From: “Tim Gallant”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
BHrethren,
I just came home from a congregational meeting. Some of you may remember a note last fall requesting prayer for my situation in the local church. There is a dominant family that has a number of unhappy people (some more so than others). It centers around me, at least on the surface. There remains a complaint that my sermons are too difficult, but there are other matters too. Meanwhile, a goodly number of people are extremely happy with my work here (and some of them express puzzlement about the difficulty complaint, since they say their 10 year old children benefit from my sermons). For myself, I am willing to say that I am still learning to simplify and need to learn a whole lot more in communication, and insofar as that it is true, there is probably cause for some of the concerns. But there is much more involved than that, which I can scarcely begin to detail. Otherwise, the depth of emotion involved on the part of some would be inexplicable.
The council remains supportive, but there is clearly a deep rift in the congregation. One of the dominant men (perhaps *the* dominant man) in the family in question basically said tonight that the problem is with me, and it’s either me going or him. While there not a lot of families even among the discontented ones who are going so far as to make such threats of leaving, even the loss of a couple of key families would almost put the church’s viability in question, even if it did not spark a mass exodus. (My present guess is that at the moment there are probably three families that would leave without a whole lot of hesitation; it remains to be seen whether there would be more.)
To make things more complicated, however, one of the elders made it clear that if I got booted, there would be at least as many exits for the opposite reason. Which means that unless there is some sort of reconciliation, no matter what direction things go, the church has a good chance of collapsing altogether.
I could tell you a lot more that has been told me by one of the elders and others (regarding family history etc), but I see no point. But it does seem clear that this isn’t just about me; it is a chronic matter that has been ongoing for decades. Apparently the church was once very large, but has dwindled to about 20 families. And a great many of the ones that left did so with enough bitterness never to attend church again. That’s a rather frightening track record. (To say nothing about a reputation of being rather hard on ministers....)
I don’t know what to do. I am not ordained, since I haven’t completed the CRC requirements, but I am serving through a two year contract which is still a ways away from being halfway completed. As long as the council wants me here, I hesitate to ask them to tear up the contract and send me home. On the other hand, it is obviously an unhealthy situation. I suspect that if things went to a vote whether to keep me on, the split would be just about 50-50. I have no idea what wise action is in my situation, other than to try to ignore the issue, go about the business of pastoring, redouble my efforts in my calling here, and let the Lord do what He wants. But clearly, I am under stress and my homesickness is only magnified. To be honest, sometimes I just wish I could pack up and go home.
We have a council meeting tomorrow night. I know the entire council is at a loss how to proceed.
Please, brothers, pray for me.
tim
Tim Gallant
Pastor [???], Conrad Christian Reformed Church
http://www.timgallant.org
tim | gallant site group
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 09:42:17 -0500
From: “Brian D. Nolder”
Subject: Re: Pray for me (again)
Tim:
Since you are in MT, have you thought about calling up Ken Sande at Peacemaker Ministries (www.hispeace.org) for assistance? His whole ministry is designed to help with situations like this. (Of course, when he finds out what a heretic you are, he may not want to work with you.)
As someone who has had to endure some of the “pillars” leaving over the last two years, I can tell you that it is often good to hang tough and wait it out (as long as your consistory is behind you, which helps a lot).
BDN
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 10:16:53 -0600
From: “James B. Jordan”
Subject: Re: Pray for me (again)
Tim,
If I’m reading this right, Mr. Dominant has been driving people out for years. Time for him to go.
Also, if I’m reading this right, the council/elders want you to stay. Hence, it is not up to you. They decide. You stay. Mr. Dominant and his clan depart. The church shrinks, but at long last is in a position where she might begin to grow!
That’s if I’m reading this right.
It is necessary that divisions arise that those who are approved may be made manifest.
“You boys haven’t kicked enough people out yet. Are you going to do it, or am I gonna have to come and do it Myself?” — Jesus, in Rev. 2—3.
We heard your situation several times, in waves, in Tyler. A group of people said they did not trust the session, hated the sermons, were confused by the liturgy, etc.; while loads of other people had no problems at all. If you are hearing from families that your sermons are fine and even the kids like them, then pay no attention to the critics. Don’t let THEM set your agenda, when others like what you’ve been doing!
Savor of life to some, of death to others. That’s the reality. Forget about being loved by everybody. Jesus isn’t loved by everybody either.
Yadda yadda yadda.
JBJ
James B. Jordan
Director, Biblical Horizons
Box 1096
Niceville, FL 32578
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 09:54:17 -0700
From: “Tim Gallant”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
JBJ,
Thanks for your comments. In some respects, they are very close to the target. OTOH. . . . I do know that a couple of the people who are struggling, at least, really are trying. I think of one lady in particular who, when I preach a sermon she really “gets,” is unhesitant to come to me and tell me. So when I know that *usually* she struggles, I never credit that to some personal issue or fundamental disagreement etc. I don’t really think that is a family that would leave, mind you — just trying to be fair to the people and not pretend that everything’s fine with my approach.
Still, it does strike me as odd that a lot of rather untrained people are appreciating my work. When I look at the cross-section of the families, the most common denominator here (and not absolutely universal) is that they have roots in this dominant family. I’m not sure what happened there. It just seems like something went terribly wrong years ago (the patriarch is well into his 80s) and the fruits of that are still being reaped.
The difficulty for me is that I do believe it is my calling to “reach” them. While, to be honest, there are a couple of families I would almost be happy to lose in one sense (they tend to be divisive), I just cannot look at this entire clan as evil. They just aren’t. But I just haven’t figured out what to do with them. I know I’m fighting a bit of practical apathy (in the sense: I really think most of these people just do very little to equip themselves to worship).
The other factor here is that it’s kind of all-or-nothing. It’s not a particularly liturgical church, so people cannot lean on anything but the sermon. If the sermon doesn’t connect, they don’t feel like they have come away with anything at all. And if I try to correct that too much, I think there would probably be something of a revolt, not least among a couple of my key supporters on council! (I should say that I have made baby steps, such as including more responsive readings.)
As I say, I’m at a loss.
tim
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 11:04:52 -0600
From: burke
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Tim,
I am severely grieved by your letter and plea for prayers. I will pray, and have been, for your situation. In my own former situation, what you describe is essentially what I faced, except that I was ordained and had been at the church for 5.5 years already. I came to the position that I couldn’t leave and leave the church in the hands of the wolves that had ransacked it already on three or four occasions. I felt I would be betraying Christ as his minister. I had no idea of what was to come, and had I known, would probably have left quietly, as some advised me to. You are up against the political power of the church, which existed before you came. But I stayed and God blessed it; I died but have been resurrected, as Jim likes to say. But since you are not ordained, I don’t know what to say to you. My only constructive thought, after crying, was to ask the Presbytery to come in and help. But that’s a two edged sword, and the men in it are probably aware of the situation but unwilling to take a stand against your leading family. Peacemakers is a good idea; I tried that, but the elders killed it because it was costly (about $3000; though we had $60,000 in the bank!).
You should probably go south and take Bill Smith’s old church; sounds good to me.
Burke
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 11:13:24 -0600
From: “James B. Jordan”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Mickey Scheider could tell you all about this. In his church in Jackson, which was a long ordeal for him, there was just such a clan, and just such a history. Things never got resolved, Mickey eventually left, and recently the church split.
For the rest, one can always try to improve preaching. (My general advice: Preach OT stories. Stories. STORIES.) But the bottom line is that you aren’t ordained, and are a hireling of the council/session. And that’s fine, for a while. But it means they make the decisions, not you. You aren’t going to be there all that long, not being ordained. So it’s their decision to make. Let them make it. If they say, “Tim stays,” then let that be their decision, and the consequences theirs also.
I suspect “Gallant’s preaching is too hard” is actually a catspaw in a power-play between Council and Clan, at least in part. After all, you are hired by the Council. This is like attacking a man’s wife to get at the man. I seriously doubt if you and your preaching are the real issue here. I could be wrong, but that’d be my first guess.
JBJ
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 11:16:13 -0600
From: burke
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Tim,
I also read “Trial and Triumphant” during my trial. And I read “Witchwood” by James Buchan. It might help you to know you are not alone, nor the first, nor the last.
I concur with Jim’s advice. Though not ordained, you are licensed to preach, and preaching is the Word of God, and you are the ambassador to that congregation.
Personally, read Psalm 23. Great Psalm, and very encouraging.
BUrke
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 11:47:33 -0700
From: “Tim Gallant”
Subject: Re: Pray for me (again)
For the rest, one can always try to improve preaching. (My general advice: Preach OT stories. Stories. STORIES.)
I actually thought of that. Only trouble is, the “key player” I mentioned has specifically complained about my Old Testament proclivities. He sounds like he wants me to stay in the NT and not bring in the OT background (or at most, very little).
My present plan is to do a series in Mark; I’m hoping that the Gospel stories will help. But as you are well aware, they are virtually meaningless without the OT context, so. . . .
Tim
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 14:29:34 -0500
From: “Brian D. Nolder”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Tim:
If you haven’t seen it, you have GOT to get Rikki Watts’ book on Mark: Isaiah’s New Exodus in Mark (Baker Academic). Also, France’s NIGNT commentary has some good thoughts in the intro on structure (and, it is partial preterist). (Unfortunately, it’s like $60 or so.)
BDN
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 19:44:30 -0000
From: “Robert Maddox”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Maybe you could do OT overview in SS and preach from the NT. Course, if your CRC is like my experience, the parents re outside smoking and eating doughnuts after they drop off the kids for SS.
Rob
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 13:50:01 -0600
From: “Gary L. Young”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Goodness. These ninny’s pickiness has made you hesitant to preach the gospel. I can see that your opponents are really on the side of truth.
Your Session needs to take care of this immediately. I am sure these peoples complaints are probably way overstated and silly. But leaving aside your particular case, preaching the Word is obviously an enormous challenge for anyone. Unless you are John the Baptist its gonna take a while for anyone to get terribly good at it, leave aside meet some particularized expectation about this or that from some segment in the Church. Give the guy a break you ninkompoops. The last thing you want do is discourage some young guy who just wants to labor in the vineyard.
Young guys who we ask to teach and preach and train up to preach the Word for their profession get a huge grace-filled amount of rope on these matters, period. If I was on your Session, I would whack upside the head any member who thought better. Sure, with gentleness, but I would do it nonetheless.
Ahem.
Gary Young
Lincoln, Nebraska
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 12:58:32 -0700
From: “Tim Gallant”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve heard good things about both of those.
I’m not “going there” again, though. At least twice since I have been here, I have laid out major expenditures on resource materials for series, and the only thing that has happened is that people complain about the series. I’m not putting out that kind of money again for something that may last a month or two, not in my current financial state.
tim
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:04:46 -0600
From: “Keith Ghormley”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Fresh out of school, in 1979-82 I pastored a tough little church with a history. I was out in the middle of independantland and had no clue, no idea how to get a clue, and nobody around who could give me a clue. (my slogan: “What’s a ‘Presbytery’“?). I finally decided that I didn’t have what that church needed and moved on. I have heard that the next man was better, and although the church did split for him, he was able to help at least one of the groups survive and move ahead.
The BH list: everyone has a story. . .
Keith
The Naked City, Nebraska
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:47:13 -0600
From: burke
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Young guys
Yeah, but Tim isn’t young. He’s an old, bald-headed man. See the uploaded photo’s.
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:51:23 -0700
From: “Tim Gallant”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Careful, Burke. I’ll sic a she-bear on ya.
rabbigoupthoubaldhead
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:21:46 -0800
From: Daniel Dillard
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Tim,
I will pray for you.
I think JBJ’s observations are right on target.
I recommend his taped message “The Church As Whole Burnt Offering” available from BH. Ask your elders to listen to it too.
Some folks, sadly, are just not going to do what is right, and it is best to let them go. I nearly gave myself a heart attack trying to minister to such a man in my congregation years ago, and he left anyway. The church was better for it. I have learned from the experience.
Blessings,
Dan Dillard
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 02:37:15 -0000
From: “Rich Bledsoe”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Dear Tim,
I don’t have as much time as I used to to peruse the list (I am IMPORTANT now), but I just read your post, JBJs and all the others related to your issue. JBJ is right. I know you are modest and have a thousand hesitations about your own preaching, and your own shortcomings, and you are probably right about some of them. But believe us old bears when we tell you, YOUR SHORTCOMINGS ARE NOT THE POINT. This is a power struggle, and its roots are so deep, they make the subconscious look shallow. If your session will back you, and you move forward, there will be some blood spilt, and people will leave. But the church will never be healthy until this has happened. This is virtually a spiritual law of some sort.
Here is a story that I love and I tell all the time to people in crisis. For a long time (in the 1940s), we had jet planes that were technically capable of breaking the sound barrier. But nobody did. The reason they didn’t was because, as you approach the sound barrier, it sounds like all hell is breaking loose. The vibrations increase to the point of feeling like everything is just about to fly to pieces. So, pilots would speed up, make the approach to the magic speed, and then in real terror at the impending explosion, back off.
One day, Chuck Yeager theorized that maybe, just maybe, when you actually reached the speed of sound and then broke it, instead of all hell vibrating the plane to destruction, the vibrations would stop. The theory was that as you approach the mark, the plane is catching up to the vibrations, and they literally pass through the plane. But, maybe, just maybe, when you reach and then surpass the speed, you will leave the vibrations behind, and the sound will stop.
So he dared. He might die. The plane might fly to pieces. It was terrifying. But BOOM, when he broke the speed of sound . . . everything went silent.
So in group dynamics. When things start to fly to pieces and all hell breaks loose, the temptation is to back off. Yes, the contention stops temporarily (usually after the pastor has resigned and had his life torn to pieces. But then it come back, and as several testifies, at some point the church does in fact split or self destruct. But slowing down is almost always the wrong strategy. YOU MUST NOT SLOW DOWN, BUT SPEED UP...YOU MUST BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER. IT WILL GET WORSE AND WORSE, AND ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE. But if you have courage, there is a speed of sound, and if you dare to break the barrier, you will find to your amazement that it suddenly becomes silent. If you say things like “Evil Empire” and “Come and tear this wall down. . .” the vibrations, the warnings that the planet will be incinerated, will increase to unbearable decibles. And then, suddenly to everyone’s amazement, the walls will fall, empires will crumble, dynasties will collapse. And it will be silent.
Look at Revelation 12:12. Its your verse. If I were you, and the Session is behind you, I think the very thing you should keep right on doing is preaching those OT stories. They seem to be working admirably. Why change horses in mid-stream?
Be a Chuck Yeager. . .
signed,
Another old warhorse with JBJ
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 23:42:49 EST
From: Leithart@aol.com
Subject: Pray for me (again)
In a message dated 1/18/2005 6:41:20 PM Pacific Standard Time, Rev Bledsoe writes:
If you say things like “Evil Empire” and “Come and tear this wall down. . .”
It always comes back to Reagan with you, doesn’t it.
Peter
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 22:15:32 -0700
From: “Tim Gallant”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Rich, thanks for your post. I think I will read it several times, and meditate upon what I must do.
tim
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 00:29:23 -0700
From: “Tim Gallant”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Okay, Bledsoe, this is your fault. . . . I’m trying a bit of a hand at doing the “speed of sound” thing. I would like those of you with good pastoral sense to tell me if this is (1) coherent; and (2) appropriate, or if, rather, you consider it reactionary and think that I should be taken out and shot for considering preaching something like this: (It’s just a draft, but you’ll get the idea.)
------------------------------
Reading: Mark 8.31–38
Text: Mark 8.34
“Come Die With Me”
People of God,
In some of his most famous words, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that when Christ calls a man, He calls him to come and die.
That is just right. The abundant life that Christ offers is not offered to us in our middle class comfort, to adopt alongside of everything else. The abundant life that Christ offers is not the whipped cream on top of the pie. The path to abundant life says everything else must go, the pie must be sacrificed. Christ calls us to come and die.
On this day in our passage before us, Peter has just made the most marvellous confession. While others are saying that Jesus is some sort of prophet, Peter is brought to the confession: “You are the Christ.” You are the Messiah, the King, the ruler of Israel who is destined to be Lord of the world.
But Jesus does not get overjoyed and tell Peter, “Now you’ve got it, and now we are going to be rich and powerful.” The confession is not the entrance into the palaces of power; it is the entrance into a corridor of darkness and suffering. For the next thing that Jesus says is that He is going to Jerusalem, not to seize Herod’s palace. . . but to be arrested and killed.
And Peter, so eager to confess Jesus to be the Messiah only such a short time before — Peter, whose head has been filled with delusions of grandeur — Peter dares to take Jesus aside and say, “Not so! No, no! That is not what the Messiah does! The Messiah storms the palace and takes it for Himself, the Messiah claims the soldiers as His own, the Messiah overthrows the hated overlords, the Romans, and He brings wealth and power to His loyal subjects!”
The Messiah brings the whipped cream and puts it on the pie.
And Jesus looks at His disciples, and He looks at Peter. And He says. . . “Get behind Me, Satan!” The same Peter who has made the glorious confession of Christ’s Messiahship is called Satan, adversary. “Get behind Me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
And then Jesus goes on to say that not only He Himself must face the cross, but that that is the calling of His disciples, His followers, as well (34): “Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said, ‘If anyone would come after Me, He must deny Himself and take up His cross and follow Me.’“
The world of Jesus the Messiah is not what you think it is. That is what we find woven into Christ’s words to Peter. Resurrection is coming, but in order to get to resurrection, you must go through death. The abundant life Jesus gives now is a life in the midst of death — life that is lived while hanging upon a cross with Christ.
The future of the Messiah was not what Peter thought. Awaiting Jesus in Jerusalem was not a crown of gold, but a crown of thorns. Awaiting Jesus in Jerusalem was indeed a royal robe — but a robe only put upon Him for the sake of mockery and derision. Awaiting Jesus in Jerusalem was an exaltation, a lifting up, yes — a lifting up upon a rough Roman cross. To die. That is the future of Peter’s Messiah.
And it is Peter’s future as well. He is not destined for the future he has imagined, a future of power and luxury. He too is destined for a cross; he too is destined to be crucified, just as his Lord was crucified. Jesus has called him, and He has called him to come and die.
That word of call is no different for us. We live in a culture where in some respects, some semblance of Christianity can be made to be somewhat respectable, and so we are given opportunity to delude ourselves. We are tempted to suppose that believing in this Jesus is a “healthy addition for a balanced life.” We are tempted to believe that eternal life is the perfect gift for the man who has everything. And Jesus says here that eternal life is the perfect pathway for a man to lose everything. (35) “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.”
It is time for us to look ourselves squarely in the eye in the mirror and ask: “What am I looking for from Jesus?” Just what is this Christian life all about? Is it a comfortable religion that will make me feel better about my life? Is it the missing touch that will give me a well-rounded experience? Is it a “personal relationship” which will fill that last little gap in my soul that nags me?
It is none of these things. It is the promise of life by way of death. Jesus calls us to come and die. “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Self-denial does not mean forgoing dessert twice a week. Self-denial means preparing for death and following through. You don’t pick up a cross to go to a party. You pick up a cross to go to your death. Jesus calls us to come and die, so that in Him we can live.
That is why we are here this morning. This is not a social club where we meet family and friends. This is not a conference room where a motivational speaker tells us how to live more confident and successful lives. This is not a place where we are taught to gain the world and lose our own souls.
God invites us here to kill us.
That’s right. God invites us here to kill us. He brings us here to slay us with His Word. Hebrews 4.12 says that the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, and it splits the joints and the marrow.
God brings us here to slay us with His Word, so that He may raise us up with His Son. He does not require of us that we come to worship to find the missing thread in our lives. He does not ask of us to seek from Him success and happiness. He invites us to die.
And unless we die, and continue to die, we cannot be Jesus’ disciples.
Paul says in Galatians 2.20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” He adds in Galatians 6.14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
The place of discipleship starts here, in this room. We die here. And we go out from here as disciples, bearing that same cross, committed to that same death, crucified with Christ.
It is now time, congregation, high time, to face up to this cross, in this room. It is time to decide that this room is not about our feelings, it is not about our personal agendas, it is not about our personal power trips, it is not about walking away with what we thought we should walk away with. It is not about walking away at all. It is about being nailed to a cross that you cannot walk away from. We have gathered in this room to die, in order that we might live.
What I am saying is that we are here to worship. And when we worship, we die. We see this in the offerings of the law. The worshipper laid his hands upon the head of an animal that represented him. And that animal was killed and placed upon an altar and transformed into smoke. That is worship. It is being killed and placed upon the altar of God, and by God’s Spirit being raised up into someone who can fellowship with God. The call to worship is a call to come and die.
And when you worship, you cannot walk away alive. You cannot get off the altar. When you worship, you have committed yourself, not only to a bit of singing and experience in the sanctuary. You have committed yourself to death and to a new life.
We need not beat around the bush. We know where things are at. This church could fold. Or it could continue. But perhaps it does not matter.
Perhaps it does not matter. It does not matter that the church folds, if we are not prepared to be disciples. If we want to go our merry way, exchanging our souls for a world of money and respectability and sports activities and everything and anything but the Word and life of Christ, we may as well stop playing church. If we think it is more important to get our way than to follow the way of the cross, then by all means, shut the doors and let’s not mock God, let’s not pretend that we are the disciples of this Messiah who went to His death and called us to the cross.
If we do not die, if we seek to save our lives, we will die anyway. If we do not die, our children will die, our families will die, we all will die. If we live before our families a model that says “this world is where it’s at,” don’t believe for a second that they will not learn that lesson. If we live before our families a model that says, “I’m going to have my way,” don’t believe for a second that they will learn to submit to a Christ who calls upon them to go His way, who invites them and commands them to come and die with Him.
I do not pretend to know the answers for this church, and I do not pretend to be able to look into its future. But I do know this: Christ does not call us to a comfortable pew. And even if this church should last a thousand years, if it is not a church of disciples, it is nothing. If it is a church of people busy gaining the world, it will still be nothing more than a church of lost souls. It is time we ask ourselves which death is too high a price: the death of the cross, or the loss of life that comes from attempting to save our lives, attempting to live in the way of the world.
What does dying mean for us, here, in our conflicts? I am going to speak first of all what it means for me, as your pastor; and then, second, some of what it means for you as the congregation of Christ.
First, dying means, for me as your pastor, the humility to recognize my shortcomings. It means putting aside my personal interests for the sake of the flock, to put the needs of others above my own needs and preferences. It means for me to respond in love rather than anger. It means that as long as this is my calling, I am to serve here faithfully.
That’s rather general. What then, practically, does such dying, mean for me as your pastor? Don’t expect me to run home because there are some unhappy people. I am going to be here as long as God places it in the heart of the God-appointed leaders of this congregation to have me here. And in that staying, I am going to commit myself anew to be a servant to Christ, and through serving Christ, to serve the flock. I am going to commit myself anew to praying for you, to seeking to address your needs, to minister to you. And that calling to faithfulness also means that I am going to commit myself to saying the things that need to be said, even when some of those things may not be what you want to hear.
Second, what does dying means, for all of us as God’s people? It means above all that we present ourselves to God as living sacrifices. That means, not just seeking sermons that make us “feel convicted” — but actually following through and obeying the Word. It means not dictating to God what He may or may not say to us, but learning to listen for His voice. It means dying to our bitternesses, our gossip, our dissensions, and our selfishness. It means dying to our own ambitions and seeking to serve God and others instead.
To summarize practically the way some of these things work out for us as a congregation: Don’t ask for application that you are not prepared to heed. Not the hearers of the Word are disciples, but the doers. Furthermore, do not tell God what you are ready to hear. I have wrestled with this, and I am going to tell you frankly now: I am not going to be intimidated into preaching a quarter of the counsel of God simply because some of you don’t want to hear anything from the Old Testament. The Old Testament is God’s Word and it is what gives shape to the New. That’s God’s design, not mine. If you have a problem with that, your problem is with God, and I am not going to apologize for Him.
And finally, dying means that all of us need to put ourselves under the gospel with our attitudes and our tongues. Pride and power plays are the ways of the world, not the way of Christ and His cross.
The word of the gospel this morning is an invitation. There is nothing mysterious or complicated about it. It is an invitation to come and die.
This morning, let us walk out of here as disciples. And when we do, we can be assured of joy, for as Jesus says, “whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.” The death of the cross looks hard and unattractive, but it is the path of glory, of resurrection, and true life. May we as a congregation find that narrow gate and that life.
Amen.
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 09:45:05 -0500
From: “Brian D. Nolder”
Subject: Re: Pray for me (again)
And also _Well-Intentioned Dragons_ (Bethany House). Another one (though slightly liberal) is _Clergy Killers_.
BDN
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 02:23:56 -0000
From: “Kevin Bywater”
Subject: Mark Re: Pray for me (again)
It's $3.38, including shipping through Walmart. Just do a search through www.addall.com. They provide a very useful service.
Blessings,
Kevin Bywater
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 22:42:51 -0800
From: “S-GMail”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Read Antagonists in the Church. It tells you how to deal with these kinds of problems.
Steven
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 03:14:02 -0000
From: “Rich Bledsoe”
Subject: Re: Pray for me (again)
Tim,
Since its “my fault,” I have a responsibility to answer.
I really, really like the sermon. I think it very good. Here are the caveats.
First. Is your session pretty much behind you? I don’t mean you need 100% support, but a lot. The real majority.
Second. This is pretty daring. You have more feel than anyone outside could have as to how far to go. If your session is reasonably behind you, then it becomes your call. But a couple of things. First. I think I would leave out the explicit public “calling out.” “I’m not going to be intimidated. . .” I wouldn’t say that. Leave them a way
to save face. I don’t know if EVERYONE will know what you are getting at, but without being explicit, everyone who needs to know will know exactly what is going on. In my experience, these kind of people do what they do behind the scenes, under the table. A lot of this is learning how to play poker. That means that you don’t have to say everything all the time, but only what is necessary in public.
Then the next issue is this: you need to do what you do with no public show of anxiety. Anxiety is your biggest enemy. These people can smell it like a dog can smell a human that is afraid of them, and they will attack and kill when they smell it. Whatever one thinks of George Bush, he is very largely effective because he simply never displays anxiety. Courage is infectious as is anxiety. If you are anxious, your session and supporters will become anxious, and it will spread. If you are courageous, and have no anxiety, that too is infectious, and your session and supporters will find that they “catch” that.
That is my sense of it. But there is wisdom in many counselors. There are other people here who have been through it too, and it would be good to get a second opinion. I think you do need to “break the sound barrier” but on specifics of doing that, it would be good to hear from someone else (JBJ?).
Rich
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 20:30:53 -0700
From: “Tim Gallant”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Rich,
Thanks for your comments. I pretty much wrote that sermon in a short sitting and knew I would probably need to work on it. Today I toned down quite a bit of it, and I also made more explicit my own commitment to attempt to communicate in an understable way.
I still remain in question regarding what I should do. I feel like if there *is* to be a time that I need to “grab the bull by the horns,” this Sunday is that time. So my question is more: do I need to grab the bull by the horns, or not?
As for anxiety. . . I don’t think I’m likely to have a public anxiety attack. I can have an anxiety attack talking to a beautiful woman, but I generally don’t have them over issues of opposition like this. (I did break down after the meeting the other night, in private, I will admit - but it wasn’t due to anxiety. It was due to homesickness, if you can understand that.)
As for council’s support: I’m very confident of 4 of the 5 members. The 5th has just been inducted into the diaconate for the first time, and at 30 years old is the youngest and quietest member of the “clan.” We had a good family visit with him last fall, but I’m well aware that family pressures may well mean that he isn’t “on board.” But I really don’t think he is capable of being a “strong man,” particularly in the context of an otherwise united council. The three elders and other deacon are completely on board with me.
I suppose a possibility is to talk to the elders and feel them out on whether I should do this. Unfortunately, one of them was missing for the congregational meeting and will not be back until Friday night.
I really would appreciate hearing more thoughts on this. I’m probably about 50/50 on using a (somewhat toned-down) version of this sermon.
tim
Tim Gallant
Pastor, Conrad Christian Reformed Church
http://www.timgallant.org
tim | gallant site group
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 03:45:46 -0000
From: “Rich Bledsoe”
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Tim,
There comes a time when you have to do things like this. Timing is almost everything. In many cases, if you let your time go by, it will never return. If the time passes, then it means the enemy has won by default. The feeling and sense of the right time is not to be ignored. Butterflys in the stomach can be a sign that the target has been erected, and a bulls eye is possible. From what you communicate, and from what I can tell from a distance, the sense that I have is “do it. . .” That is the best I can do or say from where I sit. I promise to pray for you if you decide to shoot...
Yours,
Rich
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 23:15:30 EST
From: Leithart@aol.com
Subject: Pray for me (again)
In a message dated 1/19/2005 7:49:59 PM Pacific Standard Time, revbledsoe@yahoo.com writes:
From what you communicate, and from what I can tell from a distance, the sense that I have is “do it...”
FWIW, I’m with Rich on this. Only I would say it the Nike way, “just do it.”
Peter
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 22:48:10 -0800
From: Daniel Dillard
Subject: Pray for me (again)
Tim,
I think JBJ is correct, that this is between the session and the clan. Since the session wants you to stay, you stay. Keep ministering as you have been, preaching the OT as well as the New. After all, the session is pleased with your ministry. If you stay the clan leader says they will leave. So, since you’re staying, they’ll leave. Be glad when they do. Then the church can move forward.
Peace,
DJD
