave of famed Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson in Plymouth, Mass., Dr. Duesing taught on Judson’s life and influence.

Also in Plymouth, at the legendary Plymouth Rock, place of the pilgrims’ first landing, Dr. Duesing presented on the development of Puritan theology and Wilson taught on the Baptist emphasis on a “believers’ church.”

During a brief pass through Vermont, Wilson also gave a tour of and lecture on the history of

Middletown Springs Community Church, the location of his pastorate before his move to Midwestern.

The team also visited a church plant in Rutland, Vermont.

Other church planters, replanters, and area missiologists visited included Bland Mason of City on a Hill Church in Boston, where the team gathered for worship on the Sunday morning of their tour, and Nathan Pickowicz from New Hampshire, Kevin McKay in Providence, Wes Pastor from Vermont, and—again in Boston—Gordon Hugenberger of Park Street Church and Jaime Owens of The Tremont Temple, where all three leaders offered some final thoughts and encouragements.

The seminary team also took in some more historical and cultural sites during their study tour, including the Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial site in New York City. Dr. Duesing led a tour of The Freedom Trail in Boston, and the whole group ended their time in the Northeast taking in a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. •

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS IN BRIEF New and Upcoming Releases from the Midwestern Seminary Community

PORTRAITS OF A PASTOR: THE 9 ESSENTIAL ROLES OF A CHURCH LEADER

THE SPIRIT AND THE LAKE OF FIRE: PNEUMATOLOGY AND JUDGMENT

edited by Jason K. Allen (Moody Publishers)

by Rustin Umstattd (Wipf and Stock)

Available Now Inspired by the 2016 For The Church National Conference, this book, the next release on Midwestern’s FTC imprint with Moody Publishers, features contributions by Danny Akin, Jason Duesing, Ronnie Floyd, Christian George, Owen Strachan, Donald Whitney, Jared Wilson, John Mark Yeats, and Midwestern President Jason Allen, who also served as general editor.

Available Now What does the Spirit have to do with God’s final judgment? This new book from Midwestern Seminary assistant professor of theology, Rustin Umstattd, establishes the Spirit’s role in judgment by connecting several symbols that are used for both the Spirit and judgment and examines how the Holy Spirit is operative in God’s judgment upon sin.

THE LOST SERMONS OF C.H. SPURGEON, VOLUME 2

by Christian T. George (B&H Academic) Available Now The second of a planned 12-volume series which features the landmark discoveries and research of George, curator of Midwestern’s renowned Spurgeon Library. Written for pastors, scholars, and students alike, The Lost Sermons will add approximately 10% more material to Spurgeon’s body of literature and will constitute the first critical edition of any of Spurgeon’s works.

THE JONATHAN EDWARDS ENCYCLOPEDIA

SUPERNATURAL POWER FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE

Various Contributors (Eerdmans)

by Jared C. Wilson (Thomas Nelson) January 2018

Available Now This landmark reference work, edited by Harry Stout, features entries from Midwestern Seminary Provost Jason G. Duesing and associate professor of Christian theology, Owen Strachan.

The latest book from Wilson, Midwestern’s director of content strategy, aims at making the reality of the Spirit’s empowering presence in the Christian’s life applicable in every moment and resonant for any situation.

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CAMPUS LIFE

SPRING PICNIC

SPRING PICNIC

FOR THE CHURCH | PHOENIX JUNE 13 M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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MBTS SERVE

MWI WELCOME EVENT For MORE CAMPUS EVENTS AND PHOTOS visit our events page at mbts.edu/events.

BONFIRE & S’MORES

SIZEMORE LECTURES WITH DR. SIMON GATHERCOLE | APRIL 19

FOR THE CHURCH NATIONAL CONFERENCE KANSAS CITY | SEPT. 26-27

FOR THE CHURCH NATIONAL CONFERENCE KANSAS CITY | SEPT. 26-27

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RESOURCES | FTC.CO

What I Wish I Could Tell My Younger Self About Pastoring

by D AV E H A R V E Y

GOSPEL-CENTERED RESOURCES

FOR THE CHURCH Recent artic le s

M O R E R E S O U R C E S AVA I L A B L E AT F T C . C O

I know it’s crazy, but I wish time travel was readily available to the public. Why? Because I’ve got a few things I’d really like to say to the younger version of myself. First, I’d tell myself not to freak out while watching the Steelers in the 1972 AFC Championship game, because Franco Harris will pull off the “Immaculate Reception” in the final 30 seconds of the game. I’d also tell myself that computers are not a passing “fad,” and then I’d mention it may be wise to invest in a little company called “Google.” Oh, and I’d tell myself to eat less pizza and more salads. (Actually, I probably wouldn’t say that at all.)

But I would love to tell my younger self a few things about pastoral ministry. I’ve been doing this pastoral ministry thing for a long time now, over 28 years. Over the decades, I’ve learned some things I wish I would have known as a freshman pastor.

PASTORING IS FIRST ABOUT PEOPLE I was an impatient, driven, type-A kind of person, who didn’t necessarily have time for people and their problems. It was easy to think of pastoring as more about leadership, programs, and preaching, rather than being involved with people. But the reality is, pastoring is about being intimately involved in the lives of people – being a shepherd of their souls!

Peter said, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you…” (1 Peter 5:2). Paul said, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to

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care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

To be a faithful shepherd, you must care for sheep.

I missed that at first. I remember when a member left a counseling appointment with me feeling more managed than shepherded. His feedback tutored me.

He came looking for a shepherd to care; what he got was a soul mechanic looking to make a repair.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones hit the nail on the head when he said, “To love to preach is one thing, but to love the people to whom you preach is quite another.” If I could grab a coffee with my younger self, I would talk to him about what it means to “love the people to whom you preach.”

PASTORING IS AIMED AT BROKEN PEOPLE Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick (Matthew 9:12).” In other words, I would want to tell my younger self that it’s not just that people come to pastors for help, but that people come for help and bring their baggage with them. We live in a broken world where sin and sickness debase God’s image and defraud human beings. They mess with people and mess up people. Pastoral ministry doesn’t happen in Eden. It happens in the untidy trenches of a fallen world. People often come to pastors marred by the effects of sin.

I didn’t get it, at least not in the beginning. But God was faithful, and reality crashed my pastoral party. I seem to recall it happening around a depressed woman who didn’t get better by the passages I told her to memorize. Fortunately for me, older pastors were there

to pry my worldview from the grip of my narrow mind. I began to see that the complexities of brokenness are not so simple, not so easily catalogued, not so expedient. I began to understand that this is why God created shepherds.

It’s a very illuminating moment when a leader realizes, “Oh my, this is ministry.

THIS is what ministry is really about.”

We don’t usually think about pastoring this way. We romanticize the role, seeing ourselves in a living room or behind a pulpit, with soft music playing as eloquent words drip from our lips.

But in reality, ministry is very messy.

How could it not be! We are not yet what we shall be. I know I’m not! That’s why I need the gospel every day. That’s why I need – we all need – pastors.

that more clearly. I began to comprehend that if I wanted to experience the power of his resurrection I would have to share in his sufferings (Philippians 3:10).

I think that’s been the hardest lesson.

Probably the most surprising as well.

Unless a Flux Capacitor (if you have to ask, watch Back to the Future!) becomes a reality in the near future, I won’t have the opportunity to talk to my younger self. But I can talk to you, and you can, perhaps, learn more quickly from one who was undoubtedly too slow on the uptake. I hope it helps you view ministry more soberly. But even more, I hope it helps you see a Savior who redeems our misses, so that even slow guys like me can “gladly spend and be spent (2 Corinthians 12:15)” for the ones He loves. •

I wish I would have learned that earlier.

PASTORING IS SUFFERING 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 gives us a snapshot into the reality of suffering in ministry.

Paul describes his ministry in terms of being afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down. Not exactly your best life now. And yet Paul also makes it clear that God not only works all things for Paul’s good, but also for the good of the people Paul serves (2 Corinthians 1:7).

It’s easy for young pastors to expect a different path in pastoral ministry – to only think about the glamorous, public aspects of ministry. But ministry is tough business. It’s not for the faint of heart. Only a suffering servant can truly serve suffering people. When a pastor touches darkness, he learns how to find light. Then he learns how to pass it along to others.

Somewhere along the way I began to see

DAVE HARVEY is a teaching pastor at

Preaching at Summit Church in Naples, Florida, and serves as the executive director of Sojourn Network. Dave is also the founder of AmICalled.com, a leadership resource site helping pastors, leaders and men who sense a call to ministry and has 29 years of pastoral experience, with 19 years as a lead pastor. Dave chairs the board for the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) and has traveled nationally and internationally doing conferences where he teaches Christians, equips pastors and trains church planters.

Dave has a D.Min. from Westminster Theological Seminary, is the author of When Sinners Say I Do, Am I Called?, and Rescuing Ambition, and is co-author of the book Letting Go: Rugged Love for Wayward Souls.

Married for 32 years, Dave and Kimm have four kids and one grandchild.

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RESOURCES | FTC.CO

How to Encourage Your Pastor

by D AV I D M C L E M O R E

Pastoring a church is not an easy job.

Here are 10 ways you can encourage your pastor (or pastors).

1. THANK HIM (OR THEM).

It’s not easy to preach every week. It’s not easy to carry the burden of ministry every day. A pastor rarely hears “thank you.” A good pastor isn’t in the ministry for a thank you from the congregation.

They are not after man’s approval but work for God’s approval (Galatians 1:10).

They shepherd as one who will give account to God (Hebrews 13:17). But a thank you can go a long way. Pastors, like nearly everyone, are severely under-encouraged. My guess is you appreciate the work he does. Tell him so.

One practical way to do this: write him a letter. Emails usually include a criticism. Hand-written letters nearly always include encouragement. It shows you thought more than the 30 seconds it takes to send an email.

Letters also have a way of sticking around for a while. Emails get buried quickly. Letters are sweet reminders on the desktop after a long, hard day of ministry.

2. BE SPECIFIC IN YOUR THANKS. A general “thank you” is more than what many pastors hear week after week, but a specific thank you is life-giving. Find one phrase or thought or action and thank him. Specificity implies gratefulness. If a phrase from his sermon last week stuck with you, let him know. Lots of pastors hear very little specific feedback on their

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sermon. Imagine spending hours each week to prepare something and never know how it lands on the people you’re speaking to.

One practical way to do this: immediately after the service, walk up with a smile and repeat to him one phrase from the sermon that you found life-giving. Every pastor wants to help people see God. Tell him specifically how God used him that day.

3. SUBMIT TO THEIR LEADERSHIP. If God has placed you in a church he requires for you to submit to her leaders (Hebrew 13:17). Most of the time, that’s an easy call. If you stick around long enough and invest deep enough, something will arise that requires submission. Do it joyfully, understanding that God is leading this church. If the gospel isn’t being thrown out and sin isn’t being glorified, submit.

One practical way to do this: when he says something that you aren’t fully on board with initially, pray in the moment for a spirit of submission. Unless it is a gospel issue, sinful, or illegal, submit to the leadership. I guarantee your pastor has thought more and prayed harder about the vision they are presenting than your 30 seconds of evaluation.

4. MAKE THEIR JOB EASY. That is not to say don’t have problems, but don’t create problems. Be a life giver and not a life sucker. It’s no surprise to anyone who’s lived with other humans that we tend to make life harder to live.

Pastors often see the worst parts. They are called when the crisis has reached breaking-point. They sit with grieving parents and children during deaths of loved ones. They have difficult conversations for the glory of God and the good of the church. Do all you can to make their job easy. Make it so your pastor is happy to see you.

One practical way to do this: when you send an email with a question or a desire to get together, be specific. It’s really difficult to receive an email from someone in the congregation requesting to “talk about something,” or “run something by you,” or “some feedback on your sermon.” Include specifics as to exactly what you want to talk about, even if it is negative. Like anyone else, pastors appreciate the time to prepare for a conversation. Make their job easier, not harder.

5. HONOR HIM (OR THEM).

Pay them well, if you are in a position to make such a call. Speak well of them to outsiders and insiders. Tell them how you see God at work in their life. Use your words to build up, not tear down.

One practical way to do this: speak well of him in public and private. Your pastor may annoy you. He might not be the best preacher. He may have a quirk or two. Don’t talk to others about that-those are personal preferences. If he’s preaching the gospel and walking in the light, don’t beat him up for being who God made him. Instead, speak well of

him at all times, just as you hope others would do for you.

6. SQUASH GOSSIP. Leaders take a lot of heat. Let only their actual words and actions be discussed, not feelings about such words or actions, especially if you disagree. Be slow to speak. Remember, don’t cause problems. Don’t let your prayer requests for others be a shrouded attempt to spread the news that isn’t yours to spread. Don’t be the wind on the flame of gossip. Be the water.

One practical way to do this: when someone shares something you know is gossip, end the conversation immediately. You may be able to do this subtly.

You may have to confront publically.

Be wise in how you do it, but do not let a gossip speak long. Nothing can ruin a church as quickly as a bit of juicy information. The tongue is like fire (James 3:5-6).

7. COME TO CHURCH. Pastors love the people of their church and not members who don’t attend is troublesome. It causes much worry.

Come and be present. When you are absent, you pastor(s) notice. They have committed to God to care for your soul.

When you aren’t there, and they don’t know why, they wonder how you are. Be tied into the church. Pretend like it’s a family because it is.

One practical way to do this: decide right now you’ll go to church every week. Don’t allow any room for excuses.

Even if you’re sick, come and sit in the back. Let people know you’re not feeling well so you won’t shake their hand and spread the illness. I make it a rule that unless I’m too sick to get out of bed I’m at church. It’s not only encouraging to the pastor, it’s good for your soul (Hebrews 10:25).

8. ENGAGE IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WAY GOD HAS GIFTED YOU. Don’t wait for him to ask for your help. Offer it, and be satisfied with the answer of yes or no to follow. What do you have that you didn’t receive?

Worship God through the use of your gifts. Even if you don’t love the job, do it joyfully. Most likely, you won’t do it forever. If you can help, help!

One practical way to do this: learn your gifting. There are all kinds of spiritual gift tests you can take. Some of those are fine. But you know what you can and can’t do. If you don’t, others around you can see your strengths and weaknesses. Ask them. The point is, be ready to serve where and when you can. Open yourself up. Take a risk. Be dependable.

After all, you’re not serving your pastor.

You’re serving the Lord. You can never serve God too much.

9. TRUST HIM (OR THEM).

He’s leading you the best he can as he follows Jesus. Trust his instincts. Give the benefit of the doubt.

One practical way to do this: tell him you trust his leadership and are

thankful for him. Be explicit in this, especially if you have a disagreeable personality. It’s hard enough to preach each week. It’s even harder when you wonder if certain people out there trust what you’re saying. Following the Lord is a crazy journey. He asks us to do risky things from time to time.

Trust that your pastor is following Jesus closely enough that you can trust him. Trust him until he proves he’s untrustworthy.

10. PRAY FOR HIM (OR THEM).

Nothing means more than this. Every day is a spiritual battle. Satan hates what pastors do. He wishes for nothing more than a great fall into sin. Every moment, the battle is waged. How often do you include your pastors into your prayers? What if, instead of complaining that the sermon was too long, or that he forgot your birthday, you instead bowed your head in thanksgiving?

One practical way to do this: every Sunday morning on the way to church, pray for your pastor. He’s about to preach. That’s a hard job! He’s about to lead the church in beholding the glory of Christ. He needs your prayers. Oh, and when you get there, tell him you prayed for him on the way. Let him know he’s not the only one trusting God to provide today. •

DAVID MCLEMORE is part of the church planting team at Refuge Church in Franklin, Tennessee. He is married to Sarah, and they have three sons.

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More Than a Messenger

by T O D D C H I P M A N

Many young men sense a call to ministry through the preaching of well known figures like John Piper, Tim Keller or Mark Dever. God has tilled the soil of the young man’s life in such a way that the words of said preachers spring to life and become a model for the young man for years to come. That was the case with me. I can vividly recall listening to a cassette recording of a reputable preacher on my Sony Walkman (yellow, waterproof, let the reader understand) and being so impacted that the only course of life that made sense began by enrolling in seminary. I wanted to be a good steward of the gospel message, for the rest of my days focused on preaching the word.

But upon graduation from seminary and taking a pastoral position, many young men will soon face what at first seems like a harsh reality: a strong pulpit ministry is only part of the skill set necessary to pastor a church. I had to learn this lesson, and wish here to help young pastors understand that churches look to their pastor not only for messages, but also for structures by which they might carry out the implications of the gospel.

Understanding the roles to which Paul compared the tasks of Timothy and Titus (and future pastors, generally speaking) may provide young pastors with a grid for understanding the ministry of preaching within the wider pastoral task of stewarding God’s household. Paul’s purpose for writing 1 Timothy expresses his logic for the Pastorals in general. In 1 Tim 3:14-15, Paul wrote: “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (HCSB).

By connecting (a) messages for directing Christian behavior with (b) the imagery of a household in 1 Tim 3:15, Paul provided an interpretive grid for understanding several phrases in the Pastorals where he described the work of Timothy and Titus as those entrusted with the task of proclaiming the gospel message (1 Tim 1:18-19; 4:11-13; 6:20; 2 Tim 1:13; 3:14-15; 4:1-8; Titus 1:5; 2:15).

I suggest that the pastoral ministry of stewarding the message of the gospel in proclamation and teaching is to be understood in light of the broader pastoral work of managing God’s household.

Understanding the administrative work of household stewards in the ancient world, not only on the farm but also in the service of Rome’s army, may help us to appreciate the way Paul described stewardship of a message as part of the wider stewardship of seeing that the message was administered in the activity of its adherents.

THE PASTOR AS SLAVE-STEWARD ON THE FARM During both the Republican and Imperial periods of the Roman Empire, rural farms were often owned by city-dwelling aristocrats. In order to ensure the prosperity of the farm, the owner would purchase skilled slaves who could act as stewards, managers of the farm household. The owner entrusted these slave stewards with his instructions for how a farm should be run, often informed by agricultural manuals,

texts that read like how-to guides for the uninformed. Two influential writers of such texts were Marcus Terentius Varro (116-27 BC) and Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (first c.). Varro’s On Agriculture, covering roughly 250 pages in the Loeb Classical Library, was meant as a tutorial for his wife who just purchased a farm. At the time of writing, Varro was an older man and wanted things organized for her as he was aging. Columella’s On Agriculture is more extensive, requiring three volumes in the Loeb Classical Library, 625 pages. Though Varro and Columella’s volumes illustrate Paul’s metaphor of pastors as stewards of God’s household, these ancient writers must be understood in their own right. Proportionally, Varro and Columella each wrote much more about maintaining crops, protecting from insects and growing olives than they did about household slaves stewarding the owner’s messages on the farm.

Required of these slave stewards were skills with people and processes. In carrying out the farm owners wishes, these men had to manage less skilled slaves, who were notoriously rebellious.

The slave steward over the household thus had to be an example of character and personal discipline so he could demonstrate how tasks were to be done.

The behavior of the slave steward over the household set the pace for the slave laborers. In book one, Varro noted that the slave overseer must be a man whose knowledge and skill would make him an example for the slave laborers writing, “It is especially important that the foremen be men who are experienced in farm operations; for the foreman must not

only give orders but also take part in the work, so that his subordinates may follow his example, and also understand that there is good reason for his being over them—the fact that his is superior to them in knowledge” (1.17.4).

Like Varro, Columella bemoaned the city and slaves that come from the city because they were want of pleasure and lazy. No overseeing slave should be from the city, he wrote, noting that as stewards, the overseer slaves were to be experienced in the work so they might set an example for the slave-laborers: “For it is not in keeping with this business of ours for one man to give orders and another to give instructions, nor can a man properly exact work when he is being tutored by an underling as to what is to be done and in what way” (1.8.3-4).

Besides overseeing slave laborers, the slave steward entrusted with the household had to manage the broader work of the farm including planting, irrigating, fertilizing and harvesting crops—as well as seeing that livestock, birds and fish were maintained both for consumption on the farm and sale at markets. In short being a successful slave steward of a household demanded sharp organizational leadership skills by which the steward could direct slave laborers to carry out the directions the owner of the farm had entrusted to him.

THE PASTOR AS SOLDIER IN THE ROMAN ARMY And this skill set made the slave steward a valuable commodity for the Roman army. In the Republican period especially, before Rome had a standing professional army, agricultural slave stewards were conscripted into military service.

Because of the repeated calls upon slave stewards to serve in military campaigns, many property owners suffered loss.

Wherever these men served, success tended to follow; their absence left

either the farm vulnerable to neglect or Rome vulnerable to her enemies. Why? Slave stewards were acute administrators, able to organize others around the instructions given to them.

In Jewish War 3.4 Josephus, a former Jewish military commander in Galilee and later Jewish historian, recounted his defeat at the hands of Rome. The following chapter, Jewish War 3.5, reads like a self-help journal entry: Josephus consoled himself by writing that he was routed in battle because Rome was such a mighty military force. Indeed, Josephus wrote, let readers beware that they too will be defeated if they attempt to fight (3.5.8). What was the cause of Rome’s success? “Now here one cannot but admire the precaution of the Romans, in providing for themselves of such household servants, as might not only serve at other times for the common offices of life, but might also be of advantage to them in their wars” (3.5.1) These slave stewards knew how to organize slave laborers on the farm, coordinating efforts and making sure both man and beast were prepared for their tasks. Josephus wrote that these men, during campaigns, applied their skills to military drills (3.5.1), the arrangement of the camp (3.5.2) and the foray into battle (3.5.3-4). While serving as soldiers these men were stewards of a battle plan and watchword that would be passed through the guard as a signal to advance against a foe (3.5.3). Josephus described this entrusted watchword as a critical element of Rome’s campaign success: the goal of the camp was not just to be organized and disciplined but to advance and fight according to the strategy of the day.

THE PASTOR AS MESSENGERADMINISTRATOR I recognize that Paul described pastors as stewards of the gospel message,

preachers who are to labor in study and proclamation. But I suggest that the ministry of preaching should be understood within the broader administrative task of helping believers to practice the gospel in and outside of the church.

Pastors are to preach and initiate structures that help the church to heed the gospel and organize itself around it for the advance of Christ’s kingdom.

A visit to Redeemer Pres., Capital Hill Baptist or a Desiring God conference will demonstrate that Keller, Dever and Piper are not just great preachers but administrative geniuses.

At the practical level, if the preaching pastor of a church divests himself of administrative leadership and establishing programs through which the church can carry out the gospel messages he preaches, who will take up that leadership role?

Likely someone who has less intimacy with the message of the gospel. In short, believers need structures through which they might participate together in God’s redemptive plan worked out through the local church. Who better than the preacher, God’s messenger in a local body, to initiate endeavors that provide believers avenues for practicing the preacher’s messages? •

TODD CHIPMAN has been the pastor for discipleship at The Master’s Community Church (SBC), Kansas City, Kansas, since 2000. Dr. Chipman also serves as an assistant professor of biblical studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He has published articles and book reviews in The Midwestern Journal of Theology and Expostiory Times, and has presented academic research papers at meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature. Dr. Chipman and his wife, Julie, have 7 children and advocate for foster/ adoption ministry.

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When You Wonder if All the Work is Worth It

by C H R I S T I N E H O O V E R

Sometimes I want to run away from home. I want to lay on a beach somewhere with a cold drink and a well-written novel and never come back. I want to move back to Texas and live full under the big, blue sky in my dream home—wrap-around porch included—in the Hill Country. I want to retire now, at 38.

I told my husband this on Saturday morning, leaving out all the gory details so as not to scare him. It came out more like, “I’m feeling kind of blah today.” Quite the understatement. We sat together with our coffee in hand and our feet up on the dining room windowsill, peering at the mountains that are visible again through bare trees. Looking out, I added, “At least it’s pretty here. Sometimes that’s what I hold on to when I don’t want to be here in this place.”

He knows what I mean without me having to elaborate. We planted our church over six years ago and, while a million little good things have happened in those six years that have led to this Saturday in the dining room, sometimes I feel like nothing has happened at all. There is a church where there used to not be one, yes, but we’re still working really hard and sometimes it feels like we’re spinning our wheels. When is it going to get easier?

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When is God going to do something big and miraculous instead of the small and incremental?

That’s why I want to run away sometimes. I want to run away from the work and what the work makes me face in my heart and all the necessary sanctification. I want to run away from the discomfort of trying to shed the missionary’s heart and God asking me to take it up again. I want to run away because I wonder if any of this is making a difference spiritually and sometimes it feels harder to care about this city than to not care.

As we looked out at the line of blue mountains in the distance, Kyle said, “The beauty of this place so often masks the spiritual darkness.” I had forgotten for a moment that there are spiritual battles playing out all around us and also within my own heart. It is precisely the weight of that spiritual battle that wearies me and makes me feel like it’s hopeless and that I should run away. Do I believe that God is working here and He is able or do I believe it’s too dark and too far gone for Him? There is only one answer that will keep me here for the long haul.

What was it that I’d heard in a podcast recently? “Revival has happened in history when God has chosen to act in a miraculous fashion among people who

are just being faithful where they’re at over a long period of time.” I care about the people in my city and I want revival here, but sometimes I want it to come through miraculous and instantaneous events, not as the fruit of faithful obedience over a long period of time.

I knew that God was asking for me to put one foot in front of the other but also to pray big prayers in light of the spiritual battle raging beneath the beauty of this place.

I got really fired up, right there with my feet propped up in the dining room window. I do believe my God is able!

My city is not a hopeless case. God is worth my faithful obedience over a long period of time. And, really, I don’t want to run away, because if I ran away?

I would miss out on the sweet taste of whatever fruit God wants to bear here.•

CHRISTINE HOOVER, a regular contributor to For The Church, is a church planting pastor’s wife, mom to three boys, and the author of The Church Planting Wife and From Good to Grace.

Through her blog, Grace Covers Me (gracecoversme.com), she encourages women to live and lead from the grace of Christ. You can follow her on Twitter at @christinehoover.

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