Embracing Our Mission

"For the church to be the church, she must bow before her King and embrace the mission He has given to her. Yes, we desire a cultural reformation and a restoration of public morality. But that is secondary to and dependent on our mission to bear witness to the truth. Doctrine is important because its central concern is for an understanding of truth, without which there can be no godliness. It is the truth that sets us free, reforms our behavior, and defines us as disciples of Christ."

From the Ligonier Daily Devotional

Praying for Our Pastors

We pray “for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:2). Certainly we pray for our government leaders so that we might impact our society and keep our freedom to live our Christian lives and share the gospel. We must remember however that it is THE CHURCH, not the government, which is going to have the greatest impact on the world around us. It is THE CHURCH’S proclamation of the gospel which is going to change hearts and lives. It is THE CHURCH’S preaching of the Word and discipling ministry which is going to prepare those who would serve effectively in positions of leadership.

So as we pray for our government leaders, on this Lord’s Day let us remember to pray faithfully for our pastors and our churches. Ligon Dunan over at the T4G blog had a great post encouraging us how to effectively pray for our pastors:

Praying for Your Pastor
Ligon Duncan

Because I have a congregation that loves me more than I deserve, I am often asked by them: "how can I pray for you?" I've tried to put some thought into how I answer that question. So, maybe these ideas will help you pray for your pastor, or tell others how they can pray for you.

Pray -

1. That [your pastor] would know and love the living God, would have a saving interest in Christ, being purchased by His blood, and thus would be bound to the Lord by the indissoluble bond of the Holy Spirit.

2. That [your pastor] would know, embrace and ever more deeply understand the Gospel and be shaped by it in life and ministry.

3. That [your pastor] would be useful servant of the Lord, that he would know and love God's word, God's people, and God's kingdom; that he would be used to build it up and so that it prevails even against Hell's gates.

4. That [your pastor] would study, practice and teach the Word of the Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

5. That [your pastor] would love to pray, because he loves to commune with his God, and that he would be a man of prayer, characteristically.

6. That [your pastor] would be ever dependent upon and filled with the Spirit; and that he would possess true Spiritual wisdom.

7. That [your pastor] would be holy unto the Lord. That his tongue and heart would be wholly God's.

8. That [your pastor] would be kept from pride, and especially spiritual pride. That the Lord himself would be gracious to slay pride in him, and that your pastor would endeavor to always be putting pride to death, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

9. That God would give [your pastor] guidance as to where to focus his efforts in ministry.

10. That He would protect [your pastor] from himself, from the enemy of his soul, and from all earthly enemies.

11. That no decision which [your pastor] ever makes or desire that [your pastor] ever pursues would restrict his ability to pour his whole soul into the Gospel ministry.

12.That many would be converted and many built up under [your pastor]'s ministry, to God's glory alone.

13. That the Lord would bless [your pastor]'s wife, [. . . ], with holiness and happiness, Gospel assurance and Gospel rest.

14. That God would make [your pastor] a decent husband and father.

15. That [your pastor] would be a good friend to his wife, and love her self-sacrificially.

16. That [your pastor] would be a good daddy to his children. That they would love God, their parents and the church.

17. That [your pastor] would be a testimony in the home so that his wife might be able to respect him when he is in the pulpit, and so that [your pastor] will be able to feed her soul, along with the rest of the congregation.

Praying for Your Pastor - Ligon Duncan

Reformation, Revival, and the Religious Right

Tom Ascol wrote a great article on how we can experience reformation and revival in America. In it he wrote:

“It is not that the agenda of the religious right is too radical. It is not radical enough. They greatly underestimate the depth of the problem. We cannot "Christianize" culture. The nature of sin guarantees that. Neither are we called to try! Did Jesus or Peter or Paul ever try to organize believers into a voting bloc to "Christianize" any geo-political structure? Culture can and will be positively influenced when its participants are made disciples of Christ.

"The moral crisis in our nation will not be solved by getting the right people in the White House, Congress, and on the Supreme Court. Society will not change until people change. And the only way that people can be changed is by the sovereign power of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consequently, proclaiming that gospel in the power of the Spirit is the task to which churches must give themselves. This constitutes the only great commission which we have received from Jesus Christ.”

The article concludes:

"When reformation and revival come, they will come through the ministry of God's Word and prayer! This is God's way for His church to do His work in the world. Anything that would intrude on our commitment to these God-ordained means is a distraction and will ultimately keep us from seeking the only remedy which can cure our churches' spiritual apathy and our nation's moral decay."

While taking our part in our country's political process in the upcoming election, we must constantly keep before us our God-given priority of proclaiming the gospel and making disciples of every nation.

Read Tom Ascol's complete article.

Beware of Becoming Distracted

Mark Patton, pastor of my home church, Spring Hill Baptist Church, has been preaching through a series on the book of Nehemiah. This past Sunday he shared a message on the attacks Nehemiah faced and how these describe the attacks churches face which would hinder them from fulfilling the work God has given them to do.

The attacks Nehemiah faced:

Becoming Distracted

Becoming Timid

Compromising on the Essentials

In his first point he shared how easy it is for the church to become distracted from the work God has given us to do: that of glorifying Him by making disciples.

From Pastor Mark’s message:

“All over the world today, churches are leaving disciple making for helping the environment, for helping the poor, for helping to fight Aids, for helping to fight hunger, for helping to stop abortion, for helping to protect marriage. None of these are bad. I would love for the environment to be better. I would love for the poor to have enough that there would be no hunger. I would love for the Aids epidemic to be curbed. I would love for innocent live to be protected. I would love for the home where one man and one woman in a monogamous marriage of harmony would be the model of our culture.

“But the job of our church is to bring honor and glory to God by making disciples…

“My beef is not with these outreach ministries. My beef is with the church getting distracted by people who do these 'ministries' apart from the gospel.”

Pastor Mark’s message was a great reminder for us as a church to stay focused and faithful on what it is that God has called us to do.

20 minute clip from Mark's message dealing with churches becoming distracted from the God given priority of making disciples.

Pastor Mark’s complete message